UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Harold L. Ickes, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY W. E. Wrather, Director Bulletin 933 4 * MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA REPORT ON PROGRESS OF INVESTIGATIONS IN PAPERS BY PHILIP S. SMITH, FRED H. MOFFIT RUSSELL G. WAYLAND, WALTER C. STOLL, AND GERALD FITZGERALD UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. WASHINGTON : 1944 *.JA>- i * If ' CONTENTS [The letters in parentheses preceding the titles are those used to designate the papers for advance publication] (A) Mineral industry of Alaska in 1940, by Philip S. Smith 1 (B) Geology of the Nutzotin Mountains, Alaska .: _ __ 103 (C) Relations of structure to mineral deposition at the Independence mine, Alaska : _ 201 (D) Reconnaissance of Porcupine Valley, Alaska 219 ) . ILLUSTEATIONS ^ ______ Page *" PLATE 1. Map of Alaska, showing areas covered by selected available /9^ . reports and maps of Alaska _ __ _ 1 In pocket 2. Geologic reconnaissance map of the Nutzotin Mountains, M 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 r on Baultoff Creek, about 4 miles southeast of the pass to East Fork__________________________________ 121 5. White Mountain from the air, looking west __________ _ 176 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 9. A, View of the Nugget area from U. S. mineral monument *rtf*- 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 >c 12. Sections of the Nabesna mine____________________ In pocket 13. Plan of workings in northern part of Independence mine, Willow > Creek district ________ _______ __________ 208 14. Diagrammatic sketch showing structure of vein in Indepen- *f dence mine__ ____ _ '__ _ __________ 208 15. Map of Independence mine showing distribution of quartz___ 208 16. Banded quartz vein_ __ ______ __________ 212 ^ 17. Large fragment of wall rock suspended in quartz________ 213 18. Topographic map of Porcupine Valley__-__________ In pocket _ 19. Planimetric map of lower Porcupine River____________ In pocket 20. A, Ramparts of lower Coleen River; B, Porcupine Valley, looking ^ northeast from station at Red Gate______________ 230 21. A, Native village' at Fort Yukon; B, River freighting on Porcu- * pine River_____________________________ 231 y, 590039 44 3 ni IV ILLUSTRATIONS Page FIOUEE 1. Trends of mineral production of Alaska, 1890-1940-______-_ 9 2. Trend of value of gold production of Alaska, 1880-1940______ 13 3. Copper produced from Alaska mines, 1900-1940, and fluctuations in the price of copper during that period _ _ 77 4. Index map of part of Alaska showing area described in this report _________________________ ____ 104 5. Diagram of the mining claims of the Alaska Nabesna Corpo­ ration 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 8. Sketch map of Alaska showing location of Willow Creek district... 202 9. Diagrammatic sketch showing disposition of the components of a horizontal thrust upon a vein of variable dip 211 10. Diagrammatic sketch showing relation of bypass shear to quartz vein_____________________________________ 212 11. Diagrammatic cross section of vein________ _ ______ 214 12. Index map showing location of Porcupine Valley_________ 220 13. Physiographic provinces of Porcupine Valley. _________ 233 ** UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Harold L. Ickes, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ' W. C. Mendenhall, Director Bulletin 933-A MINERAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA IN 1940 BY PHILIP S. SMITH Mineral Resources of Alaska, 1940 (Pages 1-102) ' UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1942 For sale by the|Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. - - - - - - Price 35 cents CONTENTS Introduction. __._.___._._____.______-____--___-__--___--__--__.__- 1 Acknowledgments. _ ___-__--_--__------------,--__- --------- 4 .fr" Mineral production..-...------------------------------------------ 5 . General features of the year.-.- -_ -_ -_ _- -_ 5 '** Total mineral production. _ ______________________________________ 8 Gold.-.-...-------.----------------------------------------- 11 - General features. - _----_-----_---_-----_--_---_-----------_ 11 -f Goldlodes_. --------------------------------------------- 15 Gold placers. - -- - :.- - --- ----------- 27 ^ General conditions ----------------------------------- 27 Production by districts. ________________________________ 30 * » Southeastern Alaska.. __ __ _ __ __ .. 