MINERAL PRODUCTION CF ALASKA IN 1938
Nome and Seward
Pen. 2nd Highest in
Gold Production
i _______
The minerals produced from
Alaska mines in 1938 had an esti
mated value of $27,036,000 ac
cording to a preliminary state
ment of the United States De
partment of the Interior, prepar
ed by Philip S. Smith, of the Al
askan branch of the Geological
Survey. This amount brings the
total value of the mineral out-,
put of Alaska since 1880 to more
than $776,000,000.
Outstanding acheivements in
the Territory, described in the
statement are:
The estimated amount of gold
produced from Alaska mines in
1938 exceeds in value that for
any other year in Alaskan his
tory with the single exception ot
1906.
Increasing use of mechanical
equipment was noteworthy even
at the smaller plants. In addition
to 44 gold dredges, there were
draglines, bulldozers, and engin
es for all sorts of work in opera
tion in practically every placer
district in the Territory.
The enormous increase in the
output of platinum metals from
Alaska deposits in 1938, due larg
ely to operations in the Good
news district, forms one of the
notable mining events of the
year, placing the Territory third
oir fourth in the list of five or
six countries that together pro
duce almost the entire world sup
ply of platinum metals.
The estimated output of coal
from Alaska mines in 1938 has
been exceeded during only one
year since cool mining has been
carried on in the Territory, the
year 1936, and then by less than
1.000 tons. In view of the pre
liminary character of the records
for 1933. it is by no means cer
tain that complete returns will
not prove that if difference is
even less, or actually reversed.
The preliminary statement fol
lows:
General Conditions
The estimated value of the
mineral production of Alaska in
193 reflects the healthy condition
of the mining industry in that
year. Large as is that total it by
no means marks a peak of pro
duction that cannot be maintain
ed or even bettered in the ensu
ing years. In fact, many diverse
factors, some favorable and some
unfavorable for large production
interacted in such manner that
on the whole their combined ef
fect was by no means unusually
good. For instance, the prices
that prevailed for most of the
mineral commodities in 1938
were -the same or less than in
1937. True, the unit price of gold,
which accounted for about 80
per cent of the mineral produc
tion, and of coal and limerock,
which together contributed less
than 3 per cent to the total, were
the same in the two years. Esti
mates as to the unit prices of all
the other mineral commodities
were much less in 1938. Thus sil
ver that qualified for purchases
by the Government under its
regulations was 64.64 cents an
ounce against 77.57 cents in 1937;
copper was about 9.9 cents a
pound against 13.16 cents; lead
■was 4.75 cents a pound against
6.01 cents; tin was 42.1 cents a
pound against 54.337 cents; anti
mony was 12.43 cents a pound
against 15.35 cents; and platinum
■was $36.20 an ounce against
$48.90. Indeed, had the output of
the mineral commodities in 1938
brought the unit prices that pre
vailed in 1937 their total value
would have been one and a half
million dollars more than the fig
ures stated above for the value
of the mineral production in
1938.
The climatic conditions that ef
fest certain types of mining, such
as time of freeze-up or break-up,
abundance or dearth of water,
were about normal, though tend
ing to be adverse rather than fa
vorable. Thus, during most of
the early part of the season for
placer mining there was a defic
iency in rainfall throughout cen
tral and western Alaska This was
particularly marked throughout
' Seward Peninsula, wheTe precip
itation was less than it had been
in the past dozen years. In Aug
ust, however, heavier rains en
sued, and most of the streams ad
jacent to the placer camps thru
out the interior regions carried
normal or better than normal
supplies of water Some disas
trous floods occurred in parts of
the Copper River and Kenai re
gions.
The growing use of mechanic
! al equipment at many of the pro
perties was notable. Several new
dredges were in operation, and
draglines, bulldozers, and other
mechanized equipment for hand
ling large amounts of material
cheaply were in successful opera
tion in practically every one of
the placer districts and similar
new equipment was being ship
ped in for use as rapidly as it
could be installed.
