The Kink; North Fork of the Fortymile River Mine, Fortymile District, Southeast Fairbanks Borough, Alaska, USA

• Display
  • Standard
  • Detailed
  • By Strunz Category
  • By Dana Category
• Photos
  • Add Photo
• Maps
  • Map Pages
  • Nearest Localities
• Search
  • Mineral Search
  • Search Google
  • Link to USGS - Alaska

Location: The Kink is a meander in the North Fork of the Fortymile River that was artificially cut off (Brooks, 1904). The Kink is labeled on the U.S. Geological Survey topographic map of the Eagle B-3 quadrangle (1956); the coordinates are the location where the meander wall was blasted through, in section 20, T. 6 S., R. 29 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. The location is accurate within 100 feet. The Kink is locality 33 of Burleigh and Lear (1994), locality 45 of Eberlein and others (1977), and locality 46 of Cobb (1972 [MF-393]).
Geology: The rocks in the vicinity of The Kink are Paleozoic quartz-biotite-garnet schist (Prindle, 1905). Other rocks include Mesozoic or Tertiary granitic rocks and Paleozoic schist, quartzite, marble, gneiss, and amphibolite (Foster, 1976). In 1903, prospectors blasted through a ridge separating two arms of a meander to reroute the North Fork of the Fortymile River (Brooks, 1904). The meander was physically cut off to allow placer mining of the drained meander (see photo plates in Prindle, 1905). Mining or prospecting activity is reported during the years 1905, 1920, 1933, and 1934 (Cobb, 1977 [OFR 77-845]). A dredge was moved to The Kink around 1912(?), but it was not a success, and the dredge was idle in 1936 (Mertie, 1938). Placer cassiterite is common at The Kink (Joesting, 1943).
Workings: In 1903, prospectors blasted through a ridge separating two arms of a meander to reroute the North Fork of the Fortymile River (Brooks, 1904). The meander was physically cut off to allow placer mining of the drained meander (see photo plates in Prindle, 1905). Mining or prospecting activity is reported during the years 1905, 1920, 1933, and 1934 (Cobb, 1977 [OFR 77-845]). A dredge was moved to The Kink around 1912(?), but it was not a success, and the dredge was idle in 1936 (Mertie, 1938). Placer cassiterite is common at The Kink (Joesting, 1943).
Age: Quaternary.

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

References

Brooks, A.H., 1904, Placer mining in Alaska in 1903: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 225, p. 43-59. Brooks, A.H., 1905, Placer mining in Alaska in 1904: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 259, p. 18-31. Brooks, A.H., 1922, The Alaska mining industry in 1920: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 722-A, p. 1-74. 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. 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. 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. Joesting, H.R., 1943, Strategic mineral occurrences in interior Alaska, supplement to pamphlet no. 1: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Pamphlet 2, 26 p. Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1937, The Yukon-Tanana region Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 872, 276 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. Mitchell, S., 1988, Gold miners take the Kink out of the Fortymile: Northland News, Fairbanks, Alaska, p. 8-9. 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., 1906, Yukon placer fields: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 284, p. 109-127.

Mineral List

Cassiterite

Gold

2 entries listed. 2 valid minerals.