119 .

3 :1857-G

Gold in Placer Deposits

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1857-G

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Chapter G

Gold in Placer Deposits

Gold Placers

By WARREN YEEND and DANIEL R. SHAWE

Gold Deposits in the Virginia City-Alder

Gulch District, Montana

By DANIEL R. SHAWE and KENNETH L. WI ER

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1857

GEOLOGY AND RESOURCES OF GOLD IN THE UNITED STATES

DANIEL R. SHAWE and ROGER P. ASHLEY, Scientific Editors

L.M.H. CARTER, Technical Editor
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
MANUEL LUJAN, JR., Secretary

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Dallas L. Peck, Director

Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive
purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1989

For sale by the

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Box 25425
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gold in placer deposits.
p. cm. —(Geology and resources of gold in the United States ; ch. G)
(U.S. Geological Survey bulletin ; 1857-G)
Includes bibliographical references.
Contents: Gold placers / by Warren Yeend and Daniel R. Shawe — Gold
deposits in the Virginia City-Alder Gulch District, Montana / by Daniel R.

Shawe and Kenneth L. Wier.

Supt. of Docs. no.: I 19.3:1857-G

1. Gold mines and mining—United States. 2. Placer deposits—United

States. I. Yeend, Warren E., 1936- . II. Shawe, Daniel R., 1925- .
III. Wier, Kenneth L. (Kenneth Leland), 1914- . IV. Series. V. Series: U.S.

Geological Survey bulletin ; 1857-G.

QE75.B9 no. 1857-G

[TN423.A5]

557.3 s—dc20

[553.4'1'0973] 89-600287
CIP
CONTENTS

Gold placers

AbstractG G1
IntroductionG G1
ProductionG G2
Descriptions of major placer-gold regions and districtsG G5
California modern and fossil placersG G5

Alaska modern placersG G7

Helena—Last Chance district, MontanaG G9

Virginia City—Alder Gulch district, MontanaG G9

Boise Basin district, IdahoG Gll

References cited Gll

Gold deposits in the Virginia City-Alder Gulch district,

Montana

AbstractG G14
IntroductionG G14
Geology G15
Gold depositsG G15
Age of the depositsG G15

Placer goldG G15

Lode goldG G17

Genesis of the gold oresG G17

References cited G19

FIGURES

G1. Map of California showing principal placer-gold mining areasG G5

G2. Sketch of a typical gold-diving operationG G6
G3. Map of Alaska showing principal placer-gold mining areasG G8
G4. Photograph of hydraulic mining on the North Fork of Harrison Creek,
Circle quadrangle, AlaskaG G9

III
ContentsI
 G5. Map of Idaho and Montana showing locations of the Boise Basin, Virginia
City—Alder Gulch, and Helena—Last Chance placer-gold districtsG Gll
G6. Map of Montana showing the location of the Virginia City—Alder Gulch
districtG G14
G7. Generalized geologic map of the Virginia City—Alder Gulch districtG G16
G8. Map of the Virginia City—Alder Gulch district showing zoning of the
Au:Ag ratios of gold oresG G18

TABLES
G1. Gold production from major placer areas in the United States G3
G2. Major active 1980's gold placer mining areas of AlaskaGG10

IVI
Contents
GEOLOGY AND RESOURCES OF GOLD IN THE UNITED STATES

Gold in Placer Deposits

Gold Placers

By Warren Yeend and Daniel R. Shawe

Abstract of placer gold, including about 4,000,000 ounces from the

Nome district. Most of the gold was derived from raised
Man most likely first obtained gold from placer beach deposits. Source of the gold probably is Tertiary-
deposits, more than 6,000 years ago. Placers account for mineralized faults and joints in metamorphic rocks of late
more than two-thirds of the total world gold supply, and Precambrian age.
roughly half of that mined in the States of California, Alaska, The Helena-Last Chance district, Montana, produced
Montana, and Idaho. nearly 1 million ounces of gold from placers that were derived
Placer deposits result from weathering and release of from lode deposits in the contact zones of the Cretaceous
gold from lode deposits, transportation of the gold, and Boulder batholith granitic rocks intruded into upper Pre­
concentration of the gold dominantly in stream gravels. cambrian, Paleozoic, and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks. The
Unless preserved by burial, a placer subsequently may be Virginia City-Alder Gulch district, Montana, produced more
eroded, and either dispersed or reconcentrated. than 2,600,000 ounces of gold, nearly all from placer
California has produced more than 40 million troy deposits derived from quartz veins of uncertain age in
ounces of gold from placers, both modern and fossil Archean gneisses and schists. The Boise basin district,
(Tertiary). The source of the great bulk of the gold is Idaho, produced about 2,300,000 ounces of gold, mostly
numerous quartz veins and mineralized zones of the Mother derived from quartz veins in quartz monzonite of the
Lode and related systems in the western Sierra Nevada Cretaceous Idaho batholith.
region. The gold-bearing lodes were emplaced in Carbonif­
erous and Jurassic metamorphic rocks intruded by small
bodies of Jurassic and Cretaceous igneous rocks. Miner­ INTRODUCTION
alization occurred probably in Late Cretaceous time.
Significant amounts of placer gold also were mined along the Man has been mining placer gold for more than
Salmon and Trinity Rivers in northern California. Source of 6,000 years, and it is most likely that he first obtained the
the gold is lode deposits in Paleozoic and Mesozoic meta­ precious metal from placers. Placers have produced
morphic rocks that were intruded by Mesozoic igneous more than two-thirds of the total world gold supply
rocks. (Boyle, 1979).
Alaska has produced roughly 21 million ounces of gold The term "placer," probably of Spanish derivation,
from placer deposits. Most (about 13 million ounces) has is typically applied to gold deposits in the sands and
come from the interior region, including 7,600,000 ounces gravels of streams. Today we define a placer as a deposit
from the Fairbanks district and 1,300,000 ounces from the
of sand, gravel, and other detrital or residual material
Iditarod district. Lode sources are believed to be mostly
containing a valuable mineral that has accumulated
quartz veins in Precambrian or Paleozoic metamorphic rocks
intruded by small igneous bodies near Fairbanks, and shear through weathering and mechanical concentration. The
zones in Tertiary(?) quartz monzonite stocks at Iditarod. The term placer as used here applies to ancient (Tertiary) as
Seward Peninsula has produced more than 6 million ounces well as to recent (Holocene) gravel deposits, and to
underground deposits (drift mines) as well as to surface
deposits.
Wells (1969) defined generally applicable prin­
Manuscript approved for publication July 7, 1989. ciples and processes under which placer deposits form.

