Pedro Creek (ARDF #LG064) Au

Pedro Creek

Mine, Inactive

Commodities and mineralogy

Main commodities	Au
Other commodities	Sn
Ore minerals	cassiterite; gold

Geographic location

Quadrangle map, 1:250,000-scale	LG
Quadrangle map, 1:63,360-scale	A-1
Latitude	65.003
Longitude	-147.522
Nearby scientific data	Find additional scientific data near this location
Location and accuracy	Cobb (1972, MF-413), loc. 89; NW1/4SE1/4 sec. 15, T. 2 N., R. 1 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. The coordinates given are for Pedro Camp. Mine tailings are marked along Pedro Creek on the Fairbanks (D-2) quadrangle and the Livengood (A-1) and (A-2) quadrangles and cover an area of almost 4.5 miles.

Geologic setting

Geologic description Pedro Creek was a major placer gold producer in the Fairbanks mining district, with placered ground extending almost 4.5 miles, from the mouth of Twin Creek to the confluence with Gilmore Creek. Placer gold on Pedro Creek is both very fine and coarse and was found in the bottom 2 to 7 feet of gravel and the top 1 to 5 feet of bedrock (Prindle, 1904; Brooks, 1905). The depth to quartzite schist bedrock is 9 to 35 feet (Prindle, 1904; Prindle and Katz, 1909). Heavy minerals found with the gold are magnetite, garnet, rutile and pyrite (Prindle, 1905). The pay streak is from 4 to over 200 feet wide (Brooks, 1905). Mining was by drifting, open cuts, and dredges (Cobb, 1976; OFR 76-633). U.S.S.R. & M. Co. dredge no. 4 was built on Pedro Creek in 1939, and the dredge worked there from 1939 to 1942, and from 1952 to 1958 (R.M. Chapman, U.S.G.S. unpublished memorandum, 1978). Recent mining has been reported near the mouth of Steamboat Creek (D. Grybeck, oral communication, 1999). The value of gold produced from 1903 to 1910 was $1,250,000 (the gold was then valued at $17.68 per ounce) (Prindle and Katz, 1913). More recent production figures are not available.
Geologic map unit	(-147.524440619057, 65.0025746393201)
Mineral deposit model	Placer gold deposit (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).
Mineral deposit model number	39a

Production and reserves

Workings or exploration	Mining was by drifting, open cuts, and dredges (Cobb, 1976; OFR 76-633). No mining was reported from 1917 through 1925. U.S.S.R. & M. Co. dredge no. 4 was built on Pedro Creek in 1939 and the dredge worked there from 1939 to 1942, and from 1952 to 1958 (R.M. Chapman, U.S.G.S. unpublished memorandum, 1978). Recent mining has been reported near the mouth of Steamboat Creek (D. Grybeck, oral communication, 1999).
Indication of production	Yes; small
Production notes	The value of gold produced from 1903 to 1910 was $1,250,000 with the gold then valued at $17.68 per ounce (Prindle and Katz, 1913).
Additional comments Felix Pedro discovered gold here in 1902 - the first discovery in the Fairbanks district.

References

MRDS Number	A015507
References Brooks, A.H., 1905, Placer mining in Alaska in 1904: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 259, p. 18-31. Brooks, A.H., 1907, The Alaskan mining industry in 1906: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 314-A, p. 19-39. Brooks, A.H., 1914, Mineral resources of Alaska; report on progress of investigations in 1913: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592, 413 p. Brooks, A.H., 1916, Mineral resources of Alaska, report on progress of investigations in 1915: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 642, 279 p. Brooks, A.H., 1918, Mineral resources of Alaska, 1916: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 662, 469 p. Chapin, Theodore, 1914, Lode mining near Fairbanks, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592-J, p. 321-355. Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Livengood quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-413, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000. Cobb, E.H., 1973, Placer deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1374, 213 p. Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Livengood quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-819, 241 p. Eakin, H.M., 1915, Mining in the Fairbanks district: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 622-G, p. 229-238. Ellsworth, C.E., 1910, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 442-F, p. 230-245. Ellsworth, C.E., 1912, Placer mining in the Fairbanks and Circle Disctricts: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 520-H, p. 240-245. Ellsworth, C.E., and Davenport, R.W., 1913, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 542-F, p. 203-222. Joesting, H.R., 1942, Strategic mineral occurrences in interior Alaska: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Pamphlet 1, 50 p. Prindle, L.M., 1904, Gold placers of the Fairbanks district, Alaska, in Emmons, S.F., and Hayes, C.W., Contributions to economic geology, 1903: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 225, p. 64-73. Prindle, L.M., 1905, The gold placers of the Fortymile, Birch Creek, and Fairbanks regions, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 251, 89 p. Prindle, L.M., 1906, Yukon placer fields, in Brooks, A.H., 1906, Report on Progress of Investigations of Mineral Resources of Alaska in 1905: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 284, p. 109-127. Prindle, L.M., 1908, The Fairbanks and Rampart quadrangles, Yukon-Tanana region, Alaska, with a section on the Rampart placers, by F.L. Hess, and a paper on the water supply of the Fairbanks region, by C.C. Covert: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 337, 102 p. Prindle, L.M., and Katz, F.J., 1909, The Fairbanks gold-placer region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 379-E, p. 181-200. Prindle, L.M., and Katz, F.J., 1913, Detailed description of the Fairbanks district, in Prindle, L.M., A geologic reconnaissance of the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 525, p. 59-152. Purington, C.W., 1905, Methods and costs of gravel and placer mining in Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 263, 273 p. Smith, P.S., 1929, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1926 and Administrative Report: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 797-A, p. 1-50. Smith, P.S., 1930, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1927 and Administrative Report: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 810-A, p. 1-64. Smith, P.S., 1930, Mineral Industry of Alaska in 1928: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 813-A, p. 1-72. Smith, P.S., 1932, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1929, in Smith, P.S., and others Mineral resources of Alaska, report on progress of investigations in 1929: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 824-A, p. 1-81. Smith, P.S., 1933, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1930: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 836-A, p. 1-83. Smith, P.S., 1933, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1931: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 844-A, p. 1-81. Smith, P.S., 1934, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1932: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 857-A, p. 1-91. Smith, P.S., 1934, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1933: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 864-A, p. 1-94. Smith, P.S., 1936, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1934: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 868-A, p. 1-91. Smith, P.S., 1937, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1935: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 880-A, p. 1-95. Smith, P.S., 1938, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1936: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 897-A, p. 1-107. Smith, P.S., 1939, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1937: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 910-A, p. 1-113. Smith, P.S., 1939, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1938: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 917-A, p. 1-113. Smith, P.S., 1941, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1939: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 926-A, p. 1-106. Smith, P.S., 1942, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1940: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 933-A, p. 1-102. Smith, S.S., 1917, The mining industry in the territory of Alaska during the calendar year 1915: U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 142, 66 p. Smith, S.S., 1917, The mining industry in the territory of Alaska during the calendar year 1916: U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 153, 89 p. Wedow, H., Jr., and Killeen, P. L., 1954, Reconnaissance for radioactive deposits in eastern interior Alaska, 1946: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 331, 36 p.
Reporters	C.J. Freeman, J.R. Guidetti Schaefer (Avalon Development Corporation)
Last report date	5/4/1999