Log InRegister
Quick Links : The Mindat ManualThe Rock H. Currier Digital LibraryMindat Newsletter [Free Download]
Home PageAbout MindatThe Mindat ManualHistory of MindatCopyright StatusWho We AreContact UsAdvertise on Mindat
Donate to MindatCorporate SponsorshipSponsor a PageSponsored PagesMindat AdvertisersAdvertise on Mindat
Learning CenterWhat is a mineral?The most common minerals on earthInformation for EducatorsMindat ArticlesThe ElementsThe Rock H. Currier Digital LibraryGeologic Time
Minerals by PropertiesMinerals by ChemistryAdvanced Locality SearchRandom MineralRandom LocalitySearch by minIDLocalities Near MeSearch ArticlesSearch GlossaryMore Search Options
Search For:
Mineral Name:
Locality Name:
Keyword(s):
 
The Mindat ManualAdd a New PhotoRate PhotosLocality Edit ReportCoordinate Completion ReportAdd Glossary Item
Mining CompaniesStatisticsUsersMineral MuseumsClubs & OrganizationsMineral Shows & EventsThe Mindat DirectoryDevice SettingsThe Mineral Quiz
Photo SearchPhoto GalleriesSearch by ColorNew Photos TodayNew Photos YesterdayMembers' Photo GalleriesPast Photo of the Day GalleryPhotography

Sliscovich Mine, Nome District, Nome Borough, Alaska, USA

This page is currently not sponsored. Click here to sponsor this page.
DisplayPhotosMapsSearch
 