G1
Gold in Placer DepositsG
The initial stage of formation is weathering and impervious cap is one of the surest means of preser­
disintegration of lodes or rocks containing one or more vation. Lava-capped Tertiary gravel-filled channels in the
valuable heavy resistant minerals such as native gold. The Sierra Nevada region of California are among the best
valuable minerals are then concentrated by the winnow­ examples of buried placers. In contrast, elevation of
ing away of lighter minerals, and the deposit is subse­ ocean-shoreline deposits has preserved beach placers at
Nome, Alaska.
quently preserved. Richness and size of a placer deposit
The source of placer gold is generally from lodes
depend on supply of source materials, and on conditions
(gold-bearing quartz veins) or mineralized zones of other
favorable for the concentration and preservation of the
types, and (or) from preexisting placer deposits including
valuable minerals. Although the location, size, and shape
auriferous conglomerates (fossil placers).
of a placer reflect regional forces of erosion, trans­
Lodes.—Although placers commonly occur in
portation, and deposition, the final form of a placer is
lode-mining districts, rarely is there a fixed relation
controlled by local conditions. Thus, each placer is
between the richness of the parent lode and the richness
unique.
of resultant placers. Some noted gold-mining districts,
Weathering and release.—The first step in the
such as Goldfield, Nev., contain no significant placers.
formation of a gold placer is release of gold particles
Conversely, some highly productive placer areas are not
from a bedrock source. Long periods of exposure of
associated with known valuable lodes, such as the Klon­
rocks at the Earth's surface result in chemical breakdown
dike region in Canada and the Circle district in east-
of the rocks, and physical disaggregation of the minerals
central Alaska. In some places, the lode source may have
present. Ground and surface water, temperature change,
been completely removed by erosion, whereas in others,
and plant growth all act to decompose and disintegrate
gold may have been derived from many small miner­
rocks. Gold is a very durable mineral both chemically and
physically, so that as enclosing minerals are carried off in alized zones scattered through bedrock.
Preexisting placers.—Rich placers may occur in
solution or broken down and removed by physical
places where there is no apparent nearby bedrock gold
attrition, the gold fragments show relatively impercep­
source. In these localities gold may have been derived
tible change in size and shape (Yeend, 1975). Ultimately,
from a fossil placer of which nearly all vestiges have been
because of pounding during transportation in a stream­
eroded except for the reconcentrated gold. The western
bed load, larger gold particles tend to become rounded,
Sierra Nevada region of California is a classic example. In
whereas very small particles become flattened (particles
early Tertiary time, extensive river systems flowed
as small as a few micrometers in size escape deformation;
westward from ancestral highlands in the vicinity of the
G.A. Desborough, oral commun., 1988).
present-day Sierra Nevada, and gold derived from a
Concentration.—Running water of streams and
bedrock source in the Mother Lode belt was concen­
rivers is the dominant agent in the formation of most
trated in their gravels and sands. Later, as uplift of the
placers. Most of the work and resultant concentration is
Sierra was renewed, new streams flowing westward cut
done during times of flood and may occur only once a
across ancient channels and re-eroded the Tertiary gold-
year, once every 10 years, or at even longer intervals.
bearing deposits to form new, and in places richer,
Gold, because of its high specific gravity (19.3 for pure
concentrations of the valuable metal. Similar reconcen­
gold), works its way quickly downward in the gravel and
trations are found in Alaska and Canada.
into bedrock cracks on the channel floor. In theory, the
Extensive details on the geology of placer gold can
richest part of a placer is near bedrock, and generally this
be found in Wells (1969), Jenkins (1935), and Boyle
relation is true. However, deposits in which the gold is
scattered throughout a gravel mass without a significant (1979).
bedrock enrichment are common. Locally, very fine gold
will actually be concentrated at the surface; such deposits PRODUCTION
are termed "flood gold." The ultimate richness of a
placer is dependent to a large extent on physical char­ Data on production of placer gold from major
acteristics of the bedrock that tends to trap the gold. producing areas (more than 100,000 oz Au) in the
Steeply dipping slates and jointed rocks are commonly United States, taken mainly from Koschmann and Ber­
most effective in trapping gold. Smooth, unweathered gendahl (1968), and Nokleberg and others (1987), are
granite and serpentine are generally poor gold savers. given in table G1.
Because gold commonly works its way down into By far the bulk of placer gold produced in the
fractures in the bedrock, as much as a meter of bedrock United States—in the order of 100 million oz (3,000
is mined to recover all the gold. metric tons)—has come from the States of California,
Preservation.—Unless a placer is preserved by Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. For these States where
some change in the normal erosion cycle, the very forces placer gold has constituted a relatively large proportion
that created it will in time destroy it. Burial beneath an of the total quantity of gold produced, the ratios of

Geology and Resources of Gold in the United States

G2G
Table G1. Gold production from major placer areas in the Table Gl. Gold production from major placer areas in the
United States United States—Continued
[Total production (in parentheses) is given for States, and counties or
regions, only where data are available. Data mainly from Koschmann Production

State-county or region- Period

and Bergendahl (1968) and Nokleberg and others (1987). Leaders district (1,000 oz gold)

(- - -), no data;G approximate or rounded value]

CALIFORNIA--Continued:

State-county or region- Period Production

Nevada County

district (1,000 oz gold)

Grass Valley-
Nevada City 1849-1959 ti 220
ALASKA: (20,957)
Tertiary gravels2 1849(?)-1911 .3,000(?)

Brooks Range 1893-1985 (350)

Placer County

Wiseman (Koyukuk) 1890-1985 288

Dutch Flat-Gold Run 1849-1959 492(?)

Foresthill (Tertiary

Seward Peninsula and West-

gravels) 1849(?)-1959 344(?)

ern Yukon-Koyukuk Basin 1897-1985 (7,032)

Iowa Hill (Tertiary

Nome 1897-1985 4,000

gravels) 1849(?)-1910 500(?)

Kougarok 1900-1985 1,500

Michigan Bluff 1853-1959 300

Council 1900-1985 1,000

Ophir 1930's-1941(?) =100(?)

Fairhaven 1900-1985 453

Plumas County

West-Central 1907-1985 (2,934)

La Porte 1855-1959 2,910

Aniak 1909-1985 243

Iditarod 1908-1985 1,313 Sacramento County 1880-1959 (5,000)

Innoko 1907-1985 537

Folsom (Quaternary

McGrath 1910-1985 128

gravels) 1899-1959 >3,000

Ruby 1907-1985 387

Sloughhouse (in part

Hughes 1910-1985 200 Tertiary gravels) ? -1959 =1,700

East-Central 1878-1985 (9,825) San Bernardino County

Hot Springs 1904-1985 447 Holcomb 1860's-1950 346

Tolovana 1915-1985 374

San Joaquin County 1885-1959 (126)

Fairbanks 1878-1985
7,603 Clements 1885-1959 =100(?)

Circle 1893-1985 725

Fortymile 1883-1985 415

Shasta County 1905-1959 (375)

Igo 1933-1959 115

Southern 1880-1985 (695)

Yentna 1905-1985 114

Sierra County

Chistochina 1890-1985 140

Alleghany and Downie­
Nizina 1898-1985 143
ville (Tertiary

Hope 1900-1985 100

gravels) 1852-1888 680

Southeastern 1870-1985 (121)

Siskiyou County 1880-1959 (.1,410)

Klamath River 1933-1959 140

ARIZONA: (>n431)
Salmon River 1900(?)-1959 >1,000

Yavapai County 1862-1959 (267)

Stanislaus County (Quat-

Lynx Creek-Walker 1863-1959 100 ernary and Tertiary

gravels) 1880-1959 364

Yuma County 1862-1959 (.164)

La Paz 1862-1959 100

Trinity County 1880-1959 (2,000)

Trinity River basin

(Quaternary and

CALIFORNIAl: 1848-1965 (68,200)

Tertiary gravels) 1880-1959 .1,750

Amador County 1903-1958 (290)

Tuolumne County 1850-1959 (7,551)

Volcano 1903-1932 100(?)

Columbia basin-James-

town-Sonora (mostly

Butte County 1880-1959

(3,123) Quaternary gravels) 1853-1959 5,874

Oroville 1903-1959 1,964

Yuba County 1880-1959 (4,387)

Calaveras County 1848(?)-1959 (2,996)

Hammonton 1903-1959 4,387

Camanche 100-1,000(?)

Jenny Lind Unknown 100-1,000(?)

COLORADO: (>.1,190)

Tertiary gravels2 1880-1938 >106

Park County 1859-1959 (.450)

El Dorado County1
, 1903-1958 (191)
Fairplay 1859-1952 >202

Tertiary gravels` 1903-1958 190

Summit County 1859-1959 (740)

Los Angeles County

Breckenridge 1859-1959 735

San Gabriel 1848-1956 a120

1 Neither placer nor lode-gold production figures

Mariposa County 1880-1959 (584)

were accurately recorded in the period 1848-1879.

2Tertiary gravels throughout the entire county.

