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Arctic

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Antimony
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Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10001184
MRDS ID A011889
Record type Site
Current site name Arctic
Alternate or previous names Arctic Camp
Related records 10257671

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -156.38957, 67.18066 (WGS84)
Relative position Located east of VABM Riley on ridge above Kogoluktuk River in sec. 34, T. 21 N., R. 11 E., Kateel River Meridian. Shown as location 42 in Mayfield and Grybeck (1978). Accurate to within 600 ft. (200 m).???
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Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Gold Primary
Copper Primary
Lead Primary
Zinc Primary
Antimony Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Bornite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Stibnite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Tennantite Ore
Arsenopyrite Gangue
Barite Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Pyrrhotite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Talc Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Chlorite-rich rocks in footwall and surrounding the sulfides form an alteration zone containing a complex assemblage of barian fluorphlogopite, talc, Mg-chlorite, barite, phengite, quartz, and calcite (Schmidt, 1986).

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 184
USGS model code 28a
Deposit model name Massive sulfide, kuroko
Mark3 model number 93

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist
    Rock unit name Ambler Sequence
    Rock description Ambler Sequence
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Devonian

Nearby scientific data

(1) -156.38957, 67.18066
ListMap

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = A syngenetic deposit hosted in a thick sequence of low to medium grade metamorphosed basaltic and rhyolitic rocks, submarine ash flow tuffs, volcaniclastic and minor plutonic rocks, and pelitic, carbonaceous and calcareous sedimentary rocks, known as the Ambler schist belt. These rocks are part of a large fold structure termed the Kalurivik arch. A Devonian or Mississippian age of mineralization is based both on fossil evidence and U-Pb radiometric dating (Hitzman and others, 1986, p.1592-1618).?This polymetallic, stratabound, volcanogenic deposit consists of tabular masses of banded massive and disseminated sulfides, one foot (0.3 m) to more than 55 ft. (18 m) thick, composed of 20% to 90% pyrite, chalcopyrite and sphalerite, along with lesser amounts of pyrrhotite, chalcocite, bornite, galena, tennantite-tetrahedrite, arsenopyrite and stibnite. The sulfides are enclosed in calcareous talcose to quartzose lenses within a metavolcanic (rhyolitic) unit. The mineralized area is 3000 ft. by 2200 ft. (1030 m by 730 m), and about 270 ft. (90 m) thick. The massive sulfide occurrences are covered by a small gossan cap 9 ft. to 15 ft. (3 m to 5 m) deep (Schmidt, 1986, p. 1619-1643).
  • Age = Devonian-Mississippian

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Active

Mining district

District name Shungnak

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • Reserves = Indicated reserves of 26 million tons grading 4.0% Cu, 5.5 % Zn, 1% Pb, 1.6 oz/ton (55 g/tonne) Ag, and 0.03oz./ton (0.69 g/tonne)Au (Eakins and others, 1985, p. 6).

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Explored by surface trenches and pits and diamond drill holes. Patented claims held by Kennecott Exploration. Extensive diamond drilling (more 65 holes) (Nana Development Corporation, written comm., 1997).

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency Database name Acronym Record ID Notes
USGS Mineral Resources Data System MRDS A011889
USGS Alaska Resource Data File ARDF AR025

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Bottge, R.G., 1975, Impact of a natural gas pipeline on mineral and energy development in Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 20-75.

  • Deposit

    Degenhart, C.E., Griffis, R.J., McQuat, J.F., and Bigelow, C.G., 1978, Mineral studies of the western Brooks Range performed under contract to the U.S. Bureau of Mines, Contract #JO155089: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 103-78, 529 p., 11 sheets.

  • Deposit

    Dillon, J.T., Pessel, G.H., Chen, J.H., and Veach, N.C., 1979, Tectonic and economic significance of late Devonian and late Proterozoic U-Pb zircon ages from Brooks Range, Alaska: in Short Notes on Alaskan Geology, 1978: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Geologic Report 61, p. 36-41.

  • Deposit

    Grybeck, D.J., and Nokleberg, W.J., 1979, Metallogeny of the Brooks Range, Alaska, in Johnson, K.M., and Williams, J.R., Jr., The United States Geological Survey in Alaska: Accomplishments during 1978: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 804-B, p. B19-B22.

  • Deposit

    Hitzman, M.W., Profett, J.M., Jr., Schmidt, J.M., and Smith, T.E., 1986, Geology and mineralization of the Ambler district, northwestern Alaska: Economic Geology, v. 81, p. 1592-1618.

  • Deposit

    Mayfield, C.F. and Grybeck, D., 1978, Mineral occurrences and resource map of the Ambler river quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-120I, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Schmidt, J.M., 1988, Mineral and whole-rock compositions of seawater-dominated hydrothermal alteration at the Arctic volcanogenic massive sulfide prospect, Alaska: Economic Geology, v. 83, p. 822-842.

  • Deposit

    Schmidt, J.M., 1983, Geology and geochemistry of the Arctic prospect, Ambler district, Alaska: Stanford, Stanford University, Ph.D. dissertation, 253 p.

  • Deposit

    Schmidt, J.M., 1986, Stratigraphic setting and mineralogy of the Arctic volcanogenic massive sulfide prospect, Ambler District, Alaska: Economic Geology and the Bulletin of the Society of Economic Geologists, vol.81, no.7, pp.1619-1643.

  • Deposit

    Schmidt, J.M., 1981, Volcanogenic massive sulfide deposition in a rifted continental margin--The Arctic Camp deposit, southwestern Brooks Range, Alaska [abs.]: Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Program with Abstracts, v. 13, no. 7, p. 548.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Hitzman and others, 1986

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Kuroko
Deposit Other Comments = Artic is one of several volcanogenic deposits in the Ambler schist belt along the south flank of the Brooks Range. The deposits may be part of a rifted continental margin (Schmidt, 1981, p. 548).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 29-APR-1997 K.R. Leonard U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 29-APR-1997 R.L. Elliott U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 29-APR-1997 J.M. Schmidt U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 29-APR-1997 S.W. Nelson U.S. Geological Survey