Although many new mining
ventures were undertaken dur
ing the year, the cessation of min
ing at one of the great groups of j
mines, the copper mines near
Kenneeott, stands out as an ev
ent of special significance. The
closing of these mines, which in
the past have produced copper
worth several hundred million
dollars, inevitably has had a pro
found influence on. mining in Al
aska—both a direct effect thru
the value of their mineral out
put in relation to the Territory’s
total and perhaps an even great
er indircet effect through the de
velopments that these operations
fostered.
Gold
The gold produced from Alas
ka mines in 1938 is estimated to
have been worth $21,917,000 This
value exceeds that for the produc
tion of any other year in the his
tory of Alaska mining with the
single exception of 1906, which
was only about $119,000 greater.
In fact, the stated difference be
tween the production of the two
years is so small that it may
possibly disappear or even be re
versed when complete records of
1938 become available. In this
comparison, however, it should
be remembered that in all years
preceding 1934 the established
price of gold was $20.67 an
ounce, whereas during and after
that year it has been $35. On the
basis of quantity, therefore, the
amount of gold produced in 1938
has been exceeded in each of the
13 years from 1905 to 1917, in
clusive. The total value of the
gold produced in Alaska from
the beginning of productive min
ing in 1880 to the present is es
timated at $511,000,000.
Gold in Alaska comes from 2
distinctly different types of de
posits—placers and lodes. In the
placers the gold is recovered
from gravel or other unconsoli
dated deposits; in th,e lodes it
occurs in the solid rock or vein
matter. In 1938 the proportion of
gold produced from deposits of
these two types is estimated to'
have been about 62 to 38, or!
$13,580,000 from placers and
about $8,337,000 from lodes. This
proportion is essentially the same
as that in .1937, though the total
amount of gold from each source
was much larger in 1938. Thus
the gold produced from lodes in
1938 was worth about $619,000
more than in 1937 and that from
placers about $925,000 more.
As in the past, the principal
producers of lode gold in 1938
are the mines in southeastern Al
aska, especially 'those near Jun
eau and in the Chichagof Island
area. The second district, in val
lue of lode-gold production, was
the Willow Creek district, at the
head of Cook Inlet, near the
southwestern flanks of the Tal
keetna Mountains. The Nabesna
district in the eastern part of the
Yukoin region held third place,
though its output comes almost
exclusively from a single mine.
The numerous lode mines and
prospects in the Fairbanks dis
trict continued to maintain as a
group their customary rate of out
■put, which placed the district
fourth in rank. In addition to
these districts with large produc
tion there were a score of small
er lode mines 'and prospects wide
ly scattered throughout the Ter
ritory Many of these mines are
already turning out considerable
amounts of lode gold, and at oth
ers development work is being
varied out intensively and with
such good results that they are
likely soon to be numbered
among the producing mines. Pro
perties of this sort occur in the
Prince William Sound region;
Kenai Peninsula, including the
Nuka May. Moose Pass, and G’rd
wood districts; in the Chulitna
district at the head of the Sus
itna Basin, in the Nixon Fork
district of the Kuskokwim region
and even in remote Seward Pen
insula, in the vicinity of Nome.
