The prospect is on land that has been selected for patent by the Sealaska Native Corporation and the Kake Tribal Corporation.
MAS number: 0021160004.

Location: The Hungerford prospect is along the shoreline on the north side of the peninsula north of Saginaw Bay. It is about 7.2 miles east-southeast of Cornwallis Point and about 0.5 mile northeast of the center of section 33, T. 57 S., R. 72 E.

Geology: This prospect is one of a group of similar deposits (PA021 to PA031) that are scattered along the south shore of Saginaw Bay, on the peninsula north of Saginaw Bay, and on the Keku Islands. They occur in a heterogeneous section of unmetamorphosed volcanic, carbonate, and clastic rocks that vary in age from Silurian to Triassic (Muffler, 1967). The mineralization generally consists of veins, veinlets, and irregular pods that contain base metals and barite (Still and others, 2002). There are no plutonic rocks in the immediate vicinity; however, the sedimentary rocks are cut by scattered gabbro dikes. The origin of the deposits is uncertain although most appear to be epigenetic. Various origins have been proposed including that they are remobilized massive-sulfide deposits, that they are related to a buried intrusive, or that they are Mississippi-Valley-type deposits.

The Hungerford prospect was discovered in 1937; it was restaked in 1948 and by 1950, the prospect consisted of a small cabin and several open cuts (Roehm, 1938 [PE 116-1]; Thorne, 1950 [Hungerford]; Thorne, 1950 [Hungerford, Supplementary]). The U.S. Bureau of Mines drilled 5 holes totaling 982 feet in 1949.

The Hungerford prospect is in Keku Volcanics of Triassic age; at this site, the unit consists of a heterogeneous assemblage of conglomerate, basalt, shale, and dolomitic limestone (Muffler, 1967). Detailed mapped by the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1949 (Thorne, 1950 [Hungerford]; Thorne, 1950 [Hungerford, Supplementary]; Still and others, 2002) defined three types of mineralization: 1) disseminated galena and sphalerite in amygdaloidal basalt; 2) a stockworks of galena-sphalerite veins in fractured green basalt, and 3) galena and sphalerite replacing dolomite.

The main deposit at the Hungerford prospect consists of fine-grained sphalerite and galena in amygdaloidal basalt. A sample contained 84.7 parts per million (ppm) silver, 2.23 percent lead and 7,028 ppm zinc (Still and others, 2002). The Bureau of Mines drilling in 1949 resulted in the definition of an 'ore body' that has an estimated resource of 63,000 tons of 'submarginal ore' with an average grade of 2.4 ounces of silver per ton, 1.35 percent lead, and 0.45 percent zinc (Thorne, 1950 [Hungerford]; Thorne, 1950 [Hungerford, Supplementary]. The ore body is 78 to 93 feet thick and extends for 280 feet along strike. The drilling suggests that the grade decreases with depth.

Galena and sphalerite in barite-jasper gangue occurs in a stockwork of veins in the bed of Hungerford Creek (Still and others, 2002). A sample contained 16.4 ppm silver, 5,625 ppm lead, 6,019 ppm zinc, and 14.6 percent barite. A similar deposit marked by brecciation and open-space filling occurs along the beach nearby. A sample contained 5.82 ounces of silver per ton, 2.84 percent lead, 2,228 ppm zinc, and 70 ppm barium. Thorne (1948) also reported that sphalerite and galena replace dolomite in bluffs along the beach.
Workings: The Hungerford prospect was discovered in 1937; it was restaked in 1948 and by 1950, the prospect consisted of a small cabin and several open cuts (Roehm, 1938 [PE 116-1]; Thorne, 1950 [Hungerford]; Thorne, 1950 [Hungerford, Supplementary]). The U.S. Bureau of Mines drilled 5 holes totaling 982 feet in 1949.

Age: Younger than the Triassic host rocks.

Reserves: Bureau of Mines drilling in 1949 resulted in a the definition of an 'ore body' that has an estimated resource of 63,000 tons of 'submarginal ore' with an average grade of 2.4 ounces of silver per ton, 1.35 percent lead, and 0.45 percent zinc (Thorne, 1950 [Hungerford]; Thorne, 1950 [Hungerford, Supplementary]. The ore body is 78 to 93 feet thick and extends for 280 feet along strike. The drilling suggests that the grade decreases as depth.

Commodities (Major) - Ag, Ba, Pb, Zn
Development Status: None
Deposit Model: Disseminated, vein, and replacement sphalerite and galena in basalt and carbon

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	PA028

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References