Junction Creek Mines, Fairbanks Mining District, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Junction Creek Mines	Group of Mines
Fairbanks Mining District	Mining District
Fairbanks North Star Borough	Borough
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: Junction Creek, approximately 3.5 miles north of the town of Richardson on the Richardson Highway, is a tributary of Redmond Creek (BD035) that drains to the north into the Salcha River. The creek is approximately 10 miles long and has several tributaries. The Alaska Division of Mining Kardex file system reports placer mining along Junction Creek. The approximate center of the mining activity is in SE1/4SW1/4 section 5, T. 7 S., R. 7 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. The headwaters of the creek are within 0.5 mile of the Democrat Lode (BD014). Numerous unimproved roads provide access to the Junction and Redmond Creek drainage. It is locality 19 of Menzie and Foster (1979), who summarized relevant references under the name 'Junction Creek'.
Geology: The Richardson area is characterized by gentle slopes and broad, alluvium-filled valleys (Prindle and Katz, 1913, p. 140). The area is unglaciated and largely overlain by windblown silt, sand, and loess, locally up to 50 meters thick (Foster and others, 1979). The bedrock in the region comprises greenschist to amphibolite facies schist, marble, and gneiss that have been intruded by various igneous bodies (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977, p. 29). The schist and marble are probably Paleozoic, and the gneiss has a probable protolith of Precambrian and Paleozoic sedimentary and igneous rocks (Weber and others, 1978). The intrusive bodies in the area range in composition from rhyolite to andesite. Fine-grained rhyolite containing quartz and feldspar phenocrysts is common throughout the area (Olson and others, 1985). At the nearby Democrat Lode (BD014), the rhyolite contains arsenopyrite, gold, and pyrite, and is albitic, clay, and sericite altered (R.J. Newberry, oral communication, 1998). Structurally, the Richardson region is cut by a northwest-trending fracture system termed the Richardson Lineament. The lineament appears to correspond to the distribution of the rhyolite and other intrusive bodies and placer gold deposits (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977, p. 29). Also, the lineament tends to separate gneissic rocks to the northeast from schistose rocks to the southwest (Swainbank and others, 1984). Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson district in 1905. Mining initially occurred on the nearby Tenderfoot Creek (BD039) and soon expanded to nearby creeks. After peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). The placer gold mined from the Richardson area ranged from 639.5 to 785 in fineness (Menzie and Foster, 1979). Metz (1991) described early drift mine and surface tailings in the Junction Creek drainage. The Alaska Division of Mining Kardex file system records active claims on Junction Creek as recent as 1984. From 1905 through 1921, production for the Richardson district was approximately 95,000 ounces of gold and 24,000 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977). Since 1980, the district has produced approximately 10,000 additional ounces of gold from intermittent mining (Olson and others, 1985). Gold production for Junction Creek has not been reported separately.
Workings: Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson district in 1905. Mining initially occurred on the nearby Tenderfoot Creek and soon expanded to nearby creeks. After peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). Metz (1991) described early drift mine and surface tailings in the Junction Creek drainage. The Alaska Division of Mining Kardex file system records active claims on Junction Creek as recent as 1984.
Age: Quaternary
Production: From 1905 through 1921, production for the Richardson district was approximately 95,000 ounces of gold and 24,000 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977). Since 1980, the district has produced approximately 10,000 additional ounces of gold from intermittent mining (Olson and others, 1985). Gold production for Junction Creek has not been reported separately.

Commodities (Major) - Au
Development Status: Yes; small
Deposit Model: Placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a)

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	BD021

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References