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Unnamed (near Desolation Glacier)

Occurrence in Alaska, United States with commodities Copper, Nickel, Gold, Titanium
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Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10002238
MRDS ID A013140
Record type Site
Current site name Unnamed (near Desolation Glacier)
Related records 10210001

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -137.57214, 58.77971 (WGS84)
Relative position The occurrence is on the north side of Desolation Glacier about 1.5 miles above its foot and between 3000 and 4000 feet elevation. The location is accurate within about 0.25 mile; it is approximately the same as number 17 of Kimball and others (1978).
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Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Nickel Primary
Gold Secondary
Titanium Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Ilmenite Ore
Pentlandite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss

Nearby scientific data

(1) -137.57214, 58.77971
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Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Disseminated pyrrhotite, pyrite, chalcopyrite occur in a 'gabbro diabase' dike with average width of 5-6 ft that is exposed for 200 feet . The rock also contains a reported 2-5 percent titanium and probably contains ilmenite. An average grade reported is 0.59 percent nickel, 0.62 percent copper, and 0.010 ounce per ton in gold (Mark-Anthony, 1977). Based on the content of nickel, pentlandite is probably present . ? the dike cuts the hornblende schist and gneiss unit of Brew and others (1978). Based on the mid-Tertiary age of the nickel-bearing layered mafic intrusions of the Fairweather Range (Goldfarb, 1997), the mafic dike probably is also Tertiary. Brew and others (1978) considered the pre-metamorphic age of the schist host rocks as possibly Precambrian; Berg and others (1972) interpreted it as Mesozoic.
  • Age = Tertiary.

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Occurrence
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Yakutat

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Average value from surface exposures was reported to be 0.59 percent nickel, 0.62 percent copper, and 0.01 ounce per ton gold; titanium ranged from 2-5 percent (Mark-Anthony, 1977, cited by Kimball and others, 1978, p. C124). The occurrence was found by private prospectors.

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency Database name Acronym Record ID Notes
USGS Mineral Resources Data System MRDS A013140
USGS Alaska Resource Data File ARDF MF015

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Mark-Anthony, Leo, 1977, Maps and notes on investigations in Glacier Bay, 1958-1960. (Unpublished material available at U.S. Bureau of Land Management library, Juneau, Alaska).

  • Deposit

    Berg, H.C., Jones, D. L., and Richter, D. H., 1972, Gravina-Nutzotin Belt-tectonic significance of an Upper Mesozoic sedimentary and volcanic sequence in southern and southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 800-D, p. D1-D24.

  • Deposit

    Brew, D.A., Johnson, B.R., Grybeck, D., Griscom, A., Barnes, D.F., Kimball, A.L., Still, J.C., and Rataj, J.L., 1978, Mineral resources of the Glacier Bay National Monument Wilderness Study Area, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-494, 670 p.

  • Deposit

    Kimball, A.L., Still, J.C., and Rataj, J.L., 1978, Mineral resources, in Brew, D. A., and others, Mineral resources of the Glacier Bay National Monument wilderness study area, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-494, p. C1-C375.

  • Deposit

    Goldfarb, R J., 1997, Metallogenic evolution of Alaska: Economic Geology Monograph 9, p. 4-34.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Mark-Anthony, 1977; Kimball and others, 1978

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Mineralized mafic dike probably affiliated with layered gabbro intrusions.
Deposit Other Comments = Small deposit, but worthy of additional followup because of its grade. It was not found by the Bureau of Mines investigators in 1977 (Kimball and others, 1978, p. C124) during stormy weather.? the occurrence is in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 06-APR-99 Hawley, C.C. Hawley Resource Group