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Bettles River Canyon

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodity Gold
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Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10307337
Record type Site
Current site name Bettles River Canyon

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -149.42333, 67.55971 (WGS84)
Relative position This site is about 1/4 mile below the confluence of Garnet Creek and the Bettles River and represents placer mining activity documented along the Bettles River from just below the mouth of Garnet Creek to the mouth of Mule Creek. The reference point is at the lower end of this activity (secs. 30, 31, T. 32 N., R. 8 W., of the Fairbanks Meridian).
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Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 119
USGS model code 39a
BC deposit profile C01. C02
Deposit model name Placer Au-PGE
Mark3 model number 54

Nearby scientific data

(1) -149.42333, 67.55971
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Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Whereas most of the placer mining along the Bettles River has been on its tributaries, Reed (1938) documented drift mining along the Bettles River from just below Garnet Creek to the mouth of Mule Creek. The depth to bedrock was 14 to 16 feet and the ground apparently ran about $0.50 per square foot of bedrock (1937). The U.S. Bureau of Mines (1973) also showed that there is evidence of placer mining along the Bettles River as far up as the mouth of Mule Creek.
  • Age = Quaternary.

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Not determined

Mining district

District name Koyukuk

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Some drift mining and a few prospect shafts, mostly in the early in the 1900s.

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency Database name Acronym Record ID Notes
USGS Alaska Resource Data File ARDF CH072

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1973, Alaska 1:250,000-scale quadrangle map overlays showing mineral deposit locations, principal minerals, and number and type of claims: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 20-73, 95 overlays (updated in 1986, 1987).

  • Deposit

    Dillon, J.T., 1987, Upper Koyukuk District land and mining claim status current to 1985: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Public-Data File 87-11, 1 sheet, scale 1:125,000.

  • Deposit

    Reed, I.M., 1938, Upper Koyukuk region, Alaska (Wiseman, Chandalar, and Bettles): Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 194-7, 201 p.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Reed, 1938

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 17-NOV-99 J.M. Britton U.S. Geological Survey