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Chichagoff Gold Mine

Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Lead
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Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10002356
MRDS ID A013274
Record type Site
Current site name Chichagoff Gold Mine
Alternate or previous names Chichagoff Mining Co.: 29 Patented Claims
Related records 10282800

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -136.09869, 57.6636 (WGS84)
Elevation 18
Relative position 0.85 MI SE OF SUMMIT OF DOOLTH MTN., ON W SHORE OF KLAG BAY
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Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Comments on the location information

  • USGS B 929, PLATE 1; USGS MF-1476-B, LOC. 15, USGS MF-467, LOC. 33. LOCATION IS AT PORTAL OF MAIN LEVEL. LAND STATUS VALUE CALCULATED 6-94 USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS WITH BLM 1:2,500,000 SCALE OWNERSHIP STATUS MAP (1991).

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Secondary
Lead Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • ASSAY DATA FROM USGS B 929, P. 89-90, AND USGS MF-1476-B, P. 5.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Silver Ore
Pyrite Gangue

Analytical data

Result ASSAYS OF QUARTZ UP TO 6 OZ/TON AU, AVERAGE GRADE OF ORE 1.16 OZ/TON AU, 0.344 OZ/TON AG

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Siltstone
    Rock unit name Sitka Graywacke;
    Rock description Sitka Graywacke;

Nearby scientific data

(1) -136.09869, 57.6636
ListMap

Geologic structures

Type Description Terms
Regional Chichagof Fault Trends N 40 Degrees W, Dips 70 Degrees Sw
Local Graywacke Bedding Strikes N 58 Degrees W, Dips 68 Degrees Sw

Ore body information

  • General form LENS
    Strike N 40 DEGREES W
    Dip 70 DEGREES SW
    Thickness 1310.64M
    Width 4.57M
    Length 1463.04M

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1905
Discoverer John Newell, Ralph Young
Year of first production 1906

Mining district

District name Chichagof

Land status

Ownership category National Forest

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Queenstake Resources
    First year 1986
  • Type Owner
    Owner Queenstake Resources; Ventures Trident Ltd.
    First year 1986

Comments on the production information

  • G9, G10: TOTALS FOR AG AND AU, AG ORE ARE INCOMPLETE, PROBABLY MORE. AVERAGE MILL PLATE RECOVERY: 1.067 OZ/TON AU, 0.225 OZ/TON AG.

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1982
    Total resources 36,000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 0.25 g/mt Gold Major 1982
    Silver Ag 0.08 g/mt Silver Minor 1982
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1982
    Total resources 209,000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 0.3 g/mt Gold Major 1982
    Silver Ag 0.09 g/mt Silver Minor 1982

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • USGS MF-1476-B, P. 5
  • E1, E2: INFERRED MARGINAL RESERVES HAVING MINING WIDTH RANGING FROM 3-15 FT-EL: BIG CROPPINGS AREA OF CHICHAGOF FAULT; E2: UNMINED AREA

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Overall depth 1310.64M
    Overall length 1520.04M
    Overall width 701.04M

Comments on the workings information

  • MAIN LEVEL AT 60 FT. EL. CONSISTS OF CROSSCUT FOR 440 FT, THEN DRIFT ALONG CHICHAGOF FAULT FOR 4,987 FT. FROM PORTAL. FOUR TUNNELS ABOVE MAIN LEVEL, GOLDEN GATE NOS. 1-4, WITH LONG RAISE FROM MAIN LEVEL TO GOLDEN GATE NO. 4. 21 LEVELS DOWN TO 2,200 FT. BELOW MAIN LEVEL ARE REACHED BY SHAFTS NOS. 1-6. MINE HAS TWO MILLS, GOLDEN GATE AND CHICHAGOF, WITH AERIAL TRAMWAY TO GOLDEN GATE MILL (TRAMWAY AND MILL WERE IN DISREPAIR AS OF 1938). CHICHAGOF MILL HAD 4 5-STAMP BATTERIES, AND HANDLED 60-70 TONS/DAY OF ORE IN 1938. A HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANT ON SISTER LAKE, 4.5 MI. AWAY, PROVIDES POWER FOR BOTH CHICHAGOFF AND HIRST-CHICHAGOF MINES. AS OF 1982, ALL UNDERGROUND WORKINGS WERE INACCESSABLE, BUT BEGINNING IN 1983 QUEENSTAKE RESOURCES BEGAN REDEVELOPMENT AND EXPLORATION OF WORKINGS, OPENING GOLDEN GATE NO. 1 IN 1983-84 FOR EXPLORATION DRIFT ON VEIN, AND REOPENING ADDITIONAL 1,500 FT. OF MAIN LEVEL DRIFT FOR DRILL-TESTING IN 1986.

