3.74 Ounce Specimen Found in 2004 in virgin ground at Moore
Creek
click on image for close-up
Moore Creek Mining LLC was formed in 2003 to acquire the gold mining property at Moore Creek in the historic Iditarod mining area of Alaska. The Moore Creek property has produced over 60,000 ounces of placer gold, much of it of an exceptionally coarse nature and noted for the attached quartz rock. The nature of the placer gold indicates extreme proximity to the original source. The property has an intrusion-related gold prospect with potential for very high-grade shear or vein-hosted gold. Moore Creek is located in the west-central interior of Alaska, approximately 260 miles northwest of Anchorage. The property lies midway between Ganes Creek and Donlin Creek and just 24 miles south of the large mining operations at Flat. The town of McGrath is approximately 50 miles northeast of the mine.
The Moore Creek property has been interpreted to be a faulted-off extension of the Donlin Creek Intrusive Complex. The Nixon-Iditarod fault has experienced right-lateral strike-slip movement of up to 55 miles (90 km) since Cretaceous time (Grantz, 1966; Patton and others, 1984), displacing Moore Creek from the vicinity of the Donlin Creek Intrusive Complex.
24.79 Ounce Specimen found in 2005 in tailing piles
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Current activities include upgrading the current facilities and equipment and sampling preparatory to mining. A major exploration target is the quartz monzonite intrusive on the property which is the most likely source of the gold placers. The monzonite is the location of a silver/copper prospect, the Broken Shovel, that carries low gold values. This prospect does not appear to be the source of the high grade gold specimens found in the placer. The placers include not only virgin ground but substantial gold in tailings that was lost by the old mining operations. In 2005 a limited "pay-to-mine" operation commenced on the claims. Visitors have found almost 200 ounces of gold nuggets and gold/quartz specimens in the tailing piles with metal detectors, gold dredges, and power sluices. In general there is a very high percentage of gold nuggets and specimens found weighing over 1/2 ounce. The largest specimen found by a visitor weighed 24.79 ounces and is a large section of an extremely rich gold vein.
Moore Creek Mining LLC has an exploration agreement with Full Metal Minerals which includes an option to acquire 100% of the hardrock rights to the property. Moore Creek Mining LLC retains all placer rights. Full Metal subsequently optioned 60% to Highbury Projects.
Moore Creek is located in the Iditarod C-3 Quadrangle (073C3) Seward Meridian, Township 29 N, Range 42 W in the Innoko Mining District of Alaska.
News Flash - Trenching below the Broken Shovel prospect in 2007 discovered widespread gold mineralization, with high assay returns from two distinct zones. The Troy Zone is typified by quartz veins with strong coarse gold mineralization within a broad, lower grade zone. Assays from this zone ran as high as 88.5 g/t Au over 0.2 meters occurring within a 3.0 meter channel that averaged 7.6 g/t Au. The Spring Zone is right at the base of the hill and is made up of sheeted quartz-tourmaline veins with coarse gold and disseminated sulphides. Seven trenched spanning 300 meters of strike length were completed, and all contained gold mineralization across the full length of the trenches. Trench 20 averaged 8.86 g/t Au over 11.0 meters. See details at the Full Metal website and a close-up photo of Spring Zone mineralization. The magnitude of this strike is such that Full Metal and Highbury are planning a 3,000 meter diamond drilling program to commence in March, 2008 to follow up on the discoveries. The widespread mineralization combined with high grade returns is very encouraging. The gold is free milling and so does not face the high energy use problems of the nearby Donlin Creek deposit.
Annual report for Full Metal Minerals Inc. on the Moore Creek prospect, Alaska - Nicholas Van Wyck, Ph.D. C.P.G., February 2007 - Summary of results from 2006 field exploration at Moore Creek. 24 pages.
Observations on a Concentrate Sample from Moore Creek - Professor Emeritus Jacques Jedwab, Brussels University, Belgium., 2006 - Analysis of a placer sample collected by Michel Zavadsky in 2006 at Moore Creek under light microscope, electron microscope, and electron microprobe. 800kb pdf file.
Links:
History of Moore Creek, Alaska - A general history with references
Geology of Moore Creek, Alaska - Geologic reports and maps
General Information - Land status, towns, trails, topography, weather, etc.
Aerial Photos - Aerial views of old mine workings.
Specimens - Close-up photos of gold/quartz specimens found at Moore Creek.
Moore Creek Journal - A notebook of activities at Moore Creek Mine.
"Pay-To-Mine" - Now you can visit Moore Creek to look for gold!