The large increase in output of
placer gold in 1938 was due to
the increased .activity in mining,
as a result of which a number
of new projects began operations
and many of the older properties
showed increased outputs. Altho
the output for 1938 sets a high
record of achievement, it is not
regarded as so unduly high that
it cannot be maintained or bet
tered in the near future. In fact,
throughout .the Territory new
placer mining enterprises were
under way which had not yet be
come fully productive, .and none
of the larger deposits of the old
er operations showed signs of be
ing worked out. The Yukon reg
ion, including 16 principal pro
ductive mining districts and scor
es of small camps throughout its
extent, continued to lead in the
output of placer gold, the value
of which is estimated at more
than $9,240,000, Second in the list
was Seward- Peninsula, with nine
principal districts, which bad an
estimated output of placer gold
worth more than $3,420,000. These
regions were followed by the
Kuskokwim, Cook Iniet-Susitna,
Copper River, and Northwestern
Alaska regions, named in the rel
a five order of their estimated
placer production
Of the gold won from placers
by far the largest amount was
recovered by dredges, .of which
there were 44 in operation in var
ious' parts of Alaska. This num
ber does not include one dredge
in the Goodnews district of the
Kuskokwim region that was
built primarily for mining placer
platinum metals. The gold dredg
es appear to have mined some
what over 71 per cent of the to
tal gold recovered through plac
er operations in 1938. Of these
dredges 22 were in Seward Pen
insula, in the Nome, Council,
Fairhaven, Ko y uk, Kougarok,
Port Clarence, and Solomon dis
tricts; 19 were in the Yukon re
gion. in the Fairbanks, Circle,
Fortymile, Hot Springs, Iditarod,
and Innoko districts; and 3 in the
Kuskokwim region, in the Tuluk
sak-Aniak and Goodnews dis
tricts. The large mining project
west of Fairbanks that has been
in preparatory stages for more
than 3 years was advanced still
nearer full operation . thru con
tinued removal of the overbur
den and extensive tests of the
physical conditions of the mater
ial to be mined Decision as to the
methods that will be employed in
mining this deposit has not yet
been publicly announced, though
it is probable that combined use
of a dredge and draglines will be
adopted. A huge dragline with a
200-foot boom has already been
constructed and tested for remov
ing some of the higher parts of
the gravel deposits. It will be an
other year or more before this
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TO CARRY DEATH’S MESSACE SWIFTLY, this 70-foot torncr’o b-iat rureb?e rf 50 w.p h. is being built by
Without masts or funnels, its “target silhouet" is unusually small. It caw.i 1 t i. ..... , i,i.u .1..a .a s \. e-screen a
project will be in production.
The increasing use of mechan
ical equipment was noteworthy
even iat the smaller plants. Drag
lines, bulldozers, and engines for
| all sorts of work were in opera
tion in practically every placer
I district in the Territory, and addi
| tional equipment of this sort was
constantly being received and
put to useful service. Tractors
have speeded up all phases of the
servicing and operation of the
I mines, and the more remote
! camps are no longer so greatly
! handicapped by their isolation.
I Hydraulicking continued to be
an important type of productive
mining, and even the more prim
itive and simple methods of
ground sluicing and shoveling
into sluice boxes by hand eon
| tributed large amounts of placer
1 gold to the year’s total
Tin Mining Near Nome
Tin mining in Alaska in 1938
! was confined mainly to the pla
I eer deposits that have been dev
eloped in the extreme western
part of Seward Peninsula. Min
ing in this area has been in pro
gress for a number of years and
lately has been decidedly on the
increase. In 1938, however, judg
ing from the preliminary reports
that have been received, the out
put of placer tin from this area
dropped off somewhat from the
high rate established in 1937 but
still remained above that of any
other year in the entire period
which tin mining has been in pro
gress. Owing to the much lower
price that prevailed for tin in
1938, as well as the somewhat
I smaller quantity oroduced in
that year, the total value of the
tin output of Alaska is estimat
ed to have been worth about
$100,000 less than the preceeding
year.
Shipments of antimony ore
from deposits in the Kantishna
dictrict on the northern slope of
the Alaska Range continued to
be made during* the winter of
1937-38 and formed a significant
addition to the total production
of the Territory. The ore select
ed for shipment carries on the
average about 55 per cent anti
mony and is transported to smelt
ers in the States for treatment.
Deposits containing considerable
showings of antimony-bearing
minerals are known at many oth
er places in Alaska, from the
Ketchikan district in the south
east to the Nome district in the
northwest, but so far as now
known none of these other plac
es shipped any antimony ore dur
ing the year.
The statistics for 1938 contamed
in this release, are preliminary
estimates and are subject to re
vision because information re
ceived before the end of the year
is necessarily based on incom
plete records The final figures
will appear in the Geological Sur
vey’s annual report on the min
eral resources of Alaska, now in
preparation.
NOTICE
Don’t forget to leave your name
and address for the Nugget to be
sent to you via airplane at your
-nming camps, from no-' on.
<t *t c <4
A KISS FOR A LIFE? That was the exchange made by
Mussolini who thus greeted the orphan of an Italian soldier killed
in the Spanish w^r. Kiss was given at Rome ceremonies marking
16th anniversary of the founding of Fascist militia.
THE PEOPLE S CHOICE for motoring—so hope (he manufacturers in Germany—may soon
be above compact low-priced, stream-lined an«os naraded thrm^i. interest hovers.