Texas Creek Comstock; Hyder Lead; Texas Comstock; Joe Joe; Fortuna; Alaska-Comstock; Jackson-Hummel Prospect, Hyder Mining District, Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Texas Creek Comstock; Hyder Lead; Texas Comstock; Joe Joe; Fortuna; Alaska-Comstock; Jackson-Hummel Prospect	Prospect
Hyder Mining District	Mining District
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: The above coordinates are for the approximate center of a group of five prospects in a map area about 0.5 mile (Lat 56.039-56.044) by 1.0 mile (Long 130.246-130.265) on the mountainside south of Texas Lake (Elliott and Koch, 1981, p. 13, loc. 37). The prospects are at elevations ranging from about 3200 to 4300 feet in Sections 21 and 22. The location of the prospect area is probably accurate within about a quarter of a mile.
Geology: The country rocks in the general area of these prospects include pelitic metasedimentary and subordinate andesitic metavolcanic strata of the Jurassic or older Mezozoic Hazelton Group; the Triassic Texas Creek Granodiorite, which underlies and locally intrudes the Hazelton; and the Eocene Hyder Quartz Monzonite, which intrudes both the Hazelton and Texas Creek rocks (Smith, 1977; Koch, 1996). Buddington (1925, p. 91-93; Cobb, 1978, p. 42-43) described a deposit, called 'Texas Creek Comstock' in his report, as quartz fissure veins up to 11 feet thick in granodiorite, metamorphosed graywacke, and tuff that contain galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite, and molybdenite. Andesite porphyry and aplite dikes cut both the granodiorite and metamorphic rocks. Assays showed 3.6-16.9 oz Ag and a trace to 0.18 oz Au per ton, and as much as 0.61 % Cu, 72.8% Pb, and 2.6% Zn. In 1929, Buddington (1929, p. 102-108) described quartz veins in quartz diorite of the Texas Creek Granodiorite and in the metagraywacke and tuff in the roof of the pluton. The veins in the pluton generally are leaner in metallic minerals than those in the overlying bedded rocks. The veins carry galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, pyrrhotite, and tetrahedrite. Gangue minerals include quartz, barite, calcite, and chlorite. Free gold was found in a piece of quartz(?) float from an unknown source. Lead-isotope studies of galena from the Hyder Lead prospect (Maas and others, 1995, p. 229-248) indicate that the deposit is Eocene in age, contemporaneous with emplacement of the Hyder Quartz Monzonite.
Workings: Early workings included surface stripping and opencuts. Early assays showed 3.6-16.9 oz Ag and a trace to 0.18 oz Au per ton, and as much as 0.61 % Cu, 72.8% Pb, and 2.6% Zn.
Age: Lead-isotope studies of galena from the Hyder Lead prospect (Maas and others, 1995, p. 229-248) indicate that the deposit is Eocene in age, contemporaneous with emplacement of the Hyder Quartz Monzonite.

Commodities (Major) - Ag, Au, Cu, Mo, Pb, Zn; (Minor) - Barite
Development Status: None
Deposit Model: Polymetallic veins

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	BC037

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References