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At least 469 records · Page 26Linked to original sources
USGS1978

Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Nome Quadrangle, Alaska

These summaries of references are designed to aid in library research on metallic and nonmetallic (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) mineral occurrences in the Nome quadrangle, Alaska. All references to reports of the Geological Survey, to most reports of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, and to most reports of the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys and its predecessor State and Territorial agencies released before July 1, 1977, are summarized. Certain, mainly statistical, reports such as the annual Minerals Yearbook of the U.S. Bureau of Mines and the biennial and annual reports of the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys and its predecessor State and Territorial agencies are not included. This report is divided into three parts: a section made up of summaries of references arranged alphabetically by occurrence name; a section that lists synonyms for names in the first section, claim names, and the names of operators and owners of mines and prospects; and a section that lists, by author, all references summarized in the first section.

Alaska↗
USGS1978

Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Sumdum and Taku River quadrangles, Alaska

These summaries of references are designed to aid in library research on metallic and nonmetallic (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) mineral occurrences in the Sumdum and Taku River quadrangles, Alaska. All references to reports of the Geological Survey, to most reports of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, and to most reports of the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys and its predecessor State and Territorial agencies released before May 1, 1978, are summarized. Certain, mainly statistical, reports such as the annual Minerals Yearbook of the U.S. Bureau of Mines and most biennial and annual reports of the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys and its prececessor State and Territorial agencies are not included. This report is divided into three parts: a section made up of summaries of references arranged alphabetically first by quadrangle and second by occurrence name; a section that lists synonyms for names in the first section, claim names, and the names of operators and owners of mines and prospects; and a section that lists, by author, all references summarized in the first section.

Alaska↗
USGS1952

Geology of the area adjacent to the Free Enterprise uranium-silver Mine, Boulder District, Jefferson County, Montana

Uranium minerals.occur in pods associated with cryptocrystalline silica, silver minerals, and scattered sulfide mineral grains in a hydrothermal vein that cuts quartz monzonite and alaskite at the Free Enterprise mine, 2 miles west of Boulder, Mont. The Free Enterprise vein is one of many silicified reef-like structures in this area, most of which trend about N. 60° E. The cryptocrystalline silica zones of the area are lenticular and are bordered by an altered zone where quartz monzonite is the wall rock. No alteration was noticed where alaskite is adjacent to silica zones. No uranium minerals were observed at the surface, but radioactivity anomalies were noted at 57 outcrops. Underground mining has shown that leaching by downward percolating waters has removed most of the uranium from the near-surface part of the Free Enterprise vein and probably has enriched slightly, parts of the vein and the adjacent wall rock from the bottom of the leached zone to the ground-water level. It is possible that other veins that show low to moderate radioactivity at the surface may contain significant concentrations of uranium minerals at relatively shallow depth. The quartz monzonite appears to be a more favorable host rock for the cryptocrystalline silica and associated uranium minerals than the alaskite. The alaskite occurs as vertical_dikes plug-like masses, and as irregularly shaped, gently dipping masses that are believed to have been intruded into open fractures formed during the cooling of the quartz monzonite.

Montana↗
USGS2005

Comparison of mine waste assessment methods at the Rattler mine site, Virginia Canyon, Colorado

In a joint project, the mine waste-piles at the Rattler Mine near Idaho Springs, Colorado, were sampled and analyzed by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Colorado School of Mines (CSM). Separate sample collection, sample leaching, and leachate analyses were performed by both groups and the results were compared. For the study, both groups used the USGS sampling procedure and the USGS Field Leach Test (FLT). The leachates generated from these tests were analyzed for a suite of elements using ICP-AES (CSM) and ICP-MS (USGS). Leachate geochemical fingerprints produced by the two groups for composites collected from the same mine waste showed good agreement. In another set of tests, CSM collected another set of Rattler mine waste composite samples using the USGS sampling procedure. This set of composite samples was leached using the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology (CDMG) leach test, and a modified Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) leach test. Leachate geochemical fingerprints produced using these tests showed a variation of more than a factor of two from the geochemical fingerprints produced using the USGS FLT leach test. We have concluded that the variation in the results is due to the different parameters of the leaching tests and not due to the sampling or analytical methods.

