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Red Devil Mercury Mine

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

Identification information

Deposit ID 10101003
MRDS ID A013443
Record type Site
Current site name Red Devil Mercury Mine
Alternate or previous names 9 Unpatented Claims: Kusko No. 1-5, Red Devil Nos. 1-4

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -157.31646, 61.76022 (WGS84)
Elevation 95
Relative position ON N SIDE OF RED DEVIL CREEK 1,000 FT. SW OF KUSKOKWIM RIVER AT RED DEVIL.
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Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Comments on the location information

  • USGS B 1142-G, PLATE 2; USGS P 268, PLATE 4; USGS MF-368, LOC. 11. LOCATION IS AT ENTRANCE TO MAIN SHAFT. ORE BODIES AND WORKINGS EXTEND 1,000 FT. NW. LAND STATUS VALUE CALCULATED 6-94 USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS WITH BLM 1:2,500,000 SCALE OWNERSHIP STATUS MAP (1991).

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Mercury Primary
Antimony Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • SB NOT CONSIDERED COMMODITY UNTIL 1969-71, WHEN FLOTATION CONCENTRATES WERE SHIPPED TO JAPAN

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Cinnabar Ore
Stibnite Ore
Orpiment Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Realgar Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Dikes Altered To Silica-Carbonate Rock By Hydrothermal Alteration.

Analytical data

Result UP TO 30% HG, AVERAGE GRADE 2-5% HG (USGS B 1142-G, P. G11). UP TO 110.4 LB/TON HG, 15.10% SB (USBM RI 4065, P. 11, TABLE 2, SAMPLE NO. 69).

Host and associated rocks

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

Nearby scientific data

(1) -157.31646, 61.76022
ListMap

Geologic structures

Type Description Terms
Regional Deposit On Sw Limb Of Sleetmute Anticline.
Local Bedding Strikes N 10 Degrees-60 Degrees W, Dips 45 Degrees-60 Degrees Sw; Dikes Strike N 50 Degrees-75 Degrees E, Dip 40 Degrees-65 Degrees Se

Ore body information

  • General form PINCH AND SWELL, OTHER: PRISMATIC
    Thickness 192.94M
    Plunge 40 DEGREES
    Depth to bottom 192.94M
    Width 182.88M
    Length 457.2M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Ore Localized In Dike-Fault Intersections Plunging 40 Degrees S

Comments on the geologic information

  • RIGHT-LATERAL DISPLACEMENT ON NW-TRENDING FAULTS IS UP TO 40 FT., WITH CUMULATIVE OFFSET OF SEVERAL HUNDRED FT.. ORE MINERAL SOLUTIONS INTRODUCED NEAR END OF FAULTING. FAULTS RAKE 0-50 DEGREES NW.

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1933
Discoverer Hans Halverson
Year of first production 1933
Year of last production 1971

Comments on the production information

  • SB NOT PRODUCED AS COMMODITY UNTIL 1969-71, WHEN ORE CONCENTRATES WERE SHIPPED TO JAPAN.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Length 2926.08M
    Overall depth 192.94M
    Overall length 457.2M
    Overall width 182.88M

Comments on the workings information

  • UNDERGROUND WORKINGS CONSISTED OF 9,600 FT. OF SHAFTS, ADITS, CROSSCUTS, DRIFTS, WINZES, AND RAISES. MAIN SHAFT INCLINED 63 DEGREES FOR 507 FT. DOWNSLOPE AND 143 FT. VERTICALLY. 5 MAIN LEVELS CONNECTED WITH MAIN SHAFT. MINE ALSO EQUIPPED WITH AIRFIELD, RETORT, POWER, AND FLOTATION PLANTS WITH 100 TON/DAY ORE CAPACITY.

