Ben Creek Mine, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Ben Creek Mine	Mine
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: Ben Creek is a small northeast tributary of Slate Creek . Wedow and others (1954) found monazite and allanite in samples of panned concentrate at the mouth of Ben Creek, in section 4, T. 3 S., R. 25 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. The location of placer gold mining on Ben Creek is not reported. Ben Creek is locality 40 of Cobb (1972 [MF-393]), locality 4 of Eberlein and others (1977), and locality 24 of Burleigh and Lear (1994).
Geology: The rocks along Ben Creek are granitic rocks of probable Mesozoic age and Paleozoic amphibolite-facies schist, quartzite, and marble (Foster, 1976). Monazite and allanite were found in heavy mineral concentrates from Ben Creek, but no anomalous radiation was detected in 1949 during 6- to 7-mile-long radioactivity traverses in the drainage (Wedow and others, 1954). The source of the monazite and allanite presumably is granitic rocks (Wedow and others, 1954). Biotite from the Ruby Creek granite gave a 40Ar/39Ar plateau age of 102.1 +/- 0.4 Ma (Newberry and others, 1996). Small-scale placer gold mining on Ben Creek occurred in 1967 (Alaska Division of Mines and Minerals, 1967).
Workings: Monazite and allanite were found in heavy mineral concentrates from Ben Creek, but no anomalous radiation was detected in 1949 during 6- to 7-mile-long radioactivity traverses in the drainage (Wedow and others, 1954). Small-scale placer gold mining on Ben Creek occurred in 1967 (Alaska Division of Mines and Minerals, 1967).
Age: Quaternary.

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

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	EA036

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References