Old Glory Mine (upper workings); American Eagle, Gold Mountain, Cleveland Peninsula, Ketchikan Mining District, Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Old Glory Mine (upper workings); American Eagle	- not defined -
Gold Mountain	Mountain
Cleveland Peninsula	Peninsula
Ketchikan Mining District	Mining District
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

This description is based mainly on examinations of the upper Old Glory and American Eagle deposits by the U.S. Bureau of Mines in the early 1990s (Maas and others, 1995). Earlier reports include those by Brooks (1902), Wright and Wright (1908), and Smith (1914). Their reports, in turn, were summarized by Elliott and others (1978) and Cobb and Elliott (1980).
Location: The upper workings of the Old Glory mine and the adjacent American Eagle prospect are on the southwest slope of Gold Mountain at an elevation of 750-1000 feet, and about 1.35 miles northwest of the mouth of Falls Creek. The site is in section 24, T. 72 S., R. 88 E., of the Copper River Meridian. It corresponds to localities 251-1,2,3 and 253-1 in Maas and others (1995, fig. 46). The location is accurate within 0.1 mile. Also see Additional comments.
Geology: The country rocks near this site are andesitic and basaltic metavolcanic rocks that gradationally intertongue with subordinate flyschlike metasedimentary rocks (Berg and others, 1988, p. 17-19). The strata were regionally metamorphosed to greenschist-grade phyllite and semischist in Late Cretaceous time (Brew, 1996, p. 27). Their premetamorphic age is uncertain. Berg and others (1988, p. 17) state that they closely resemble Upper Jurassic to mid-Cretaceous marine flysch and volcanic rocks nearby on Gravina Island. The following description is based mainly on examinations of the upper Old Glory and American Eagle deposits by Maas and others (1995). The deposits at the Old Glory (upper workings) and American Eagle properties consist of quartz fissure veins and stringer lodes in massive to schistose metavolcanic rocks (greenstone) and interbedded chlorite schist (Maas and others, 1995, p. 183-184 and fig. 46). The veins contain pyrite and free gold and the schistose wallrocks adjacent to some of the veins are bleached and pyritized. The upper Old Glory workings date to the early 1900s and consist of 3 adits of unknown length; the American Eagle deposit was explored at that time by a 336-foot adit (Maas and others, table 26). Brooks (1902, p. 57) reported that a two-stamp mill was under construction at the time of his visit. Gold production, if any, from the upper Old Glory probably is included in the cumulative production figures for the Old Glory mine given by Maas and others (1995, table 26) (see KC033). Maas and others (table 25) report the following average metal contents in their samples from the upper Old Glory lode: 4.32 ppm Au, 0.35 ppm Ag, 128 ppm Cu, 120 ppm Pb, and 67 ppm Zn. Samples from the American Eagle lode contain: 1.86 ppm Au, 0.12 ppm Ag, 157 ppm Cu, 11.2 ppm, Pb, and 71 ppm Zn. Fluid inclusion studies of quartz vein material from several of the Helm Bay lodes suggest that the veins formed at temperatures and pressures consistent with conditions during the Late Cretaceous greenschist-grade regional metamorphism (Maas and others, 1995, p. 184).
Workings: The upper Old Glory workings date to the early 1900s and consist of three adits of unknown length; the American Eagle deposit was explored at that time by a 336-foot adit (Maas and others, table 26). Brooks (1902, p. 57) reported that a two-stamp mill was under construction at the time of his visit. Maas and others (table 25) report the following average metal contents in their samples from the upper Old Glory lode: 4.32 ppm Au, 0.35 ppm Ag, 128 ppm Cu, 120 ppm Pb, and 67 ppm Zn. Samples from the American Eagle lode contain: 1.86 ppm Au, 0.12 ppm Ag, 157 ppm Cu, 11.2 ppm, Pb, and 71 ppm Zn.
Age: Late Cretaceous.
Alteration: The wallrocks adjacent to some of the veins are bleached and pyritic.
Production: Gold production, if any, from the upper Old Glory probably is included in the cumulative production figures for the Old Glory mine given by Maas and others (1995, table 26) (see KC033).

Commodities (Major) - Au
Development Status: Yes; small
Deposit Model: Low-sulfide gold-quartz veins (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 36a)

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	KC034

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References