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Goldbottom Creek

Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Tin
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Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10002037
MRDS ID A012885
Record type Site
Current site name Goldbottom Creek

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -165.42857, 64.74957 (WGS84)
Relative position Goldbottom Creek is the main drainage on the southwest side of Mount Distin. It has been placer mined for gold upstream from its confluence with Steep Creek and into section 31, T. 8 S., R 33 W., Kateel River Meridian. Goldbottom Creek, including Steep Creek, is locality 85 of Cobb (1972 [MF 463], 1978 [OFR 78-93]).
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Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Tin Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Cassiterite Ore
Gold Ore

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 119
USGS model code 39a
BC deposit profile C01. C02
Deposit model name Placer Au-PGE
Mark3 model number 54

Nearby scientific data

(1) -165.42857, 64.74957
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Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Goldbottom Creek was placer mined for gold at least as early as 1900 (Brooks and others, 1901). Moffit (1913, p. 87) reported that hand mining and a small hydraulic plant operated in the upper part of the creek in 1905. Moffit (1913) also reported stream tin (cassiterite) at several places in the creek. Goldbottom Creek was later worked by small-scale mechanical methods. Mining perhaps was in conjunction with small-scale mechanical mining on Silver Creek (NM094) and Steep Creek (NM093). Silver Creek and Steep Creek, also Grouse Creek (NM099), are eastern tributaries of Goldbottom Creek. Production on Goldbottom Creek is unknown, but was fairly small. Some small-scale mining and prospecting have been carried out in recent years.? Goldbottom Creek drains the basal contact of the massive marble unit mapped by Hummel (1962 [MF 248]) and Bundtzen and others (1994). One of the compilers (C.C. Hawley) mapped this section of Goldbottom Creek at 1inch to 1,000 feet in 1995 and identified several possible structures that could source gold above the head of placer pay. About 1,000 feet above the head of the placer deposit, Goldbottom Creek enters a canyon, and flood-plain gravels are too thin and narrow to be exploited except on a very small scale. Approximately 6,000 feet above the placer, the creek crosses the lower contact of massive marble and is in this unit for about 2,000 feet. In this reach of the canyon, the marble is highly dolomitized and cut by small quartz veinlets. The marble is in a synclinal structure, and the basal contact is cut again by Goldbottom Creek in its northern headwaters. About 3000 feet above the upper basal marble contact, Goldbottom Creek crosses part of the Penny River fault system that hosts the California prospect (NM062). The possible sources of placer gold in Goldbottom Creek include the complexly veined dolomite unit, the sheared basal contact zone of massive marble, and veins associated with the Penny River fault system. Moffit (1913) reported granitic boulders in Goldbottom Creek gravels, so some gold may have been derived from reworking of glacial deposits derived from the Kigluaik Mountains.
  • Age = Quaternary.

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Active?

Mining district

District name Nome

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Hand and small-scale mechanical placer mining started as early as 1900 and may still be active on Goldbottom Creek.

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency Database name Acronym Record ID Notes
USGS Mineral Resources Data System MRDS A012885
USGS Alaska Resource Data File ARDF NM095

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Brooks, A.H., Richardson, G. B., and Collier, A. J., 1901, Reconnaissance in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 1900: U.S. Geological Survey Special Publication, p. 1-180.

  • Deposit

    Moffit, F.H., 1913, Geology of the Nome and Grand Central quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 533, 140 p.

  • Deposit

    Hummel, C.L., 1962, Preliminary geologic map of the Nome D-1 quadrangle, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-248, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Nome quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-463, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Nome quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File report 78-93, 213 p.

  • Deposit

    Bundtzen, T.K., Reger, R.D., Laird, G.M., Pinney, D.S., Clautice, K.H., Liss, S.A., and Cruse, G.R., 1994, Progress report on the geology and mineral resources of the Nome mining district: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, Public Data-File 94-39, 21 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:63,360.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = This report

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).
Deposit Other Comments = See also Silver Creek (NM094), Steep Creek (NM093) and Grouse Creek (NM099).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 22-OCT-99 Hawley, C.C. Hawley Resource Group
Reporter 22-OCT-99 Travis L. Hudson Hawley Resource Group