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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

August 15, 2023

This data set contains 99 electron microprobe analyses of cassiterite, chalcopyrite, galena, pyrite, sphalerite, and tetrahedrite from seven Sheep Creek drill core samples and one outcrop; and a table that describes the textures, mineralogy, and rock type of 15 thin sections of Sheep Creek drill core and observations from our study and from drill core logging by industry. These data were used to compare this prospect with others in the Bonnifield district. The data set also contains tables of sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U-Pb zircon dates, zircon characteristics (crystal shape, external morphology, internal features, color, aspect ratio, and cathodoluminescence zoning), and 139 U-Th-Pb analyses of the zircons from 11 metaigneous rocks collected during 1997-2005 fieldwork in the Bonnifield mining district, Alaska Range. Our zircon geochronology indicates that volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits in the Bonnifield district are hosted in felsic metavolcanic rocks that yield ages based on weighted averages of 206 Pb/238U ages (± 2-sigma errors) of 362 ± 2 Ma. These rocks overlie the stratigraphic sequence at the Sheep Creek prospect, where metaigneous rocks give ages of 372 ± 4 Ma to 366 ± 4 Ma.

Publication Year 2023
Title 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
DOI 10.5066/P9654N1C
Authors Cynthia Dusel-Bacon, John N Aleinikoff, Suzanne Paradis, John F Slack
Product Type Data Release
Record Source USGS Digital Object Identifier Catalog
USGS Organization Alaska Science Center