Location: The mine is located approximately 3 miles east of the Seward Highway on the north side of Falls Creek at an elevation of 3,200 feet. On the 1994 USGS Seward B-7 topographic map it is misnamed the Falls Creek mine. It is situated in the NE1/4 section 16, T. 4 N., R. 1 E., of the Seward Meridian. This is location 71 of Cobb and Tysdal (1980) and location S-225 of Jansons and others (1984). This location is accurate to within 300 feet.
Geology: The deposit at the mine consists of two quartz veins that have been developed by three levels of workings at elevations of 2,140, 3,210, and 3,260 feet. The upper vein occupies a fracture in massive graywacke mapped as part of the Valdez Group of Late Cretaceous age (Nelson and others, 1985); it strikes N15W and dips 45E. The upper vein is 20 to 45 inches wide and is surrounded by 1 to 4 inches of fault gouge (Martin and others, 1915). The lower vein lies about 90 feet southwest of the upper vein and strikes N45W and dips 65NE. It measures 46 inches in width at the upper tunnel and varies from 1 to 4 feet in the lower adit. Both veins are offset by a series of N55E-trending shear zones that dip vertically. The movement of the faults is right lateral, and the throw is about 30 feet (Hoekzema and Sherman, 1983). Both veins are composed of shattered white quartz with faint indications of secondary banding. A small amount of calcite occurs with the quartz. Sulfide minerals are of arsenopyrite, pyrite, and galena. Sulfides are also found disseminated in the wall rock and tend to be concentrated on vein margins (Martin and others, 1915). Native gold is associated with arsenopyrite and galena. Workings total about 2,000 feet (Jansons and others, 1984). Most of the production came from the lower vein. Total production was 1,786 ounces of gold and 502 ounces of silver (Hoekzema and Sherman, 1983). Samples collected from the workings and surface exposures contained from trace to 360 ppm gold, and trace to 30 ppm silver (Hoekzema and Sherman, 1983).
Workings: The property was discovered in 1907, and development started on the 3,210 level in 1910 (Jasper, 1958). By 1912, when the property was abandoned, about 1,000 feet of workings were completed. In 1938, the Falls Creek Mining Company (owner of the Falls Creek mine and mill ) acquired the property, and intermittent development occurred through 1950 (Jasper, 1958). The workings total about 2,000 feet, including 1,259 feet of drifts and stopes on the lower vein and 741 feet of drifts and stopes on the upper vein (Hoekzema and Sherman, 1983). Samples collected from the workings and surface exposures contained from trace to 360 ppm gold and from trace to 30 ppm silver (Hoekzema and Sherman, 1983).
Age: Cretaceous or younger; the veins cut rocks of the Valdez Group of Late Cretaceous age.
Production: Production totalled 1,786 ounces of gold and 502 ounces of silver (Jansons and others, 1984). Some of this may have come from the Falls Creek mine, SR206.
Reserves: The U.S. Bureau of Mines estimated a resource of 10,000 tons containing 0.82 ounce of gold per ton and 0.3 ounce of silver per ton (Hoekzema and Sherman, 1983).

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

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Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.

ⓘ Lead

ⓘ Silver

Mineral List

6 valid minerals.