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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Analytical results for rock and stream-sediment samples
collected in 1997 from the Sleetmute quadrangle, Alaska

by Marti L. Miller1, Robert R. Carlson2, William J. Keith1, and G.K. Lee2

1998

OPEN-FILE REPORT 98-800

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Charles G. Groat, Director

This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards or with the North American Stratigraphic Code. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

1U.S. Geological Survey, Anchorage, Alaska.
2U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colo.

Introduction

This publication consists of text and small tables of information about the data (shown below) as well as a large table containing the data (linked for downloading at the end).

Background

Precious-metal and related deposits associated with Late Cretaceous-early Tertiary igneous complexes form an important metallogenic region in southwestern Alaska–the 190,000-km2 Kuskokwim mineral belt (Bundtzen and Miller, 1997). The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting a mineral resource assessment of the central part of the Kuskokwim mineral belt, an area that encompasses most of the Sleetmute quadrangle. This report contains the analytical results of rock and stream-sediment samples collected during the 1997 field season. These preliminary results are presented as a progress report. The data are available below for downloading as both Excel Version 5 files and as tab-delimited ASCII files. For each format there are two files–one for geochemical data from rocks and the other for geochemical data from stream sediments. The columns consist of sample identification number, latitude/longitude (in degrees, minutes, and seconds), and the data grouped by analytical package (described below).

Sample preparation and analysis

The samples were prepared at the U.S. Geological Survey laboratories in Denver, Colorado and analyzed by XRAL Laboratories located in Don Mills, Ontario, Canada. Samples were analyzed for multiple elements using five different combinations of digestion and/or analytical techniques. The techniques used, elements analyzed, and determination limits for the five different analytical packages are listed below; lower and upper determination limits are shown in parentheses following each element.

1. ICP 40–Forty major, minor, and trace elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) after the sample was decomposed using a mixture of hydrochloric, nitric, perchloric, and hydrofluoric acids at low temperature.

Al (0.005-50%)

As (10-50,000 ppm)

Eu (2-5,000 ppm)

Sc (2-50,000 ppm)

Ca (0.005-50%)

Au (8-50,000 ppm)

Ga (4-50,000 ppm)

Sn (5-50,000 ppm)

Fe (0.02-25%)

Ba (1-35,000 ppm)

Ho (4-5,000 ppm)

Sr (2-15,000 ppm)

K (0.01-50%)

Be (1-5,000 ppm)

La (2-50,000 ppm)

Ta (40-50,000 ppm)

Mg (0.005-5%)

Bi (10-50,000 ppm)

Li (2-50,000 ppm)

Th (6-50,000 ppm)

Na (0.005-50%)

Cd (2-25,000 ppm)

Mo (2-50,000 ppm)

U (100-100,000 ppm)

P (0.005-50%)

Ce (5-50,000 ppm)

Nb (4-50,000 ppm)

V (2-30,000 ppm)

Ti (0.005-25%)

Co (2-25,000 ppm)

Nd (9-50,000 ppm)

Y (2-25,000 ppm)

Mn (4-50,000 ppm)

Cr (2-50,000 ppm)

Ni (3-50,000 ppm)

Yb (1-5,000 ppm)

Ag (2-10,000 ppm)

Cu (2-15,000 ppm)

Pb (4-50,000 ppm)

Zn (2-15,000 ppm)

2. ICP 10–Ten elements were determined using ICP-AES following a hydrochloric acid-hydrogen peroxide digestion and aliquat 336-diisobutylketone extraction.

Ag (0.08-400 ppm)

Cu (0.05-500 ppm)

As (1.0-6,000 ppm)

Mo (0.10-900 ppm)

Au (0.10-1,500 ppm)

Pb (1.0-6,000 ppm)

Bi (1.0-6,000 ppm)

Sb (1.0-6,000 ppm)

Cd (0.05-500 ppm)

Zn (0.05-500 ppm)

3. Gold–Gold was determined by fire assay using a 15 gram sample. The lower reporting limit for Au using this technique is 5 ppb.

4. Mercury–Mercury was analyzed using continuous-flow cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry. The lower reporting limit for Hg using this technique is 0.02 ppm.

5. Tungsten–Tungsten was determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis. The lower limit of determination is 0.5ppm.

Reference cited

Bundtzen, T.K., and Miller, M.L., 1997, Precious metals associated with Late Cretaceous-early Tertiary igneous rocks of southwestern Alaska, in Goldfarb, R.J., and Miller, L.D., eds., Mineral deposits of Alaska: Economic Geology Monograph 9, p. 242-286.

Downloading the data files

Notes on downloading files using some Web browsers

Sometimes clicking on a download hyperlink will attempt to display the file on the screen rather than downloading it. To force a download instead, do the following:
Macintosh: hold the mouse button down for a moment to display a pop-up menu and select "Save this link as..." (Netscape Navigator) or "Download Link to Disk" (Internet Explorer) and navigate to where you want the file saved.
Windows machines: use the right mouse button to display a pop-up menu and select "Save Link As..." (Netscape Navigator) or "Save Target As..." (Internet Explorer) and navigate to where you want the file saved.

click here or on the Download button to receive the Rock Excel file (264 K).

click here or on the Download button to receive the Stream-Sediment Excel file (99 K).

rock excel button sediment excel button


click here or on the Download button to receive the Rock ASCII file (66 K).

click here or on the Download button to receive the Stream-Sediment ASCII file (33 K).

rock ascii button sediment ascii button


To contact the senior author, email Marti Miller (mlmiller@usgs.gov).

The URL of this page is https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1998/of98-800/
Date created: 12/10/1998
Last modified: 04/22/2005

Email technical-support comments to Mike Diggles (mdiggles@usgs.gov).