Major-oxide and trace-element geochemical data from rocks collected in 2014 in the Wrangellia mineral assessment area, Talkeetna Mountains C-4, C-3, and B-4 quadrangles, Alaska

The mineral-resources group from the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) carried out a geologic mapping project in the Talkeetna Mountains C-4, C-3, and B-4 quadrangles from July 23 through August 3, 2014. This project is a part of a multi-year project focusing on improving the publicly-available geological and geochemical data and assessing the mineral potential of the less-explored extension of the western Wrangellia terrane. This program of geologic mapping and rock sampling was conducted as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program and the state of Alaska's Strategic Minerals Assessment project, an initiative designed to evaluate Alaska's potential for rare-earth elements, PGEs (platinum group elements), and other similarly supply-challenged resources. Highlights of this project include identification, sampling, and characterization of a broad section of the Wrangellia stratigraphy, including Late Triassic rocks of the Ni-Cu-Co-PGE- and Cu-Ag-mineralized Wrangellia large igneous province as well as modern geochemical characterizations of skarn, vein, and basalt-hosted Cu mineralization. This data set includes four samples with elevated gold, ranging from 0.5 to 0.875 ppm, with one of these samples also containing elevated Cu (1.18 percent). Twelve samples have elevated copper, ranging from 1000 to 7900 parts per million, and two samples contain a significant copper spike (13 and 19.65 percent) and elevated silver (42 and 48 parts per million). The analytical data tables associated with this report are being released in digital format as comma-delimited text (CSV) files.