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Bachelor Creek Mine, Circle District, Yukon-Koyukuk Borough, Alaska, USA

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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84): 65° 29' 27'' North , 146° 3' 32'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal): 65.4908333333, -146.058888889


Gold reported on Preacher Creek in 1913 may have been on Loper or Bachelor Creek. Numerous claims staked on Preacher Creek in 1928 and 1976 to 1981. See also Loper Creek, ARDF no. CI035.
Location: Bachelor Creek can be accessed via a 4-wheel drive road from the Steese Highway at mile marker 80.1. The 4-wheel drive road runs along the west side of the state highway maintenance station fence. Mining occurred along the east side of the creek at 65.4828 N, 146.0575 W.
Geology: Traverses in the upper Bachelor Creek basin indicate that it is underlain, in part, by light gray or rusty-weathering felsic schists and quartzites and by abundant graphitic schist and quartzite. Sulfide minerals appear to be concentrated in stratiform layers, especially in the graphitic rocks. In some hand specimens, sulfides make up 15 to 20 percent of the rock. Pyrite is the most common sulfide, and chalcopyrite and arsenopyrite are present in many of the rocks. Pyrrhotite is common in the graphitic zones. Both felsic and graphitic schists contain elevated abundances of gold, copper and tungsten. The felsic schists and associated light-colored quartzites contain up to 240 ppb Au, 4300 ppm Cu, 2100 ppm As, 4 ppm Ag, 4.5 ppm Sb, 130 ppm Sb, 14 ppm Pb, 90 ppm Sn and 3100 ppm W. In these rocks gold correlates with copper, and to a lesser extent, with arsenic. High tungsten-tin values inversely correlate to gold-base metal values. Graphitic schists and quartzites are less well mineralized with concentrations of Au to 180 ppb, Cu to 1600 ppm and W to 110 ppm (T.E. Smith and others, 1987, p. 6-10 to 6-11). Bedrock in the area is composed of both schist and granite porphyry. Bedrock schist is primarily quartz-mica, quartzitic, and carbonaceous. These Paleozoic and (or) Precambrian schists are cut by a 75 foot thick sill-like body of granite porphyry. The schistosity and sill strike N 60 E. Gravels are thin (7 to 8 feet thick) or absent and are thawed. Gravels are composed of schist, abundant vein quartz, and some granite porphyry clasts. The only gold occurrence reported is on a low, 20 foot thick gravel bench on the east side of the creek (Prindle, 1910, p. 208-209). Gravel on a low bench east of the stream was sluiced in 1910 (Cobb, 1973, p. 123, [B 1374]). A man recently reported finding a 1.2 ounce gold nugget on Bachelor Creek (Lampright, 1996, p.55).
Workings: Gravel on a low bench east of the stream was sluiced in 1910 (Cobb, 1973, p. 123, [B 1374]). A man recently reported finding a 1.2 ounce gold nugget on Bachelor Creek (Lampright, 1996, p.55).
Production: Gravel on a low bench east of the stream was sluiced in 1910 (Cobb, 1973, p. 123, [B 1374]), however amount of production is unknown.

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

Mineral List


1 valid mineral.

Major Regional Geological Units

This information on rock units at or nearby to the coordinates given for this locality is based on relatively small scale geological maps provided by various national Geological Surveys. This does not necessarily represent the geology at this locality but it gives a background for the region in which it is found.

Silurian-Devonian
358.9 - 443.8 Ma
Quartzite and pelitic schist

Metamorphic

Gray or greenish-gray quartzite and quartzitic schists are dominant rock types. Minor pelitic schist, calc-silicate, mafic schist, and rare marble are interlayered with quartzite and quartzitic schist

Devonian - Cambrian
358.9 - 541 Ma
Sedimentary; Sedimentary: undivided

Sandstone, siltstone, shale, limestone or metamorphosed equivalent

Eastern Alaska, Yukon, Mackenzie region, Yukon-Tanana upland

Orogen, magmatic arc/suite; Wilson & Hults, unpublished compilation, 2007-08

Devonian - Neoproterozoic
358.9 - 1000 Ma
Neoproterozoic-Devonian sedimentary
Neoproterozoic
541 - 1000 Ma
Neoproterozoic intrusive and metamorphic terranes

Intrusive and metamorphic terranes

Mixtures of metamorphic and intrusive or plutonic rocks, tracts known as crystalline, migmatitic terranes, moderately to highly metamorphosed rocks of unknown origin with or without intrusions. This classification is inherently prone to variable interpretation, as other compilers might distinguish some packages by their metamorphic or gneissic protoliths, and the associated age ranges may be more variable.


References for regional geology:

Data provided by Macrostrat.org

J.C. Harrison, M.R. St-Onge, O.V. Petrov, S.I. Strelnikov, B.G. Lopatin, F.H. Wilson, S. Tella, D. Paul, T. Lynds, S.P. Shokalsky, C.K. Hults, S. Bergman, H.F. Jepsen, and A. Solli. Geological map of the Arctic. doi:10.4095/287868. Geological Survey of Canada Map 2159A.

Garrity, C.P., and Soller, D.R.,. Database of the Geologic Map of North America: adapted from the map by J.C. Reed, Jr. and others (2005). U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 424 .

Geological Survey of Canada. Generalized geological map of the world and linked databases. doi:10.4095/195142. Open File 2915d.

Wilson, F.H., Hults, C.P., Mull, C.G, and Karl, S.M. (compilers). Geologic map of Alaska. doi: 10.3133/sim3340. U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3340, pamphlet 196.



This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.

References

Brooks, A.H., 1909, The mining industry in 1908: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 379-A, p. 21-62. Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Circle quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-391, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000. Cobb, E.H., 1973, Placer deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1374, 213 p. Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Circle quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-633, 72 p. Ellsworth, C.E., 1910, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 442-F, p. 230-245. 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. Lampright, R.L., 1996, Gold placer deposits near Fairbanks Alaska--An inventory of the gold placer mines, prospects, and deposits located within the Big Delta Charley River, Circle, Eagle, Fairbanks, and Livengood quadrangles: Nederland, Colorado, Iron Fire Publications, Anchorage, Alaska, 135 p. Menzie, W.D., Foster, H.L., Tripp, R.B., and Yeend, W.E., 1983, Mineral resource assessment of the Circle quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 83-170-B, 61 p., 1 sheet, 1:250,000. Prindle, L.M., 1910, Sketch of the geology of the northeastern part of the Fairbanks quadrangle: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 442-F, p. 203-209. Prindle, L.M., and Katz, F.J., 1913, Detailed description of the Fairbanks district, in Prindle, L.M., A geologic reconnaissance of the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 525, p. 59-152. Smith, T.E., Pessel, G. H., and Wiltse, M.A., 1987, Mineral assessment of the Lime Peak-Mt. Prindle area, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Miscellaneous Paper 29, 712 p., 13 sheets, scale 1:63,360.

 
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