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Unnamed (tributary to Clear Creek)

Occurrence, Inactive

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Commodities and mineralogy

Main commodities U
Other commodities REE
Ore minerals allanite; uraniferous titanium niobate mineral
Gangue minerals hematite; hornblende; magnetite; sphene; topaz

Geographic location

Quadrangle map, 1:250,000-scale SO
Quadrangle map, 1:63,360-scale D-1
Latitude 64.906
Longitude -162.344
Nearby scientific data Find additional scientific data near this location
Location and accuracy This occurrence is on a small headwater tributary to an unnamed north tributary of Clear Creek. It is at an elevation of about 1,150 feet and 1.7 miles east of peak 2841. These are sample locations 2995 and 2996 of West (1953) and locality 130 of Cobb (1972, MF 445; 1978, OF 78-181).

Geologic setting

Geologic description

A heavy-mineral concentrate (concentration ratio 1,550:1) from stream gravels at this locality contained 0.065% equivalent uranium (West, 1953). Minerals identified in the heavy-mineral concentrate included pyrite, hematite, magnetite, zircon, topaz, allanite, sphene, an unidentified U-Ti-Nb mineral, and hornblende. This drainage is within the Darby pluton (Till and others, 1986). Many of the heavy minerals in the concentrates from stream sediments in the area are known accessory minerals in the Darby pluton. The widespread elevated Nb values in stream sediments (Miller and Grybeck, 1973) and in heavy -mineral concentrates (West, 1953) of the Clear Creek-Vulcan Creek area to the north may indicate specific mineralized zones or disseminations in late, felsic phases of the Darby pluton (Miller and Grybeck, 1973). The Darby pluton is a mid-Cretaceous granodiorite and granite that has elevated background levels of uranium and thorium (Miller and others, 1972; Miller and Bunker, 1976; Johnson and others, 1979). This pluton is considered the bedrock source of uranium that was mobilized and deposited in the Death Valley sandstone uranium deposit during the Eocene (Dickinson and others, 1987). K/Ar ages for the Darby pluton are 88.3 +/- 1.5 and 92.8 +/- 2.6 Ma (Berry and others, 1976).
Geologic map unit (-162.346599693446, 64.905294438126)
Mineral deposit model Disseminated uranium- and rare-earth-bearing minerals are probably accessory phases in the Darby pluton.
Age of mineralization The heavy mineral concentrates are from Holocene surficial materials but these have been locally derived from the Darby pluton. The Darby pluton is mid-Cretaceous; K/Ar ages for the Darby pluton are 88.3 +/- 1.5 and 92.8 +/- 2.6 Ma (Berry and others, 1976).

Production and reserves

Workings or exploration There are no known workings; exploration in the region may have included reconnaissance stream sediment sampling and radiometric surveys.
Indication of production None

References

MRDS Number A012620

References

Berry, A.L., Dalrymple, G.B., Lamphere, M.A., and Von Essen, J.C., and others, 1976, Summary of miscellaneous potassium-argon age measurements, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California, for the years 1972-1974: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 727, 13 p.
Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Solomon quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-445, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.
Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Solomon quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-181, 185 p.
Johnson, B.R., Miller, T.P., and Karl, Susan, 1979, Uranium-thorium investigations of the Darby pluton, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 804-B, p. B68-B70.
Miller, T.P., and Bunker, C.M., 1976, A reconnaissance study of the uranium and thorium contents of plutonic rocks of the southeastern Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Journal of Research, v. 4, p. 367-377.
Miller, T.P., and Grybeck, D.J., 1973, Geochemical survey of the eastern Solomon and southeastern Bendeleben quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 73-189, 115 p.
Miller, T.P., Grybeck, D.J., Elliott, R.L., and Hudson, T.L., 1972, Preliminary geologic map of the southeastern Bendeleben and eastern Solomon quadrangles, eastern Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 72-256, 11 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.
Till, A.B., Dumoulin, J.A., Gamble, B. ., Kaufman, D.S., and Carroll, P.I., 1986, Preliminary geologic map and fossil data, Soloman, Bendeleben, and southern Kotzebue quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 86-276, 10 p., 3 plates, scale 1:250,000.
West, W.S., 1953, Reconnaissance for radioactive deposits in the Darby Mountains, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 1948: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 300, 7 p.
Reporters Travis L. Hudson (Applied Geology)
Last report date 8/19/1999