Comments on development

  • GOLD FOUND IN FLOAT IN 1905, AND CHICHAGOFF GOLD MINING CO. FORMED. CHICHAGOF ORE SHOOT DISCOVERED 1906, AND TUNNEL STARTED. GOLDEN GATE PROPERTY DISCOVERED IN 1906 AND TUNNEL AND MILL STARTED; PROPERTY TAKEN OVER BY CHICHAGOFF MINING CO. IN 1911. MINE PRODUCED EVERY YEAR FROM 1905-1942, WHEN HALTED BY WORLD WAR II. QUEENSTAKE RESOURCES BEGAN SURFACE AND UNDERGROUND EXPLORATION INCLUDING 400 FT. OF DIAMOND DRILLING, 950 FT. OF SURFACE TRENCHING, AND REOPENING UNDERGROUND WORKINGS. QUEENSTAKE AND IT'S PARTNER, VENTURES TRIDENT LTD. PARTNERSHIP, PURCHASED NEARBY HIRST-CHICHAGOF MINE IN 1986.

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency Database name Acronym Record ID Notes
USGS Mineral Resources Data System MRDS A013274

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    USGS B 929, P. 65-70, 86-101, PLATES 15, 16, 17, 1, 3 (1941)

  • Deposit

    USGS MF-1476-B, LOC. 15, P. 5 (1982)

  • Deposit

    USGS OF 78-450, P. 28-31 (1978)

  • Deposit

    THE NORTHERN MINER, 1985, V. 71, NO. 25, P. 20

  • Deposit

    THE NORTHERN MINER, 1986, V. 72, NO. 1, P. 12

  • Other Database

    BAG-B-929-PL-1

  • Production

    D1-G10: USGS B 929, P. 89-90, TABLES 1, 2; ALSO USGS OF 78-450, P. 28. G11-G13: USGS MF-1476-B, P. 5

  • Reserve-Resource

    USGS MF-1476-B, P. 5

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit CHICHAGOF FAULT TRENDS N 40 DEGREES W, DIPS 70 DEGREES SW IN SHALY TO MASSIVE GRAYWACKE, WITH MANY SPLITS DIVERGING OFF FAULT BOTH WITH AND AGAINST BEDDING OF GRAYWACKE (STRIKE N 58 DEGREES W, DIP 68 DEGREES SW). FAULT CONTAINS LARGE WARP. FIVE MAIN ORE SHOOTS EXIST: CHICHAGOF, GOLDEN-GATE, TEMBLY, RUST, AND TEMBLY-RUST. ORE SHOOTS OCCUPY CHICHAGOF FAULT ZONE AND SPLITS, WITH GENERAL SE PLUNGE OF 70 DEGREES, WIDTHS 2-8 FT., WITH MAXIMUM WIDTH 15 FT.. ORE SHOOTS ARE LENTICULAR QUARTZ BODIES THAT PINCH AND SWELL ALONG STRIKE OF FAULT AND DOWN DIP, WITH REMARKABLE COINCIDENCE BETWEEN ELONGATION OF SHOOTS AND DIRECTION AND PITCH OF INTERSECTIONS OF MAIN FAULT AND BEDDING PLANES. ONLY CHICHAGOF AND GOLDEN GATE ORE SHOOTS REACH SURFACE. ORE SHOOTS COMPOSED OF GANGUE OF BANDED OR RIBBON QUARTZ WITH PYRITE, ARSENOPYRITE, GALENA, AND FREE GOLD, WITH MASSIVE WHITE QUARTZ AND CALCITE ALSO PRESENT AS GANGUE MINERALS.
Deposit SPELLING OF SITE NAME VARIES. THE MINE AND COMPANY ARE SPELLED CHICHAGOFF, BUT THE FAULT AND ORE SHOOT ARE SPELLED CHICHAGOF, AS IS THE TOWN. AS OF 1986, QUEENSTAKE RESOURCES WAS CONSIDERING CONNECTING CHICHAGOFF AND HIRST-CHICHAGOF MINES, SINCE MAIN LEVELS ARE ONLY 3,600 FT. APART. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1987 Leonard, Kenneth R. (Huber, Donald F.) U.S. Geological Survey
Editor 14-SEP-1994 Waller, Nichelle (Mosier, Dan) U.S. Geological Survey PARSED OUT HOST ROCK AND ASSOCIATED ROCK TYPES, AGES, UNIT NAMES, AND UNIT AGES.