Patterson Creek Mine, Hot Springs Mining District, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Patterson Creek Mine	Mine
Hot Springs Mining District	Mining District
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: This site represents an area of placer mining on or near Patterson Creek, near its junction with Sullivan and Cache creeks. For this record, the site is at the junction of Patterson, Sullivan, and Cache creeks, on the boundary of sections 35 and 36, T. 3 N., R. 17. W., of the Fairbanks Meridian. Cobb (1972) lists locations 25 to 33 as Patterson Creek, but the specific locations are tributaries to Patterson Creek. The location probably is accurate within a mile or so.
Geology: The Patterson Creek placer mine is one of a group of cassiterite- and gold-bearing placer deposits known as the Tofty tin belt, a 12-mile-long area that trends east-northeast, between Roughtop Mountain to the north and Hot Springs Dome to the south (Thomas, 1957). Roughtop Mountain and Hot Springs Dome respectively are underlain by Cretaceous (K-Ar age date of 92 +/- 5 Ma) and Tertiary (K-Ar age date of 62 +/- 3 Ma) granitic plutons (Chapman and others, 1982). The plutons intrude and contact metamorphose Mesozoic marine sedimentary strata, which also are cut by diverse faults, including regional-scale, east-northeast-striking, thrust faults (Reifenstuhl and others, 1998). A carbonatite sill(?) is in the Triassic section of these strata and there are exposures of serpentinized, Cretaceous(?) mafic and ultramafic rock, mainly on Serpentine Ridge. The gold- and tin-bearing creeks flow normal to the trend of the tin belt. They head in the plutonic, metamorphic, and mafic/ultramafic rocks of Roughtop Mountain and Serpentine Ridge, which probably are the source(s) of some of the metalliferous minerals in the placer deposits. Concentrations of gold diminish toward the south, probably due to dispersion (Thomas, 1957). Exactly how much mining was done on Patterson Creek is unknown. There are no remains of workings, although Brooks (1908, 1909) reported that gold was discovered in the creek in 1907. References were made to mining in 1913 and 1915 (Brooks, 1914, 1916) as well as in 1919 (Brooks and Martin, 1921). No specifics are given, however, and as Cobb (1977) and Eberlein and others (1977) point out, the references may actually have been to tributaries of Patterson Creek, like Sullivan Creek (TN093), Cache Creek (TN097), or Woodchopper Creek (TN081). Thomas (1957) listed production through 1956 as 2,599 ounces of gold, 385 ounces of silver, and 20,282 pounds of cassiterite concentrate, but this may include, or consist only of, recovery from tributaries.
Workings: Any workings and exploration on Patterson Creek are not well documented and some references may actually be to benches on its tributaries. Brooks (1908, 1909) stated that gold was discovered in 1907 and mining was reported in 1913,1915, and 1919 (Brooks, 1914, 1916; Brooks and Martin, 1921). Martin (1920) reported prospect drilling in 1918.
Age: Quaternary.
Production: Thomas (1957) reported that 2,599 ounces of gold, 385 ounces of silver, and 20,282 pounds of cassiterite concentrate (60 percent tin), were recovered from Patterson Creek through 1956. Much, or all, of this production, however, may have been from tributaries.

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

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Link to USGS - Alaska:	TN084

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References