Merced County 1880-1959 (516)

G3
Gold in Placer DepositsG
Table G1. Gold production from major placer areas in theG
Table Gl. Gold production from major placer areas in the
United States—ContinuedG United States—Continued

State-county or region- Period Production Period1

State-county or region-1 Production

district (1,000 oz gold) district1 (1,000 oz gold)

IDAHO: (>2:4,235) NEVADA--Continued:

Lyon County
Boise County 1849-1968 z100
Silver City
Boise Basin 1863-1958 =12,300
Nye County
Clearwater County
Manhattan 1905-1968 210
Pierce 1860-1959 373 Round Mountain 1906-1968 232
Custer County
Pershing County
Yankee Fork 1870's-1959 =100(?) Rochester-Spring Valley 1860's-1968 511
Sierra 1863-1968 201
Elmore County
Rocky Bar 1862-1882 =100(?) White Pine County
Osceola 1877-1968 ^100
Idaho County
Elk City 1861-1959 =440-690(?) NEW MEXICO: (>570)
French Creek-Florence 1860's-1959 =1,000
Tenmile 1861-1959 =100(?) Colfax County
Warren-Marshall 1862-1959 =800(?) Elizabethtown-Mount
Baldy 1866-1968 250
Lemhi County (=350(?))
Mackinaw 1866-1954 =250(?) Santa Fe County
Old Placer 1828-1968 >100
Shoshone County New Placer 1839-1968 >100
Coeur d'Alene 1880's-1959 =100(?)
Sierra County
MONTANA: (=7,264) Hillsboro 1877-1968 120

Beaverhead County NORTH CAROLINA:

Bannack 1862-1950 >132 Franklin County 1840-1935 (>100(?))
Broadwater County
OREGON: (>1,461)
Confederate Gulch 1864-1959 =590
White Creek 1860's-1959 =100 Baker County 1862-1957 (>600(?))
Sumpter 1862-1955 >129
Deer Lodge County 1860's-1959 (=250(?))
French Creek 1864-1940 =200 Grant County
Canyon Creek 1864-1959 817(?)
Granite County 1865-1959 (=355) Jackson County 1852-1959 (=410)
First Chance 1865-1959 260-355 190
Upper Applegate 1853-1959
Jefferson County 1864-1959 (125) Josephine County
Clancy 1865-1959 101 1854-1942 100(?)
Galice
1864-1959 Waldo 1853-1942 210(?)
Lewis and Clark County (>2,150)
Helena-Last Chance 1864-1959 940 SOUTH DAKOTA:
Lincoln 1865-1959 342
McClellan 1864-1959 340 Lawrence County
Marysville-Silver Creek 1864-1959 165 Deadwood-Two Bit 1876-1959 =200(?)
Missouri River-York 1864-1959 >265
Madison County 1863-1959 (>2,605)
Virginia City-Alder placer-gold from major placer areas to total gold
Gulch 1863-1959 >2,475
produced are as follows: Alaska, 1:1.5; Idaho, 1:2.0;
Missoula County 1865(?)-1959 (7­. 250-275) Montana, 1:2.4; and California, 1:2.6. Thus, where
Elk Creek-Coloma 1865-1959 =100(?)
Ninemile Creek 1874-1959 100-125 placer-gold production has been relatively large, it has
amounted to roughly half of the total gold production.
Powell County 1852-1959 (517) States where placer-gold production has been a
Ophir 1865-1959 >180
Pioneer 1868-1959 246 relatively small proportion of gold produced are Oregon
(1:4.0), Nevada (1:18), Colorado (1:34), Arizona (1:36),
Silver Bow County
Butte 1864-1959 363 and South Dakota (1:156). The reasons for these low
ratios are unclear. Local factors may account for low
NEVADA: (.1,510)
production of placer gold relative to total gold mined.
Lander County For example, deep lode mines with large production,
Battle Mountain 1902-1968 156 such as at Lead, S. Dak., and Cripple Creek, Colo., may

G4G
Geology and Resources of Gold in the United States
have been only slightly eroded, and they thus may have were capable. This dredge, the major producer of placer
provided only minor gold to placers. Bonanza-type gold gold in California, continues to operate in the mid­
deposits, as in Nevada and Arizona, are young and likely 1980's, washing as much as 4,500,000 yd3, and producing
not greatly eroded, even though close to the surface. In 20,000 to 27,000 oz of gold annually. Locations of
places, arid climate and resultant scarcity of water useful California's principal placer mining areas are shown on
for recovering gold may have inhibited placer mining, as figure Gl.
in Nevada and Arizona. Most placer gold produced since 1968 has been as
In California, the chance emplacement of volcanic byproduct gold from large sand and gravel plants in the
flows above Tertiary auriferous gravels tended to pre­ Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys (Great Valley of
serve the placers and prevent their dispersion. In Alaska, California). In these operations, primary sources are the
that placers dominate over discovered lode sources of Perkins area east of Sacramento and the Friant area
gold lacks a clear explanation. States where placer- northeast of Fresno (Clark, 1978).
gold:total-mined-gold ratios are small possibly contain Substantial increase in the price of gold in the late
substantial undiscovered gold placers. 1970's greatly increased placer prospecting throughout
California, but most new mining operations are at a small
scale. Equipment used ranges from gold pans, picks, and
DESCRIPTIONS OF MAJOR shovels, to various scrapers, screens, sluices, rockers, jigs,
PLACER-GOLD REGIONS AND tables, power pumps, suction dredges (fig. G2), and dry
DISTRICTS washers. Efficient and determined prospecting by the
early-day placer-gold miners has left very few stream
courses that contain virgin placer ground.
In the following pages, only placer deposits in
California and Alaska, as well as those in Montana and Much of the Tertiary gravel is of such low grade
Idaho, that have produced about 1 million or more oz that hydraulic mining has been the only economically
feasible method of recovering gold. In the late 1870's,
gold, are described. The districts in Montana and Idaho,
the Helena—Last Chance, Virginia City—Alder Gulch, vast amounts of gravel could be mined cheaply with the
and the Boise Basin, are described only briefly. The low-cost, plentiful water and labor available then.
Hydraulic mining was virtually suspended in 1884 by
Virginia City—Alder Gulch, district is described in more
detail in a separate article (Shawe and Wier, this chapter) legal restrictions, particularly the Sawyer Decision
as an example of a significant placer-gold district with
only minor lode-gold production.
Salmon River
•

• Trinity River
California Modern and Fossil Placers

More than 40 million oz of gold out of a total

4170;411e de County Tertiary gravels
production of 106 million oz of gold in California has
come from placers. Within 5 years of the discovery of hemorgaton Crass Valley- Nevada City
Polsos
gold in California in 1848, annual production in the State SACRAMENTO 4
reached an all-time high of nearly 4 million oz (Loyd and SloggAho Cola a—assestown—Sonora
Bane, 1981), virtually all of which was from placers. San
Upon depletion of the gold placers in modern (Qua­ Francisco
ternary) stream channels in the 1860's, hydraulic mining Principal 4
of fossil (Tertiary) placers commenced, and continued Fresno 0 placer
pgold region
until 1884. Dredging commenced in the Yuba goldfields
in 1904 with wooden-hulled bucket-line dredges capable '<Fy
of dipping 60 feet below water level. By the 1930's,
12 dredges were operating, and by 1968, 21 dredges had
been built and operated in the goldfields. More than
1 billion cubic yards of gravel containing more than 0 Los Angeles
5 million oz of gold had been mined by these dredges. In
o 50 spo tpo 2p0 MILES
late 1976 the last dredge was shut down, but it was
subsequently rebuilt with a capacity of digging 140 feet O 100 200 300 KILOMETERS
below water level, making it one of the deepest digging
gold dredges in the world. In 1981 it commenced mining Figure Gl. Map of California showing principal placer-gold
the gravels at depths below which the earlier dredges mining areas.

G5
Gold in Placer DepositsG
'BUDDY' DIVERS =ISUCTION PUMP GASOLINE MOTOR (MAY OPERATE BOTH
SUCTION AND AIR PUMPS )

AIR PUMP
"HOOKAH" SET-UP
CONSISTING OF AIR
COMPRESSOR AND
LONG HOSE
CONNECTED TO
— DIVER'S BREATHING
APPARATUS.

GRAVEL OVERBURDEN

CREVICES

DREDGE INTAKE BLACK SANDS

Figure G2. A typical gold-diving operation (from Clark, 1978).

