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St. Paul

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

Identification information

Deposit ID 10002804
MRDS ID A015273
Record type Site
Current site name St. Paul
Alternate or previous names McCann, Thomas, Mickley, and Hagel

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -148.01989, 64.86772 (WGS84)
Relative position The Saint (St.) Paul mine is located in the SE1/4 sec. 31, T. 1 N., R. 2 W., Fairbanks Meridian. This mine is on the west fork of Eva Creek, about 1.3 miles southeast of the top of Ester Dome. The coordinates given are for the mill and lower tunnel that are at an elevation of 1,150 feet. The upper tunnel and surface workings are at an elevation of about 1,500 feet. This is locality 15 of Cobb (1972 [MF 410]).
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Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Antimony Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Arsenopyrite Ore
Gold Ore
Pyrite Ore
Stibnite Ore

Alteration

  • (Local) The quartz and the schist country rock is decayed, shattered, and iron-stained and stibnite and its alteration products are found along the footwall of th evein (Mertie, 1917).

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Quartzite
    Rock unit name Birch Creek Schist;Birch Creek Schist
    Rock description Birch Creek Schist;Birch Creek Schist

Nearby scientific data

(1) -148.01989, 64.86772
ListMap

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = An auriferous vein of massive, vitreous quartz, about 3 feet thick, strikes N. 40 E. and dips 38 NW. (Mertie, 1917, p. 409-410). The quartz and the schist country rock are decayed, shattered, and iron-stained. Stibnite and its alteration products are found along the footwall; the gold content is lower where stibnite is present. The mine and a mill with a capacity of 20 tons per day operated throughout 1917 (Chapin, 1919, p. 323). In 1918, 150 feet of tunnel was driven. However, none of the ore was milled; the the mill operated on ore from the Billy Sunday and Mohawk mines (FB064 and FB061, respectively) (Martin, 1920, p. 40). A little mining also took place in 1919 (Brooks and Martin, 1921, p. 81). By 1931, the lower tunnel near the mill was about 300 feet long and trended north-northeast (Hill, 1933, p. 129). Material on the dump consisted entirely of quartz-mica schist. The upper tunnel, caved by 1931, was about a quarter of a mile north of the lower tunnel, and was driven 250 feet on a vein that ranged in thickness from 3 to 4 feet. The vein above the tunnel has a dip of 45 W., but it steepens to 70 degrees in a winze below the tunnel. All the ore above the tunnel level for its full length had been stoped; it produced about 1,000 tons of ore with an average value of $30 in gold per ton (about 1.45 ounces of gold per ton). The dump from the upper tunnel is composed largely of iron-stained biotite schist with a considerable amount of clay gouge and quartz. There were also some large pieces of stibnite-arsenopyrite-quartz ore and a few pieces of high-grade gold quartz. A grab sample from crushed material on this dump that presumably came from the vein assayed 72 cents in gold per ton (about 0.03 ounce of gold per ton (Hill, 1933, p. 129). Glover (1950) reported that the gold is 806 fine.

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Fairbanks

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = A mine operated thoughout 1917, and the ore was processed in a mill with a capacity of 20 tons per day (Chapin, 1919, p. 323). In 1918, one hundred fifty feet of tunnel was driven, but none of the ore was milled; the mill operated on ore from the Billy Sunday and Mohawk mines (FB064 and FB061, respectively) (Martin, 1920, p. 40). A little mining also took place in 1919 (Brooks and Martin, 1921, p. 81). By 1931, all the ore above the lower tunnel level, for its full length, had been stoped; it produced about 1,000 tons of ore with an average value of $30 in gold per ton (about 1.45 ounces of gold per ton) (Hill, 1933, p. 129).

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • Reserves = In February, 2000, Silverado Gold Mines, Ltd., reported that the property contained a resource of 359,992 ounces of gold: 16,338 ounces proven, 81,354 ounces probable, and 262,300 ounces possible (Silverado Gold Mines, Ltd., Ester Dome project web site, February 17, 2000; http://www.silverado.com).

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = A mine and a mill with a capacity of 20 tons per day operated in 1917 (Chapin, 1919, p. 323). In 1918, 150 feet of tunnel was driven. None of the ore was milled and the operated on ore from the Billy Sunday and Mohawk mines (Martin, 1920, p. 40). A little mining also took place in 1919 (Brooks and Martin, 1921, p. 81). By 1931, the lower tunnel near the mill was about 300 feet long and trended north-northeast (Hill, 1933, p. 129). The upper tunnel, caved by 1931, was about a quarter of a mile north of the lower tunnel, and was driven 250 feet on a vein that ranged in thickness from 3 to 4 feet. In 1997, Silverado Gold Mines, Ltd., drilled and trenched the St. Paul zone (Swainbank and Clautice, 1998, p. 8).

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency Database name Acronym Record ID Notes
USGS Mineral Resources Data System MRDS A015273
USGS Alaska Resource Data File ARDF FB036

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Mertie, J.B. Jr., 1917, Lode mining in the Fairbanks District, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 662-H, p. 403-424.

  • Deposit

    Chapin, Theodore, 1919, Mining in the Fairbanks district: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 692-F, p. 321-327.

  • Deposit

    Martin, G.C., 1920, The Alaska mining industry in 1918: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 712-A, p. 1-52.

  • Deposit

    Brooks, A.H., and Martin, G. C. 1921, The Alaska mining industry in 1919: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 714, p. 59-95.

  • Deposit

    Hill, J.M., 1933, Lode deposits of the Fairbanks District, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 849-B, p. 29-163.

  • Deposit

    Glover, A.E., 1950, Placer gold fineness: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 195-1, 38 p.

  • Deposit

    Killeen, P.L., and Mertie, J.B., 1951, Antimony ore in the Fairbanks District, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 51-46, 43 p.

  • Deposit

    Chapman, R.M., and Foster, R.L., 1969, Lode mines and prospects in the Fairbanks district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 625-D, 25 p., 1 plate.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-410, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-662, 174 p.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Hill, 1933

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Schist-hosted gold-quartz vein

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 31-JUL-2001 J.R. Guidetti Schaefer Avalon Development Corporation
Reporter 31-JUL-2001 C.J. Freeman Avalon Development Corporation