Comments on development

  • CLAIMS STAKED BY HANS HALVERSON IN 1933. EARLY OPERATIONS MINED CREEK BED FLOAT BY GROUND SLUICING, 95 FT. TUNNEL AND CROSSCUT DRIVEN IN 1939. JOHNSON-MCKAY RETORT TUBES USED. TWO "D" RETORT TUBES INSTALLED IN 1940. MINING, TUNNELING, AND PRODUCTION FROM 1940-46, WHEN MINE WAS SHUT DOWN DUE TO LOW MERCURY PRICES. DECOURSEY MOUNTAIN MINING CO. ACQUIRED LEASE IN 1952, RESUMED PRODUCTION IN 1953. DECOURSEY MOUNTAIN MINING CO. CHANGED NAME TO ALASKA MINES AND MINERALS, INC. IN 1959. PRODUCTION CONTINUED FROM 1953 UNTIL ORE MINED OUT IN 1964. PRODUCTION RESUMED IN 1969 BY BOTH OPEN PIT AND UNDERGROUND METHODS. MINE CLOSED IN 1971 BECAUSE OF LOW MERCURY PRICES.

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency Database name Acronym Record ID Notes
USGS Mineral Resources Data System MRDS A013443

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    USGS B 1142-G (1963)

  • Deposit

    USGS OF 76-606, P. 47-50 (1976)

  • Deposit

    USBM OFR 9-85, P. 166-171, MAP NO. 28 (1985)

  • Deposit

    USBM RI 4065, P. 9-18 (1947)

  • Deposit

    USGS MF-368, LOC. 11 (1972)

  • Deposit

    USGS P 268, P. 108-110, PLATE 4 (1955)

  • Deposit

    ADGGS ALASKA MINES & GEOLOGY, JAN. 1982, VOL. 31, NO. 1, P. 1-4

  • Other Database

    BAG-B-1142-G-PL-2

  • Production

    USBM OFR 9-85, P. 169

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit NUMEROUS DISCRETE ORE BODIES LOCALIZED ALONG AND NEAR INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN NE-TRENDING ALTERED DIKES AND NW-TRENDING FAULTS OFFSETTING DIKES AND PARALLEL TO GRAYWACKE AND ARGILLITE COUNTRY ROCK. MOST ORE BODIES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH MAIN DIKE NEAR MAIN SHAFT. DOLLY AND RICE SERIES, SE OF DOLLY SHAFT (1,082 FT. NW OF MAIN SHAFT), CONSIST OF AT LEAST 12 ORE BODIES ALONG NORTHERNMOST DIKE. ORE BODIES ARE CRUDELY PRISMATIC AND UP TO 2 FT. THICK AND 30 FT. STRIKE LENGTH, AND ELONGATED SEVERAL HUNDRED FT. IN PLUNGE DIRECTION. LONGEST VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL EXTENTS OF DOLLY SERIES ARE AT LEAST 633 FT. AND 906 FT.. SOME PINCHING AND SWELLING OF ORE BODIES. ORE BODIES AND DIKE-FAULT INTERSECTIONS PLUNGE 40 DEGREES S. ORE ZONE IS AT LEAST 600 FT. WIDE, 1,500 FT. LONG AND 600 FT. DEEP. SOME ORE BODIES PERSIST BEYOND DEPTHS OF EXPLORATION. ORE BODIES COMPOSED OF CINNABAR AND STIBNITE, WITH SECONDARY ANTIMONY MINERALS, REALGAR, ORPIMENT, AND MINOR AMOUNTS OF IRON MINERALS IN
Deposit QUARTZ-CARBONATE-CLAY GANGUE. ORE BODIES CONSIST OF CLOSELY SPACED CINNABAR-BEARING VEINLETS GRADING OUTWARD TO WIDELY SPACED VEINLETS FORMING PROTORE CONTAINING LESS THAN 1% HG, AND DISTALLY INTO PERIPHERAL ZONE OF BARREN VEINLETS AND CLAY ALTERATION. CINNABAR-BEARING HALO EXTENDS 50 FT. OUT FROM ORE BODIES. SOME VEINLETS CONTAIN NUMEROUS VUGS.
Deposit UNDERGROUND WORKINGS FLOODED AS OF 1981. MINE WAS "WET" AND REQUIRED CONTINUOUS PUMPING TO AVOID FLOODING. MOST HIGH-GRADE ORE HAS BEEN MINED OUT. WHILE PRODUCING, IT WAS THE LARGEST MERCURY MINE IN ALASKA ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-1987 Niles, L.P. (Huber, D.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.