Ingle Creek Mine, Fortymile District, Southeast Fairbanks Borough, Alaska, USA

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Location: Ingle Creek is a small tributary about 3.3 miles west-northwest of Chicken that drains southwest into the Mosquito Fork of the Fortymile River (EA135). Placer workings extend from the mouth of Ingle Creek upstream for approximately 1.25 miles. The coordinates correspond to the location of the placer mine shown at the mouth of the creek on the U.S. Geological Survey 1:63,360-scale topographic map of the Eagle A-3 quadrangle (1957). The placer is near the boundary between sections 34 and 35, T. 27 N., R. 17 E., of the Copper River Meridian; the location is accurate. This site is localities 75 and 76 of Burleigh and Lear (1994), locality 35 of Eberlein and others (1977), and locality 49 of Cobb (1972 [MF-393]). In Cobb (1977 [OFR 77-845]), there are several references to mining on Eagle Creek and Engle Creek. Ingle Creek may have been referred to by these names, or these reports may refer to another area of unknown location.
Geology: The rocks in the vicinity of Ingle Creek are Paleozoic greenschist-facies metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks that have been intruded by the Taylor Mountain Batholith of Triassic age and the Chicken pluton of Jurassic age (Foster, 1976; Werdon and others, 2001). These units have been cut by many high-angle faults and intruded by Tertiary gabbro. Well-bedded to locally unconsolidated Tertiary tuff interlayered with minor shale overlies the Tertiary gabbro on the east side of Ingle Creek. Quaternary alluvium, colluvium, and terrace deposits are extensive. Ingle Creek flows through a narrow, steep-walled valley. It was mined from near its mouth upstream for about 1.25 miles. The gravels range from 2 to 4 feet thick. Placer gold mainly occurs on top of bedrock and within the top foot of bedrock (Mertie, 1930 [B 813]), but in places the gold has penetrated deeply into crevices and required hand quarrying to obtain a high recovery of the gold. The gold is mainly coarse nuggets; one nugget weighing 3.5 ounces was recovered (Mertie, 1938). An average of three assays of placer gold indicates a fineness of 851 parts of gold per thousand and 144 parts of silver per thousand (Mertie, 1938). Possible lode sources for placer gold on Ingle Creek include the Ingle Creek (EA107) and Lilliwig Creek (EA108) gold prospects. Ingle Creek has one gold-bearing tributary, Lilliwig Creek (see EA109). Ingle Creek was being mined for placer gold as early as 1905(?) (Prindle, 1908). The creek was mined intermittently from around 1905 to at least 1936, and then again in the 1970's (Eberlein and others, 1977). Production in 1904-1907 that included that from Myers Fork (EA124), Lost Chicken Creek (EA131), Stonehouse Creek (EA122), and Ingle Creek (EA111), totaled about 18,835 fine ounces of gold (Eberlein and others, 1977).
Workings: Placer gold on Ingle Creek was being mined as early as 1905(?) (Prindle, 1908). The creek was mined intermittently from around 1905 to at least 1936 and then again in the 1970's (Eberlein and others, 1977).
Age: Quaternary.
Production: Production in 1904-1907, which included that from Myers Fork (EA124), Lost Chicken Creek (EA131), Stonehouse Creek (EA122), and Ingle Creek (EA111), totaled about 18,835 fine ounces of gold (Eberlein and others, 1977).

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

References

Brooks, A.H., 1909, The mining industry in 1908: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 379-A, p. 21-62. 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. Bundtzen, T.K., Swainbank, R.C., Wood, J.E., Clough, A.H., 1991 (1992), Alaska's Mineral Industry 1991: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Special Report 46, 89 p. Chapin, Theodore, 1914, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592-J, p. 357-362. Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Eagle quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-393, 1:250,000 scale, 1 sheet. Cobb, E.H., 1977, Summary of references to mineral occurrences in the Eagle quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-845, 122 p. Eberlein, G.D., Chapman, R.M., Foster, H.L., and Gassaway, J.S., 1977, Map and table describing known metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous mineral deposits in central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-168-D, 132 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:1,000,000. Ellsworth, C.E., 1910, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 442-F, p. 230-245. 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. Foster, H.L., 1976, Geologic map of the Eagle quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series, Map 922, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000. Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1930, Mining in the Fortymile district: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 813-C, p. 125-142. Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1938, Gold placers of the Fortymile, Eagle, and Circle districts, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 897-C, p. 133-261. Moffit, F.H., 1927, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1925: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 792-A, p. 1-39. Porter, E.A., 1912, Placer mining in the Fortymile, Eagle, and Seventymile River districts: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 520-G, p. 211-218. Prindle, L.M., 1906, Yukon placer fields: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 284, p. 109-127. Prindle, L.M., 1908, The Fortymile gold-placer district, in Brooks, A.H., ed., Mineral Resources of Alaska, Report on progress of investigations in 1907: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 345, p. 187-197. Prindle, L.M., 1909, The Fortymile quadrangle, Yukon-Tanana region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 375, 52 p. Roehm, J.C., 1949, Report of investigations and itinerary of J.C. Roehm[, associate mining engineer, Territorial Department of Mines] in the Fortymile Precinct, Alaska: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Investigation Report IR 60-1, 9 p. Saunders, R.H., 1953, Report on the preliminary examination of the Fred J. Jenkins property near Eagle, Alaska: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Property Examination PE 60-3, 14 p. 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., 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 1933: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 864-A, p. 1-94. Smith, P.S., 1937, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1935: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 880-A, p. 1-95. Smith, W.H., 1968, Geochemical investigation of a portion of the Fortymile district, Alaska: Alaska Division of Mines and Minerals Geochemical Report 16, 17 p. Swainbank, R.C., Bundtzen, T.K., Clough, A.H., Hansen, E.W., and Nelson, M.G., 1993, Alaska's mineral industry, 1992: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report 47, 80 p. Werdon, M.B., Newberry, R.J., and Szumigala, D.J., 2001, Bedrock geologic map of the Eagle A-2 quadrangle, Fortymile mining district, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Preliminary Interpretive Report 2001-3b, 1sheet, scale 1:63,360. Williams, J.A., 1950, Mining operations in the Fortymile district, Fairbanks Recording District: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Mineral [Miscellaneous] Report MR 60-3, 5 p. Williams, J.A., 1951, Active mining operations in the Fortymile District of the Fairbanks Precinct in 1951: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines, Mineral Report MR 60-3A, 3 p. Wimmler, N.L., 1949, Notes on placer mining activity in the Fortymile district in 1929: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Investigation Report IR 60-2, 2 p.

Mineral List

Gold

1 entry listed. 1 valid mineral.