Gold Hill Mine, Fairbanks District, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, USA

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Location: Gold Hill is a prominent area of dredged ground about 1.5 miles long that extends to both sides of the Parks Highway about 2.5 miles east of the town of Ester. It is centered at about the intersection of section 3, 4, 9 and 10, T. 1 S., R. 2. W., Fairbanks Meridian, and the dredge tailings are prominent on the Fairbanks D-2 topographic map.
Geology: Early workers, notably Prindle and Katz in 1913 indicated the presence of a gold placer on their map here but without details in their text. The discovery of gold here and the early mining was certainly carried out by drift mining because here, as most of the of the placer ground in the Ester area, the auriferous gravel was capped by a thick deposit of barren gravel and frozen reworked wind-blown silt or loess (called muck by miners) that had washed down into the Cripple Creek valley. Later after the United States Smelting, Refining and Mining Company consolidated ground in the Ester area and began dredging on Ester Creek (FB034), they washed the muck off the auriferous gravel in this area, thawed the gravel, and prepared the ground for dredging. In 1950, they moved Dredge 6 from near the mouth of Eva Creek via a canal to this area which by then was well known as the Gold Hill area. Dredge 6 worked here until the spring of 1958, when it was moved overland to Sheep Creek (FB052) (Boswell, 1979; R.L.Chapman, USGS, unpublished memorandum, 1978). The paleodrainage here is obscured by the thick muck that originally blanketed the gravel in the valley, and it is unclear whether the Gold Hill placer represents a continuation of the Ester Creek (FB034) or Cripple Creek (FB070) channels, or both. And it is not impossible that some of the gold here was contributed from the drainages and lode deposits ofnthe east side of Ester Dome.
Workings: Early workers, notably Prindle and Katz in 1913, indicated the presence of a gold placer on their map here but without details in their text. The discovery of gold here and the early mining must certainly have been carried out by deep drift mining because here, as on most of the placer ground in the Ester area, the auriferous gravel was capped by a thick deposit of barren gravel and frozen reworked wind-blown silt or loess (called muck by miners) that had washed down into the Cripple Creek valley. Later after the United States Smelting, Refining and Mining Company consolidated ground in the Ester area and began dredging on Ester Creek (FB034), they washed the muck off the auriferous gravel in this area, thawed the gravel, and prepared the ground for dredging. In 1950, they moved Dredge 6 from near the mouth of Eva Creek via a canal to this area which by then was well known as the Gold Hill area. Dredge 6 worked here until the spring of 1958, when it was moved overland to Sheep Creek (FB052) (Boswell, 1979; R.L.Chapman, USGS, unpublished memorandum, 1978).
Age: Quaternary placer.
Production: Production figures are not available, but considerable gold must have produced during dredge operations from 1950 to 1957.

Commodities (Major) - Au
Development Status: Yes; medium
Deposit Model: Placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a)

