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Tripp

Prospect, Inactive

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Commodities and mineralogy

Main commodities Ag; Cu
Other commodities Au
Ore minerals bornite; chalcocite; chalcopyrite; chrysocolla; digenite; pyrite
Gangue minerals epidote; quartz

Geographic location

Quadrangle map, 1:250,000-scale MH
Quadrangle map, 1:63,360-scale A-4
Latitude 63.0909
Longitude -145.6322
Nearby scientific data Find additional scientific data near this location
Location and accuracy This prospect is at an elevation of 3,600 feet at the north flank of Paxson Mountain about 0.1 mile south of mile 7 on the Denali Highway. It is in the SE1/4SE1/4 section 16, T. 21 S., R. 11 E., Fairbanks Meridian. The prospect corresponds to locality 10 in Rose and Saunders (1965) and to locality S89 in table 2 of Nokleberg and others (1991).

Geologic setting

Geologic description

At this prospect Nikolai Greenstone of Late Triassic age contains copper minerals that occur in and adjacent to veins, pods, and amygdules of quartz and epidote (Rose and Saunders, 1965). The veins and pods are generally less than 1 inch wide and can be traced only for a few feet. Bornite, digenite, chalcocite, chalcopyrite, chrysocolla, and pyrite are present in a few places but generally are very sparse.
Geologic map unit (-145.634429520309, 63.0904803330312)
Mineral deposit model Basaltic Cu (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 23).
Mineral deposit model number 23
Age of mineralization Late Triassic and Cretaceous.
Alteration of deposit The vesicular basalt host rock is altered to chlorite, prehnite, and epidote.

Production and reserves

Workings or exploration The prospect was discovered in 1962 by Jack Tripp of Fairbanks, who dug by hand trenches and pits. A grab sample of quartz veins containing chalcopyrite and bornite assayed 1.38 percent copper, trace gold, and 0.30 ounce of silver per ton (Saunders, 1962 [PE 68-09]). A sample collected by the U.S. Geological Survey contained 2 percent copper and 20 parts per million silver (Nokleberg and others, 1991).
Indication of production None

References

MRDS Number A011804

References

Berg, H.C., and Cobb, E.H., 1967, Metalliferous lode deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1246, 254 p.
Cobb, E.H., 1979, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Mount Hayes quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 79-238, 140 p.
MacKevett, E.M., Jr., and Holloway, C.D., 1977, Map showing metalliferous and selected non-metalliferous mineral deposits in the eastern part of southern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-169-A, 99 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:1,000,000.
Mulligan, J.J., 1974, Mineral resources of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline corridor: U.S. Bureau of Mines Information Circular 8626, 24 p., 9 sheets, scale 1:250,000.
Nokleberg, W.J., Lange, I.M., Roback, R.C., Yeend, Warren, and Silva, S.R., 1991, Map showing locations of metalliferous lode and placer mineral occurrences, mineral deposits, prospects, and mines, Mount Hayes quadrangle, eastern Alaska Range, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-1996-C, 42 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.
Rose, A.W., and Saunders, R.H., 1965, Geology and geochemical investigations near Paxson, northern Copper River basin, Alaska: Alaska Division of Mines and Minerals Geological Report 13, 35 p.
Saunders, R.H., 1963, Report on the examination of the Tripp copper prospect, Mt. Hayes quadrangle: Alaska Division of Mines and Minerals Prospect Evaluation 68-9, 2 p.
Reporters W.T. Ellis (Alaska Earth Science), C.C. Hawley (Hawley Resource Group), and W.J. Nokleberg (USGS)
Last report date 6/17/2002