32 Copper River region ________ _______________________ 33 P- Cook Inlet-Susitna region __ ______________________ 34 Yukon region ________ __ _ _________________________ 36 Kuskokwim region______--__-_-_____. _________.--__ 51 ^ '» Seward Peninsula __ _____-________________________' 55 ' Northwestern Alaska __ ___________________________ 63 Dredging... -- __- ---_- - --_--___-_-____-_______ 64 Silver. _-._.---.---_--..._--- --L... --------- _ . ___ --------- 69 »-v Platinum metals _ ______ ______________ ____________________._ 72 Copper. ___- --_- _ - -- __ 75 + . Lead.. _.-..--_..---.---_-_---------------_.---------_-.- 78 Tin_. _.--_.--_..-.-.._..---.---_---..-----__---..---.-......- 79 -'* Coal.. ........................................................ 82 - Petroleum. __________________________________________________ 85 Miscellaneous mineral products _ _______________________________ 88 9 . In dex___--____. ---_.-__--_._---_--__-----_-__-____-_.______-_____ 95 Selected list of Geological Survey publications on Alaska. On back of map in pocket ILLUSTKATIONS Page PLATE 1. Map of Alaska, showing areas covered by selected available reports and maps of Alaska. _________________________ In pocket FIGURE 1. Trends of mineral production of Alaska, 1890-1940. _ __.__-__ 9 2. Trend of value of gold production of Alaska, 1880-1940 ___ _ 13 3. Copper produced from Alaska mines, 1900-1940, and fluctua­ tions in the price of copper during that period, . ___________ 77 MINERAL RESOURCES OJF ALASKA, 1940 BY PHILIP S. SMITH INTRODUCTION The presentation of a yearly record of the Alaska mineral indus­ try is a continuing service that has been rendered by the Geological Survey from almost the earliest years of extensive mining in Alaska, and the present report, for 1940, is the thirty-seventh of this series.2 Such a record, especially when supplemented by the statistics for the preceding years, not only affords an authoritative summary of cur­ rent and past conditions but also indicates trends that are of signifi- cance in suggesting the lines along which future developments of the industry are likely to proceed. These reports therefore serve miners, prospectors, and businessmen concerned with Alaska affairs as useful historical records, statements of contemporary conditions, and start- ing points on which some conjectures concerning future operations may, be predicated. To obtain the information recorded in these reports the Geologi- cal Survey, in addition to its other investigations of mineral re- sources, conducts an annual canvass of the entire mineral industry of Alaska. The collection of the facts requisite for the preparation of these annual statements involves difficulties, because the great size of the Territory, the diversity of its mineral products, and the large num- ber but small size of many of the enterprises make it impracticable without undue delay and expense to gather all the desired informa­ tion at first hand. The information used is therefore derived from many sources, which necessarily vary in reliability and completeness. Efforts are made, however, to reduce all the statements to a comparable 1 The canvass of producers, the tabulation of their replies, and general assistance in all phases of the office work connected with the preparation of the statistics set forth in this report have been carried through effectively by Kathleen S. Waldron and Letha M. Scott, of the Alaskan branch of the Geological Survey. 3 The other volumes of this series, commencing with that for 1904, are Bulletins 259, 284, 314, 345, 379, 442, 480, 520, 542, 592, 622, 642, 662, 692, 712, 722, 739, 755, 773, 783, 792, 810, 813, 824, 836, 844-A, 857-A, 864-A, 868-A, 880-A, 897-A, 910-A, 917-A, and 926-A. The reports for 1902 and 1903 were included with other "contributions to economic geology" in Bulletins 213 and 225. 2 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA/ 1940 basis and to give only those that appear to be well substantiated. Among the most reliable sources of information are the geologists and engineerswhoaresentouteachyear by the Geological Survey to conduct surveys in different parts of Alaska and who acquire not only much accurate information regarding the mineral production of the regions in which they work but also general information by contact with miners and operators in the course of their travels to and from the field. Members of other Government organizations for instance, the Bureau of Mines, the Bureau of the Mint, The Alaska Kailroad, the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, and the Customs Service in the course