## Breadcrumb

-  Alaska Science Center 
-  Science 

#           Metallogeny and Tectonics of the Lake Clark and Neacola Mountains Region, South-central Alaska      

  Completed

      By Alaska Science Center      May 22, 2018    

            -              Overview           
            -              Science           
            -              Data           
            -              Publications           
            -              Partners           

Alaska hosts a well-documented belt of ore deposits that lies roughly parallel to the Alaska Range, beginning at the Alaska Peninsula in the southwest, continuing up through the Fairbanks Mining District in the north, and curving back into the Tintina Gold Belt on its eastern end. Known mineral prospects and occurrences include porphyry copper, intrusion-related gold, volcanogenic massive sulfides (VMS), and rare earth element (REE) deposits. Both the Range and its associated mineral deposits are spatially and genetically related to the emplacement of igneous rocks caused by subduction of the oceanic Pacific plate beneath the overriding continental Alaska plate.

**Return to Geology**

View Media Details

This project focuses on the Neacola Mountains and surrounding areas in the active volcanic arc on the west side of Cook Inlet, roughly between Chakachamna Lake and Lake Clark. Previous mapping has shown that the region is bisected by the northeast-trending Lake Clark fault; older (Mesozoic) rocks and mineral prospects are exposed to the east of the fault, whereas younger (Cenozoic) rocks and deposits are found to the west. In addition, geophysical surveys have revealed a chain of magnetic anomalies on the western side of the fault, some of which coincide with known mineral deposits. The geology both north and south of the current project area has undergone extensive scrutiny, and this study will fill in the knowledge gaps between the two regions.

In order to understand the tectonic history and mineral resource potential of this section of the arc that bridges the southern Alaska and northern Aleutian ranges, this project seeks to develop a comprehensive geologic framework that encompasses the entire geologic column, from the oldest terrane fragments and basement rocks to the younger igneous and overlapping sedimentary rocks. Detailed field mapping will delineate and differentiate rocks that host mineralization as well as characterize the surrounding sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic country rocks. Geochemical analyses and age dating will contribute to an understanding of the timing and evolution of subduction-induced magmatism and the distribution and timing of associated mineralizing events. Investigation of the magnetic anomalies and comparison of mineral occurrences in the area to known deposits outside the area will allow an evaluation of potential mineral endowment. The resultant regional synthesis of the geology, geochemistry, and geophysics will lead to a better understanding of the extent, distribution, genesis, and tectonic setting of the host rocks and their attendant mineralized systems.

View Media Details

 

### Study Area

### Contacts

#### Jamey Jones

##### Acting Earth MRI Coordinator and Associate Center Director for Geology

Alaska Science Center

jvjones@usgs.gov

907-786-7442

#### Erin Todd, Ph.D.

##### Research Geologist

Alaska Science Center

etodd@usgs.gov

907-786-7441

### Explore Search

                      - Mineral Resources
                      - Alaska Geology and Mineral Resources
                      - Critical Minerals
                      - Economic Geology
                      - Framework Studies
                      - Geochemical Data
                      - Geophysics
                      - Mineral Resource Formation
                      - Regional Assessment
                      - Research Geochemistry
                      - Geology
                      - Regional Studies and Mineral Resources
                      - Geology
                      - Information Systems
                      - Maps and Mapping
                      - Minerals
                      - Mineral Resources Program (MRP)

View All **

Below are other science projects associated with this project.

link

January 1, 2017

####                 Western Alaska Range Metallogeny and Tectonics              

Mineral Resources Program, Alaska Science Center

link

January 1, 2017

####   Western Alaska Range Metallogeny and Tectonics

Learn More

Below are data or web applications associated with this project.

September 18, 2020

####                 40Ar/39Ar Isotopic Data and Ages for Rocks from the Yukon-Tanana Upland of Eastern Alaska and the Northern Aleutian Range of South-Central Alaska              

Alaska Science Center

Below are publications associated with this project.