Colorado↗
USGS1996

A watershed-scale approach to tracing metal contamination in the environment

Introduction Public policy during the 1800's encouraged mining in the western United States. Mining on Federal lands played an important role in the growing economy creating national wealth from our abundant and diverse mineral resource base. The common industrial practice from the early days of mining through about 1970 in the U.S. was for mine operators to dispose of the mine wastes and mill tailings in the nearest stream reach or lake. As a result of this contamination, many stream reaches below old mines, mills, and mining districts and some major rivers and lakes no longer support aquatic life. Riparian habitats within these affected watersheds have also been impacted. Often, the water from these affected stream reaches is generally not suitable for drinking, creating a public health hazard. The recent Department of Interior Abandoned Mine Lands ( AML ) Initiative is an effort on the part of the Federal Government to address the adverse environmental impact of these past mining practices on Federal lands. The AML Initiative has adopted a watershed approach to determine those sites that contribute the majority of the contaminants in the watershed. By remediating the largest sources of contamination within the watershed, the impact of metal contamination in the environment within the watershed as a whole is reduced rather than focusing largely on those sites for which principal responsible parties can be found. The scope of the problem of metal contamination in the environment from past mining practices in the coterminous U.S. is addressed in a recent report by Ferderer (1996). Using the USGS 1:2,000,000-scale hydrologic drainage basin boundaries and the USGS Minerals Availability System ( MAS ) data base, he plotted the distribution of 48,000 past-producing metal mines on maps showing the boundaries of lands administered by the various Federal Land Management Agencies ( FLMA ). Census analysis of these data provided an initial screening tool for prioritization of watersheds in the western U.S. A different approach to the scope of the abandoned mine problem (Church et al., 1996a) is shown by the water quality data collected by the States under the Clean Water Act, section 305(b). These data document the stream reaches affected by metals from naturally occurring sources as well as from mining, or mineral resource extraction. Permitted discharges from active industrial and mine sites are not covered in the 305(b) data base. Local citizens and state and federal agencies are all part of the collaborative decision process used to select the drainage basins chosen for the AML Initiative pilot studies. Data gathered by these three entities were brought to bear on the watershed selection process. The USGS prepared data available from Federal data bases in the form of interpretative GIS products. Maps of the states of Colorado (Plumlee et al., 1995) and a similar study of the state of Montana ( USGS , unpublished data) were used to select the Animas watershed in southwestern Colorado and the Boulder watershed southwest of Helena Montana as the pilot study areas for the AML Initiative. Thus, the watersheds selected for study were public decisions made on the basis of available scientific data. The role of the U.S. Geological Survey in the Abandoned Mine Land Initiative is outlined in Buxton et al. (1997). The watershed approach to metals contamination in the environment has been studied in several drainage basins (Church et al., 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996b; Kimball et al., 1995). The underlying principles used to successfully discriminate between sources and to quantify the impact of these sources on the environment are the subject of this report.

Conference Paper↗
USGS1984

Hydrologic responses of streams to mining of the Mulberry coal reserves in eastern Kansas

The U.S. Geological Survey investigated the hydrologic responses of streams with respect to coal-mining activities in the Mulberry coal reserves of Miami, Linn, and Bourbon Counties, eastern Kansas. Results of a low-flow water-quality reconnaissance showed that small streams draining previously coal-mined areas generally have relatively large concentrations of sulfate. Large streams in the study area have been relatively unaffected by coal mining. A comparison of two small drainage basins showed that the basin affected by an active strip mine had less high flow and more low flow because of the regulating effects of sediment ponds. Effluent pumped from the strip mine increased the load of sulfate by 244 percent, the load of dissolved solids by 41 percent, and occasionally transported relatively large concentrations of iron, lead, manganese, and zinc to the receiving stream. Accelerated erosion caused by the exposure and disturbance of soil during clearing and excavation increased the sediment load of the receiving stream by 25 percent even though sediment ponds were installed. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS2009

Selected metals in sediments and streams in the Oklahoma Part of the Tri-State Mining District, 2000-2006