 
Location: The Sliscovich claims extend north-northeast for about 1.5 miles from the gentle ridge between Cold and Manila Creeks into the head of Manila Creek. From southwest to northeast the claims are the Greater Alaska, My Best Lode, Sliscovich Discovery, Nasradin and Distin claims (two wide), and Discovery and Manilla Extension Lodes (two wide). The claims correspond generally with localities 15 and 16 of Hummel (1962 [MF 248]). The location used here is approximately the end line between Sliscovich Discovery and Distin lode claims (U.S. Mineral Survey No. 1380). The location is accurate to 0.1 mile of the coordinates. It is locality 28 of Cobb (1972 [MF 46], 1978 [OFR 78-93]).
Geology: At least two distinctive types of mineral deposits occur on the Sliscovich claim block. A vein, probably continuous with mineralization at the Breen East prospect (NM085), strikes about east-west and appears to trend onto the southwest part of the My Best Lode claim, where it was opened by adits and trenches. Farther southwest, stibnite-bearing veins near a contact between metasedimentary schist and marble are subparallel to the alignment of the Sliscovich Discovery claim, and stibnite float is found at or below this contact for the length of the claim. Workings in the northeast part of the Sliscovich Discovery claim are, at least in part, on the contact of metasedimentary schist underlying marble (D. Simpson, Bear Creek Mining Company, written communication, 1984). The contact zone on the Sliscovich Discovery claim was probably developed when the property was visited by Chapin in 1913 (Chapin, 1914, p. 403-404). Chapin described the occurrence as a quartz-stibnite vein that strikes N 60 E and dips 45 degrees northwest. Stibnite was mostly on the footwall, but it also occurred as veins and nests in quartz (Cathcart, 1922). Gouge and slickensides were locally present on both footwall and hanging wall (Mertie, 1918 [B 662-I, p. 425-449]). The vein was developed by a 315-foot adit, a drift on the lode, and an incline from the drift. A 70-foot-long part of the lode was mined for antimony in 1915 from the incline workings. In general, the vein that remained was only a few inches wide, but Cathcart (1922, p. 230) found one section about 45 inches thick that consisted of 13 inches of stibnite and 32 inches of opaque quartz. The vein was similar to that at the Hed & [and] Strand mine (NM070) with most of the quartz on the hanging wall. Massive stibnite-quartz float occurs on the My Best Lode claim and appears to be from the same vein developed on the Breen West claims (NM087). Cathcart (1922) reported some steeply dipping quartz veinlets with northeast strike. A small ore shipment reported by Chapin (1914) contained about 35 percent antimony; gold and silver were present, but their values were not reported. An 88-ton ore shipment in 1915 returned most of its value in gold (Mertie, 1918). Gold values obtained by Bear Creek Mining locally exceeded 1 ounce per ton. Gamble and others (1985, p. 28) reported that antimony-rich samples contained 4.4 to 6.5 ppm gold, 2 to 7 ppm silver, and 100 to 250 ppm arsenic. The Sliscovich mine is in metasedimentary schist near an overlying marble. A granitic orthogniess is mapped upslope to the north (Hummel, 1962 [MF 248]). The metamorphic rocks are part of the Nome Group, which is derived from Proterozoic to early Paleozoic protoliths (Till and Dumoulin, 1994). The Nome Group underwent regional blueschist facies metamorphism in the Late Jurassic or Early Cretaceous (Sainsbury, Coleman, and Kachadoorian, 1970; Forbes and others, 1984; Thurston, 1985; Armstrong and others, 1986; Hannula and McWilliams, 1995). The blueschist facies rocks were recrystallized to greenschist facies or higher metamorphic grades in conjunction with regional extension, crustal melting, and magmatism in the mid-Cretaceous (Hudson and Arth, 1983; Miller and Hudson, 1991; Miller and others, 1992; Dumitru and others, 1995; Hannula and others, 1995; Hudson, 1994; Amato and others, 1994; Amato and Wright, 1997, 1998). Lode gold mineralization on Seward Peninsula is mostly related to the higher temperature metamorphism in the mid-Cretaceous (Apodoca, 1994; Ford, 1993 [thesis]; Ford and Snee, 1996; Goldfarb and others, 1997). The antimony-gold deposits are probably of about the same age.
Workings: The claims of the Sliscovich group were located between June 20, 1907, and January 1, 1917, and were patented to James F. Halpin in 1924. According to Chapin (1914, p. 403-404), at least one claim was located as early as 1905. The Sliscovich Discovery claim was developed by 315-foot adit and an incline driven 100 feet along the vein. Stibnite was mined from a 70-foot-long stope. These workings were driven in 1915 or before. The My Best Lode claim also has mine workings. The area was explored by Mapco in about 1981-82. The Sliscovich claims were mapped during Bear Creek Mining's option of the Breen claims (D. Simpson, written communication, 1984). Subsequently the area was studied by BHP (Ford, 1993 [thesis]). The area is within an extensive east-west, gold and arsenic soil anomaly identified by BHP.
Age: Mid-Cretaceous?; controlled by structures that post-date regional metamorphism; may be same age as some lode gold deposits of Seward Peninsula.
Alteration: Chapin (1914, p. 404) reported that the footwall was strongly bleached for about 15 inches and converted to quartz and sericite with fine-grained white pyrite (arsenopyrite?). The hanging wall was silicified. D. Simpson (Bear Creek Mining Company, written communication, 1984) found that the footwall schist was sheared, and altered and carried small amounts of arsenopyrite.
Production: A small ore shipment reported by Chapin (1914) contained about 35 percent antimony; gold and silver were present, but their values were not reported. An 88-ton ore shipment in 1915 returned most of its value in gold (Mertie, 1918 [B 662-I, p. 425-449]). Gold values obtained by Bear Creek Mining locally exceeded 1 ounce per ton. Gamble and others (1985, p. 28) reported that antimony-rich samples contained 4.4 to 6.5 ppm gold, 2 to 7 ppm silver, and 100 to 250 ppm arsenic.

Commodities (Major) - Au, Sb; (Minor) - Ag, As
Development Status: Yes; small
Deposit Model: Simple Sb deposits and low sulfide, Au-quartz vein? (Cox and Singer, 1986; mode

Mineral List



7 entries listed. 7 valid minerals.

