Main commodities | Au |
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Ore minerals | arsenopyrite; gold; pyrite |
Gangue minerals | carbonate minerals; chlorite; quartz; white mica |
Quadrangle map, 1:250,000-scale | VA |
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Quadrangle map, 1:63,360-scale | B-4 |
Latitude | 61.298 |
Longitude | -145.3121 |
Nearby scientific data | Find additional scientific data near this location |
Location and accuracy | This prospect is on the west side of Tiekel River valley, about 1.1 mile southeast of Mount Tiekel. The map site is near the southeast corner of section 36, T. 6 S., R. 1 W., of the Copper River Meridian. This prospect is approximately located, perhaps to within 1 mile. It is locality 46 of Cobb and Matson (1972) and locality 38 of Winkler, Miller, and others (1981). |
Geologic descriptionSmall, gold-bearing quartz veins cut metaflysch of the Valdez Group at this prospect; the metaflysch is locally cut by felsic dikes (Moffit, 1918). These veins are probably similar to others that are widespread in the southern Valdez quadrangle. Data summarized by Goldfarb and others (1997) show that gold-bearing quartz veins in the Valdez Group commonly contain pyrite, arsenopyrite, carbonate minerals, chlorite, and white mica and formed from water-rich fluids with 5 to 15 mole percent CO2 and significant amounts of CH4, N2, and H2S. The vein-forming fluid salinities were less than 8 percent, vein formation temperatures ranged from 225 to 375 degrees centigrade, and emplacement depths varied from 3 to 10 kilometers. The vein-forming fluids were produced by metamorphic devolatilization reactions. Radiometric dating indicates that the veins formed from 57 to 49 Ma (Goldfarb and others, 1997, p. 171) when deep parts of the accreted Valdez Group flysch underwent high-grade metamorphism and partial melting (Hudson, 1994). | |
Geologic map unit | (-145.31416845973, 61.2975043760611) |
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Mineral deposit model | Low-sulfide Au-quartz veins (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 36a) |
Mineral deposit model number | 36a |
Age of mineralization | Radiometric dating indicates that the gold-bearing quartz veins in the Valdez Group formed from 57 to 49 Ma (Goldfarb and others, 1997, p. 171) when deep parts of the accreted Valdez Group flysch underwent high-grade metamorphism and partial melting (Hudson, 1994). |
Alteration of deposit | Country rocks to gold-bearing quartz veins in Valdez Group metaflysch can be variably silicified, carbonitized, and sericitized (Goldfarb and others, 1997). |
Workings or exploration | Only small-scale surface prospecting. |
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Indication of production | None |
MRDS Number | A011487 |
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ReferencesGoldfarb, R.J., Miller, L.D., Leach, D.L., and Snee, L.W, 1997, Gold deposits in metamorphic rocks in Alaska, in Goldfarb, R.J., and Miller, L.D., eds., Mineral Deposits of Alaska: Economic Geology Monograph 9, p. 151-190.
Hudson, T.L., 1994, Crustal melting events in Alaska, in Plafker, G., and Berg, H. C., eds., The Geology of Alaska: Geological Society of America, DNAG, The Geology of North America, Vol. G-1, p. 657-670.
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Reporters | Travis L. Hudson |
Last report date | 12/14/2001 |