(Kelley, 1959), on the disposal of debris. Attempts to fourths of this total resource is contained in a vast deposit
resume exploitation of these deposits by several con­ between the Malakoff and Badger Hill diggings (Yeend,
ventional methods have proved unsuccessful, including 1974; located at Nevada County Tertiary gravels,
expenditure of $4,650,000 of Federal funds for the fig. G1).
construction of debris dams (Jarman, 1927). Miners of The total gold production from the Tertiary gravels
the gravels today must deal with a multitude of environ­ is not known, as large quantities of recovered gold were
mental restrictions imposed by several government never reported and not all mining records have been
agencies. These constraints, together with high costs of preserved. Estimates range from about 6.6 to 14.3
equipment, water, and labor, pose a major challenge to million oz gold from about 1,585 million yd3 of gravel
the mining industry. (0.004-0.009 oz Au/yd3) (Clark, 1965; Merwin, 1968).
Gold-bearing gravels of Tertiary age remain Reserves of Tertiary gravel are estimated to total
abundant in the central Sierra Nevada region of Cali­ 3-4 billion yd3 with an average grade of 0.007 oz Au/yd3
fornia. They are believed to contain one of the largest (Merwin, 1968). Zones in the lower sections of the
known reserves of gold in the United States (Merwin, gravels are estimated to contain 600-800 million yd3 with
1968). These deposits were studied in the late 1960's by an average value of 0.029 oz Au/yd3 (Merwin, 1968).
both the U.S. Geological Survey (Peterson and others, Details regarding the geology, geophysical investi­
1968; Yeend, 1974), and the U.S. Bureau of Mines gations, and resources of the California Tertiary gold
(Merwin, 1968; Tibbetts and Scott, 1971). In the past two placers have been reported by Whitney (1880), Lindgren
decades several small mining groups have tested the (1911), Merwin (1968), Peterson and others (1968),
feasibility of mining the gravels (Yeend, 1974), but no Clark (1970, 1979), and Yeend (1974).
large systematic mining effort has occurred and the The most productive gold-bearing region of Cali­
resource remains today largely untouched. fornia is the north-central part of the west slope of the
The largest single known deposit within the Sierra Nevada (fig. G1). Major placer districts (Oroville,
extensive California Tertiary channel system occurs in a Folsom, and Hammonton, fig. G1) in Quaternary flood­
part of the ancestral Yuba River (Yeend, 1974). Within plain gravels at the eastern margin of the Great Valley of
the exposed parts of the ancestral Yuba River channel, California have yielded nearly 10 million oz of gold.
gold in excess of 5 million oz (about 150 metric tons) is Additionally, nearly 6 million oz was produced from
estimated to be distributed within 977.4 million yd3 of Quaternary gravels reworked from Tertiary gravels in the
gravel (about 0.0055 oz Au/yd3). More than three- Columbia-Jamestown-Sonora district in the western

G6I
Geology and Resources of Gold in the United States
foothills of the Sierra Nevada (fig. G1). Major placer this placer gold, about 12 million oz, of which about
districts (Grass Valley—Nevada City and Sloughhouse, 7,600,000 oz came from the Fairbanks district and about
fig. G1) near the western margin of the Sierra foothills 1,300,000 oz from the Iditarod district (fig. G3). The
produced about 4 million oz of gold from both Seward Peninsula has produced more than 6 million oz
Quaternary and Tertiary gravels. Major placer districts of Alaska's placer gold, of which about 4,000,000 oz
(Nevada County and La Porte, fig. G1) within the
came from the Nome district (fig. G3).
western Sierra Nevada produced nearly 6 million oz of
Most of the gold from the Fairbanks district
gold from mostly Tertiary gravels.
The source of gold in the Quaternary and Tertiary (fig. G3) has been produced by large dredges working the
gravels of the western Sierra Nevada region is numerous unconsolidated auriferous gravels of major creeks
quartz veins and mineralized zones of the Mother Lode tributary to the Tanana River west of Fairbanks. An
and related systems, emplaced in Carboniferous black excellent videotape is available showing the large-scale
phyllite, quartzite, limestone, chert, and greenstone thawing and mining of these gravels in the 1930's and
schist, and in Jurassic slate, graywacke, conglomerate, 1940's (Univ. of Alaska, 1981, videotape). The bulk of
sericite schist, limestone, and greenstone. Small bodies of placer gold came from gravel from just above to nearly
peridotite, serpentinite, hornblendite, gabbro, gran­ 3 m above bedrock. Bedrock consists of three meta­
odiorite, and albitite were intruded into these rocks in morphic rock sequences—part of the old Yukon-Tanana
Late Jurassic and in Late Cretaceous time. Gold min­ upland schist belt. The middle unit, a 900-foot-thick
eralization occurred probably in Late Cretaceous time.
sequence of schists termed the Cleary sequence, is
(Data here are summarized by Koschmann and Bergen­
considered to be the host to most of the lode gold
dahl, 1968, p. 55, from Knopf, 1929, and Curtis and
occurrences. It is mostly mafic and felsic schist, and
others, 1958.)
greenschist which may represent rocks of distal volcanic
In northern California about 1.75 million oz of gold
origin. The schists have been intruded by 90-million­
came from Quaternary and Tertiary gravels in the Trinity
year-old intrusive quartz monzonites, and granodiorites.
River basin, and more than 1 million oz of gold was
Sulfide lenses and disseminations in the metavolcanics
mined from Quaternary gravels along the Salmon River
contain free gold that contributed to the placers. Gold-
(fig. G1).
quartz veins, the source of the lode gold production in the
Country rocks in the Klamath Mountains, which district, are probably the main source of placer gold.
the Trinity River system drains, are marine sedimentary
(Data here are summarized from Koschmann and Ber­
and metasedimentary rocks of Carboniferous age; Paleo­
gendahl, 1968, p. 16-27; Mertie, 1937; Prindle and Katz,
zoic and Mesozoic schist; serpentinite, peridotite, gab­
1913; Hill, 1933; Anonymous, 1985; and Metz, 1987.)
bro, diorite, and diabase of chiefly Mesozoic age; and
Gold production from the Iditarod district (fig. G3)
granitic-quartz dioritic plutons of Mesozoic age intruded
has been almost wholly from placers. Bedrock of the
into the older rocks (Jennings, 1977). Gold-bearing
district is mostly sandstone, shale, and conglomerate of
quartz veins in the region (J.P. Albers and W.P. Irwin,
the Kuskokwim Group of late Early to Late Cretaceous
written commun., 1982), which probably formed at the
age; metamorphic rocks of Paleozoic and Precambrian
time of emplacement of the Mesozoic granitic plutons,
ages are present in the west. Volcanoplutonic complexes
apparently were the source of the gold concentrated in
of Late Cretaceous—early Tertiary age intrude and over­
the placer deposits.
lie the Kuskokwim Group. These rocks and related dikes
Country rocks drained by the Salmon River consist
are the major sources of the placer gold. The gold
of Paleozoic and Mesozoic metasedimentary and meta­
distribution is a result of structural controls, geomorphic
volcanic rocks, serpentinite, and gabbro, intruded by
evolution of stream drainages in a preglacial environ­
plutons of granitic—quartz dioritic composition (Jen­
ment, and stream piracy (Miller and Bundtzen, 1987).
nings, 1977). Source of the gold in the Quaternary gravels
Most of the gold produced in the Nome district
along the Salmon River likely is quartz veins similar to
(fig. G3) has come from residual, stream, bench, and
those in the Klamath Mountains around the Trinity River
beach placers (Moffit, 1913). Beach placers formed at
basin.
several levels during successive episodes of uplift, and
they have been preserved beneath coastal-plain deposits
Alaska Modern Placers and deposits of the present beaches. The beach placers
have been the most productive at Nome. Several
More than 30 million oz (900 metric tons) of gold successive events of reconcentration may have occurred
has been produced from Alaska mines since gold was prior to formation of the rich Nome beach placers.
first mined there in 1870. Of this amount, two-thirds, or Country rocks in the Nome area consist of schist, slate,
roughly 20 million oz (600 metric tons) has come from and volcanic rocks of late Precambrian age that were
placers. Alaska's interior region has produced the bulk of deformed in Mesozoic and Tertiary times (Hummel,

G7
Gold in Placer DepositsG
 • 100�

200 MILES

IG1 iG
11 1
O
100 200 300 400 KILOMETERS

Figure G3. Map of Alaska showing principal placer-gold mining areas.

