Fish Creek; Olympia; Starboard; Nevada Mine, Hyder Mining District, Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Fish Creek; Olympia; Starboard; Nevada Mine	Mine
Hyder Mining District	Mining District
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: This site, called 'Fish Creek, lower workings' by Buddington (1929, pl. 2, loc. 5 [B 807]) and by Byers and Sainsbury (1956, pl. 7, loc. 5), represents a group of claims that lie mainly on the ridge between Fish and Skookum creeks, but extend to both sides of the creeks, particularly west of Skookum Creek. The main workings are on the Olympia and Starboard claims, which are at elevations of about 1400-1900 feet. The map coordinates are for the approximate center of the area of these workings. The site is in section 11, T. 68 S., R. 99 E., of the Copper River Meridian. It corresponds to loc. 3 in Elliott and others (1978). The location is accurate within about 0.1 mile. To the north, the claims extend into the Bradfield Canal quadrangle (Berg, 1998, loc. BC078). On the south, they are adjoined by the Mountain View group of claims (KC006), some of which are named 'Fish Creek.'
Geology: The country rocks in the area of this site include: pelitic metasedimentary and subordinate andesitic metavolcanic strata of the Jurassic or Triassic Hazelton Group; recrystallized granodiorite of the Triassic Texas Creek Granodiorite, which intrudes the Hazelton rocks; quartz monzonite and granodiorite of the Hyder Quartz Monzonite batholith, which intrudes the Hazelton and Texas Creek rocks; and Tertiary lamprophyre dikes, which intrude all of the foregoing rock units (Buddington, 1929; Smith, 1973, l977; Berg and others, 1988). The deposit consists of sulfide-bearing quartz fissure veins up to 3 feet thick in (Texas Creek) granodiorite near its contact with Hazelton greenstone, graywacke, and slate (Buddington, 1929, p. 68-71; Byers and Sainsbury, 1956, p. 138; Elliott and others, 1978, loc. 3). The sulfide minerals in the veins are chiefly galena, sphalerite, pyrite, tetrahedrite, and chalcopyrite. Locally, the veins contain lenticular masses of pyrrhotite accompanied by minor chalcopyrite, pyrite, and arsenopyrite; some of the veins contain small amounts of scheelite. Samples of ore from the Olympia and Starboard claims assayed 103-706 oz. Ag/ton, 17-39% Pb, trace to 7% Cu, and less than 1.0 oz. Au/ton. Development work in the early 1900s included numerous surface pits, trenches, and opencuts, and several hundred feet of underground workings (Buddington, 1929). Several, probably small, lots of sorted ore were shipped from the Olympia and Starboard claims in 1916 and 1917. Maas and others (1995, p. 254) suggest that the age of the sulfide-bearing quartz fissure vein deposits on the Olympia 4-6 and Starboard claims (p. 261 and fig. 66) is Eocene, based on similarities in mineralogy, structural setting, and hostrock, to lead-isotope-dated Eocene deposits nearby in the Hyder district. If so, the age of the deposit is roughly contemporaneous with emplacement of the Hyder Quartz Monzonite batholith.
Workings: Samples of ore from the Olympia and Starboard claims assayed 103-706 oz. Ag/ton, 17-39% Pb, trace to 7% Cu, and less than 1.0 oz. Au/ton. In addition to numerous surface pits, trenches, and opencuts, underground workings in the early 1900s included several adits up to 70 feet long on the Starboard claim; adits, raises, and drifts as long as 360 feet on the Olympia claim; and a 25-foot drift on the Nevada claim (Buddington, 1929; Maas and others, 1995).
Age: Maas and others (1995, p. 254) suggest that the age of the sulfide-bearing quartz fissure vein deposits on the Olympia 4-6 and Starboard claims (p. 261 and fig. 66) is Eocene, based on similarities in mineralogy, structural setting, and hostrock, to lead-isotope-dated Eocene deposits nearby in the Hyder district. If so, the age of the deposit is roughly contemporaneous with emplacement of the Hyder Quartz Monzonite batholith.
Production: Several, probably small, lots of sorted ore were shipped from the Olympia and Starboard claims in 1916 and 1917.

Commodities (Major) - Ag, Au, Cu, Pb, Zn; (Minor) - W
Development Status: Yes; small
Deposit Model: Polymetallic veins (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 22c)

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	KC003

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References