References

Boswell, J.C., 1979, History of Alaskan operations of United States Smelting, Refining and Mining Company: Mineral Industry Research Laboratory, University of Alaska, 126 p. Brooks, A.H., 1907, The Alaskan mining industry in 1906: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 314-A, p. 19-39. Brooks, A.H., 1908, The mining industry in 1907: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 345-A, p. 30-53. Brooks, A.H., 1911, The mining industry in 1910, in Brooks, A.K., and others, Mineral resources of Alaska, report on progress of investigations in 1910: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 480-B p. 21-43. Brooks, A.H., 1911, The Mount McKinley region, Alaska, with descriptions of the igneous rocks and of the Bonnifield and Kantishna districts by L.M. Prindle: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 70, 234 p. Brooks, A.H., 1914, Mineral resources of Alaska; report on progress of investigations in 1913: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592, 413 p. Brooks, A.H., 1915, Mineral resources of Alaska; report on progress of investigations in 1914: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 622, 380 p. Brooks, A.H., 1916, Mineral resources of Alaska, report on progress of investigations in 1915: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 642, 279 p. Brooks, A.H., 1918, Mineral resources of Alaska, 1916: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 662, 469 p. Brooks, A.H., 1922, The Alaska mining industry in 1920: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 722-A, p. 1-74. Brooks, A.H., 1923, The Alaska mining industry in 1921: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 739-A, p. 1-50. Brooks, A.H., 1925, Alaska's mineral resources and production, 1923: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 773-A, p. 3-52. Brooks, A.H., and Capps, S.R., 1924, The Alaska mining industry in 1922: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 755-A, p. 1-56. Brooks, A.H., and Martin, G. C., 1921, The Alaska mining industry in 1919: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 714-A, p. 59-95. Burand, W.M., 1966, A geochemical investigation of the Nenana Highway area, central Alaska: Alaska Division of Mines and Minerals Geochemical Report 10, 13 p. Capps, S.R., 1924, Geology and mineral resources of the region traversed by the Alaska Railroad: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 755-C, p. 73-150. Chapin, Theodore, 1914, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592-J, p. 357-362. Chapman, R.M., and Foster, R.L., 1969, Lode mines and prospects in the Fairbanks district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 625-D, 25 p., 1 plate. Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-410, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000. Cobb, E.H., 1973, Placer deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1374, 213 p. Cobb, E.H., 1975, Mineral resources of Alaska, in Yount, M.E., ed., U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Program, 1975: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 722, p. 37. Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-662, 174 p. Eakin, H M., 1915, Mining in the Fairbanks district: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 622-G, p. 229-238. Ellsworth, C.E., 1910, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 442-F, p. 230-245. Ellsworth, C.E., 1912, Placer mining in the Fairbanks and Circle Disctricts: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 520-H, p. 240-245. Ellsworth, C.E., and Davenport, R.W., 1913, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 542-F, p. 203-222. Ellsworth, C.E., and Parker, G.L., 1911, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 480-F, p. 173-217. Koschmann, A.H., and Bergendahl, M.H., 1968, Principal gold producing districts of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 610, 283 p. Martin, G.C., 1919, Alaska Mining Industry in 1917: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 692-A, p. 11-42. Martin, G.C., 1920, The Alaska mining industry in 1918: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 712-A, p. 1-52. Moffit, F.H., 1927, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1925: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 792-A, p. 1-39. Prindle, L.M., 1906, Yukon placer fields: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 284, p. 109-127. Prindle, L.M., 1908, The Fairbanks and Rampart quadrangles, Yukon-Tanana region, Alaska, with a section on the Rampart placers, by F.L. Hess, and a paper on the water supply of the Fairbanks region, by C.C. Covert: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 337, 102 p. Prindle, L.M., and Katz, F.J., 1909, The Fairbanks gold-placer region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 379-E, p. 181-200. Prindle, L.M., and Katz, F.J., 1913, Detailed description of the Fairbanks district, in Prindle, L.M., A geologic reconnaissance of the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 525, p. 59-152. Smith, P.S., 1926, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1924: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 783-A, p. 1-30. Smith, P.S., 1929, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1926: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 797, p. 1-50. Smith, P.S., 1930, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1927: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 810-A, p. 1-64. Smith, P.S., 1930, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1928: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 813-A, p. 1-72. Smith, P.S., 1932, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1929, in Smith, P.S., and others Mineral resources of Alaska, report on progress of investigations in 1929: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 824-A, p. 1-81. Smith, P.S., 1933, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1930: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 836-A, p. 1-83. Smith, P.S., 1933, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1931: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 844-A, p. 1-81. Smith, P.S., 1934, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1932: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 857-A, p. 1-91. Smith, P.S., 1934, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1933: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 864-A, p. 1-94. Smith, P.S., 1936, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1934: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 868-A, p. 1-91. Smith, P.S., 1937, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1935: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 880-A, p. 1-95. Smith, P.S., 1938, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1936: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 897-A, p. 1-107. Smith, P.S., 1939, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1937: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 910-A, p. 1-113. Smith, P.S., 1939, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1938: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 917-A, p. 1-113. Smith, P.S., 1942, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1940: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 933-A, p. 1-102. Smith, S.S., 1917, The mining industry in the Territory of Alaska during the calendar year 1915: U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 142, 65 p. Smith, S.S., 1917, The mining industry in the Territory of Alaska during the calendar year 1916: U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 153, 89 p. Wimmler, N.L., 1922, Placer mining in Alaska in 1922: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 195-6, 77 p. Wimmler, N.L., 1924, Placer mining in Alaska in 1924: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 195-7, 114 p. Wimmler, N.L., 1925, Placer mining in Alaska in 1925: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 195-8, 118 p. Wimmler, N.L., 1926, Placer mining in Alaska in 1926: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 195-11, 121 p. Wimmler, N.L., 1929, Placer mining in Alaska in 1929: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 195-12, 318 p.

Mineral List

Gold

1 entry listed. 1 valid mineral.