R. I. 4110 AUGUST 1947

UNITED STATES

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

J. A. KRUG, SECRETARY

BUREAU OF MINES

THOS. H. MILLER, ACTING DIRECTOR

REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS

WARD COPPER DEPOSIT, SEWARD PENINSULA, ALASKA

I.

BY

W. S. WRIGHT
R. I. 4110,

August 1947.

RIPGHT O fINVESTIGATIONS

UNITED WSTATES DE1PARTNT OFTHE INTERIOR - BUREAU CF MINES

WARD COPPER DEPOSIT, SEWARD PENI;SULA, ALASKA.W

By. W. S. Wright

CONTENTS

Page

IntroductiQn X ' * * * * * * * * * v v * * * * * * * * * * * ' * 1 .

Acknowledgment.eq.........O..................,**i 1

.Location and accessibility .,,, ..4 2

-Physical features and climate -2

H-History and production ... . . .t .. a . . ; .2

General geology ....... ........... ; .,. . 3

Character of ore ....... *...... ... 4

Sampling and assaying * . .* e * .* e * .* * * .* * * * . - . . . 4

.INIRODUCTION

Thel'Ward copper deposit was brought to'the attention of the Bureau of'

Mines in September 1943 by John J. Knob, 217 E. Penn Street, .Loxg Beach, N. Y.

At that time,.all Bureau of Mines work on Seward Ponimaila was being.directed toithe exploration of deposits of tin, a metal high on the strat'egi' list.

It was not until September 1946 that the Bureau aould make a preliminary'

examination of the Ward prospect.

ACIKNaLEDGNTS '

In its program. of investigation of-'mineral deposits, the Bureau of Mines

has as its primary objective' the more effective.'rutilization of our minera dresources to-the end that they make the greatest possible contribution to natna Mf'aeiurity'and economy. It is the policy of the Bureau to publish the'

facts deveqped, by each project 'as soon as' practicable after its cpnclusion.

The Mining Branch, Lowell B. Moon,-'chief, conducts preliminary exminations,

performs the actual investigative work, and prepares the final'rep6ft.'. The

Metallurgical Branch, Oliver C. Ralston, chief, analyzes samples' arid perfbrms

beneficiation tests.

:Acknowl*4dgment ias extended to Robert S. Sanford, acting chief of the

Alaska division, under whose supervision all expidratogy work of the

Territory is conducted.

1/ The.Bureau'of Mines iMll welcome reprinting 49 this paper, provided the

+; Jf following footnote acknowledgment is us'edd 'Reprinte*dfrom Bureau- of

* Mines Report ofP Inve,&MriXtions 411Q. - W/ Mining engineer}, ureau df Mines, Juneau, Alas'ka'.-'

1702
RjI. 4110

LOCATION AND ACCESSIBILITY

The Ward copper deposit is near the-head of the South Fork of Serpentine

River, between Quartz and Bismark Creeks, 1-J/2 miles northWest of Kougarok

Mountain on Seward Peninsula, Alaska -tIts location at 65. `46' north.latitude

and 1650 121 west longitude is shown on figure 1,

Trinity airfield is situated 12 miles east of the deposit, near the con-:

fluence of Washington and Mackinm Creeks, tributaries of kougarck River. In

summer considerable placer mining is done on Washington Creek and Kougarok

River. Supplies and equipment needed during the operating season are airfreighted from Nome, 90 miles southwest of Trinity.

Some winter freighting by tractor and sled is done between this area and

Shishmaref Inlet, 35 miles northwest, Freight could also be transported by

scows from Teller to Salt Lake and hauled overland by tractor the remaining

36 miles. It is a like distance to the Seward Pninsha Railway terminal at

Shelton. There are B.roads in this area, and, because of the marshy condition,

only trActors, usu4Jy of the;wido-treaa type, are used for cross-country

hauling.

*PHYSICAL FEATURE0 AND' CLIMATE

di~~~~~.

The Ward claims cover a broad, gentle 'slope northwest of Kougarok Mountain.

Drainage to the west forms the headwaters of Quartz Creek, a northward flowing

stream tributary to Serpentine River, The east side of the area is drained by

Bismark Creek, a small branch of Quartz Creek, The area is distinguishable

fro%:.other parts of theaimmediate vicinity by two prominent knobs, oD pinnacles,

formed by resistant limestone. United States Land Monument 1306 is on the more

northerly knob,. as shown on figure 2; the-other is about 1,600 fe1 t outhast

of thenonumAnt .

No arborescent vegetation is found in this part of Seward Peninsula. The

northern slopes of Kougarok Mountain are mostly barren, though moss and lichen,

characteristic growth of the Arctic tundra, appear in patches between Biswark

and Quartz Creeks.

Climatic conditions are sub-Arctic. Records kept at Nobm tfoX hany y.ar.

showman annual mean temperature of 25. 70 P. IWinter's are s evere and peidat es

of -40°' F, are not uncommon. The annual average precipitation at Nome n s I 82

inches.,

HISTORY AND PRODUCTION

The first claim locations were made on July 25, 1904;: Approximately a year

later, Moffi' / examined the prospect and teported as follows3:

On the Arctic slope southeast of Shishmaref Inlet, ten menh .

were prospecting.-on Dick -Creek, a-tributary ofSe3-pentine.:River.,

/ Moffit, PF. Hq$ Gold Mining on Seward Penidnsul; U. So Geol. Survey Bull.