The abandoned Tri-State mining district includes 1,188 square miles in northeastern Oklahoma, southeastern Kansas, and southwestern Missouri. The most productive part of the Tri-State mining district was the 40-square mile part in Oklahoma, commonly referred to as 'the Picher mining district' in north-central Ottawa County, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma part of the Tri-State mining district was a primary producing area of lead and zinc in the United States during the first half of the 20th century. Sulfide minerals of cadmium, iron, lead, and zinc that remained in flooded underground mine workings and in mine tailings on the land surface oxidized and dissolved with time, forming a variety of oxide, hydroxide, and hydroxycarbonate metallic minerals on the land surface and in streams that drain the district. Metals in water and sediments in streams draining the mining district can potentially impair the habitat and health of many forms of aquatic and terrestrial life. Lakebed, streambed and floodplain sediments and/or stream water were sampled at 30 sites in the Oklahoma part of the Tri-State mining district by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality from 2000 to 2006 in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Quapaw and Seneca-Cayuga Tribes of Oklahoma. Aluminum and iron concentrations of several thousand milligrams per kilogram were measured in sediments collected from the upstream end of Grand Lake O' the Cherokees. Manganese and zinc concentrations in those sediments were several hundred milligrams per kilogram. Lead and cadmium concentrations in those sediments were about 10 percent and 0.1 percent of zinc concentrations, respectively. Sediment cores collected in a transect across the floodplain of Tar Creek near Miami, Oklahoma, in 2004 had similar or greater concentrations of those metals than sediment cores collected at the upstream end of Grand Lake O' the Cherokees. The greatest concentrations of cadmium, iron, lead, and zinc were detected in sediments beneath an intermittent tributary to Tar Creek, a slough which drains mined areas near Commerce, Oklahoma. In surface water, aluminum and iron concentrations were greatest in the Neosho River, perhaps a result of runoff from areas underlain by shales. The greatest aqueous concentrations of cadmium, lead, manganese, and zinc were measured in water from Tar Creek, the primary small stream draining the Picher mining district with the largest proportion of mined area. Water from the Spring River had greater zinc concentrations than water from the Neosho River, perhaps as a result of a greater proportion of mined area in the Spring River Basin. Dissolved metals concentrations were generally much less than total metals concentrations, except for manganese and zinc at sites on Tar Creek, where seepage of ground water from the mine workings, saturated mine tailings, and/or metalliferous streambed sediments may be sources of these dissolved metals. Iron and lead concentrations generally decreased with increasing streamflow in upstream reaches of Tar Creek, indicating dilution of metals-rich ground water by runoff. Farther downstream in Tar Creek, and in the Neosho and Spring Rivers, metals concentrations tended to increase with increasing streamflow, indicating that most metals in these parts of these streams were associated with runoff and re-suspension of metals precipitated as oxide, hydroxide, and hydroxycarbonate minerals on land surface and streambeds. Estimated total aluminum, cadmium, iron, manganese, and zinc loads generally were greatest in water from the Neosho and Spring Rivers, primarily because of comparatively large streamflows in those rivers. Slight increases in metal loads in the downstream directions on those rivers indicated contributions of metals from inflows of small tributaries such as Tar Creek and from runoff.

Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma↗
USGS1983

Geochemical map of the Arnold Mesa Roadless Area, Yavapai County, Arizona

The Wilderness Act (Public Law 88-577, September 3, 1964) and related acts require the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines to survey certain areas on Federal lands to determine their mineral resource potential. Results must be made available to the public and be submitted to the President and the Congress. This report presents the results of a geochemical survey of the Arnold Mesa Roadless Area (U.S. Forest Service number 03092) in the Prescott and Tonto National Forests, Yavapai County, Arizona. The Arnold Mesa Roadless Area was classified as a further planning area during the Second Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE II) by the U.S. Forest Service, January 1979. During 1980 the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) conducted field investigations to evaluate the mineral resource potential of the Arnold Mesa Roadless Area, Yavapai County, Arizona. Field studies included geologic mapping (Wolrfe, 1983), aeromagnetic mapping (Davis and Wolfe, 1983), geochemical sampling (this report), and a survey of known mines and prospects (McColly and Korzeb, 1981). The Arnold Mesa Roadless Area comprises about 28,000 acres (11,300 hectares) in and along the flanks of the Black Hills south of Camp Verde, Arizona. The Black Hills form a northwest-trending drainage divide, between the Agua Fria drainage on the west and Verde River on the east, that extends through the roadless area. The crest and southwest flank of the divide within the study area are moderately dissected, gently rolling uplands. The northeast flank is steep terrain that forms the western wall of the Verde Valley. The northeast flank has a total relief within the study area of almost 4,000 ft (more than 1,200 m) and is deeply incised by the canyons of Gap and Chasm Creeks. Unpaved roads provide access to much of the perimeter of the Arnold Mesa Roadless Area, but the interior is accessible only by foot, horse, or helicopter.

