Daniels Creek Mine, Council Mining District, Nome Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Daniels Creek Mine	Mine
Council Mining District	Mining District
Nome Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: Daniels Creek is a 1 mile drainage that flows south to Norton Sound at Bluff. Mining took place upstream from the mouth of the creek for a distance of about 2,500 feet, between elevations of 20 and 120 feet. This is locality 110 of Cobb (1972, MF 445; 1978, OF 78-181).
Geology: A rich gold placer was discovered on the beach at Bluff in 1899 and by 1900, placers on Daniels Creek were also being exploited (Brooks and others, 1901). Placer mning on Daniels Creek took place for about 2,500 feet from its mouth to where schist crosses the drainage. Downstream, bedrock in the drainage is Paleozoic marble (Herreid, 1965; Mulligan, 1971; Till and others, 1986). The marble bedrock is characterized by irregular solution channels, crevices, sink holes, pits, and collapsed caverns that are in places tens of feet deep and below sea level. Cumulative gold production from Daniels Creek, mostly between 1900 and 1920, is about 44,000 ounces (Mulligan, 1971). Ditch systems brought water to the area and much of the mining was by hydraulic methods. Total placer production from the Bluff area (Daniels Creek, modern beaches, and offshore submerged channels or beaches - see ARDF locality SO134) is about 90,000 ounces. The initial discoveries were very rich; production in 1900 included about 10,000 ounces from Daniels Creek and 29,000 ounces from the modern beaches (Brooks and others, 1901; Cobb, 1978, OF 78-181). Manganese oxide locally cemented the paystreak and cinnabar, scheelite, magnetite, and ilmentite accompanied gold in heavy mineral concentrates.
Workings: Hydraulic placer mining took place over 2,500 feet of the drainage upstream from the mouth. Much hand digging must have been required to exploit placers on the very irregular bedrock; shaft-digging buckets were scattered over the length of the mined area in 1966 (Mulligan, 1971). Ditch systems were constructed to bring water to the area for hydraulic operations. Other operations and exploration activities nearby were associated with beach and offshore mining (see ARDF locality SO134) and lode gold epxploitation (see ARDF locality SO135).
Age: Quaternary; the placer deposits here are at low enough elevation (below sea level to 100 feet) to have been influenced by Quaternary sea level fluctuations.
Alteration: Manganese oxide cementation was at least locally present.
Production: The initial discoveries were very rich; production in 1900 was about 10,000 ounces of gold from Daniels Creek and 29,000 ounces of gold from the modern beaches (Brooks and others, 1901; Collier and others, 1908; Cobb, 1978, OF 78-181). Cumulative gold production from Daniels Creek, mostly between 1900 and 1920, is about 44,000 ounces (Mulligan, 1971). Total placer production from the Bluff area (Daniels Creek, modern beaches, and offshore submerged channels or beaches - see ARDF locality SO134) is about 90,000 ounces.
Reserves: The Daniels Creek placer is mostly worked out but offshore extensions of the very irregular and locally deep channel probably still contain gold (see ARDF locality 134).

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

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	SO006

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References