Geological framework, metallogeny, and critical mineral potential of the broader Yukon-Tanana upland, Alaska

Field-based geologic investigations of the tectonic and metallogenic evolution of the Yukon-Tanana upland and surrounding regions in eastern interior Alaska

Abstract

The Yukon-Tanana upland in central and eastern interior Alaska is a large region with known or suspected potential for a variety of base, precious, and critical mineral resources. The upland contains two active gold mines (Fort Knox and Pogo) and is the focus of substantial mineral exploration activity. Published and ongoing mineral resource prospectivity mapping in the state shows that the upland is highly prospective for numerous critical minerals including REE’s, PGE’s, W, Sn, Co, Sb, As, Bi, In, Re, Sc, Ta, Te, Ge, Ga, and, potentially, others such as graphite because of its complex geological framework and the resulting overlap of multiple mineral systems from the Paleozoic to present. Most critical commodities occur as by-products within mineral systems actively being mined or explored for such as intrusion-related gold at Fort Knox, orogenic gold at Pogo, and porphyry systems at Shorty Creek and Taurus. In addition to known deposits, the Alaska Resource Data File contains thousands of mineral occurrences and prospects in the region that have critical mineral potential but have not been systematically investigated. This is a 5-year, field-based project to conduct regional geological and geophysical studies to characterize the tectonic, magmatic, structural, geochemical, isotopic, and metallogenic evolution of the Yukonn-Tanana upland and surrounding regions. The focus area for the project extends northwest from the Alaska-Yukon border to encompass the entire geologic province between the Tintina and Denali faults and extending to Fairbanks and beyond. This project coordinates and collaborates with geologic, geophysical, and geochemical studies being conducted by the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys under the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI). The USGS/DGGS partnership and close coordination of effort and outcomes under the Earth MRI program promotes efficiency and enriches our understanding of mineral systems in the region, their critical mineral endowment, and the processes that influenced critical mineral enrichment and distribution.

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Products

Title	Type
Sulfide Electron Microprobe Analyses and Petrography of Mineralized Samples from the Stratabound Sheep Creek Sediment-Hosted Zn-Pb-Ag-Sn Prospect, and SHRIMP U–Pb Zircon Data for Metaigneous Rocks in the Bonnifield Mining District,Healy Quadrangle AK	Data
Sediment Transport Data from the Totatlanika River, Alaska, August 2021	Data
U-Pb Isotopic Data and Ages of Detrital Zircon from Selected Rocks from Southwestern Alaska and the Yukon-Tanana Upland and Environs of Eastern Interior Alaska and Eastern Yukon, Canada	Data
U-Pb Isotopic Data and Ages of Detrital Zircon from Selected Rocks from northern Yukon, Canada	Data
Fodar Orthomosaic and Digital Elevation Model of the Totatlanika River Corridor (Alaska) Acquired August 2021	Data
Tectonic and Metallogenic Evolution of the Yukon-Tanana Upland, Alaska	Project Website

Contacts

Jones, James V., 907-786-7442
Kreiner, Douglas C., 907-786-7190

Status: onGoing
Start Year: 2020
End Year: 2025

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Project Sites

Collaborators

ADNR - Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys
UAF - Geophysical Institute

USGS Mission Area and Program

Energy and Minerals → Mineral Resources

Keywords

Solid Earth > Natural Resources > Metals
Solid Earth > Rocks/Minerals > Age Determinations
Solid Earth > Rocks/Minerals > Bedrock Lithology
Solid Earth > Rocks/Minerals > Igneous Rocks
Solid Earth > Rocks/Minerals > Metamorphic Rocks
Solid Earth > Rocks/Minerals > Sedimentary Rocks
Solid Earth > Tectonics > Plate Tectonics