| Main commodities | Pb |
|---|---|
| Other commodities | Ag; Au; Cu |
| Ore minerals | anglesite; azurite; cerussite; galena; gold; malachite; manganese oxides; pyrite; ruby silver; silver; sphalerite |
| Quadrangle map, 1:250,000-scale | RB |
|---|---|
| Quadrangle map, 1:63,360-scale | C-5 |
| Latitude | 64.58714 |
| Longitude | -155.41196 |
| Nearby scientific data | Find additional scientific data near this location |
| Location and accuracy | Beaver Creek is located on the north side of the Beaver Creek valley, near its junction with Thirteenmile Creek. Coordinates fall on location 1 of Cobb (1972 [MF405]), in section 26, T. 9 S., R. 17 E. of the Kateel River meridian. The location is accurate within 1/2 mile. Beaver Creek lies within Doyon, Limited Ruby village land. |
Geologic descriptionThe galena deposit near Beaver Creek was first discovered around 1920 (Brooks, 1922). The country rock is fractured quartz-mica schist and phyllite containing siliceous and calcareous bands (Thomas, 1964). The Beaver Creek site contains two northeast-striking, near-vertical zones of silver-rich, galena-bearing gossan (Northstar Exploration Company, 1999). The zones are as much as 500 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 10 feet deep (Northstar Exploration Company, 1999). The gossan zones contain abundant cellular boxworks that parallel schistocity. Sulfide minerals from Beaver Creek exhibit crosscutting and recrystallized textures that are clearly indicate remobilization and are not typical of syngenetic ore deposits (Northstar Exploration Company, 1999).
Lenticular veins of silver-bearing galena occur within gossan, with varied amounts of cerussite, anglesite, rhodochrosite, manganese oxides, gold, pyrite, ruby silver, malachite, and azurite (White and Stevens, 1953). Nokleberg and others (1994) also report sphalerite.
Assays of the ore contain 1.47 to 82 ounces of silver per ton, 8.7 percent to 15.3 percent lead, 0.08 to 0.89 percent zinc, and 0.02 percent copper (Thomas, 1964). A trace of gold was also reported. The maximum eU was 0.003 percent (White and Stevens, 1953). A resource estimate by Nockleberg and others (1994) is 13,600 tonnes of ore grading 103 grams silver per ton, 0.8 percent gold, and 0.5 percent copper, with an additional 19,100 tonnes containing 26.1 grams silver per ton, 4.2 percent lead, 0.16 percent zinc, and 0.2 percent copper (Nokleberg and others, 1994).
The Beaver Creek prospect lies within 250 m of the Angayucham-Tozitna thrust fault, and this fault could have played a significant role in controlling the location of sulfide mineralization (Northstar Exploration Company, 1999). While the Beaver Creek mineralization could be plutonic-related, sulfur isotope values from the nearby and mineralogically similar Perseverance mine yield results more consistent with a remobilized syngenetic massive sulfide deposit (Northstar Exploration Company, 1999). The deposit was explored by trenches, pits, and short adits in the early 1920s. Beaver Creek was explored by the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1960. It now lies within the Doyon, Limited Ruby Village Block, and has been sampled and geologically mapped from 1993 to 1998 (Northstar Exploration Company, 1999). | |
| Geologic map unit | (-155.4144040609, 64.5865378131815) |
|---|---|
| Mineral deposit model | Remobilized syngenetic massive sulfide? (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 24b). |
| Mineral deposit model number | 24b? |
| Alteration of deposit | Weathering of sulfides has produced a base metal-rich gossan. |
| Workings or exploration |
The deposit has been explored by trenches, pits, and short adits during the 1920s. The deposit was also explored by the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1960. Workings include a 40-foot shaft, 2 other shallow shafts, as well as an adit and drift tunnels. About 3,100 linear feet of trenches were excavated from 11 trenching sites in 1960 (Thomas, 1964). |
|---|---|
| Indication of production | Yes; small |
| Reserve estimates | A resource estimate by Nockleberg and others (1994) is 13,600 tonnes of ore grading 103 grams silver per ton, 0.8 percent gold, and 0.5 percent copper, with an additional 19,100 tonnes containing 26.1 grams silver per ton, 4.2 percent lead, 0.16 percent zinc, and 0.2 percent copper (Nokleberg and others, 1994). |
Additional commentsBeaver Creek lies within the Doyon, Limited Ruby Village Block. For more information, contact Doyon, Limited. | |
| MRDS Number | A015557 |
|---|---|
ReferencesNokleberg, W.J., and (seven) others, 1994, Metallogeny and major mineral deposits of Alaska and Metallogenic map of significant metalliferous lode deposits and placer districts of Alaska, in Plafker, G. and Berg, H.C., eds., The Geology of Alaska: Geological Society of America, DNAG, The Geology of North America, Vol.. G1, p. 855-904, Plate 11, scale 1:2,500,000.
North Star Exploration Company, 1999, North Star 1998 Annual Report, Block 18, Middle Yukon, DLR 99-33 (Report held by Doyon, Limited, Fairbanks, Alaska).
Thomas, B.I., 1964, Galena-bearing gossans, Beaver Creek, Ruby district, Yukon region, west-central Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report, 28 p.
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| Reporters | C.E. Cameron (Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys) |
| Last report date | 3/22/2000 |