Hirst-Chichagof Mine
Sitka, Alaska
57.6845°N 136.1060°W
Mine Overview
The Hirst-Chichagof Mine is in Sitka, Alaska. Historically the site has been associated with the Chichagof Mining District which is now part of the Tongass National Forest. The site was first discovered in 1905 by Peter Romanoff, Andrew Dixon, Bernard Hirst. The Hirst-Chichagof Mine is a underground mining operation. Initial production took place in 1922 and overall output was considered to be small size. Mine operations consist of underground workings. There is one known shaft. Subsurface depth reaches a maximum of 671 meters (2,200 feet) and extends 914 meters (3,000 feet) in length. The ore mined is composed of sphalerite and chalcopyrite with waste material consisting primarily of pyrite and quartz. The ore body has a lenticular or lens shaped form 1,524 meters (5,000 feet) long, 152 meters (500 feet) wide, and 670 meters (2,200 feet) thick. The host rock in this area is siltstone.
Site identification and general characteristics. Learn about USGS mines.
- Gold Primary Commodity
- Silver Secondary Commodity
- Copper, Lead, and Zinc Secondary Commodity
- Site Record Type?
- Mine Development Status?
- Underground Operation Type?
- 1905 Year Discovered?
- Peter Romanoff Andrew Dixon Bernard Hirst Discovered By?
- 1922 to 1943 Last Year of Production
- 1922 First Year Of Production?
- 1943 Last Year Of Production?
- Small Production Size?
- Small Mine Size?
Hirst-Chichagof Mine In Sitka, Alaska
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Owner Name and Address
B. M. Behrends Bank
Alaska- Type
- Owner
- Stake
- Majority
Queenstake Resources Ltd.
- Type
- Owner-Operator
State of Alaska
Alaska- Type
- Owner
- Stake
- Minor
Ventures Trident Ltd.
- Type
- Owner
Commodities
Additional textual information about a site or mine.
- Commodity Type Importance
- Gold Metallic Primary
- Silver Metallic Secondary
- Copper Metallic Tertiary
- Lead Metallic Tertiary
- Zinc Metallic Tertiary
Location Info
- Continent Country State County
- North America The United States Alaska n/a
Notes
USGS B 929, PL. 1; USGS MF-467, LOC. 27; USGS MF-1476-B, LOC. 14. LOCATION IS AT PORTAL OF MAIN LEVEL TUNNEL. LAND STATUS VALUE CALCULATED 6-94 USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS WITH BLM 1:2, 500, 000 SCALE OWNERSHIP STATUS MAP (1991).
Development
FIRST CLAIM STAKED IN 1905. HIRST-CHICHAGOF MINING CO. FORMED IN 1918, OBTAINED 12 CLAIMS IN 1919. 3 TUNNELS STARTED IN 1920, NO. 1 ORE SHOOT REACHED IN 1921, MILL BEGAN PRODUCING IN 1922. MINE PRODUCED EVERY YEAR FROM 1922-1943, UNTIL SUSPENDED BECAUSE OF WORLD WAR II. 19 CLAIMS AQUIRED FROM ENSERCH, INC. BY QUEENSTAKE RESOURCES IN 1986. QUEENSTAKE ALSO OWNS CHICHAGOF MINE. CONSIDERABLE EXPLORATION DONE IN RECENT YEARS BY ENSERCH, INC. AND QUEENSTAKE RESOURCES, AND MINE MAY BE REOPENED IN COMBINATION WITH CHICHAGOF MINE.
Workings
Workings at the site.
