Unnamed (southwest of Mud Lake) (ARDF #MH205) Cu

Unnamed (southwest of Mud Lake)

Occurrence, Inactive

Commodities and mineralogy

Main commodities	Cu
Ore minerals	bornite; chalcopyrite; pyrite
Gangue minerals	epidote; quartz

Geographic location

Quadrangle map, 1:250,000-scale	MH
Quadrangle map, 1:63,360-scale	A-4
Latitude	63.0167
Longitude	-145.5507
Nearby scientific data	Find additional scientific data near this location
Location and accuracy	This occurrence is at an elevation of 3,700 feet approximately 1 mile east of the top of Paxson Mountain and about 1.3 miles south-southwest of Mud Lake. It is in the SE1/4SW1/4 section 12, T. 22 S., R. 11 E., Fairbanks Meridian. The occurrence corresponds to locality 5 in Rose and Saunders (1965) and locality S96 in table 2 of Nokleberg and others (1991).

Geologic setting

Geologic description This occurrence consists of a zone about 30 feet wide of quartz-epidote veinlets and vuggy pods as much as 1 foot long and 6 inches wide that contain pyrite, chalcopyrite, and bornite (Rose and Saunders, 1965). The mineralized zone is limonite stained and extends along the wall of a gorge for 250 feet. The zone appears to dip north 20 degrees and is copper stained on its southern end. The host rock is metabasalt of Nikolai Greenstone of Late Triassic age that locally is highly fractured and altered to chlorite and epidote (Rose and Saunders, 1965).
Geologic map unit	(-145.552919431983, 63.0162788401053)
Mineral deposit model	Basaltic Cu (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 23).
Mineral deposit model number	23
Age of mineralization	Probably Cretaceous.
Alteration of deposit	The metabasalt host rock is highly fractured and altered to chlorite and some epidote.

Production and reserves

Indication of production	None

References

MRDS Number	A011812
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. 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.
Reporters	W.T. Ellis (Alaska Earth Science), C.C. Hawley (Hawley Resource Group), and W.J. Nokleberg (USGS)
Last report date	6/19/2002