Faith Creek Gold Mine

Geology

THE FOLLOWING IS A SUMMARY EXTRACTED FROM A REPORT BY FREEMAN AND ADAMS (1988) : THE FAITH CREEK AREA IS SITUATED WITHIN A NORTHEAST-TRENDING BELT OF POLYMETAMORPHIC ROCKS OF PROBABLE PROTEROZOIC TO EARLY PALEOZOIC AGE. THE BELT IS CHARACTERIZED BY REGIONAL-SCALE OPEN FOLDS WHICH TREND PLUS OR MINUS 20 DEGREE FROM EAST-WEST. THESE REGIONAL STRUCTURES OFTEN POSTDATE EARLIER NORTH-SOUTH TRENDING STRUCTURES. WITHIN THE FAIRBANKS AND CIRCLE MINING DISTRICTS, A DISTINCTIVE METAMORPHIC PACKAGE OF SEDIMENTARY AND BIMODAL VOLCANIC ROCKS CAN BE CORRELATED WITH MOST PLACER GOLD-PRODUCING CREEKS AS WELL AS KNOWN LODE OCCURRENCES. THIS BELT OF ROCKS, KNOWN AS THE CLEARY SEQUENCE IS PRESENT IN SEVERAL OUTCROPS IN THE FAITH CREEK AREA AND FORMS THE BEDROCK FOR MOST OF THE CLAIMS ON THE PROPERTY. THESE ROCKS HAVE UNDERGONE REGIONAL METAMORPHISM TO THE LOWER AND MIDDLE GREENSCHIST FACIES. ON THE FAITH CREEK PROPERTY THE CLEARY SEQUENCE IS EXPOSED IN A NORTHEAST-TRENDING ANTIFORM WHOSE AXIS TRENDS THROUGH THE PROPERTY FROM THE LEFT LIMIT OF DEEP CREEK THROUGH THE UPLANDS TO THE SOUTH OF HOMESTAKE CREEK. IN THIS AREA, THE CLEARY SEQUENCE IS CHARACTERIZED BY A LOWER MEMBER CONSISTING OF MASSIVE GRAY QUARTZITE WITH INTERBEDDED CALCAREOUS GRAPHITIC PELITIC SCHIST. THIS MEMBER IS OVER 450 FEET THICK IN THE FAITH CREEK AREA. THE BASE OF THE MIDDLE MEMBER OF THE CLEARY SEQUENCE ON FAITH CREEK IS MARKED BY A 50 FOOT THICK SEQUENCE OF BLACK FISSILE CALCAREOUS GRAPHITIC SCHIST OVERLAIN BY NEARLY 200 FEET OF QUARTZ-EYE LAPILLI TUFF OF VOLCANICLASTIC ORIGIN. THE REMAINDER OF THE MEASURED SECTION ON FAITH CREEK (250 FEET) IS PREDOMINANTLY GRAY QUARTZITE AND INTERBEDDED CALCAREOUS GRAPHITIC SCHIST. DETAILED PETROGRAPHIC STUDIES OF THE CLEARY SEQUENCE IN THE FAIRBANKS AND CIRCLE DISTRICTS INDICATE THAT LITHOLOGIC UNITS WHICH HAVE BEEN MAPPED AS 'QUARTZITE' COMMONLY CONTAIN A SIGNIFICANT VOLCANICLASTIC COMPONENT. SULFIDE CONTENT OF THE CLEARY SEQUENCE IS HIGHEST IN THE CALCAREOUS GRAPHITIC QUARTZITES OF THE LOWER MEMBER. SULFIDE MINERALOGY IS PREDOMINANTLY PYRITE AND ARSENOPYRITE WITH LESSER GALENA, SPHALERITE, CHALCOPYRITE, STIBNITE, JAMESONITE, BOULANGERITE AND POSSIBLE TETRAHEDRITE. THERE IS VERY LITTLE SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON THE PLACER MINING ON FAITH CREEK OTHER THAN PLACER GOLD MINING REPORTED AS EARLY AS 1937 (SMITH, 1939, P. 48 ). DEEP CREEK, THE RIGHT LIMIT TRIBUTARY TO FAITH CREEK, WAS REPORTED TO HAVE A SMALL PLACER MINE AS EARLY AS 1946 (WEDOW AND OTHERS, 1954, P. 8 ). THERE IS NO INFORMATION ON PRODUCTION DURING THESE EARLY YEARS OF MINING BUT PRODUCTION WAS LIKELY SMALL JUDGING FROM THE WORKINGS (WEDOW AND OTHERS, 1954, P. 8 ). CONTINUOUS OPERATIONS OCCURRED FROM 1964 THROUGH 1988 ON FAITH, HOPE, DEEP, CHARITY AND HOMESTAKE CREEKS. IN 1986 AND 1987 THE ALASKA DIVISION OF GEOLOGICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS CONDUCTED A MAPPING AND MINERAL EVALUATION STUDY WHICH COVERED THE FAITH CREEK AREA NORTH OF DEEP CREEK. RESULTS INDICATED THE POSSIBLE PRESENCE OF A BEDROCK SOURCE FOR THE PLACER DEPOSITS IN THE FAITH CREEK DRAINAGE (SMITH, 1987 ). IN 1993, A-J MINING SPENT PART OF THE SUMMER MAPPING AND SAMPLING ON FAITH CREEK (BUNDTZEN AND OTHERS, 1993 ). SAM KOPPENBERG REPORTED PRODUCTION ON FAITH CREEK IN 1994 (SWAINBANK AND OTHERS, 1994 ). KMM MINING SUCCESSFULLY MINED FAITH CREEK FROM 1986 TO 1996 (SWAINBANK AND OTHERS, 1996).