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Geology of the Nutzotin Mountains, Alaska Gold Deposits Near Nabesna

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Geology of the Nutzotin Mountains, Alaska Gold Deposits Near Nabesna UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Harold L. Ickes, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY W. C. Mendcnhall, Director Bulletin 933-B GEOLOGY OF THE NUTZOTIN MOUNTAINS, ALASKA BY FRED H. MOFFIT With a section on the IGNEOUS ROCKS By RUSSELL G. WAYLAND GOLD DEPOSITS NEAR NABESNA BY RUSSELL G. WAYLAND Mineral resources of Alaska, 1940 Pages 103-199 UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1943 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. ....... Price 65 cents CONTENTS Page Geology of the Nutzotin Mountains, Alaska, by F. H. Moffit.--_--_---_ 103 Abstract_____________--___-_---_____---__---____-____- _ 103 Introduction. __________________________________ _____________ 104 Location of the area-_-_-__------_-_~-___--____-_______-__ 104 Previous work___________________________________________ 105 Present investigation______------_--_--_.___--__-_____---_ 106 Geography _-_-_______--__-___-_-____--______--_______---__ 107 Relief and drainage_____ ___ _. 107 Routes and trails____--_____-----_--___.__.________________ 108 Timber and forage_______'_______--_______--___________-__ 110 Geology....._--_.___._.._--_---_--.___________ 113 Synopsis of geologic formations __________________________ 113 Paleozoic or pre-Paleozoic rocks____________________________ 115 Paleozoic rocks..__________________________________________ 116 Devonian and Permian rocks_-_-_-___-__--_.____-__-._ 116 Character and distribution ______________________ 116 Age and correlation..---...._______________________ 120 Mesozoic rocks......______________________________________ 121 General features---...---.----.-______-_---__-_____.-__ 121 Upper Triassic rocks...-_-----_--.___________________ 122 Character and distribution ___________________.__ 122 Thickness and structure.___________________________ 125 Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous rocks.____________ 125 Character and distribution____- _-_________________ 125 Upper Cretaceous rocks_--_-_____-_____________________ 127 Character and distribution________________________ 127 Structure and thickness of the Mesozoic beds..___________ 129 Intrusives in the Mesozoic rocks _____ ______________ 131 Age of the Mesozoic rocks.___._______________________ 131 Cenozoic rocks..._________________________________________ 132 Quaternary deposits.............______________________ 134 Igneous rocks, by Russell G. Wayland._-___----______-__---_ 137 Paleozoic volcanic rocks._______________________________ 138 Petrography of the Permian volcanics._______________ 140 Granitoid intrusive rocks-_-_____________-_-____________ 142 Klein Creek district__.________.____________________ 143 Chisana area......___________9_.__________________ 145 Notch and Cooper creeks__________________________- 145 Bond and Monte Cristo creeks._____________________ 147 . Other occurrences of granitoid rocks,________________ 148 Contact alteration.________________________________ 149 Summary of age relations_______________________ 152 Wrangell lava.________________________________________ 153 Geologic history____________.-_.____._________..___._______ 158 m IV CONTENTS Geology of the Nutzotin Mountains, Alaska Continued. Page Mineral resources_ ____________________________ _______________ 162 Gold lodes...._____________________________ 163 Beaver Creek....-.-....'.---.-------.-.-....!......... 163 Garden Creek.________________________________________ 164 Bonanza Creek______________________________________ 164 Orange Hill____________________ __________ 166 Nabesna mine_______________________________________ 168 Copper __-_.. ______________________________-____ 168 Snag River__________-_.__._________--__-_____-__-_--_ 169 Goldplacers--__-__---__-------------_------_-_--_______ 170 Other minerals___-__--_-__-___-___-_-_-______-__________-_ 173 Gold deposits near Nabesna, by Russell G. Wayland--_________________ 175 Abstract ______________________________________!___________ 175 Introduction __________________________________________________ 175 History____________________________________________________ 176 Geology-..---------------_-----------_---------_-----_---__ 177 Nabesna limestone_______________________________________ 177 Intrusive rocks.-_-__---_---_--_-_--_-__-_-_-____--________ 178 Wrangell lava.____________________________________________ 179 Structure.________________________________________________ 179 Contact metamorphism.