Ruby Gulch Mine, Iditarod Mining District, Bethel Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Ruby Gulch Mine	Mine
Iditarod Mining District	Mining District
Bethel Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: This old placer mine on Ruby Gulch which flows into Crooked Creek; the mouth of Ruby Gulch is about 800 feet upstream from the mouth of Queen Gulch (ID164). The placer deposit in Ruby Gulch is at an elevation of about 400 feet, about 0.3 mile southwest of the center of section 23, T. 23 N., R. 49 W., Seward Meridian. The location is accurate. Ruby Gulch is locality 19 of Cobb (1972 [MF 363]); also described in Cobb (1976 [OFR 76-576]).
Geology: The Ruby Gulch placer deposit is in a small stream that flows across the lower slopes of the ridge separating Snow Gulch (ID166) and Queen Gulch (ID164). The placer formed where Ruby Gulch intersects the ancestral 'Donlin Creek' alluvial terrace. According to Cady and others (1955) and Bundtzen and Miller (1997), Donlin Creek originally flowed northeast into the Iditarod River. After regional tilting, the drainage reversed direction and Donlin and Crooked Creeks flowed into the Kuskokwim River. In Ruby Gulch, low grade auriferous gravel deposits in the ancestral channel were reworked to form locally rich gold placers. The placer in Ruby Gulch is about 1,600 feet long; the gold-bearing gravel varies from about 16 to 50 feet thick. In addition to gold, the principal heavy minerals identified in concentrates include gold-bearing arsenopyrite, cinnabar, cassiterite, arsenian-pyrite, scheelite, stibnite, and magnetite (Bundtzen, Cox, and Veach, 1987). Seven samples of gold from Ruby Gulch varied from 902 to 910 fine (Smith, 1941 [B 910]; Cobb, 1972 (MF 363); Cobb, 1976 [OFR 76-576]). The placer gold in Ruby Gulch probably originated in the Donlin Creek lode deposit which is just southeast of Ruby Gulch (ID167) (Miller and Bundtzen, 1994; Bundtzen and Miller, 1997). Unpublished mint records indicate that Ruby Gulch produced about 145 ounces of gold in 1911.
Workings: The Ruby Gulch placer deposit was discovered in 1910 and was mined by open-cut methods (Maddren, 1911, 1915; Brooks, 1912; Cobb, 1974). The only production that is recorded was in 1911.
Age: The alluvium in modern Ruby Gulch is probably Quaternary; the ancestral terrace is probably Late Tertiary.
Production: Unpublished mint records indicate that Ruby Gulch produced 145 ounces of gold in 1911.

Commodities (Major) - Au; (Minor) - Ag, As, Hg, Sn, W
Development Status: Yes; small
Deposit Model: Placer Au deposit (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	ID165

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References