December 10, 2018

####                 U-Pb geochronology and tectonic implications of a Silurian ash in the Farewell Terrane, Alaska              

Mineral Resources Program, Alaska Science Center

August 6, 2018

####                 Pliocene erosional pulse and glacier-landscape feedbacks in the western Alaska Range              

Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Mineral Resources Program, Alaska Science Center

October 1, 2016

####                 Late Oligocene to present contractional structure in and around the Susitna basin, Alaska—Geophysical evidence and geological implications              

Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Alaska Science Center

April 1, 2016

####                 Changing exhumation patterns during Cenozoic growth and glaciation of the Alaska Range: Insights from detrital thermochronology and geochronology              

Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Alaska Science Center

Allegheny CollegeFriedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-NürnbergJapan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)

#### Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)

#### U.S. National Park Service

#### University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF)

#### University of Washington 

Alaska hosts a well-documented belt of ore deposits that lies roughly parallel to the Alaska Range, beginning at the Alaska Peninsula in the southwest, continuing up through the Fairbanks Mining District in the north, and curving back into the Tintina Gold Belt on its eastern end. Known mineral prospects and occurrences include porphyry copper, intrusion-related gold, volcanogenic massive sulfides (VMS), and rare earth element (REE) deposits. Both the Range and its associated mineral deposits are spatially and genetically related to the emplacement of igneous rocks caused by subduction of the oceanic Pacific plate beneath the overriding continental Alaska plate.

**Return to Geology**

View Media Details

This project focuses on the Neacola Mountains and surrounding areas in the active volcanic arc on the west side of Cook Inlet, roughly between Chakachamna Lake and Lake Clark. Previous mapping has shown that the region is bisected by the northeast-trending Lake Clark fault; older (Mesozoic) rocks and mineral prospects are exposed to the east of the fault, whereas younger (Cenozoic) rocks and deposits are found to the west. In addition, geophysical surveys have revealed a chain of magnetic anomalies on the western side of the fault, some of which coincide with known mineral deposits. The geology both north and south of the current project area has undergone extensive scrutiny, and this study will fill in the knowledge gaps between the two regions.

In order to understand the tectonic history and mineral resource potential of this section of the arc that bridges the southern Alaska and northern Aleutian ranges, this project seeks to develop a comprehensive geologic framework that encompasses the entire geologic column, from the oldest terrane fragments and basement rocks to the younger igneous and overlapping sedimentary rocks. Detailed field mapping will delineate and differentiate rocks that host mineralization as well as characterize the surrounding sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic country rocks. Geochemical analyses and age dating will contribute to an understanding of the timing and evolution of subduction-induced magmatism and the distribution and timing of associated mineralizing events. Investigation of the magnetic anomalies and comparison of mineral occurrences in the area to known deposits outside the area will allow an evaluation of potential mineral endowment. The resultant regional synthesis of the geology, geochemistry, and geophysics will lead to a better understanding of the extent, distribution, genesis, and tectonic setting of the host rocks and their attendant mineralized systems.

View Media Details

 

### Study Area

### Contacts

#### Jamey Jones

##### Acting Earth MRI Coordinator and Associate Center Director for Geology

Alaska Science Center

jvjones@usgs.gov

907-786-7442

#### Erin Todd, Ph.D.

##### Research Geologist

Alaska Science Center

etodd@usgs.gov

907-786-7441

### Explore Search

                      - Mineral Resources
                      - Alaska Geology and Mineral Resources
                      - Critical Minerals
                      - Economic Geology
                      - Framework Studies
                      - Geochemical Data
                      - Geophysics
                      - Mineral Resource Formation
                      - Regional Assessment
                      - Research Geochemistry
                      - Geology
                      - Regional Studies and Mineral Resources
                      - Geology
                      - Information Systems
                      - Maps and Mapping
                      - Minerals
                      - Mineral Resources Program (MRP)

View All **

Below are other science projects associated with this project.

link

January 1, 2017

####                 Western Alaska Range Metallogeny and Tectonics              

Mineral Resources Program, Alaska Science Center

link

January 1, 2017

####   Western Alaska Range Metallogeny and Tectonics

Learn More

Below are data or web applications associated with this project.

September 18, 2020

####                 40Ar/39Ar Isotopic Data and Ages for Rocks from the Yukon-Tanana Upland of Eastern Alaska and the Northern Aleutian Range of South-Central Alaska              

Alaska Science Center

Below are publications associated with this project.

December 10, 2018

####                 U-Pb geochronology and tectonic implications of a Silurian ash in the Farewell Terrane, Alaska              

Mineral Resources Program, Alaska Science Center

August 6, 2018

####                 Pliocene erosional pulse and glacier-landscape feedbacks in the western Alaska Range              

Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Mineral Resources Program, Alaska Science Center

October 1, 2016

####                 Late Oligocene to present contractional structure in and around the Susitna basin, Alaska—Geophysical evidence and geological implications              

Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Alaska Science Center

April 1, 2016

####                 Changing exhumation patterns during Cenozoic growth and glaciation of the Alaska Range: Insights from detrital thermochronology and geochronology              

Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Alaska Science Center

Allegheny CollegeFriedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-NürnbergJapan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)

#### Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)

#### U.S. National Park Service

#### University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF)

#### University of Washington