__________________________________ 180 Contact metamorphic minerals__-_______________________ 181 Ore bodies_____j______________________________________________ 183 Magnetite bodies __________________________________________ 183 Pyrrhotite veins and bodies.._______________________________ 183 Pyrite veins____-__-___---_-_____-__-_-__________________ 185 Mineralogy ___________________________________________ 185 Structure of ore shoots_________________________________ 186 Descriptions of individual ore shoots_____________________ 187 Oxidation!__________________________-_ 189 Genesis. ____ ____________________!_________ ________________ 190 Operations...__ _______________________________________________ 191 ( Mining.__________________________________________________ 191 VMilling_________-___-___--_----_--__-__-_-------------- 193 Future of mining__________________________________________ 195 Index.... _ -__---_.- ________-..---.----------- ----- 197 ILLUSTRATIONS 2. Geologic reconnaissance map of the Nutzotm Mountains, Alaska______________________________________________ In pocket 3. Generalized section of the Permian beds on the north side of Cross Creek___________________----. ------ --- 120 4. Section of part of the sedimentary members of the Permian rocks on Baultoff Creek, about 4 miles southeast of the pass to East Fork.....----.-. ----------------------------- «i 5. White Mountain from the air, looking west _____---_--------- 1 «0 6. Geologic map of the White Mountain area. __________ ----- 176 7. View of the mine area from the Nabesna camp_ ______________ 176 8.' Geologic map of the Nabesna mine area. _________________ In pocket CONTENTS V Page PLATE 9. A, View of the Nugget area from U. S. mineral monument No-. 1591; B, View north across Swede Gulch from U. S. mineral monument No. 1591-_-______-_____________.____. .184 10. A, B, Thin section of diopside-hedenbergite and twinned andra- dite in crystalline limestone. _____________________________ 185 11. Geologic maps of underground workings, Nabesna mine__ In pocket 12. Sections of the Nabesna mine_________________________ In pocket FIGURE 4. Index map of part of Alaskashowing area described in this report. _ 104 5. Diagram of the mining claims of the Alaska Nabesna Corpora­ tion at Orange Hill, near the Nabesna Glacier.____________ 167 6. Sketch map and projection of the Cliff vein, Golden Eagle claim. ____ _ ___________________________________________ 184 7. Flow sheet, Nabesna mill-__-._-______---______-_____._.__ 193 By FRED H. MOFFTT ABSTRACT The Nutzotin Mountains constitute the eastern end of the Alaska Range, which extends in a great arc across southern Alaska and either merges with the Coast Range or dies out as an independent range in the vicinity of the international boundary. The part of the Nutzotin Mountains considered in this report lies on the northeast side of the Wrangell Mountains and extends from the Nabesna River southeastward across the Chisana River to Beaver 'Creek. It is an area of rugged mountains, many peaks being between 6,000 and 7,000 feet in altitude and one, Mount Alien, reaching 9,478 feet. Many of the higher mountains are covered with perpetual snow and so become the gath­ ering ground of the ice that feeds numerous glaciers. The two largest streams of the area are the Nabesna and Chisana Rivers, which originate in huge glaciers on the slopes of the Wrangell Mountains and flow in narrow, canyon- like valleys cut directly through the Nutzotin Mountains, finally uniting to form the Tanana River. Two smaller streams, the Snag River and Beaver Creek, rise within the area, but they are tributary to the White River, which flows into the Yukon. At present the usual route of transportation into the district is over the high­ way up the Copper River to Nabesna and then by pack trail to, the destination. More recently the airplane has supplanted the older forms of transportation to .a considerable extent. The oldest rocks of the district form a small area of schist and phyllites associated with altered granitic intrusives along the southwest border of the Tanana lowland. The next oldest rocks include basaltic flows, intrusives, and volcanics, which are interbedded or associated with a minor proportion of limestone, shale, and other clastic beds that are in part of Devonian and in part of Permian age. However, the dominant rocks of the district, which form most of the Nutzotin Mountains, are of Mesozoic age and include Upper Triassic limestone, Upper Jurassic, Lower Cretaceous, and Upper Cretaceous shale, arkose, graywacke, conglomerate, limestone, and other clastic deposits. These beds are much folded and faulted but are not schistose. Unconformities or dis­ continuities probably separate the groups of deposits belonging to each of the different epochs. Moreover, with the possible exception of the Upper Cre­ taceous sandstone, shale, and conglomerate, the1 bedded rocks were intruded by dikes, sills, and large irregular bodies of granitic rock, belonging for the most part to the granodiorite family. Finally, a thick series of basaltic and andesitic lavas and other volcanics rests unconformably on the older rocks in places
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