1960). Faults and joints that formed during the Tertiary Alaska is probably the only State where placer-gold
deformation are in part mineralized, "and these lodes are production is significantly increasing (Pittman, 1981): A
probably the source of the gold in the Nome Placers" recent hydraulic operation in the Circle district is shown
(Koschmann and Bergendahl, 1968, p. 19). The world's in figure G4. In the early 1970's, gold mining in Alaska
largest offshore dredge, the Bima, began operating in was almost extinct. The depressed price of gold, together
Norton Sound, near Nome, in 1986. Capable of washing with the high cost of labor and equipment, limited
1,000 yds/hr, the Bima recovered 36,000 oz of gold production in those years to perhaps about 10,000 oz
during 1987. Mining is currently restricted to 100 acres of from about a dozen gold-mining operations. The
sea floor per year (Petroleum Information, Alaska dramatic increase in the price of gold in the late 1970's
Report, Jan. 13, 1988). and early 1980's resulted in a second gold rush to Alaska.
The Seward Peninsula is the site of other locations By 1981, there were about 400 placer mines in the State
that have been rich in placer gold in addition to Nome. employing about 3,000 miners. Placer gold production of
Eight areas have produced approximately 2,500,000 oz of about 30,000 oz in 1979 and 50,000-70,000 oz in 1980,
placer gold, roughly 12 percent of the total from Alaskan increased to 160,000 oz in 1986, and about 200,000 oz in
placer mines. The placers in all these areas seem to have 1987.
a close spatial association with certain metamorphic Placer mining within Alaska presents certain
rocks of the Nome Group that are quartz-graphite schist, problems not encountered in other areas of the United
and marble with occasional boudins of metabasite. Five States. Most of the placer deposits are perennially frozen
of the placer gold-rich areas contain outcrops of the and many are overlain by a thick layer of organic-rich
Casadepega Schist, a chlorite-albite and mafic schist with muck that must be thawed by surface stripping, exposure
boudins of metabasite that could also have provided to summer air temperatures, and periodic removal of
some of the gold to the placers (Yeend and others, 1988). thawed material to keep frozen material exposed. In

G8G
Geology and Resources of Gold in the United States
 Figure G4. Hydraulic mining on the North Fork of Harrison Creek, Circle quadrangle, Alaska, 1980.

some large-scale dredging operations, large volumes of gold during the period 1864-1955. The rich placers were
ground must be thawed to bedrock by cold water prior to formed by erosion of lode deposits in hornfels, tactite,
dredging. Water injected through pipes to the bottom of and granitic rocks near the contact of the Boulder
closely spaced holes drilled to bedrock circulates back to batholith of Cretaceous age with sedimentary rocks of
the surface. Injection continues until the ground between late Precambrian, Paleozoic, and Mesozoic age. The lode
the holes is thawed. Cold-water thaw fields typically deposits are aggregates of lime-silicate minerals, tour­
require preparation and operation at least 2 years ahead maline, quartz, ankerite, and chlorite gangue that contain
of the mining operation. Because of widespread disrup­ pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, galena, and native gold.
tion of the land surface, siltation of streams and rivers is (Data here are summarized by Koschmann and Bergen­
a common problem. dahl, 1968, p. 155, from Lyden, 1948; Knopf, 1913; and
Pertinent data on presently active gold placer Pardee and Schrader, 1933.)
mining areas in Alaska are given in table G2. Some of
these areas appear to have significant resources of gold
that promise large future production. Additional details Virginia City-Alder Gulch District,
of the history of placer mining in Alaska, and extensive Montana
descriptions of the placer deposits are presented by Cobb
(1973) and by the University of Alaska (1979-1987). The Virginia City—Alder Gulch district in Madison
County, Mont. (fig. G5) produced more than 2,600,000
oz of gold during the period 1863-1963, nearly all of
Helena—Last Chance District, Montana which was derived from placers. Lode deposits in the
district that are the apparent source of the placer gold are
The Helena—Last Chance district in southern quartz veins and stringers in Archean gneisses and
Lewis and Clark County, Mont. (fig. G5) produced about schists. The primary veins contain auriferous pyrite,
940,000 oz of placer gold and at least 345,000 oz of lode galena, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite, and lesser amounts

G9
Gold in Placer DepositsG
 Table G2. Major active 1980's gold placer mining areas of Alaska
[Leaders (- - -), no data]
Geologyand Resourcesof Gold intheUnited States

Total

production1 Resources1

Grade
and1 Mining No. miners,

1 References

Area (1,000 oz Au)1 (yd3)1

(oz/yd3)
Gold occurrence
method
source of gold1 operations1

1
1

Chistochina 140 0.0125-.0275

Poorly sorted alluvium,
Tertiary(?)1 Sluice 4 properties Yeend, 1981.

River (early
fans, colluvium, drift.
conglomerate.1

(1980).

1900's-1980)
Nuggets to 6 mm; mostly

thin plates 1 mm

diameter; large quan­

tities of black sand.
1

1
Yeend, 1982,

Circle1 7301 1
Large 0.001-0.034
Alluvial; colluvial
Precambrian quartz-1 Sluice box;1 400-750

district1(1893-1980)
(commonly
ite, quartzitic1 hydraulic1 miners,1
1987; Bundtzen

0.006-0.016)
schists, and Upper1 (see fig.1 20-90
and others,

Cretaceous and lower G1).1 operations.1

1987.

Tertiary granite;

mafic schist with

quartz-veins pos-

sible source.

Fortymile1
417
Stream and bench placers;
Gneiss, schist, mar- Floating1 26 active1
Cobb, 1973;

district1
(1888-1961)
loess mantles much of
ble; felsic batho-1 dredge,1 mines1 Eakins and

the area.
liths; gold source1 sluice.1 (1982).1
others, 1983.

may be small min-

eralized quartz

veins in metamorph-

ic rocks near con-

tacts with felsic

1
intrusive bodies.

Ophir 300 0.01-0.02 (mod-

2-6 m gravel beneath 1-5 m
Cretaceous shale,1 Bucket drag1 6 mines1
Yeend, unpub.

(1906-1980) ern alluvium);

frozen muck; gold concen­ siltstone, sand-1 line; suc-1 (1980).1
data, 1980.

to 0.024
trated in lower 1 m of
stone, cut by ap-1
tion dredge.

bench gravels)
gravel and in fractures in
lite and porphyry

upper 1 m of bedrock; gold

dikes; some min-

as fine-grained flattened
eralized dikes and

grains; some grains iron

faults in the area

stained; some grains com­ contain gold; as

posite with quartz and

yet unrecognized

magnetite.
fossil placers may

1
have been a source.

Seward 6,5001 900,000,000 0.0033

Raised submarine beach
Upper Precambrian1 Pan, rocker,1 200-3001
Eakins, 1981;

Peninsula (1897-1986)1
(3,000,000
placers near Nome; Pleis­ schist, slate,1 sluice,1 miners,1
Bundtzen and

1
oz gold)
tocene gravels in Kougarok
volcanic rocks;1 suction 25-35 oper-1
others, 1987.

district; offshore sub­ mineralized faults1 1

dredge, 1
at ions

marine sediments.
and joints prob-1 floating
(1986).

able source gold.1

dredge.

Tolovana 3741 20,000,000 0.024

Stream and bench placers;
Schist, Paleozoic1 Floating1 200 miners,1
Eakins, 1981;

1
district1
(1915-1959)
placers; rich buried bed­ clastic, volcanic1 dredge,1 6 mines Cobb, 1973;

rock benches.
and carbonate;1 underground1 (1981). 1
Bundtzen and

quartz & carbonate;1 drift.1

others, 1987.

quartz and calcite

veins in bedrock

contain gold.

Valdez Creek 1201 35,000,0001 0.0125-0.20

Buried gravel-filled
Metamorphic, sedi-1
Washing 85-136
Smith, 1970;

district1
(1903-1986)
channels.
mentary and vol-1
plant. miners,
Cobb, 1973;

canic rocks; gold 1 company

Bundtzen and

and sulfide-bear- (1986).

others, 1987.

ing quartz veins.

