Holmes Gulch Mine, McGrath District, Yukon-Koyukuk Borough, Alaska, USA
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Location: The Holmes Gulch placer mine is located at an elevation of 750 feet (228 m) in Section 25, T. 26 S., R. 21 E., of the Kateel River Meridian. Location is known to within 250 feet (76 m).
Geology: The Holmes Gulch placer deposit is in a steep first order stream that can be traced for about one mile (1.6 km). Gravels in Holmes Gulch were 11 ft (3.3 m) deep, and can be traced upstream 4000 ft (1,219 m) toward the Whalen shaft (MD071). Most of the mining took place at the intersection of Holmes Gulch and Hidden Creek. Boulders up to 4 ft in diameter encountered during mining. Age of mineralization is unknown, but is probably Quaternary, based on correlative geomorphological features with other dated placer deposits nearby (Bundtzen and Miller, 1997).
Workings: Small-scale, surface-hydraulic sluicing predominated. There is no evidence that heavy machinery was employed in Holmes Gulch (Mertie, 1936). Most mining took place at the intersection of Holmes Gulch and Hidden Creek.
Production: The first recorded production from Holmes Gulch took place in 1919; mining continued intermittently until 1938. The production total for Holmes Gulch was 1,065 ounces (33 kg) gold and an unknown amount of silver.
Commodities (Major) - Ag, Au; (Minor) - Bi
Development Status: Yes; small
Deposit Model: Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model no. 39c)
Mineral List
3 entries listed. 3 valid minerals.
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References
Brown, J.S., 1926, The Nixon Fork country: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 783-D, p. 97-144. Bundtzen, T.K., and Miller, M.L., 1997, Precious metals associated with Late Cretaceous-early Tertiary igneous rocks of southwestern Alaska, in Goldfarb, R.J., and Miller, L.D., eds., Mineral Deposits of Alaska: Economic Geology Monograph 9, p. 242-286. Cobb, E.H., 1974, Placer Deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1374, 213 pages. Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences in the Beaver, Bettles, and Medfra quadrangles: U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 78-94, 54 pages. Martin, G.C., 1922, Gold lodes in the upper Kuskokwim region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 722-E, p. 149-161. Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1936, Mineral deposits of the Ruby-Kuskokwim region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 864-C, p. 115-245.