The above list 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

Amato, J.M., and Wright, J.E., 1997, Potassic mafic magmatism in the Kigluaik gneiss dome, northern Alaska--A geochemical study of arc magmatism in an extensional tectonic setting: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. B102, no. 4, p. 8065-8084. Amato, J.M., and Wright, J.E., 1998, Geochronologic investigations of magmatism and metamorphism within the Kigluaik Mountains gneiss dome, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, in Clough, J.G., and Larson, Frank, eds., Short Notes on Alaskan Geology 1997: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Professional Report 118a, p. 1-21. Amato, J.M., Wright, J.E., Gans, P.B., and Miller, E.L., 1994, Magmatically induced metamorphism and deformation in the Kigluaik gneiss dome, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Tectonics, v. 13, p. 515-527. Apodoca, L.E., 1994, Genesis of lode gold deposits of the Rock Creek area, Nome mining district, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Boulder, Colorado, University of Colorado, Ph.D. dissertation, 208 p. Armstrong, R.L., Harakal, J.E., Forbes, R.B., Evans, B.W., and Thurston, S.P., 1986, Rb-Sr and K-Ar study of metamorphic rocks of the Seward Peninsula and southern Brooks Range, Alaska, in Evans, B.W., and Brown, E.H., eds., Blueschists and eclogites: Geological Society of America Memoir 164, p. 184-203. Bundtzen, T.K., Reger, R.D., Laird, G.M., Pinney, D.S., Clautice, K.H., Liss, S.A., and Cruse, G.R., 1994, Progress report on the geology and mineral resources of the Nome mining district: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, Public Data-File 94-39, 21 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:63,360. Cathcart, S.H., 1922, Metalliferous lodes in southern Seward Peninsula: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 722-F, p. 163-261. Chapin, Theodore, 1914, Lode development on Seward Peninsula: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592-L, p. 397-407. Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Nome quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-463, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000. Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Nome quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File report 78-93, 213 p. Dumitru, T.A., Miller, E.L., O'Sullivan, P.B., Amato, J.M., Hannula, K.A., Calvert, A.T., and Gans, P.B., 1995, Cretaceous to Recent extension in the Bering Strait region, Alaska: Tectonics, v. 14, p. 549-563. Forbes, R.B., Evans, B.W., and Thurston, S.P., 1984, Regional progressive high-pressure metamorphism, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Journal of Metamorphic Geology, v. 2, p. 43-54. Ford, R.C., 1993, Geology, geochemistry, and age of gold lodes at Bluff and Mt. Distin, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Golden, Colorado School of Mines, Ph.D. dissertation, 302 p. Ford, R.C., and Snee, L.W., 1996, 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology of white mica from the Nome district, Alaska--The first ages of lode sources to placer gold deposits in the Seward Peninsula: Economic Geology, v. 91, p. 213-220. Gamble, B.M., Ashley, R.P., and Pickthorn, W.J., 1985, Preliminary study of lode gold deposits, Seward Peninsula, in Bartsch-Winkler, Susan, ed., The United States Geological Survey in Alaska--Accomplishments during 1984: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 967, p. 27-29. Goldfarb, R.J., Miller, L.D., Leach, D.L., and Snee, L.W, 1997, Gold deposits in metamorphic rocks in Alaska, in Goldfarb, R.J., and Miller, L.D., eds., Mineral Deposits of Alaska: Economic Geology Monograph 9, p. 151-190. Hannula, K.A., and McWilliams, M.O., 1995, Reconsideration of the age of blueschist facies metamorphism on the Seward Peninusla, Alaska, based on phengite 40Ar/39Ar results: Journal of Metamorphic Geology, v. 13, p. 125-139. Hannula, K.A., Miller, E.L., Dumitru, T.A., Lee, Jeffrey, and Rubin, C.M., 1995, Structural and metamorphic relations in the southwest Seward Peninsula, Alaska; Crustal extension and the unroofing of blueschists: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 107, p. 536-553. Hudson, T.L., 1994, Crustal melting events in Alaska, in Plafker, G., and Berg, H. C., eds., The Geology of Alaska: Geological Society of America, DNAG, The Geology of North America, Vol. G-1, p. 657-670. Hudson, T.L., and Arth, J. G., 1983, Tin granites of Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 94, p. 768-790. Hummel, C.L., 1962, Preliminary geologic map of the Nome D-1 quadrangle, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-248, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360. Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1918, Lode mining and prospecting on Seward Peninsula: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 662, p. 425-449. Miller, E.L., and Hudson, T.L., 1991, Mid-Cretaceous extensional fragmentation of a Jurassic-Early Cretaceous compressional orogen, Alaska: Tectonics, v. 10, p. 781-796. Miller, E.L., Calvert, A.T., and Little, T.A., 1992, Strain-collapsed metamorphic isograds in a sillimanite gneiss dome, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Geology, v. 20, p. 487-490. Sainsbury, C.L., Coleman, R.G., and Kachadoorian, Reuben, 1970, Blueschist and related greenschist faces rocks of the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, in Geological Survey research 1970: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 700-B, p. B33-B42. Thurston, S.P., 1985, Structure, petrology, and metamorphic history of the Nome Group blueschist terrane, Salmon Lake area, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 96, p. 600-617. Till, A.B., and Dumoulin, J.A, 1994, Geology of Seward Peninsula and St. Lawrence Island, in Plafker, G., and Berg, H.C., eds., The Geology of Alaska: Geological Society of America, DNAG, The Geology of North America, v. G-1, p. 141-152.

 
Mineral and/or Locality  
Mindat Discussions Facebook Logo Instagram Logo Discord Logo
Mindat.org is an outreach project of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2024, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: March 28, 2024 14:04:31 Page updated: January 19, 2015 14:35:37
Go to top of page