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Bear Creek Placer Gold Mine

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Mercury
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Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10002484
MRDS ID A013421
Record type Site
Current site name Bear Creek Placer Gold Mine
Related records 10283004

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -159.78311, 61.05322 (WGS84)
Elevation 236
Relative position 7.4 MI. NE OF NYAC, ON BEAR CREEK
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Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Comments on the location information

  • USGS MF-444, LOC. 20. LOCATION IS IN AREA OF TAILINGS SHOWN ON TOPO MAP. 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
Mercury Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • CINNABAR CONSTITUTED LARGE PART OF DREDGE CONCENTRATES BELOW BONANZA CREEK.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Silt
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Holocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Gravel
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Sand and Gravel

Nearby scientific data

(1) -159.78311, 61.05322
ListMap

Comments on the geologic information

  • FINER SEDIMENTS IN FLOODPLAIN DEPOSITS PROBABLY WERE LAID DOWN, AND GOLD RECONCENTRATED, DURING FIRST PERIOD OF DRAINAGE DEVELOPMENT BEFORE BENCH GRAVELS WERE DEPOSITED BY GLACIAL OUTWASH. ; MAJOR.UNITS: BEDROCK IS CRETACEOUS ANDESITIC VOLCANIC AND SEDIMENTARY ROCKS OF KUSKOKWIM GROUP ALTERED TO HORNFELS ALONG CONTACT WITH GRANITIC INTRUSIVES, AND TERTIARY JOINTED GRANITE PLUTON INTRUDED BY DIABASE DIKES. ; REG.COM: SOURCE OF PLACER GOLD IS PROBABLY LOCALLY MINERALIZED BEDROCK FLOOR OF BEAR CREEK ITSELF, SINCE GOLD IS NOT FOUND IN MOST OF IT'S TRIBUTARIES. GOLD WAS CONCENTRATED DURING FIRST PERIOD OF DRAINAGE DEVELOPMENT, AND IS NOT CURRENTLY BEING CONCENTRATED BECAUSE BEDROCK IS BURIED AND NOT BEING ERODED. SOURCE OF PLACER CINNABAR IS UNKNOWN.

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1907
Discoverer William Fisher
Year of first production 1909
Year of last production 1964

Mining district

District name Aniak

Comments on the workings information

  • DEPOSITS WORKED BY HAND METHODS, OPEN CUTS, AND DREDGING. SEVERAL MILES OF DREDGE TAILINGS VISIBLE ON TOPO MAP. ROAD AND ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION LINES PARALLEL BEAR CREEK UP TO BONANZA CREEK.

Comments on development

  • DISCOVERED 1907 OR 1908, MINING BEGAN 1909. FIRST DREDGE INSTALLED IN 1925-26, LAST DREDGE IN AREA SHUT DOWN IN 1964.

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency Database name Acronym Record ID Notes
USGS Mineral Resources Data System MRDS A013421

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    USGS MF-444, LOC. 16 (1972)

  • Deposit

    USGS B 622, P. 300, 303-304, 309-321, 324-325, 327-330 (1915)

  • Deposit

    USGS OF 77-156, P. 56-57 (1977)

  • Deposit

    USGS I-292 (1959)

  • Deposit

    ADGGS SR 39, P. 49, NO. 84 (1986)

  • Other Database

    BAG-MF-444-20

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THIS SITE NAME WAS CREATED BY THE REPORTER OR OTHER USGS EMPLOYEE BASED ON PROXIMITY TO SOME MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC FEATURE.
Deposit PLACER DEPOSIT CONSISTS OF GRAVEL AND SILT IN FORM OF GENTLY SLOPING, ALMOST CONTINUOUS BENCHES EXTENDING ALONG ENTIRE LENGTH OF STREAM (ABOUT 15 MI.) AND THROUGHT LOWER AREA OF CENTRAL BASIN. DEPOSITS ARE ENTRENCHED BY BEAR CREEK AND TRIBUTARIES FROM 10-100 FT. FLOODPLAIN GRAVELS IN STREAMBED OF BEAR CREEK ARE 3-8 FT. DEEP AND 0.25-0.5 MI. WIDE. FLOODPLAIN DEPOSITS CONSIST OF COARSE GRAVELS, COBBLES, AND BOULDERS, SECONDARILY CONCENTRATED FROM BENCH DEPOSITS, IN PRESENT STREAMBED. AWAY FROM PRESENT STREAMBED, FLOODPLAIN DEPOSITS CONSIST OF FINER GRAVEL, SAND, AND SILT NOT RECONCENTRATED BY PRESENT STREAM. MOST PLACER GOLD OCCURS IN FLOODPLAIN GRAVELS NOT WASHED RECENTLY BY PRESENT STREAM AND IN CREVICES OF SHATTERED AND DECOMPOSED BEDROCK ON WHICH GRAVELS REST. MOST GOLD WAS MINED IN PORTION OF BEAR CREEK ABOVE MOUTH OF EAST FORK. BELOW EAST FORK, BENCH GRAVELS HAVE POOR GOLD CONTENT, EXCEPT FOR TRIBUTARY OF TINY GULCH.
Deposit STREAM GRADIENT ABOUT 50 FT/MI. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT
Deposit Discovery Year: 1907-08

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-1987 Niles, L.P. (Huber, D.F.) U.S. Geological Survey