1
Eakins, 1981;

Yentna-Cache 115
Stream and bench gravels,
Graywacke, Tertiary Floating 12 proper-

Creek1 1
Cobb, 1973.

(1905-1959)
Pleistocene glaciofluvial
gold-rich con- dredge. ties.

district
and Tertiary conglomerate.
glomerate.

 Clark, W.B., 1965, Tertiary channels: California Division of

Mines and Geology Mineral Information Service, v. 18,
no. 3, p. 39-44.
G 1970, Gold districts of California: California Division of
Mines and Geology Bulletin 193, p. 117-118.
1978, Gold rush of the 1970's: California Geology,
v. 31, no. 9, p. 203-205.
G 1979, Fossil river beds of the Sierra Nevada: California
Geology, v. 32, no. 7, p. 143-149.
Cobb, E.H., 1973, Placer deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological
Survey Bulletin 1374, 213 p.
O 50 100 150 200 MILES Curtis, G.H., Evernden, J.F., and Lipson, J.L, 1958, Age
IG determination of some granitic rocks in California by the
O 100 200 300 KILOMETERS
potassium-argon method: California Division of Mines
Special Report 54, 16 p.
Eakins, C.R., 1981, Exploration in Alaska in 1980 below record
Figure G5. Map of Idaho and Montana showing locations level, but hopes for 1981: Western Miner, February 1981,
of the Boise Basin, Virginia City-Alder Gulch, and Helena-
p. 73-77.
Last Chance placer-gold districts.
Eakins, C.R., Bundtzen, T.K., Robinson, M.S., Clough, T.G.,
of gold tellurides, tetrahedrite, argentite, and stibnite Green, C.B., Clautice, K.H., and Albanese, M.A., 1983,
(Koschmann and Bergendahl, 1968, p. 163; summarized Alaska's mineral industry, 1982: Alaska Division of
from Winchell, 1914, p. 159-165; and Hart, in Tansley Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report 31,
and others, 1933, p. 47-50). 63 p.
Hill, J.M., 1933, Lode deposits of the Fairbanks district, Alaska:
U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 849-B, p. 29-163.
Hummel, C.L., 1960, Structural geology and structural control
Boise Basin District, Idaho
of mineral deposits near Nome, Alaska, in Short papers
in the geological sciences: U.S. Geological Survey
The Boise Basin district in Boise County, Idaho
Professional Paper 400-B, p. B33-B35.
(fig. G5) produced about 2,300,000 oz of gold during the Jarman, Arthur, 1927, Report of the Hydraulic Mining Com­
period 1862-1958, mostly from placers. The placers were mission upon the feasibility of the resumption of
derived from lode deposits that are quartz veins in hydraulic mining in California: State of California, a
fracture zones in quartz monzonite of the Idaho batholith report to the Legislature of 1927, 85 p.; reprinted in
of Cretaceous age (Kiilsgaard and others, 1989). The California Mining Bureau, 23d Report of State
quartz fissure fillings contain small amounts of pyrite, Mineralogist, p. 44-116.
arsenopyrite, sphalerite, tetrahedrite, chalcopyrite, Jenkins, 0.P., 1935, New technique applicable to the study of
galena, stibnite, and native gold. (Data here are sum­ placers: California Journal of Mines and Geology, v. 31,
marized by Koschmann and Bergendahl, 1968, no. 2, p. 143-210; reprinted, 1946, in California Division
of Mines Bulletin 135, p. 149-216; 1964, in Mineral
p. 124-125, from Lindgren, 1898, and Anderson, 1947.)
Information Service, v. 17, nos. 1-9.
Jennings, C.W., 1977, Geologic map of California: California

Manuscript received by scientific editors April 1984 Division of Mines and Geology, scale 1:500,000.

Kelley, R.L., 1959, Gold vs. grain, California hydraulic mining

controversy: Glendale, Calif., Arthur H. Clark Co., 327 p.

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G11
Gold in Placer DepositsG
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Geology and Resources of Gold in the United States

G12G
 1982, Placers and placer mining, Circle District, Alaska, during 1986: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 998,
in Coonrad, W.L., ed., The United States Geological P. 74-76.
Survey in Alaska—Accomplishments during 1980: U.S. Yeend, Warren, Kaufman, D.S., and Till, A.B., 1988, Map
Geological Survey Circular 844, p. 64. showing placer gold in the Solomon, Bendeleben, and
1987, Placer gold related to mafic schist(?) in the Circle southern part of the Kotzebue quadrangles, western
District, Alaska, in Hamilton, T.D., and Galloway, J.P., Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field
eds., Geologic studies in Alaska by the Geological Survey Studies Map MF-1838—C.

G13
Gold in Placer DepositsI
Gold Deposits in the Virginia City-Alder Gulch District, Montana

By Daniel R. Shawe and Kenneth L. Wier

Abstract

The Virginia City—Alder Gulch district was discovered in

1863 and has produced more than 2,600,000 ounces of gold,
mostly from placer deposits. Placer workings sustained
production during early years; dredging dominated
production after the turn of the century. Gold of about 850
fineness is distributed along 25 kilometers of Alder Gulch,
being of coarse and ragged character in the upper reaches of
the drainage, and finer grained, brighter, and well worn in the
lower reaches, indicating a proximal source. Steeply dipping
quartz veins of varied strikes in the surrounding Precambrian
gneisses and schists are the evident sources of the placer
0 100 200 MILES
gold; the veins have yielded somewhat less than 200,000
ounces of gold. The veins contain auriferous pyrite, minor 0 100 200 300 KILOMETERS
galena, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite, and lesser amounts of
gold tellurides, tetrahedrite, argentite, and stibnite. Vein ores Figure G6. Map of Montana showing the location of the
averaged about 0.33 oz Au/ton and 7.2 oz Ag/ton. The district Virginia City—Alder Gulch district.
is zoned; deposits in the south part produced ores with
Au:Ag ratios as high as 5:1; deposits northward and to the
east and west margins of the district produced ores with
lower Au:Ag ratios, ranging progressively to as low as 1:75.
Age and source of the ores are unknown. commenced about the turn of the century and has
continued intermittently ever since, but it has contributed
only a small amount of the district's total yield.
INTRODUCTION Total gold production from the Virginia City
district through 1963 is estimated (Koschmann and Ber­
The Virginia City—Alder Gulch district is in central gendahl, 1968, p. 163; K.L. Wier, unpub. data) to be at
Madison County, Mont., about 90 km south-southeast of least 2,646,000 oz, of which 2,475,000 oz was from placer
Butte (fig. G6), at an elevation of 1,585-2,375 m operations. Other estimates have placed the placer yield
(5,200-7,800 ft) at the south end of the Tobacco Root somewhat higher. Some early reports suggested that
Mountains. Gold was discovered in Alder Gulch, a more than 1,000,000 oz of gold was recovered during the
tributary of the Ruby River, on May 26, 1863, by a group first 3 years of placer mining. On the basis of the known
of six prospectors outfitted in Bannack and LaBarge City fineness (about 850) of placer gold mined during the
(Deer Lodge), Mont. Bill Fairweather and Henry Edgar period 1934-1963, the placers are estimated to have also
panned gold from a stream bar along the gulch where yielded about 350,000 oz silver. Lode mining yielded a
rich concentrations lay just below the surface (Edgar, total of about 170,800 oz of gold (1867-1890, 48,400 oz;
1900). A precipitous rush followed the discovery, and 1891-1900, 13,000 oz; 1901-1967, 109,400 oz). During
within 18 months the area had a population of about the period 1901-1967 the lode deposits yielded a total of
10,000. 2,388,800 oz silver (K.L. Wier, unpub. data). Placer
Placer workings sustained the bulk of gold ground through the 25-km length of Alder Gulch has
production from the district during the latter part of the been thoroughly and repeatedly worked, and all known
19th century and the early part of the 20th century lode deposits are small. Gold-ore reserves both in
(Jennings, 1916). Dredging dominated production of placer and in lode deposits in the district are small,
gold after about 1900. Significant lode-gold production although gold resources may be large in placer ground

