Alaska Garnet; Wrangell Garnet Mine, Petersburg Mining District, Wrangell City and Bourough, Alaska, USAi
Regional Level Types | |
---|---|
Alaska Garnet; Wrangell Garnet Mine | Mine |
Petersburg Mining District | Mining District |
Wrangell City and Bourough | Borough |
Alaska | State |
USA | Country |
This page is currently not sponsored. Click here to sponsor this page.
Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
56° 34' 26'' North , 132° 21' 39'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
Place | Population | Distance |
---|---|---|
Wrangell | 2,382 (2018) | 11.5km |
Mindat Locality ID:
196196
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:196196:9
GUID (UUID V4):
eb9549cf-a045-4aec-8c66-59e102de7b09
Location: A famous Alaska mineral locality known since the early 1900's that has long been mined for garnet specimens. Mine site is at an elevation of from about 50 to 200 feet and about 1000 feet from the shoreline in the north-central portion of section 19, T 61 S, R 83 E.; it can be reached by a well marked trail along Garnet Creek from a landing on the Stikine River. Currently (1998) the property is owned by the Boy Scouts in Wrangell and permission to enter it should be obtained from them. Location of mine is known to within 100 m.
Geology: The country rocks in the area of this deposit are Cretaceous pelitic schist and hornfels intruded by Eocene tonalite and granodiorite (Brew and others, 1984). The deposit consists of dark red, euhedral to subhedral almandine garnet crystals up to 3 cm in diameter disseminated in several layers of quartz-biotite schist up to 10 or more feet thick.
Workings: Currently (1998) being mined from small surface pits as it has been for decades.
Age: Almandine garnet formed during Cretaceous metamorphism.
Production: This site is a classic Alaska mineral locality that is known worldwide. The garnet is unsuitable for faceting as a gemstone, but it has been mined on a modest scale for decades for mineralogical specimens and will probably continue to be indefinitely. Wrangell garnets are a staple of tourist and rock shops throughout Alaska and have been widely exported as well. The garnet has been considered for use as an industrial abrasive and there may have been some minor production or at least test shipments as an abrasive and for foundry powder prior to WW II. The deposit's relatively low grade, limited extent, and lack of a nearby market, however, suggest that production of this garnet as a high-volume industrial mineral is unlikely in the foreseeable future.
Reserves: Large as a source of mineralogical specimens. Bressler (1950) indicates the resources as abrasive to be about 11,900 tons of garnet in about 238,340 tons (1,125,000 cubic yards) of rock .
Commodities (Major) - Garnet
Development Status: Yes
Deposit Model: Metamorphic garnet
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
Detailed Mineral List:
ⓘ 'Garnet Group' Formula: X3Z2(SiO4)3 |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
Unclassified | |||
---|---|---|---|
ⓘ | 'Garnet Group' | - | X3Z2(SiO4)3 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
O | Oxygen | |
---|---|---|
O | ⓘ Garnet Group | X3Z2(SiO4)3 |
Si | Silicon | |
Si | ⓘ Garnet Group | X3Z2(SiO4)3 |
Other Databases
Link to USGS - Alaska: | PE036 |
---|
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North America
- Coast MountainsMountain Range
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Taku DomainDomain
USA
- Alaska
- ⭔Wrangell-Petersburg Census AreaBorough
This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to
visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders
for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.