Nugget Creek Mine, Eagle District, Southeast Fairbanks Borough, Alaska, USA

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Location: Nugget Creek is a small south tributary of the Seventymile River. Gold-bearing placer deposits were mainly found along the lower mile of Nugget Creek. The coordinates are about one-half mile upstream of the mouth of the creek, in section 28, T. 2 N., R. 27 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. The location is accurate. Nugget Creek is locality 18 (locality 19 on the map) of Cobb (1972 [MF-393]), locality 46 of Eberlein and others (1977), and locality 4 of Burleigh and Lear (1994).
Geology: The rocks on lower Nugget Creek are Paleozoic gneiss, schist, quartzite, amphibolite, and feldspathic gneiss (Clark and Foster, 1969; Foster, 1976). Upper Nugget Creek is crossed by strands of the Tintina Fault; the rocks consist of Permian quartzite and argillite that have been intruded by Tertiary to Mesozoic granitic to ultramafic plutonic rocks; Tertiary felsic volcanic rocks are also present (Foster, 1976). Gold placers are found mainly along the lower mile of the Nugget Creek (Mertie, 1938). The gravel has an average thickness of 4 feet; the pay was found over a width of 20 feet. (Prindle, 1905). Gold in Nugget Creek occurs as plates as much as one-quarter of an inch in diameter (Prindle, 1905). Placer concentrates contain minor black sand (magnetite?) and garnets (Prindle, 1905). An assay of placer gold from Nugget Creek contains 851 parts of gold and 143 parts of silver per thousand (Mertie, 1942). Two men were working on Nugget Creek in 1903 (Prindle, 1905). Mining on Nugget Creek was sporadically reported from 1908 to 1936. There has been placer gold production on the Seventymile River (see EA025) downstream of Nugget Creek.
Workings: Two men were working on Nugget Creek in 1903 (Prindle, 1905). Mining on Nugget Creek was sporadically reported from 1908 to 1936.
Age: Quaternary.

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. Burleigh, R.E., and Lear, K.G., 1994, Compilation of data for Phase I of the mineral resource evaluation of the Bureau of Land Management Black River and Fortymile subunits: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 48-94, 116 p. Clark, S.H.B., and Foster, H.L., 1969, Preliminary geologic map of the Eagle D-2 and D-3 quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 69-43, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360. 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., 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, Geology of the Eagle-Circle district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 816, 168 p. 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. Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1942, Tertiary deposits of the Eagle-Circle district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 917-D, p. 213-264. Powers, J.B., 1935, Brief history of the Fortymile and Eagle Mining Districts to 1935: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Mineral Report MR 60-2, 19 p. Prindle, L.M., 1905, The gold placers of the Fortymile, Birch Creek, and Fairbanks regions, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 251, 89 p. Prindle, L.M., 1909, The Fortymile quadrangle, Yukon-Tanana region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 375, 52 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 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., 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.

Mineral List

Gold

1 entry listed. 1 valid mineral.