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Fish Creek

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

Identification information

Deposit ID 10308878
MRDS ID A012281
Record type Site
Current site name Fish Creek
Alternate or previous names Olympia, Starboard, Nevada
Related records 10001534

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -130.04775, 55.99277 (WGS84)
Relative position This site, called 'Fish Creek, lower workings' by Buddington (1929, pl. 2, loc. 5 [B 807]) and by Byers and Sainsbury (1956, pl. 7, loc. 5), represents a group of claims that lie mainly on the ridge between Fish and Skookum creeks, but extend to both sides of the creeks, particularly west of Skookum Creek. The main workings are on the Olympia and Starboard claims, which are at elevations of about 1400-1900 feet. The map coordinates are for the approximate center of the area of these workings. The site is in section 11, T. 68 S., R. 99 E., of the Copper River Meridian. It corresponds to loc. 3 in Elliott and others (1978). The location is accurate within about 0.1 mile. To the north, the claims extend into the Bradfield Canal quadrangle (Berg, 1998, loc. BC078). On the south, they are adjoined by the Mountain View group of claims (KC006), some of which are named 'Fish Creek.
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Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Gold Primary
Copper Primary
Lead Primary
Zinc Primary
Tungsten Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Arsenopyrite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Pyrite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Scheelite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 85
USGS model code 22c
Deposit model name Polymetallic veins
Mark3 model number 46

Nearby scientific data

(1) -130.04775, 55.99277
ListMap

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The country rocks in the area of this site include: pelitic metasedimentary and subordinate andesitic metavolcanic strata of the Jurassic or Triassic Hazelton Group; recrystallized granodiorite of the Triassic Texas Creek Granodiorite, which intrudes the Hazelton rocks; quartz monzonite and granodiorite of the Hyder Quartz Monzonite batholith, which intrudes the Hazelton and Texas Creek rocks; and Tertiary lamprophyre dikes, which intrude all of the foregoing rock units (Buddington, 1929; Smith, 1973, l977; Berg and others, 1988). The deposit consists of sulfide-bearing quartz fissure veins up to 3 feet thick in (Texas Creek) granodiorite near its contact with Hazelton greenstone, graywacke, and slate (Buddington, 1929, p. 68-71; Byers and Sainsbury, 1956, p. 138; Elliott and others, 1978, loc. 3). The sulfide minerals in the veins are chiefly galena, sphalerite, pyrite, tetrahedrite, and chalcopyrite. Locally, the veins contain lenticular masses of pyrrhotite accompanied by minor chalcopyrite, pyrite, and arsenopyrite; some of the veins contain small amounts of scheelite. Samples of ore from the Olympia and Starboard claims assayed 103-706 oz. Ag/ton, 17-39% Pb, trace to 7% Cu, and less than 1.0 oz. Au/ton. Development work in the early 1900s included numerous surface pits, trenches, and opencuts, and several hundred feet of underground workings (Buddington, 1929). Several, probably small, lots of sorted ore were shipped from the Olympia and Starboard claims in 1916 and 1917. Maas and others (1995, p. 254) suggest that the age of the sulfide-bearing quartz fissure vein deposits on the Olympia 4-6 and Starboard claims (p. 261 and fig. 66) is Eocene, based on similarities in mineralogy, structural setting, and hostrock, to lead-isotope-dated Eocene deposits nearby in the Hyder district. If so, the age of the deposit is roughly contemporaneous with emplacement of the Hyder Quartz Monzonite batholith.
  • Age = Maas and others (1995, p. 254) suggest that the age of the sulfide-bearing quartz fissure vein deposits on the Olympia 4-6 and Starboard claims (p. 261 and fig. 66) is Eocene, based on similarities in mineralogy, structural setting, and hostrock, to lead-isotope-dated Eocene deposits nearby in the Hyder district. If so, the age of the deposit is roughly contemporaneous with emplacement of the Hyder Quartz Monzonite batholith.

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Mining district

District name Hyder

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = Several, probably small, lots of sorted ore were shipped from the Olympia and Starboard claims in 1916 and 1917.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Samples of ore from the Olympia and Starboard claims assayed 103-706 oz. Ag/ton, 17-39% Pb, trace to 7% Cu, and less than 1.0 oz. Au/ton. In addition to numerous surface pits, trenches, and opencuts, underground workings in the early 1900s included several adits up to 70 feet long on the Starboard claim; adits, raises, and drifts as long as 360 feet on the Olympia claim; and a 25-foot drift on the Nevada claim (Buddington, 1929; Maas and others, 1995).

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency Database name Acronym Record ID Notes
USGS Alaska Resource Data File ARDF KC003
USGS Mineral Resources Data System MRDS A012281
USGS Mineral Resources Data System MRDS A012282
USGS Mineral Resources Data System MRDS A012283

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Buddington, A.F., 1929, Geology of Hyder and vicinity, southeastern Alaska, with a reconnaissance of Chickamin River: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 807, 124 p.

  • Deposit

    Byers, F.M., and Sainsbury, C.L., 1956, Tungsten deposits of the Hyder district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1024-F, p. 123-140.

  • Deposit

    Smith, J.G., 1973, A Tertiary lamprophyre dike province in southeastern Alaska: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 10, p. 408-420.

  • Deposit

    Smith, J.G., 1977, Geology of the Ketchikan D-1 and Bradfield Canal A-1 quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1425, 49 p.

  • Deposit

    Elliott, R.L., Berg, H.C., and Karl, Susan, 1978, map and table describing metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous mineral deposits, Ketchikan and Prince Rupert quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-file Report, 78-73-B,17 p., scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Berg, H.C., Elliott, R.L., and Koch, R.D., 1988, Geologic map of the Ketchikan and Prince Rupert quadrangles, southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Investigations Series Map MF-1807,27 p., scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Maas, K.M., Bittenbender, P E., and Still, J.C., 1995, Mineral investigations in the Ketchikan mining district, southeastern Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 11-95, 606 p.

  • Deposit

    Berg, H.C., 1998, Alaska Resource Data File--Bradfield Canal quadrangle: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-327, 181 p.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Buddington, 1929 (B807)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Polymetallic veins (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 22c)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 28-JUN-1999 H.C. Berg U.S. Geological Survey