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Cliff Mine

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

Identification information

Deposit ID 10100959
MRDS ID A011459
Record type Site
Current site name Cliff Mine
Related records 10282462

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -146.56589, 61.12209 (WGS84)
Relative position ON N SHORE OF PORT VALDEZ ABOUT 7 MI W OF VALDEZ, AK
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Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
009S 008W 01 Alaska

Comments on the location information

  • LOCATION GIVEN AS PLOTTED ON THE VALDEZ A-7 QUADRANGLE. 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
Lead Tertiary
Zinc Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • SULFIDES PRESENT ARE PYRITE, ARSENOPYRITE, GALENA AND SPHALERITE; SULFIDES MAKE UP 3 TO 5% OF ORE

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Albite Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Oxidation Is Evident To 100 Ft, Distinct Over Approximately 50 Ft

Analytical data

Result ESTIMATED GRADE OF ABOUT 2.4 OZ/TON FROM REPORT OF 50.00 DOLLAR/TONWITH AU AT 20.67/TON, WALL ROCK ASSAYED ABOUT .07 TO 0.29 OZ/TON REPORTED AS 1.5 TO 6.00 DOLLARS/TON
Result IN USGS BULL 443, P. 72-74

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Siltstone
    Rock unit name Valdez Group
    Rock description Valdez Group;Valdez Group

Nearby scientific data

(1) -146.56589, 61.12209
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Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Tightly Compressed E-W Trending Folds, Overturned Towarrd The S. Pluge Gently W

Ore body information

  • General form PINCH AND SWELL
    Strike N 28 W TO N 47 W
    Dip 65 E TO 48 W
    Thickness 2M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Au Bearing Veins Are Localized Along Faults, Fractures And Shear Zones That Are Discordant With Regional Cleavage And A System Of Metamorphic Segregation Veins; The Auriferous Veins Principally Occupy The Axes And Upper Limbs Of Overturned Anticlinal Structures

Comments on the geologic information

  • LODE IS TYPICAL OF THE HIGH-GRADE EPIGENETIC GOLD-QUARTZ VEINS FOUND IN ROCKS OF LOW TO MODERATE METAMORPHIC GRADE WITHIN THE VALDEZ GROUPTURBIDITES. SCHISTOSE GRAYWACKE INTERBEDDED WITH CARBONACEOUS SLATE.

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1906
Discoverer H. E. Ellis
Year of first production 1910
Year of last production 1940

Mining district

District name Port Valdez

Land status

Ownership category State

Comments on the production information

  • LARGEST LODE-GOLD PRODUCER IN THE DISTRICT HISTORICALLY; TOTAL PRODUCTION UNKNOWN, HOWEVER PRODUCTION FOR ENTIRE PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND REGION WAS ONLY 137.600 OZ; USGS PP 610, P. 32

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 2438.4M
    Overall depth 101.19M

Comments on the workings information

  • WORKINGS CONSISTED OF SEVERAL INTERCONNECTING LEVELS, FROM 442 FT ABOVE TO 332 FT BELOW SEA LEVEL; EXTENDED ABOUT 1700 FT HORIZONTALLY; ABOUT 8000 FT OF WORKINGS REPORTED IN 1913, PROBABLY EXTENDED IN LATER YEARS; REPORTED INACESSIBLE IN 1982; LOWER LEVELS SUSCEPTIBLE TO FLOODING

Comments on development

  • STAKED 1906; PRODUCED INTERMITTENTLY FROM 1910 TO 1940; MOST PRODUCTION WAS BEFORE FIRST MINE CLOSING ON JULY 6, 1914; MINE WAS ASSESSED BY WGM, INC., P. O. BOX 59, ANCHORAGE, AK IN 1983

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency Database name Acronym Record ID Notes
USGS Mineral Resources Data System MRDS A011459

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    USGS BULL 443, P. 72-74, 76-77

  • Deposit

    USGS BULL 622, P. 135, 152-153, 156, 170-172

  • Deposit

    USGS BULL 989-E, P. 304-306

  • Deposit

    USGS PP 542-C, P. C30

  • Deposit

    USGS PP 610, P. 31-32

  • Deposit

    USGS OFR 80-892A, B, LOC. 15

  • Deposit

    ADGGS SR 33, P. 12

  • Deposit

    PICKTHORN, WILLIAM JOSEPH, 1982, STABLE ISOTOPE AND FLUID INCLUSION STUDY OF THE PORT VALDEZ GOLD DISTRICT, SOUTHERN ALASKA: LOS ANGELES, CA, UCLA, M. S. THESIS, 66 P.

  • Other Database

    BAG-OFR-80-892B-15

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit AURIFEROUS QUARTZ VEINS CUT ACROSS SCHISTOSITY OF COUNTRY ROCK IN SYSTEM OF INTERLACING FISSURES; GENERALLY A FEW 10'S OF CM BUT UP TO 2MTHICK; QUARTZ SHOWS RIBBON STRUCTURE, PINCH AND SWELL
Deposit ABANDONED INSTALLATION AT THE CLIFF MINE WAS DEMOLISHED BY A SLIDE GENERATED WAVE DURING THE "GOOD FRIDAY" EARTHQUAKE ON MARCH 27, 1964 ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1985 Leonard, Kenneth R. (Elliott, R. L.) U.S. Geological Survey
Editor 14-APR-1994 Mosier, Dan U.S. Geological Survey PARSED OUT HOST ROCK AND ASSOCIATED ROCK TYPES, AGES, UNIT NAMES, AND UNIT AGES.
Editor 14-APR-1995 Waller, Nichelle (Mosier, Dan) U.S. Geological Survey PUT DIMENSION DATA INTO THE ORE BODY FIELDS FROM THE DEPOSIT COMMENTS FIELD.