1. Mineral Resources
  2. Online Spatial Data
  3. Alaska Resource Data File (ARDF)

Unnamed (near Shelter Cove)

Occurrences, Inactive

Map
KML
XML
GeoJSON

Commodities and mineralogy

Main commodities Au
Ore minerals arsenopyrite; gold; pyrite
Gangue minerals quartz

Geographic location

Quadrangle map, 1:250,000-scale SV
Quadrangle map, 1:63,360-scale C-2
Latitude 59.523
Longitude -150.623
Nearby scientific data Find additional scientific data near this location
Location and accuracy Two occurrences are located on the southeast shore of West Arm of Nuka Bay, near the mouth of Beauty Bay. Both occurrences are exposed on the sea cliff. The northern most exposure is a two-foot-wide vein which strikes N80E. The southern occurrence is about 0.3 miles south of the northern exposure and consists of a four-foot-wide zone of quartz and fractured graywacke. This is Cobb's (1972, MF-397) location 18 and Richter's (1970) locations 11 and 12. This location is accurate to within a quarter of a mile.

Geologic setting

Geologic description

Both occurrences are in massive graywacke of the Cretaceous Valdez Group (Richter, 1970). The northern most exposure is a two-foot-wide quartz-arsenopyrite vein that strikes N80E. and dips vertically. The vein has a thin clay gouge zone in the center and along the hanging wall margin. A single channel sample assayed 0.02 ppm gold (Richter, 1970).
The southern occurrence is a four-foot-wide zone of fractured graywacke with quartz-arsenopyrite lens that varies from 0.5- to 2-feet-thick. A two foot channel sample taken across the widest part of the mineralization contained 0.062 ppm gold (Richter, 1970).
Geologic map unit (-150.625094837142, 59.5224148831159)
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 Clay gouge occurs in the center of the vein and along hanging wall of northern occurrence.

Production and reserves

Workings or exploration Samples from the southern occurrence assayed 0.62 ppm gold and from the northern occurrence assayed 0.028 ppm gold (Richter, 1970).
Indication of production None
Reserve estimates None reported.

Additional comments

This prospect is within Kenai Fjords National Park, the area is now closed to mineral entry.

References

MRDS Number 10308348

References

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.
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.
Reporters Jeff A. Huber (Anchorage)
Last report date 3/9/1999