Arizona↗
USGS1976

Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Chandalar and Wiseman quadrangles, Alaska

These summaries of references are designed to aid in library research on metallic and nonmetallic (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) mineral occurrences in the Chandalar and Wiseman quadrangles in the southern Brooks Range, Alaska. All references to reports of the Geological Survey, to most reports of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, and to most published reports of the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys and its predecessor State and Territorial agencies released before January 1, 1975, are summarized. An unpublished manuscript report of the Alaska Territorial Department of Mines (Reed, 1938) is included; references to it are summarized in greater detail than those to the kinds of reports listed above. Certain, mainly statistical, reports such as the annual Minerals Yearbook of the U.S. Bureau of Mines and the biennial and annual reports of the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys and its predecessor State and Territorial agencies are not included. This report is divided into three parts: a section made up of summaries of references arranged alphabetically first by quadrangle and second by occurrence name; a section that lists synonyms for names in the first section, claim names, and the names of operators and owners of mines and prospects; and a section that lists, by author, all references summarized in the first section.

Alaska↗
USGS1987

Mineral resources of the Fort Piute Wilderness Study Area, San Bernardino County, California

The Fort Piute Wilderness Study Area (CDCA-267) is in northeastern San Bernardino County, California, near the boundary between California and Nevada. Mineral surveys were requested for 31,371 acres of the Fort Piute Wilderness Study Area. In this report the area studied is referred to as "the study area". Examination of mines and prospects in the area was accomplished by the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1981 and 1982. Field investigations of the area were carried out by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1983 and 1985. No mines or prospects, few mining claims, and no identified resources are located within the wilderness study area. Moderate and low potential for gold resources appears limited to outcrops of gneiss and granite exposed along the eastern side of the Piute Range. Available information indicates that there is no potential for energy resources, including oil and gas, uranium, or geothermal, in the study area.

California↗
USGS2019

Alaska Geochemical Database Version 3.0 (AGDB3)—Including “Best Value” Data Compilations for Rock, Sediment, Soil, Mineral, and Concentrate Sample Media

The Alaska Geochemical Database Version 3.0 (AGDB3) contains new geochemical data compilations in which each geologic material sample has one “best value” determination for each analyzed species, greatly improving speed and efficiency of use. Like the Alaska Geochemical Database Version 2.0 before it, the AGDB3 was created and designed to compile and integrate geochemical data from Alaska to facilitate geologic mapping, petrologic studies, mineral resource assessments, definition of geochemical baseline values and statistics, element concentrations and associations, environmental impact assessments, and studies in public health associated with geology. This relational database, created from data-bases and published datasets of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Atomic Energy Commission National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE), Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), U.S. Bureau of Mines, and U.S. Bureau of Land Management serves as a data archive in support of Alaskan geologic and geochemical projects and contains data tables in several different formats describing historical and new quantitative and qualitative geochemical analyses. The analytical results were determined by 112 laboratory and field analytical methods on 396,343 rock, sediment, soil, mineral, heavy-mineral concentrate, and oxalic acid leachate samples. Most samples were collected by personnel of these agencies and analyzed in agency laboratories or, under contracts, in commercial analytical laboratories. These data represent analyses of samples collected as part of various agency programs and projects from 1938 through 2017. In addition, mineralogical data from 18,138 nonmagnetic heavy-mineral concentrate samples are included in this database. The AGDB3 includes historical geochemical data archived in the USGS National Geochemical Database (NGDB) and NURE National Uranium Resource Evaluation-Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance databases, and in the DGGS Geochemistry database. Retrievals from these data-bases were used to generate most of the AGDB data set. These data were checked for accuracy regarding sample location, sample media type, and analytical methods used. In other words, the data of AGDB3 supersedes data in the AGDB and the AGDB2, but the background about the data in these two earlier versions are needed by users of the current AGDB3 to understand what has been done to amend, clean up, correct and format this data. Corrections were entered, resulting in a significantly improved Alaska geochemical dataset, the AGDB3. Data that were not previously in these databases because the data predate the earliest agency geochemical data-bases, or were once excluded for programmatic reasons, are included here in the AGDB3 and will be added to the NGDB and Alaska Geochemistry. The AGDB3 data provided here are the most accurate and complete to date and should be useful for a wide variety of geochemical studies. The AGDB3 data provided in the online version of the database may be updated or changed periodically.