Geology and Resources of Gold in the United States

G14G
downstream from previously worked gravels. Alder City. The gold veins may have formed during an earlier
Gulch, like few other places in the United States, has widespread regional mineralizing event about 60 Ma, at
shown rich and large placer-gold accumulations despite the time that veins were formed at Butte, which is about
apparently small lode sources. 90 km north-northwest of Virginia City. This possibility is
strengthened by the fact that the Tobacco Root batholith
of Late Cretaceous age that intrudes Archean rocks
GEOLOGY about 20 km north of Virginia City is surrounded by
numerous small lode-gold deposits. These small gold
The Virginia City district is situated in Pre­
deposits, similar in vein mineralogy and host rocks to
cambrian (Archean) rocks (Vitaliano and others, 1979)
which, south of the district, underlie a moderately thick those near Virginia City (R.C. Pearson, written corn­
section of Paleozoic marine-shelf quartzite, limestone, mun., 1984; Vitaliano and Cordua, 1979), appear
and shale (Hadley, 1969; fig. G7). The Precambrian genetically related to the batholith and its satellitic
rocks consist of interlayered units of garnet-bearing stocks. On the other hand, the gold veins at Virginia City
gneiss, amphibolite schist, dolomitic marble, and may be as old as Precambrian.
metamorphosed ultramafic rocks that strike generally Volcanic rocks that date at 50 Ma lie in the bottom
northeast to north-northeast. Numerous thin subparallel of Alder Gulch near Virginia City, showing that the gulch
pegmatitic dikes that strike west to west-northwest cut had formed prior to 50 Ma. Whether or not the gulch
the layered units. A few northwest-trending faults of contained placer gold at that time is uncertain. However,
minor displacement offset the layered Precambrian units. once concentration of gold in the gulch started, it has
Tertiary basalt and silicic tuff, not known to be gold continued to the present.
mineralized, cap older rocks at the east side of the
district.
A Tertiary diatreme of mainly basalt and some
Precambrian rock fragments in a clay matrix appears to Placer Gold
be overlain by Tertiary volcanic rocks about 1 km south
of the town of Virginia City. A few oval-shaped plugs(?) The placer gold of Alder Gulch appears to have
of Tertiary volcanic rocks, maximum length about 300 m, been derived from erosion of a few moderately sized and
lie 1-2 km south-southwest of Virginia City within the numerous small quartz veins in the surrounding Pre­
area of Precambrian rocks (K.L. Wier, unpub. data). cambrian country rock, particularly in the upper reaches
Some K-Ar ages have been determined for volcanic of the gulch. However, the source of the gold has long
rocks in the vicinity of Virginia City (Marvin and others, been disputed because of the apparently insufficient size
1974). Two samples collected from a unit that ranges and richness of the known quartz veins. In the upper part
from andesite to dacite porphyry in the volcanic rocks of Alder Gulch, much of the placer gold was "coarse,
exposed just northeast of the town of Virginia City ragged, and little or not at all water worn" (Douglass,
yielded ages of 49 and 51 Ma. Porphyritic rhyolite 1905, p. 354). Douglass also reported that a "decom­
collected near the Ruby River Reservoir southwest of posed vein" (the Lucas lode) below the upper placer
Virginia City yielded an age of 45 Ma. Samples of basalt ground yielded gold, and placer ground downstream
collected at two localities south and southeast of the town from the vein was very rich, implying that the vein was
were determined as 33 and 34 Ma, respectively, and a surely the source of the placer gold. Douglass further
basalt sample collected southeast of the town of Alder stated that gold became progressively finer grained
(small outcrop not shown on fig. G7) was determined to downstream to the mouth of the gulch, although some
be 30 Ma. "fair-sized nuggets" were recovered near the mouth of
the gulch. According to Browne (1868, p. 506), placer
gold at the head of Alder Gulch is "coarse and rough,
GOLD DEPOSITS with portions of quartz adhering to it; further down the
stream it becomes finer and brighter, showing unmis­
takable evidence of having been worn by the action of
Age of the Deposits water. Near the mouth it is exceedingly fine [grained]
***." These relations are convincing evidence of a local
The age of the vein deposits of the district has not source for much of the gold.
been established. Their origin may have been related to Fineness of the placer gold increased downstream.
emplacement of the volcanic rocks (30-50 Ma) in the Jennings (1916, p. 23) reported that, in the early 1900's,
vicinity of the district or to the volcanic diatreme and gold recovered from dredging farthest up Alder Gulch
plugs (age unknown) south and southwest of Virginia was 822 fine and that recovered from dredging farthest

Gold in Placer DepositsG

G15
1
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1I/ KILOMETERS f <'•Gr —G
16.

EXPLANATION

Quaternary alluvium Paleozoic marine sedimentary rocks

Quaternary (?) placer ground PC Precambrian metamorphic rocks

G
• Tp Tertiary plug Contact—Dashed where approximately located
G

1Tdt Tertiary diatreme Thrust fault—Teeth on upper plate

Tertiary volcanic rocks Mine—Name shown where known

Figure G7. Generalized geology of the Virginia City—Alder Gulch district. Compiled from Wier (1982) and other sources.
Names of mines are shown where known.

Geology and Resources of Gold in the United States

G16I
below the mouth of the gulch was 873 fine. The average mined deposits, however, mining and metal recovery may
fineness of placer gold mined during the period 1934­ have been selective for gold. Northwest and west of the
1963 was 849 (Au:Ag ratio 5.6:1) (K.L. Wier, unpub. Kearsarge and Oro Cash mines, the Gem Shafter, Bart­
data). lett, and Marietta mines produced ores with Au:Ag ratios
of 1:2 to 1:7. Farther north, most of the rest of the mines
of the district yielded ores with Au:Ag ratios of 1:13 to
Lode Gold 1:35, with the exception of the Prospect mine (Au:Ag
ratio 1:6), and at the district's east and west margins
During the early years of gold mining in Alder
respectively the U.S. Grant mine (Au:Ag ratio 1:67) and
Gulch, the Kearsarge and Oro Cash lodes along the
the Silver Bell mine (Au:Ag ratio 1:75). Thus, the dis­
upper reaches of Alder Creek were mined, and "much
trict is strongly zoned from high-gold ores at the south
gold" was said to have been produced (Douglass, 1905,
end, with increasing silver northward, and very high silver
p. 355). Nevertheless, there is no record of large pro­
ores at the east and west margins (fig. G8). No geologic
duction. Mining ceased at the Kearsarge mine following
element is recognized that may have caused the zoning.
a fire in 1903, and mining ceased in the Oro Cash
The cluster of a Tertiary diatreme and plugs south and
following removal of the near-surface oxidized ores.
southwest of the town of Virginia City shows no relation
Most lode-gold production in the 20th century was from
to the zonal pattern of Au:Ag ratios. Possibly a stock
mines nearer to Virginia City, mainly the Prospect
satellitic to the Tobacco Root batholith underlies Paleo­
(1933-1936) and U.S. Grant (1945-1948) and from the
zoic rocks south of Virginia City, and the zoning might be
Easton-Pacific (1902-1915) near the head of Browns
Gulch. Many other mines throughout the district related to such a postulated stock.
The veins mined in the Virginia City district
sporadically produced substantial amounts of gold (1,000
oz/yr or more), but none sustained a large production. primarily for gold and silver yielded a very small amount
Locations of these and other mines referred to in the text of copper (0.00014 percent of the mined ore), lead
are shown on figure G7. (0.00039 percent), and zinc (0.00004 percent). Of course,
Mined quartz veins in the district are moderately to base metals were not recovered from many ore ship­
ments, as much of the early production was from stamp
steeply dipping and strike northwest (Prospect mine,
mills and only "free" gold with included silver (electrum)
Easton-Pacific mine), north-northwest (Pacific mine),
north-northeast to northeast (Oro Cash lode, Lucas lode, was recovered. Until about 1941, zinc was not recovered
Kearsarge lode, St. Lawrence mine, U.S. Grant mine), at all, and the composite base-metal content of the vein
ores was undoubtedly higher than indicated by the
and east-northeast (Alameda mine). The veins tend to be
localized along thin units of dolomitic marble in the smelter returns. Nevertheless, it is clear that copper,
Precambrian rocks (Wier, 1982). lead, and zinc contents of the ores were quite low.
The gold-bearing lodes "are quartz veins and Cu:Pb ratios of metals recovered from the mined
stringers that contain auriferous pyrite, galena, sphal­ veins varied widely throughout the Virginia City district,
erite, and chalcopyrite, and lesser amounts of gold but were not as systematically zoned as were the Au:Ag
tellurides, tetrahedrite, argentite, and stibnite. Most of ratios. Some mines yielded only copper (Cu:Pb ratio co),
the ore shipped was oxidized and consisted of gold and in a few the Cu:Pb ratio was as high as 6:1, and the ratio
free [native?] silver in quartz, iron oxides, manganese ranged downward to as low as 1:175. In a general sense,
oxides, and a little locally occurring copper stain" high-copper ores were from mines with high Au:Ag
(Koschmann and Bergendahl, 1968, p. 163; summarized ratios, and high-lead ores were from mines with low
from Winchell, 1914, p. 159-165, and Hart, in Tansley Au:Ag ratios.
and others, 1933, p. 47-50). The larger veins average
about 1 m in width. Genesis of the Gold Ores
The tenor of lode ores mined in the early days was
about 0.5 oz Au/ton (Browne, 1868, p. 507). On the Because the age of the gold-bearing quartz veins of
basis of production figures for the period 1901-1967 the Virginia City district is unknown, we can only
(K.L. Wier, unpub. data), which show a total lode speculate on the genesis of the ores. Emplacement of the
production of 109,415 oz Au and 2,388,802 oz Ag, the Tertiary diatreme and plugs perhaps provided the heat,
tenor of the ores was 0.33 oz Au/ton and 7.2 oz Ag/ton fluids, and metals responsible for the formation of the
(Au:Ag ratio 1:21.8). hydrothermal veins. On the other hand, the strong metal
Au:Ag ratios in mined veins varied widely but zoning—gold- and copper-rich ores at the south end of
somewhat systematically throughout the Virginia City the district and silver- and lead-rich ores farther north—
district. At the south end of the district, the Kearsarge suggests a center of hydrothermal activity to the south,
and Oro Cash veins yielded ores with Au:Ag ratios of 5:1 possibly related to an unexposed stock satellitic to the
and 3:1, respectively; because these were the earliest Tobacco Root batholith. If this activity did emanate from

