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Last Chance Gulch

Mine, Inactive

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Commodities and mineralogy

Main commodities Au
Other commodities Ag
Ore minerals gold
Gangue minerals ilmenite; magnesiochromite; magnetite

Geographic location

Quadrangle map, 1:250,000-scale ID
Quadrangle map, 1:63,360-scale D-2
Latitude 62.96051
Longitude -156.52183
Nearby scientific data Find additional scientific data near this location
Location and accuracy Last Chance Gulch, which is not named on the D-2 topographic map, enters Ganes Creek about 0.4 mile south of the mouth of Six Gulch (ID025). The coordinates are at the mouth of the gulch in the SE1/4, section 8, T. 33 N., R. 38 W., of the Seward Meridian. The location is accurate.

Geologic setting

Geologic description

Placer gold was discovered in Last Chance Gulch early in the 20th Century (Maddren, 1910). Mining took place mainly prior to 1912 (Eakin, 1914). Placer gold is accompanied ilmenite, magnesiochromite, and magnetite. The probable source of the placer gold is sub-volcanic intrusions associated with the Ganes-Yankee Creek fault (Bundtzen and Laird, 1980, 1982; Bundtzen and Miller, 1997).
Geologic map unit (-156.524194465798, 62.959877017888)
Mineral deposit model Placer Au deposit (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).
Mineral deposit model number 39a
Age of mineralization Probably Quaternary, based on age estimates of pre-glacial stream deposits developed near ancestral Ganes Creek (Mertie, 1916; Bundtzen, 1980 [GR 63]).

Production and reserves

Workings or exploration Production came from surface mining of shallow deposits near the mouth.
Indication of production Yes; small
Production notes Production was modest and included with totals reported from Ganes Creek (ID011). The lower gulch has not been mined since 1912 (Eakin, 1914; Doug Clark, oral communication, 2001).

References

References

Bundtzen, T.K., and Laird, G.M., 1980, Geology of the upper Innoko River area, western-interior Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Survey Open- File Report 134, 34 p. 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360.
Bundtzen, T.K., and Laird, G.M., 1982, Geologic map of the Iditarod D-2 and eastern D-3 quadrangles, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Geologic Report 72, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360.
Bundtzen, T.K., and Miller, M.L., 1997, Precious metals associated with Late Cretaceous-early Tertiary igneous rocks of southwestern Alaska, in Goldfarb, R.J., and Miller, L.D., eds., Mineral Deposits of Alaska: Economic Geology Monograph 9, p. 242-286.
Eakin, H.M., 1914, The Iditarod-Ruby region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 578, 45 p.
Maddren, A.G., 1910, The Innoko gold-placer district, Alaska, with accounts of the central Kuskokwim valley and the Ruby Creek and Gold Hill placers: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 410, 87 p.
Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1936, Mineral deposits of the Ruby-Kuskokwim region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 864-C, p. 115-245.
Miller, M.L., Bundtzen, T.K., and Gray, J.E., 2005, Mineral resource assessment of the Iditarod quadrangle, west-central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-2219-B, scale 1:250,000, pamphlet.
Reporters T.K. Bundtzen (Pacific Rim Geological Consulting, Inc.), M.L. Miller (U.S. Geological Survey); and C.C. Hawley (Hawley Resource Group)
Last report date 5/12/2003