Alaska↗
USGS2014

Multi-elemental analysis of aqueous geological samples by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry

Typically, 27 major, minor, and trace elements are determined in natural waters, acid mine drainage, extraction fluids, and leachates of geological and environmental samples by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). At the discretion of the analyst, additional elements may be determined after suitable method modifications and performance data are established. Samples are preserved in 1–2 percent nitric acid (HNO3) at sample collection or as soon as possible after collection. The aqueous samples are aspirated into the ICP-OES discharge, where the elemental emission signals are measured simultaneously for 27 elements. Calibration is performed with a series of matrix-matched, multi-element solution standards.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1998

Digital mine claim density map for Federal lands in Montana, 1996

This report describes a digital map and data files generated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to provide digital spatial mining claim information for Federal lands in Montana as of March, 1997. Statewide, 159,704 claims had been recorded with the Bureau of Land Management since 1975. Of those claims, 21,055 (13%) are still actively held while 138,649 (87%) are closed and are no longer held. Montana contains 147,704 sections (usually 1 section equals 1 square mile) in the Public Land Survey System, with 8,569 sections (6%) containing claim data. Of the sections with claim data, 2,192 (26%) contain actively held claims. Only 1.5% of Montana’s sections contains actively held mining claims. The four types of mining claim are lode, placer, mill, and tunnel. A mill claim may be as much as 5 acres or 1/128th (0.78125%) of a square mile. A lode claim, about 20 acres, would cover 1/32nd (3.125%) of a square mile. Mining claim data is earth science information deemed to be relevant to the assessment of historic, current, and future ecological, economic, and social systems. The digital map and data files that are available in this report are suitable for geographic information system (GIS)-based regional assessments at a scale of 1:100,000 or smaller. Campbell (1996) summarized the methodology and GIS techniques that were used to produce the mining claim density map of the Pacific Northwest. Campbell and Hyndman (1997) displayed mining claim information for the Pacific Northwest that used data acquired in 1994. Appendix A of this report lists the attribute data for the digital data files. Appendix B contains the GIS metadata.

Montana↗
USGS1994

Geology and geochemistry of Summitville, Colorado: An epithermal acid sulfate deposit in a volcanic dome

