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Curve Creek

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodities Fluorine-Fluorite, Beryllium
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Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10308403
Record type Site
Current site name Curve Creek

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -167.2274, 65.44926 (WGS84)
Relative position Curve Creek is the second tributary entering Lost River from the west, 3 miles upstream from the mouth of Lost River on Bering Sea. It is a southeast-flowing stream draining Ordovician limestones of the York Mountains. The Curve Creek prospect is located on the south side of a small west tributary between elevations of 500 and 1,000 feet. This is locality 4 of Cobb and Sainsbury (1972). Cobb (1975) summarized relevant references under the name 'Curve Cr.'.
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Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Fluorine-Fluorite Primary
Beryllium Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Fluorite Ore
Diaspore Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Stibnite Gangue
Silica Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Mass balance calculations show significant SiO2, Al2O3, alkali, and fluorine enrichment with mineralization (Sainsbury, 1968, p. 1567).

Nearby scientific data

(1) -167.2274, 65.44926
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Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Fluorite and some beryllium (up to 0.15% BeO) mineralization is localized along mafic dikes and fractured Lower Orodvician limestone in the footwall of the Rapid River fault. Sainsbury (1969; 1972) maps the Rapid River fault as a 12-mile long east-west trending thrust fault in the southern part of the York Mountains although stratigraphic relations across the fault suggest normal displacement. Mineralization here is apparently present over about 4,000 feet of east-west strike.
  • Age = the age of the mineralization is assumed to be related to the development of tin systems in the Lost River area and therefore Late Cretaceous, the age of the tin-mineralizing granites there (Hudson and Arth, 1983).

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Port Clarence

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • Reserves = Not defined

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Surface observations and sampling reported by Sainsbury (1969, p. 77-78).

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency Database name Acronym Record ID Notes
USGS Alaska Resource Data File ARDF TE037

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Sainsbury, C.L., 1968, Tin and beryllium deposits of the central York Mountains, Alaska, in Ridge, J. D., ed., Ore deposits in the United States, 1933-67: American Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum Engineers, v. 2, p. 1555-1572.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., and Sainsbury, C.L., 1972, Metallic mineral resource map of the Teller quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-426, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Sainsbury, C.L., 1972, Geologic map of the Teller quadrangle, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Map I-685, 4 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Hudson, T.L., and Arth, J. G., 1983, Tin-granites of Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 94, p. 768-790.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1975, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Teller quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 75-587, 130 p.

  • Deposit

    Sainsbury, C.L., 1969, Geology and ore deposits of the central York Mountains, western Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1287, 101 p.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Sainsbury, 1969.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Fluorite- and beryllium-bearing veins and replacements in Ordovician limestone (Sainsbury, 1968)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 10-MAY-98 Travis L. Hudson Applied Geology