Peterson

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

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10001581
MRDS ID A012335
Record type Site
Current site name Peterson
Alternate or previous names Surprise
Related records 10112740

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -131.47566, 55.36474 (WGS84)
Relative position The Peterson prospect is just above sea level on the west shore of George Inlet, about 1.15 miles south of the mouth of Beaver Falls Creek. The site is in section 17, T. 75 S., R. 92 E., of the Copper River Meridian. It corresponds to loc. 80 in Elliott and others (1978), and to loc. 296 in Maas and others (1995). The location is accurate within a few hundred feet. Some early reports apparently refer to this property as the Surprise prospect (Cobb and Elliott, 1980, p. 84).
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Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

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

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Pyrite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Calcite Gangue
Graphite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Pyrite is sparsely disseminated in the schist wallrock adjacent to the vein.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 85
USGS model code 22c
Deposit model name Polymetallic veins
Mark3 model number 46

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist

Nearby scientific data

(1) -131.47566, 55.36474

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The country rocks in this part of Revillagigedo Island are marine, pelitic phyllite and schist that are intruded by Cretaceous stocks, sills, and dikes of feldspar-porphyritic granodiorite, and by a stock and probably related plugs of Tertiary gabbro (Berg and others, 1988). The strata and some of the granodiorite were regionally metamorphosed to greenschist grade in Late Cretaceous time. These regionally metamorphosed rocks subsequently were locally contact metamorphosed to hornblende hornfels near the contacts of Cretaceous granodiorite plutons that were emplaced after the regional metamorphism, and then more widely remetamorposed to hornblende hornfels near the contacts of the Tertiary gabbro. The premetamorphic age range of the pelitic strata is uncertain. Berg and others (1988) assign them a Mesozoic or (Late) Paleozoic age; Brew and Ford (1998) and Crawford and others (in press) assign them to the Gravina belt, of Late Jurassic or Cretaceous age.? Wright and Wright (1908, p. 150) described the principal Peterson deposit as a fault-gouge-bounded, sulfide-bearing, quartz-calcite-graphite fissure vein that averages 15 feet wide and has been traced along strike for 1000 feet. The vein strikes NW, parallel to the foliation of pelitic schist host rock, and dips steeply NE to vertical, which intersects the SW dip of the foliation. The sulfide minerals in the vein are pyrite, galena, sphalerite, and pyrrhotite, along with reported values of Au and Ag. Pyrite is also sparsely disseminated in the wallrocks adjacent to the vein.? the Peterson deposit was discovered in 1908 and explored by 3 short adits in 1913. There has been no additional mining-related work since then (Maas and others, 1995, p. 202). In 1995, the patented property was on the site of the George Inlet Lodge. Samples of a shear zone exposed in an adit showed low metal values (Maas and others, 1995, p. 209). A sample of massive pyrrhotite collected from the creek adjacent to this adit contained 6.2 ppm Ag, 1066 ppm Cu, 2469 ppm Zn, and 246 ppm Ni.
  • Age = Probably Late Cretaceous or younger.

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect
Commodity type Metallic

Mining district

District name Ketchikan

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = The Peterson deposit was discovered in 1908 and explored by 3 short adits in 1913. There has been no additional mining-related work since then (Maas and others, 1995, p. 202). In 1995, the patented property was on the site of the George Inlet Lodge. Samples of a shear zone exposed in an adit showed low metal values (Maas and others, 1995, p. 209). A sample of massive pyrrhotite collected from the creek adjacent to this adit contained 6.2 ppm Ag, 1066 ppm Cu, 2469 ppm Zn, and 246 ppm Ni.

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency Database name Acronym Record ID Notes
USGS Mineral Resources Data System MRDS A012335
USGS Alaska Resource Data File ARDF KC083

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Wright, F.E., and Wright, C.W., 1908, The Ketchikan and Wrangell mining districts, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 347, 210 p.

  • Deposit

    Elliott, R.L., Berg, H.C., and Karl, Susan, 1978, map and table describing metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous mineral deposits, Ketchikan and Prince Rupert quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-file Report, 78-73-B,17 p., scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Berg, H.C., Elliott, R.L., and Koch, R.D., 1988, Geologic map of the Ketchikan and Prince Rupert quadrangles, southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Investigations Series Map MF-1807,27 p., scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Maas, K.M., Bittenbender, P E., and Still, J.C., 1995, Mineral investigations in the Ketchikan mining district, southeastern Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 11-95, 606 p.

  • Deposit

    Brew, D.A., and Ford, A.B., 1998, The Coast Mountains structural zones in southeastern Alaska--descriptions, relations, and lithotectonic significance, in Gray, J.E., and Riehle, J.R., eds., The U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska--geological studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1996: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1595, p. 183-192.

  • Deposit

    Crawford, M.L., Crawford, W.A., and Gehrels, G.E., 2000, Terrane assembly and structural relationships in the eastern Prince Rupert quadrangle, British Columbia, in H.H. Stowell and W.C.McClelland, eds., Tectonics of the Coast Mountains, southeastern Alaska and British Columbia: Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America Special Paper 343, p. 1-21.?

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Wright and Wright, 1908; Maas and others, 1995

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Polymetallic veins (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 22c)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 03-JUL-1999 H.C. Berg U.S. Geological Survey