Geologic studies during recent open-pit mining at Summitville, Colorado, have provided new information on an epithermal acid sulfate Au-Ag-Cu deposit formed in a volcanic dome. Geologic mapping, geochemical studies of whole-rock samples from blast holes, and geologic and geochemical traverse studies refine the details of the evolution of the Summitville deposit. Six distinct events followed emplacement of the quartz latite volcanic dome and define the development of the Summitville deposit: (1) an early stage of acid sulfate alteration, (2) subsequent Cu sulfide and gold mineralization, (3) widespread hydrothermal brecciation, (4) volumetrically minor, base metal sulfide-bearing barite veining, (5) volumetrically minor, kaolinite matrix brecciation, and finally, (6) supergene oxidation. Events 1 and 2 were the most important for the formation of the Summitville deposit. Acid sulfate altered rock is primarily found in the quartz latite volcanic dome rock and consists of vuggy silica (central), quartz-alunite, quartz-kaolinite, argillic, and propylitic (distal) zones. Ore deposition (event 2) of enargite, luzonite, covellite, pyrite, native sulfur, marcasite, and minor sphalerite, native gold, + or - barite and galena overprinted the acid sulfate altered rocks. Events 3, 4, and 5 are geologically important but rarely formed units large enough to be considered mineable ore by open-pit mining. The final supergene oxidation event affected much of the near-surface portion of the deposit and leached copper and sulfide minerals forming oxide zones. Near-surface oxide zones contain the highest Au grades and decrease progressively with depth.Fractures were important fbr localizing both the acid sulfate altered rock and ore deposition at Summitville. Such fracture control is apparent despite a lack of distinct throughgoing open-space quartz veins; instead, laterally and vertically extensive ore zones are identified by their highly silicified character that can be traced laterally for up to 500 m and vertically up to 200 m. Ore zones strike parallel to regional faults related to rifting and basin and range development, suggesting that hydrothermal fluids followed preexisting fractures. Ore zones follow two northwest trends, a N 30 degrees W + or - 20 degrees trend, and a N 60 degrees W trend. Most fractures and faults in the open pit dip steeply from 65 degrees to vertical. Ore zones intersect near the center of the deposit to form a large zone approximately 150 by 400 m. Ore zones form a rough radial pattern located near the center of the deposit and a discontinuous arcuate feature on the northern side. This radial pattern, arcuate feature, and the intersection of ore zones near the center of the deposit are probably related to the intrusion of a porphyry below the deposit. The overall low Au-grade, high-tonnage character of the Summitville deposit is related to low permeability in the quartz latite volcanic dome rock and absence of well-developed open-space hydrothermal veins.Gold analyses of development drill holes and blast hole samples, in conjunction with geologic mapping in the open pit, indicate that vuggy silica, quartz-alunite, and quartz-kaolinite altered rock constitute most of the Au ore. Vuggy silica averaged 2.4 ppm Au, quartz-alunite averaged 1.2 ppm Au, and quartz-kaolinite averaged 0.86 ppm Au during open-pit mining. Grades for argillically altered rock were usually below the ore cutoff of 0.34 ppm Au. Propylitically altered rock rarely contained detectable Au concentrations (0.03 ppm Au) and constituted only waste rock. Although volumetrically minor, event 4 base metal sulfide-bearing barite veins and event 5 kaolinite matrix breccias contained high Au grades (up to about 800 ppm Au), producing approximately 5 to 15 percent of the total Au mined in the deposit.Geochemical studies of samples collected across traverses of altered and mineralized ore zones indicate that Te, Bi, and Pb are characteristic trace elements, in addition to Au, Ag, Cu, and As that are typical of acid sulfate mineral deposits. Anomalous Te is associated with Cu sulfides and gold in vuggy silica zones. Anomalous Bi and Pb concentrations correlate most consistently with quartz-alunite zones. Thallium is also anomalous at Summitville. Highest concentrations of Tl are found in argillic rock, whereas silicified zones are depleted in it. The anomalous Tl in distal zones is similar to observations in some porphyry Cu systems. Pronounced lateral zonation of Ag/Au ratios is present in the deposit. The Ag/Au ratios vary from about 2:1 near the center of the orebody to greater than 20:1 on the periphery.The Summitville deposit is located in the midlevel portion of a mineralized volcanic dome, with a porphyry system at depth, and a hot springs environment at the surface. Drill holes through the volcanic dome intersected a quartz monzonite porphyry approximately 600 m below the surface that is altered to sericite and pyrite similar to some porphyry deposits. Laterally extensive cristobalite and opal replacing quartz latite are found southwest of the deposit and represent a hot-spring environment. Bedded siliceous sinter, some of which contains plant debris, overlies the cristobalite and opal at some localities. These deposits may represent surface vents for the fluids responsible for acid sulfate alteration or mineralization of the volcanic dome.

Economic Geology↗
USGS1970

Geophysical studies of the Cripple Creek mining district, Colorado

Integrated geophysical, geochemical, and geological interpretations expand the knowledge about the localization of the ore deposits in the Cripple Creek district, Colorado. The principal gold deposits occur in a Tertiary volcanic subsidence basin within Precambrian granite, gneiss, and schist. The basin is filled with volcanic breccia and is intruded by dikes and irregular masses of phonolite, latite-phonolite, syenite, trachydolerite, and basalt. The volcanic complex gives rise to a broad 10 mgal gravity minimum anomaly upon which are superimposed local minima believed to be related to deep mineralized fissure zones. A negative magnetic anomaly over the volcanic subsidence basin probably reflects the degree of alteration of rocks in the subsurface. Two local closed magnetic lows may represent highly altered volcanic centers in the bottom of the basin. The gravity and magnetic anomalies of the basin correlate geographically with positive geochemical anomalies for gold, silver, and tellurium. Just east of the volcanic basin, a prominent negative magnetic anomaly and a corresponding gravity low may represent an altered zone in the granite subsurface.

Colorado↗
USGS1950

Geologic interpretation of seismic data relocation Route 1, cut, Stations 34-52, Copper Mine Road area and northern portion of Ballard Estate in Topsfield, Mass.

Relocation of the Newburyport Turnpike, Route 1, in Topsfield, Mass., will require a long relatively deep cut between stations 34 and 52. In order to obtain preliminary information on the depths to bedrock and on the nature of the subsurface materials at this site, reconnaissance seismic work was performed in October 1949. Because this reconnaissance work indicated that bedrock might be relatively near the surface over an extensive area where cuttings were to be made, a more detailed seismic study of the area was made in November 1949. The results of both the reconnaissance and detailed seismic work are included in this report. The work was done as part of a cooperative program of the Massachusetts Department of Public Works and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Massachusetts↗