284, 1906,, p 139.X

1702 -2--
- ID~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I

f~~~~~~~~~~~~lTRACE FROMGEOA SR MA

FIGLES KOUGAP SL WA

Ad >ot P E N I NS U L >

9 O R o0 /V S 0 U 1VD )X4

| /Al SCALE OF M ILES W ICHAELll

ITRACED FROM GEOL. SUR. MAPo

F IG. I INDEX MAP SHOWING LOCATION WARD PR.
0 0 + '~

0

'I/~~~~~~

DAIN

ADIT'

o ° 81 \/SHAFT\

0

LEGEND \ /M

o TEST PIT <

- TRENCH \/

a SHAFT WC9 CU 1.5.PERCENT

=-A DIT / \>+CABIN .1i \

C'~~CP

0

09

0 200 400 600

SCALE OF FEET /0 C Cu .0 P

FIG. 2 CLAIM MAP- WARD COPPER
SAMPLE PERCENT

NO. WIDTH FT. cu

WC-I 1.5 2.6 7

WVC-2 0.46 25.7

WC-3 0.84 8.30

_ ~~~WC-4 0.5 2.56

W\ WC 5.25 0.30

°aA~~~~~~WC 6 5.0 0.40

aim _ i ~~~WC-7 &2 a33

\ us< \ ~~~OPEN CUT

WC-.s I\ °0 . 1i0

SCALE OF FEET

PLAN

MINERALIZED STRINGER

DUCT~~~~~~L ZON E

e DI~~~~~T LEVEL 1650\\ '

'-' -"~¢ '-S CH IST - X W I

SECTION A-A e WC-3

FIG.3 ADIT AND OPEN CUT AT WARD COPPER
R.I. 4110

A copper prospect also has been discovered in this region. It is

located near the head of South Fork of Serpentine River, between

Qi4atz and Bismark Creeks. The c6opper occurs as carbonates, chiefly

malachite i4ith -some azurite, with qurte, at a conteot of limestone

ot'erlying gr y iica-sohiat. A shaft 25 feet deep has been sunk above

the vein,: which dips to the northwest, but it'zmist be carried down:

20 or 25 feet farther before reaching the ore.; An incline 20 feet

long waa6'Also driven in the vein, whose thickness is said to b e from,,

6 to 21 inehes, and 10 to 21 tons of ore *ere taken out, which will

be sledded to Teller this winter (1905-6). '

I~~~~~~~~

A report !'by the Geological. Survey shows that`the deposit yielded a

small . anunt of copper in 1906 and 1907, and sAll shipments of ore were again

made in 1913 and 1916, as follows:

Copper content,

Year Tons percent Value

1906 8 41 $'1,200.00-

1907 8 41' 1,200.00

1913 .14 30.34 1,400.00

1916 9.473 - 981.12

4,781.12

Eight claims, known as Excelsor, Arkansas, Gem, Victor, Butte, Southern

Extension of the Excelsor Lode, Southern E~xtension of the Arkansas Lode, and

Side, with a combined area of 1'52,013 acres, were surveyed in July 1921 ands

upon application of the Ward Copper Co., were incorporated into a mineral

land patent designated as Survey 1306 of the Port Clarence mining district.

mining or development work has been done since 1916.

GENDRAL GEOLOGY

Rocks of the region consist principally of gray mica-schist and thinbedded limestone.

The schists are metamorphic rocks of complex origin and are made up

largely of biotite, graphite, chlorite, quartz, and calcite. It is impossible

to determine the attitude of the schist, as the only structural planes are

cleavage.

Limestone appears to overlie the schist unconformably, though in the area

of the W'Jard'copper deposit there is evidence of considerable silification at

the contact. A very large part of the surface occupied by the Ward claim

appears to coincide with the schist-limestone contact, and quartz appears in

great abundance. The limestone is thin-bedded and dips 10 to 15 degrees

northwest.

i/ Brooks, Alfred H., and otheis, Mineral Resources of Alaska: U. S. Geol.

Survey Bull. 662, 1916, p. 440.

1702 3
R.I. ;440

CHARACTER OF ORE

Iron and- copper carbonates, mostlyr in the form of surface coating and

fillings of. interstitial, rock seams, haye been expoese. in seveal places_ Ber

an area. 2,600. feet- gong.by 1,.200 feet wide.. Malachite and Parite ,re d

associated with limonite, quartz, and calcite and nearly always occu.at..the

schist-limastone contact, The only occurrence of the minerals in sufdicient

abundance to represent comnercial.ore is along a 5- to 12-inch stringe in the

adit, wh*ch wa4sprobably the source of much of the ore shipped o2rier. The

material along the walls and face of the adit indicates augrade ofsore considerably lPwer than,.that :recorded in the shipments, and it is quite'evident

that cons iderable breakingand sorting was necessary to produce 30- to 41-

percent copper ore,. Small piles of "fines" near several of, the 'old workings.

bear evidence of sorting.

The iron and copper carbonates occur as replacement minerals in a zone

of silicified limestone at or near the contact, but there is little evidence

that mineralization follows downward into the schist. The deepest working is

probably the discovery shaft on theiButte claim. The shaft is now caved and

filled, but dump rock believed to come from the bottom is mostly barren schist.

Likewise, no copper minerals are found in the unaltered limestone above the

contact.

SAMPLING AND ASSAYING

Eight 1- by 6-inch channel samples were collected fro ithe adit and ad-64

jacent open cut near the northwest corner of-the Excelsor claim. Sample locations and analyses are shown on figure, 3-.

Two grab samples were, collected, one from dump material beside the trench

near the north side line of the Arkansas claim'and the other from the discovery

shaft dump on the'Butte claim. The locations and analyses of these samples are

shown on figure 2. The'ten samples were assayed for gold and silver. All'

samples contained less than 0.005 ounce per ton gold and a trace of silver.

170 4.

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