Underground Workings #1
- Type: Underground
- Surface Length: 1524 Meters
- Surface Width: 609.6 Meters
- Sub Surface Length: 914.4 Meters
- Sub Surface Depth: 670.56 Meters
Workings
WORKINGS CONSIST OF 426 FEET TUNNEL AT 435 FEET EL ., 898 FEET TUNNEL AT 285 FEET EL ., MAIN LEVEL TUNNEL ABOUT 5, 000 FEET LONG AT ABOUT 100 FEET EL. 10 LEVELS DOWN TO 1700 FEET BELOW MAIN LEVEL. AT LEAST 3 SHAFTS DRIVEN. NO. 3 SHAFT EXTENDS DOWN TO 1, 700 FEET LEVEL. MILL FOR MINE IS BETWEEN PORTAL AND BEACH, AND HANDLED 35-0 TONS OF ORE PER DAY. ELECTRIC POWER FOR MINE PURCHASED FROM CHICHAGOF MINING CO. AND OBTAINED FROM AUXILIARY DIESEL POWER PLANT. ALMOST ALL OLD WORKINGS OF MINE CURRENTLY INACCESSABLE (AS OF 1982 ). LESS THAN 10% OF AREA EXPLORED BY WORKINGS WAS MINED.
Concentration Process
Processes that concentrated or enriched the mineralization of the mine.
- Concentration Process
- Hydrothermal
Geology
HIRST FAULT ZONE CUTS GRAYWACKE AT LARGE ANGLE TO BEDDING, MANY FAULTS SPLIT OFF MAIN FAULT PARALLEL TO FAULT AND PARALLEL TO BEDDING.
Orebody
Characteristics of the ore body.
- Length:
- Width: 152.40 meters (500.00 feet)
- Bottom Depth: 670.56 meters (2,200.00 feet)
- Thickness: 670.56 meters (2,200.00 feet)
- Strike: north 28 degrees west
- Dip: 72 degrees southwest
Structure
Geologic structural features affecting or characterizing the site or mine.
- Scale Description
- Local Graywacke Bedding Strikes North 65 Degrees West, Dips 64 Degrees Southwest
- Regional Hirst Fault Zone Trends North 28 Degrees West, Dips 72 Degrees Southwest
Ore Control
Controls on emplacement of ore such as faults or other structural features.
- Text?
- Along Hirst Fault Zone
Reference
HUMPHREY, 1936, 7 P. (SEE BACK-UP FILE).
Reserve-resource
E1: UNMINED AREA EXPLORED BY UNDERGROUND WORKINGS (MINING WIDTH 3-10 FEET ). E2: HIRST TAILINGS. BOTH E1 AND E2 ARE INFERRED MARGINAL RES.
INFERRED RESERVES HAVING MINING WIDTH EXCEEDING 3 FEET-CONTINUATION OF KAY ORE SHOOT (MINING STOPPED IN 1943.
USGS MF-1476-B, P. 6
Nearby Deposits
Other deposits in the same region.
-
Hirst-Chichagof Mine
- Gold commodity Site type Mine status
- Sitka, Alaska
- Vein
- 0.18 miles
-
Marinovich Gold Prospect
- Gold commodity Site type Occurrence status
- Sitka, Alaska
- 0.32 miles
-
Tillson Gold Prospect
- Gold commodity Site type Occurrence status
- Sitka, Alaska
- 0.66 miles
-
Chichagof Prosperity Gold Prospect
- Gold commodity Site type Prospect status
- Sitka, Alaska
- 0.71 miles
-
Basoiniuer Gold Prospect
- Gold commodity Site type Prospect status
- Sitka, Alaska
- 0.87 miles
-
Alaska Gold Digger Group
- Gold commodity Site type Prospect status
- Sitka, Alaska
- 0.94 miles
-
Chichagof District
- Gold commodity District type Mine status
- Sitka, Alaska
- Quartz Veins
- 1.26 miles
-
Radio Gold Mine
- Gold commodity Site type Mine status
- Sitka, Alaska
- Underground
- 1.42 miles
-
Mckallick Chichagof Mines
- Gold commodity Site type Prospect status
- Sitka, Alaska
- 1.45 miles
-
Chichagoff Silver Mine
- Gold commodity Site type Mine status
- Sitka, Alaska
- 1.45 miles
Nearby Mining Districts
- Chichagof Mining District (0 miles away)
Nearby Lands
- Tongass National Forest (0 miles away)
- West Chichagof-Yakobi Wilderness (0 miles away)
Footnotes
* Mine bounds on map indicate the general area that a mine occupies. For an detailed map, refer to the overseeing BLM field office.