Gold in Placer DepositsG

G17
I

112°00'
BERTHA
I (----)
Qa1
KEN NET7

MAPLETON
(1 pC
ALDER Tv
/ %
-' ,
//

VIRGINIA CITY

. GRANT
/.
, C,• : UCOPIA
L FLID• 4111".,
BELL\

45°15'

EASTON-PACIFI

RO(CASH
KEARSA
MA TTA I
•//5,„, 'eAal::**
/ .
•:!:•:::•:••••••••I
PC
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••••f il Baldy Mountain
KILOMETERS f AG \\

EXPLANATION

Au : Ag ratio <1- 50 tot•t4.4 Au: Ag ratio >1

Au : Ag ratio 1 50-1 : 10 Mine for which Au : Ag ratio is known

Au: Ag ratio 1 10-1 :2 See figure G7 for additional explanation

Figure G8. The Virginia City-Alder Gulch district showing zoning of the Au:Ag ratios of gold ores.

such a center, it is not evident why ore deposits are not the relative ages of the veins and the volcanic rocks
found in Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks farther south, makes the potential for possible ores under the volcanic
barring substantial post-ore displacement of the sedi­ rocks east of the district quite speculative.
mentary rocks by thrusting. If Precambrian rocks The placer-gold deposits of Alder Gulch are
beneath the Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks were miner­ remarkable for their extreme richness and large yield
alized south of the district, whether or not possible compared to the relatively small extent of the known vein
deposits would be large or rich enough to warrant deposits that may have been their source. Explanations
exploration is unknown. Also, lack of understanding of for this relation might include: a much richer vein system

G18I
Geology and Resources of Gold in the United States
above the present level of erosion; or preconcentration of Koschmann, A.H., and Bergendahl, M.H., 1968, Principal
placers on an older surface, such as that underlying the gold-producing districts of the United States: U.S.
Geological Survey Professional Paper 610, 283 p.
layered volcanics east of the district, presuming that the
Marvin, R.F., Wier, K.L., Mehnert, H.H., and Merritt, V.M.,
vein deposits predated the volcanic rocks. 1974, K-Ar ages of selected Tertiary igneous rocks in
southwestern Montana: Isochron/West, no. 10, p. 17-20.
Manuscript received by scientific editors February 1984 Tansley, Wilfred, Schafer, P.A., and Hart, L.H., 1933, A
geological reconnaissance of the Tobacco Root Moun­
tains, Madison County, Montana: Montana Bureau of
Mines and Geology Memoir 9, 57 p.
Vitaliano, C.J., Burger, R.H., III, Cordua, W.S., Hanley, T.B.,
REFERENCES CITED Hess, D.F., and Root, F.K., 1979, Explanatory text to
accompany geologic map of southern Tobacco Root
Browne, J.R., 1868, Report on the mineral resources of the Mountains, Madison County, Montana: Geological
states and territories west of the Rocky Mountains: U.S. Society of America Map and Chart Series, MC-31, 8 p.
Treasury Department, 674 p. Vitaliano, C.J., and Cordua, W.S., compilers, 1979, Geologic
Douglass, Earl, 1905, Source of the placer gold in Alder Gulch, map of southern Tobacco Root Mountains, Madison
Montana: Mines and Minerals, v. 25, p. 353-355. County, Montana: Geological Society of America Map
Edgar, Henry, 1900, Journal of Henry Edgar-1863: Helena, and Chart Series, MC-31.
Mont., State Publishing Company, Historical Society of Wier, K.L., 1982, Maps showing geology and outcrops of part of
Montana, Transactions, v. 3, p. 124-142. the Virginia City and Alder quadrangles, Madison
Hadley, J.B., 1969, Geologic map of the Varney quadrangle, County, Montana: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous
Madison County, Montana: U.S. Geological Survey Field Studies Map MF-1490, 2 sheets, scales 1:12,000
Geologic Quadrangle Map GQ-814, scale 1:62,500. and 1:4,750.
Jennings, Hennen, 1916, The history and development of gold Winchell, A.N., 1914, The mining districts of the Dillon
dredging in Montana: U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 121, quadrangle, Montana, and adjacent areas: U.S. Geo­
p. 5-32. logical Survey Bulletin 574, 191 p.

*U.S GPO:1990 773-047/06031

G19
Gold in Placer DepositsI
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Geologic Quadrangle Maps are multicolor geologic maps on
and over the counter in paperback booklet form only
topographic bases in 7 1/2- or 15-minute quadrangle formats (scales main­
"Price and Availability List of U.S. Geological Survey Publica­
ly 1:24,000 or 1:62,500) showing bedrock, surficial, or engineering geol­
ogy. Maps generally include brief texts; some maps include structure tions," issued annually, is available free of charge in paperback book­
and columnar sections only. let form only.
Selected copies of a monthly catalog "New Publications of the U.S.
Geophysical Investigations Maps are on topographic or planimetric
Geological Survey" available free of charge by mail or may be obtained
bases at various scales; they show results of surveys using geophysical
over the counter in paperback booklet form only. Those wishing a free
techniques, such as gravity, magnetic, seismic, or radioactivity, which
subscription to the monthly catalog "New Publications of the U.S.
reflect subsurface structures that are of economic or geologic significance.
Geological Survey" should write to the U.S. Geological Survey, 582
Many maps include correlations with the geology.
National Center, Reston, VA 22092.
Miscellaneous Investigations Series Maps are on planimetric or
topographic bases of regular and irregular areas at various scales; they
Note.--Prices of Government publications listed in older catalogs,
present a wide variety of format and subject matter. The series also in­
announcements, and publications may be incorrect. Therefore, the
cludes 7 1/2-minute quadrangle photogeologic maps on planimetric bases
prices charged may differ from the prices in catalogs, announcements,
which show geology as interpreted from aerial photographs. Series also
and publications.
includes maps of Mars and the Moon.
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