Unnamed Occurrence (ARDF - KC016), Misty Fiords National Monument, Ketchikan District, Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Borough, Alaska, USA

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Occurrence is in Misty Fiords National Monument Wilderness.
Location: This occurrence is at an elevation of about 3900 feet in the saddle between hills 4430 and 4375, about 2.8 miles north of the outlet of Leduc Lake. The site is in section 15, T. 68 S., R. 94 E., of the Copper River Meridian. It corresponds to area M-1 in Berg and others (1977), and to loc. 16 in Elliott and others (1978). The location is accurate within 0.1 mile.
Geology: The country rocks in the area of this occurrence are pelitic paragneiss, subordinate quartzofeldspathic paragneiss, and minor amphibolite and tactite (Berg and others, 1977, p. 123-124; Berg and others, 1988). These rocks, accompanied by small intrusions of pegmatite and diorite, form a large roof pendant in Tertiary or Cretaceous foliated granodiorite and quartz diorite of the Coast Range batholith. The metamorphic rocks probably represent marine argillaceous, clastic, and minor mafic volcanic strata that underwent high-grade regional metamorphism in Cretaceous or Tertiary time. The premetamorphic age of the strata is uncertain, but they probably are mainly Paleozoic and may be as old as Precambrian (Berg and others, 1988, p. 26; Gehrels and others, 1990; Crawford and others, 2000). The occurrence is a band of iron-stained paragneiss 450-900 feet wide and about 3 miles long (Berg and others, 1977, p. 123-125). It consists of small quartz veins and stringers that both parallel and crosscut the schistosity of the enclosing metamorphic rocks, which locally are intruded by small pegmatite dikes and sills. Berg and others (1977) reported anomalous amounts of molybdenum in rock (table 3, no. 16) and stream-sediment (figs. 9, 12) geochemical samples collected in this area. Eleven follow-up chip samples collected by the U.S. Bureau of Mines contained up to 110 ppm Cu, 15 ppm Pb, 60 ppm Zn, 1.5 ppm Ag, 100 ppm Mo, and, in one sample, a trace of W (Berg and others, 1977, area M-1, p. 123-125). In addition, several concordant lenses of chocolate-brown-weathering amphibolite up to about 2 feet wide and 15 feet long contain a small amount of pyrrhotite and a trace of chalcopyrite.
Workings: Eleven chip samples of quartz veins and metamorphic hostrocks contained up to 110 ppm Cu, 15 ppm Pb, 60 ppm Zn, 1.5 ppm Ag, 100 ppm Mo, and, in one sample, a trace of W (Berg and others, 1977, p. 125).
Alteration: Conspicuous iron-staining.

Commodities (Major) - Cu, Mo; (Minor) - Ag, Pb, Zn, W
Development Status: None
Deposit Model: Disseminated base-metal sulfides in metamorphic roof pendant

Mineral List

Chalcopyrite

Molybdenite

Pyrrhotite

Quartz

4 entries listed. 4 valid minerals.

References