** The mine central point is based on an average of the mine's bounding box(es) and does not necessarily fall on the claim itself.
1 World-class significance is determined by total endowment of the contained commodity. This includes all past production and remaining reserves. Each commodity is considered separately and commodities cannot be combined to arrive at a significant size. The tonnage thresholds are from the mine model grade-tonnage studies. As of June 2008, many entries were classified as significant under less strict rules.
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Deposit
HIRST FAULT ZONE, AVERAGE STRIKE N 28 DEGREES W, AVERAGE DIP 72 DEGREES SW, CUTS SHALEY TO MASSIVE GRAYWACKE WITH AVERAGE STRIKE OF N 65 DEGREES W AND DIP OF 65 DEGREES SW. FAULT ZONE IS UP TO 50 FEET WIDE, AND CONTAINS MANY SPLITS, BOTH PARALLEL TO FAULT AND TO BEDDING. 4 MAJOR ORE SHOOTS IN HIRST FAULT AND SPLITS. DIKE ROCKS FORM FOOTWALL ALONG MUCH OF FAULT, BUT MISSING FROM HANGING WALL. ORE SHOOTS ARE COMPOSED OF QUARTZ BODIES, BOTH RIBBON AND MASSIVE QUARTZ, UP TO 10 FEET THICK, MOST 2-4 FEET THICK. LESS THAN 3% OF ORE ARE METALLIC MINERALS, INCLUDING PYRITE, ARSENOPYRITE, SPHALERITE, GALENA, CHALCOPYRITE, AND FREE GOLD FOUND IN VEIN QUARTZ, IN LAYERS OF WALL ROCK BETWEEN QUARTZ RIBBONS, AND LOCALLY IN WALL ROCK NEAR VEINS. GOLD USUALLY NOT VISIBLE, BUT OCCASIONALLY SMALL SPECKS ARE SEEN. ORE SHOOTS ARE LOCALIZED ALONG ALONG INTERSECTIONS OF FAULTS AND BEDDING PLANES AND IN WARP IN MAIN FAULT. ONLY NO. 1 ORE SHOOT REACHES SURFACE, AND GRADE THERE IS NOT MINEABLE. ORE.
SHOOTS NOS. 1, 2, AND 3 ARE FOUND ABOVE THE 300 FEET LEVEL IN THE MINE, AND ARE CUT OFF BY LARGE WARP IN HIRST FAULT WHICH EXTENDS FROM 180-700 FEET LEVELS. MAIN ORE SHOOT IS FOUND FROM 180-1700 FEET LEVELS. ANOTHER ORE SHOOT, THE KAY ORE SHOOT, IS FOUND IN SPLIT FAULT FOR 1, 600 FEET FROM MAIN FAULT ON MAIN LEVEL OF MINE. ORE ABOVE MAIN LEVEL OF MINE MINED OUT BEFORE 1938.
QUEENSTAKE RESOURCES PLANS TO REOPEN HIRST-CHICHAGOF WORKINGS AND DEWATER AND TEST KAY ORE SHOOT. SINCE MAIN LEVELS OF HIRST-CHICHAGOF AND CHICHAGOFF MINES ARE ONLY 3, 600 FEET APART, QUEENSTAKE IS CONSIDERING CONNECTING THE TWO MINES FOR JOINT DEVELOPMENT OF UNEXPLORED ORE RESERVES.; INFORMATION SOURCE: 1 PUB LIT.
USGS CRIB A003111 USGS CRIB A003127 USGS CRIB A003152.