Silver Fox; Silvertone; Busty Belle Mine, Fairbanks Mining District, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Silver Fox; Silvertone; Busty Belle Mine	Mine
Fairbanks Mining District	Mining District
Fairbanks North Star Borough	Borough
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: Cobb (1972, MF-413), loc. 20. This prospect is approximately 2 miles east of the Elliot Highway on the divide between Fox and Flume Creek; SW1/4SW1/4 sec. 9, T. 2 N., R. 1 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. The mine is marked on the Livengood A-2 SE quadrangle.
Geology: The Silver Fox mine consists of a series of quartz veins within a Cretaceous tonalite intrusive, surrounded by quartz muscovite schist, quartzite and chlorite quartzose schist. Quartz veins in tonalite contain scattered, flattened, small pods of molybdenite (Mowatt, 1974). Pyrite and chalcopyrite are smeared on slickensided fracture surfaces that offset these molybdenite-quartz veins. Across the fault zone is an area of fissure veins carrying pyrite, argentiferous galena, and sphalerite. Channel samples of iron-stained quartz veins containing argentiferous galena, jamesonite, alteration products, and some gold contained 2-5 % Pb, 2.9-8.8 ounces of silver per ton and 0.06-0.36 ounces of gold per ton (Berg and Cobb, 1967). Forbes and others (1968) reported fissure veins in quartz diorite consisting of argentiferous galena, sphalerite, tetrahedrite and pyrite, with subordinate gold values. Trenching exposed a roof zone of quartz monzonite plutons, roof pendants of silicified schist, and auriferous quartz stringers and veins. A 30-foot-wide altered zone includes both silicified schist and silicified quartz monzonite. Stibnite lenses occur along the hanging wall of the south vein, and a sample from an altered rind of one lens contained 23.0 ppm Au (Forbers and others, 1968). Chapman and Foster (1969) described this site as having NW-trending fissure veins in quartz diorite with scheelite and powellite limited to thin calcite veinlets and coatings along joints and fracture planes. In 1974, workings consisted of a 375 foot adit with a working face at the end of a 50 foot long drift and another face about 85 feet below the ground surface (Mowatt, 1974). In the late 1970's (probably 1978), the 50 foot long drift was extended approximately another 100 feet, and six 55-gallon barrels of silver ore were shipped (D. Wietchy, oral commun., 1999). In 1973, the mine was operated as a tourist attraction. Currently the mine is owned by the University of Alaska and is used as a teaching mine.
Workings: Workings consisted of a 375 foot adit with a working face at the end of a 50 foot long drift and another face about 85 feet below the ground surface (Mowatt, 1974). The mine operated in 1973 principally as a tourist attraction (Mowatt, 1974), and is now a teaching mine owned by the University of Alaska.
Production: In the late 1950's, about 60 tons of hand-sorted ore were shipped and about 25 tons of ore were stockpiled in 1958 (Berg and Cobb, 1967). In the late 1970's, six 55-gallon barrels of silver ore were shipped from the mine (D. Wietchy, oral commun., 1999).

Commodities (Major) - Ag; (Minor) - Au, Cu, Mo, Pb, Sb, W, Zn
Development Status: Yes; small
Deposit Model: Intrusion hosted polymetallic quartz veins.

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Link to USGS - Alaska:	LG062

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References