Deposit

Paystreak and Marker Veins

Paystreak and Marker Veins is a deposit with published resource estimates in Alaska, recorded in the USGS USMIN rare earth element occurrence database (ver. 4.0, June 2019).

Facts on this page last re-verified Aug 12, 2026 — the oldest verification date among its current claims. How we verify.

Location: Alaska, United States (56.262, -133.115 approx.)

Commodities: uranium; thorium; rare earth elements; molybdenum

Deposit model: REE-carbonate veins · unclassified

Geology

Pitcher Island; nonradioactive carbonate-hematite veins with REE flurocarbonates occur in graywacke of Salmon Bay area. Exposed along shoreline at low tide. Width ranges from inches to 10 feet, avg. 5 feet. On south of Pitcher Island veins can be traced for 200-400 feet along beach. (Houston and others (1958)) Pitcher Island; nonradioactive carbonate-hematite veins with REE flurocarbonates occur in graywacke of Salmon Bay area. Exposed along shoreline at low tide. Width ranges from inches to 10 feet, avg. 5 feet. On south of Pitcher Island veins can be traced for 200-400 feet along beach. (Houston and others (1958))

Published resource estimates

As compiled by USGS USMIN from the cited studies. Resource classes follow the source; "approximate" flags values USMIN reports as approximations. These are not current company reserve statements.

Material	Class	Amount	Grade	Contained	As of	Reference
thorium (Th)	Unclassified	1,980 t	0.16 percent equivalent thorium	3.2 metric tons Th	Jan 1, 1961	Houston and others (1958), Pages 18-19 — Houston, J.R., Bates, R.G., Velikanje, R.S., and Wedow, Helmuth, Jr., 1958, Reconnaissance for radioactive deposits in southeastern Alaska, 1952: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1058-A, p. 1-31, 2 sheets.
thorium oxide (ThO2)	Unclassified	2,270 t	0.16 percent equivalent thorium	3.2 metric tons Th	Jan 1, 1961	Houston and others (1958), Pages 18-19 — Houston, J.R., Bates, R.G., Velikanje, R.S., and Wedow, Helmuth, Jr., 1958, Reconnaissance for radioactive deposits in southeastern Alaska, 1952: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1058-A, p. 1-31, 2 sheets.

Exploration and site history

Resources: Paystreak vein contained 'about 70 pounds of thorium or 80 pounds of thorium dioxide per foot of depth for the 100-foot section of the vein sampled'. (They considered that most of the radioactivity was due to thorium). (Houston and others (1958))
Site: The largest radioactive vein found to date is the Paystreak vein at the north end of Pitcher Island, about 4 miles southeast of Salmon Bay (fig. 2 and pl. 3). The Paystreak vein strikes N. 3o W. and dip 70o E. It averages 2.4 feet in width. At extreme low tide about 100 feet of the vein is exposed. (Houston and others (1958))
History: At least 34 claims were staked on the veins in 1951 and 1952 and some were restaked in 1977. There has been little interest or work on these occurrences in recent years because of the relatively depressed market for radioactive commodities. (U.S. Bureau of Mines (1980))
History: At least 34 claims were staked on the veins in 1951 and 1952 and some were restaked in 1977. There has been little interest or work on these occurrences in recent years because of the relatively depressed market for radioactive commodities. (U.S. Bureau of Mines (1980))
Inactive — Little interest or work on occurrences due to depressed market for radioactive elements, 2018 (U.S. Bureau of Mines (1980))
Exploration — 34 claims staked on veins in 1951 and 1952, 1951–1952 (Houston and others (1958))
Exploration — 34 claims staked on veins in 1951 and 1952, 1951–1952 (Houston and others (1958))

Record imported from USGS USMIN ver. 4.0 (June 2019). Developments after that date appear on facility records, not here; see the methodology.

Sources

U.S. Geological Survey · published Jun 1, 2019 · retrieved Aug 12, 2026 · archive unavailable: Wayback snapshot 20260427015518 of the ScienceBase item exists but the archive service returned 503 on verification 2026-08-12; recheck on a weekly pass