Sonny Fox (ARDF #SV019) Ag, Au, Cu

Sonny Fox

Mine, Inactive

Alternative names

Babcock & Downey
Lady Luck

Commodities and mineralogy

Main commodities	Ag; Au; Cu
Other commodities	Pb; Zn
Ore minerals	arsenopyrite; chalcopyrite; galena; gold; native copper; native silver; pyrite; sphalerite
Gangue minerals	calcite; quartz

Geographic location

Quadrangle map, 1:250,000-scale	SV
Quadrangle map, 1:63,360-scale	C-2
Latitude	59.54
Longitude	-150.47
Nearby scientific data	Find additional scientific data near this location
Location and accuracy	The Sunny Fox mine was the principal gold producer in the Nuka Bay area. The mine is located on the west side of Babcock Creek at an elevation of 200 feet. Babcock Creek drains into Surprise Bay which is at the West Arm of Nuka Bay. This is Cobb's (1972, MF-397) location 28 and Richter's (1970) location 9. Cobb (1972, OFR 80-87) summarized the relevant references under the name Sonny Fox.

Geologic setting

Geologic description The host rocks of the prospect are graywacke and slate of the Cretaceous Valdez Group (Richter, 1970). Most of the production on the property has come from the Lucky Lady Vein which averages about 2 feet thick. The vein strikes generally northeast and dips 60 SE. The vein is white quartz and in parts shows some banding. The most abundant sulfide mineral is arsenopyrite, with minor amounts of pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite and galena (Richter, 1970). Free gold was also present, often in coarse particles visible to the naked eye (Pilgrim, 1933). Over 800 feet of drifts, tunnels, and stopes have been driven on this vein. The other vein on the property is lens shaped and contains the same sulfide assemblage as the Lucky Lady. The veins are thickest in the more massive graywacke units and trend to pinch out in the slate units. Richter (1970) calculated there are at least 800 feet of workings at the mine site exclusive of raises, stopes and shafts. The mill was a No. 1 Denver Quartz Mill with a capacity of 7 tons per 22 hours. The concentrates ranged in grade from $128.00 per ton to over $530 per ton (at $20.67 per ounce gold) and were shipped to the Tacoma smelter (Pilgrim, 1933). The mine produced from 1926 to 1940 and production totaled $70,000 during that time (Richter,1970).
Geologic map unit	(-150.472101626642, 59.5394207261177)
Mineral deposit model	Low-sulfide, Au-quartz vein (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 36a)
Mineral deposit model number	36a
Age of mineralization	Tertiary; Boden and others (1991) report other veins in the district are about 55 m.y. old.
Alteration of deposit	Borden and others (1991) report carbonization, sulfidization, sericitization, and silicification of the wall rock adjacent to the veins.

Production and reserves

Workings or exploration	Richter (1970) calculated there are at least 800 feet of workings at the mine site exclusive of raises, stopes and shafts. The mill was a No. 1 Denver Quartz Mill with a capacity of 7 tons per 22 hours. The concentrates ranged in grade from $128.00 per ton to over $530 per ton (at $20.67 per ounce gold) and were shipped to the Tacoma smelter (Pilgrim, 1933).
Indication of production	Yes; small
Reserve estimates	None.
Production notes	The mine produced from 1926 to 1940 and production totaled $70,000 during that time (Richter,1970). The concentrates ranged in grade from $128.00 per ton to over $530 per ton and were shipped to the Tacoma smelter (at $20.67 per ounce gold, Pilgrim, 1933).

References

MRDS Number	A010648
References Berg, H.C., and Cobb, E.H., 1967, Metalliferous lode deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1246, 254 p. Borden, J.C., Goldfarb, R.J., Gent, C.A., Burruss, R.C., and Roushey, B.H., 1992 Geochemistry of lode-gold deposits, Nuka Bay district, southern Kenai Peninsula, in Bradley, D.C., and Dusel-Bacon, Cynthia, eds, Geologic studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1991: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2041, p. 13-21. Capps, S.R., 1938, Lode mining in the Nuka Bay district, in Smith, P.S., and other, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1936: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 897-A, p. 25-32. Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Seldovia quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-397, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000. Cobb, E.H., 1979, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than minerals fuels and construction materials) in the Seldovia quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-file Report 80-87, 47 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. Pilgrim, E.R., 1933, Nuka Bay district, in Stewart, B. D., Making mining investigations and mine inspection in Alaska, biennium ending March 31, 1933: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Annual Report 1933B, p. 26-51. Richter, D.H., 1970, Geology and lode-gold deposits of the Nuka Bay area, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 625-B, p. Bl-B16. 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.
Reporters	Jeff A. Huber (Anchorage)
Last report date	2/16/1999