Spectrographic and chemical analyses of geochemical samples from the McCarthy Quadrangle, Alaska

Abstract

As an integral part of the Alaskan Mineral Resource Assessment Program, a geochemical reconnaissance survey was conducted in the McCarthy quadrangle during the summer of 1974. The investigation consisted of geochemical sampling, multielement chemical and spectrographic analyses, compilation of new and existing geochemical data, statistical evaluation of the total data set, and the generation of element distribution and abundance maps. The purpose of the survey was to define areas in the quadrangle that contain anomalous concentrations of metallic and nonmetallic elements. These studies are fundamental to a comprehensive evaluation of the mineral resource potential of the area and to assist in the discovery of additional economic mineral deposits. The first-large scale geochemical sampling and analytical surveys were initiated in the McCarthy quadrangle in the early 1960's with the inception of the Wrangell Mountain project by the U.S. Geological Survey. Since that time, levels of activity in geochemical sampling in the quadrangle have fluctuated. Each year, many geochemical samples have been collected concomitantly with geologic mapping, and was culminated under the Alaskan Minerals Resource Assessment Program 1974.