Ready Bullion; Borovich and Stevens; Hudson Mine, Fairbanks Mining District, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Ready Bullion; Borovich and Stevens; Hudson Mine	Mine
Fairbanks Mining District	Mining District
Fairbanks North Star Borough	Borough
Alaska	State
USA	Country

In 1931, the Ready Bullion group consisted of 18 claims: the Geneva, Mary Stay, Hosanna, Hudson, Horseshoe, Ready Bullion, Lode Fraction, Stibnite no. 1, Stibnite no. 2, Borovich, Borovich Fraction, Borovich no. 2, Native Daughter, South Pole, North Pole, Camp, Sunflower, and Fraction (Hill, 1933, p. 123). In 1926, the property consisted of eight lode claims owned by the Eva Quartz Company (Wimmler, 1926 [ATDM PE 58-1]).
Location: The Ready Bullion mine is located in the SE1/4 sec. 1, T. 1 S., R. 3 W., Fairbanks Meridian. This group of claims, centered at an elevation of about 1,100 feet, is on the hillside between Moose Gulch and Ready Bullion Creek, about 1.5 miles west-northwest of the town of Ester. The mill is located to the south at an elevation of about 800 feet just north of Ester Creek. The old underground workings are on the hillside above the mill at an elevation of 1,060 to 1,200 feet (Williams and Saunders, 1957). The mine is locality 10 of CObb (1972 [MF 410]).
Geology: Gold was mined from the Ready Bullion group of claims in 1912 and 1913, from 1926 to 1931, and in 1933 (Cobb, 1976 [OFR 76-662, p. 116]). The ore occurs in several veins and shear zones in mica schist and quartzite. The veins contain several varieties of quartz associated with gold, arsenopyrite, stibnite, and an antimony-lead sulfide (bournonite or boulangerite?) (Hill, 1933, p. 127). Visible gold is found in quartz stringers but nearby schist is also auriferous (Smith, 1913 [B 525]). Gold fineness of 682 and 819 was reported (Glover, 1950). Postmineral movement has been intense along the main vein; as a consequence, there is heavy clay gouge on the walls and in various places in the ore (Hill, 1933, p. 127). The main ore veins generally strike north and dip steeply to the east or south; the ore zones are as much as 20 feet wide (Hill, 1933, p. 126). The main development consisted of two drifts that for the most part explored one zone of mineralization (Hill, 1933, p. 124). From surface workings it is evident that several other veins also exist. The upper tunnel was approximately 600 feet long with six crosscuts ranging from 20 to 100 feet in length. The 1,280-foot-long lower tunnel was 570 feet south of and 100 feet lower than the upper tunnel. Between the lower and upper tunnels, a large stope was mined. The stope was 160 feet long and 40 feet wide on an 8-foot wide vein. This stope reportedly yielded about 3,600 tons of ore with an average grade of about $6.09 in gold per ton (about 0.29 ounce of gold per ton). Other samples taken from various veins throughout the workings of the lower tunnel ranged in grade from about 23 cents in gold per ton to $20 in gold per ton (about 0.01 to 0.97 ounce of gold per ton) (Hill, 1933). In 1950, the property was explored by a number of prospect trenches which were excavated by bulldozer (Williams and Saunders, 1957, rev. 1964). Samples from these trenches contained gold values from trace amounts to 0.22 ounces of gold per ton and silver values from 0.24 to 1.44 ounces of silver per ton. In 1956, some additional bulldozing was done and four samples were taken. Gold values ranged from 0.01 to 14.10 ounces of gold per ton (Williams and Saunders, 1957). The sample with a gold value of 0.22 ounce of gold per ton came from an area of soft, dark blue schist, and also contained 28.57 percent antimony. The sample with a gold value of 14.10 ounces of gold per ton came from a vein that appeared to strike north and dip to the east.
Workings: The following account of the workings at the Ready Bullion group of claims is taken from observations made by James Hill in 1931 (Hill, 1933, p. 123-127). In 1926, the Ready Bullion group of 18 claims was assembled by the Eva Quartz Mining Company and included a mine referred to in earlier reports as the Hudson mine (the Hudson mine is described separately in FB023). The main development consisted of two drift tunnels, one at an elevation of 1,000 feet on the Borovich claim and the other at 1,100 feet on the Hosanna claim. Trenching completed to the north of the tunnels indicated that the zone of mineralization likely extended the full length of the claim group and probably into the adjacent ground to the north. In 1931, high-grade ore in a vein to the east of the workings was discovered. By 1931, the upper tunnel had caved and could not be examined. The underground plans showed that it was approximately 600 feet long with six crosscuts rangng from 20 to 100 feet in length. The mouth of the lower tunnel was 570 feet south of and 100 feet lower than the upper tunnel. There was an ore bin with a capacity of about 25 tons at the end of the dump. The tunnel was equipped with 8-pound rails throughout its entire length of 1,280 feet. Most of the crosscuts in the ore zone were caved when visited in 1931. A fairly large zone was mined between the lower and upper tunnels. This stope was about 160 feet long and about 40 feet high on a vein about 8 feet wide. This stope reportedly yielded approximately 3,600 tons of ore that averaged $6.09 in gold per ton (about 0.29 ounce of gold per ton). Near the face of the upper tunnel, a small stope yielded a few hundred tons of ore averaging $11.84 in gold per ton (about 0.57 ounce of gold per ton) from a vein with an average width of 3 feet. Other samples taken from various veins in the workings of the lower tunnel ranged in value from about 23 cents in gold per ton to $20 in gold per ton (about 0.01 to 0.97 ounce of gold per ton). In 1950, the property was examined by a number of prospect trenches excavated by bulldozer (Williams and Saunders, 1957). In 1956, some additional bulldozing was done, and four samples were taken (Williams and Saunders, 1957). In 1960, the Chatham Creek Mining Company mined the upper part of Ready Bullion Creek near Ester. In early August of 1960, they were working on the second cut of the season just below the fork in the upper part of the creek (Saunders, 1960). Additional work was done by Silverado Gold Mines, Ltd. in the 1980's and 1990's, and they reported a probable resource of 1,232,636 ounces of gold on their Ready Bullion/Silver Dollar property (Silverado Gold Mines, Ltd., Ester Dome project web site, February 17, 2000; http://www.silverado.com).
Alteration: Iron, manganese, arsenic, and antimony oxidation products are present everywhere from the surface to the maximum depth of the underground workings, 160 feet (Hill, 1933, p. 127).
Production: Mining was reported in 1912-1913, 1926-1931 and 1933, but total production was not given (Cobb, 1976 [OFR 76-662, p. 116]). One stope yielded approximately 3,600 tons of ore with an average grade of about 0.29 ounce of gold per ton (Hill, 1933, p. 125).
Reserves: Silverado Gold Mines, Ltd. reported a probable resource of 1,232,636 ounces of gold on their Ready Bullion/Silver Dollar property (Silverado Gold Mines, Ltd., Ester Dome project web site, February 17, 2000: http://www.silverado.com). This property is a combination of this site and the Silver Dollar prospect (FB021).

Commodities (Major) - Au; (Minor) - Sb
Development Status: Yes; small
Deposit Model: Schist-hosted gold-quartz vein

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Link to USGS - Alaska:	FB024

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References