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STRATEGIC MINERAL RESUME
OF THE DEPT. OF MINES_
General Functions of the De
partment of Mines
The Department of Mines is a
Territorial agency headed by the
Commissioner of Mines for Alas
ka, B, D. Stewart, with head
quarters in Juneau. Under the
Commissioner of Mines are two
field engineers, one at Anchor
age and one at Fairbanks, a field
engineer and assayer at Nome,
and three Territorial assayers
stationed at Ketchikan, Anchor
age and College.
Before the war the Depart- ]
ment of Mines was mainly con- j
cerned with gold mining and
prospecting for gold. During the
past three years, however, most
of its facilities have been direct
ed towards the discovery and de
velopment of strategic mineral
deposits. The assay offices at
College, Anchorage and Nome
have become purchasing depots
for the Metals Reserve Company
for ores of mercury, tungsten
antimony and tin.
The majority of the cities in
Alaska are situated in or near
mining districts and in normal
times are supported almost en
tirely by the mining industry.
The purpose of the Department
of Mines has been to render any
assistance possible to the mining
industry as a whole and to pros
pectors and miners as individ
uals. Exploration work and the
provision of an initial stimulus
to the development of new de
posits has become an increasing
ly important function since the
beginning of the war.
The field engineers give tech
nical assistance to miners and
prospectors, make mine and geo
logical examinations and collect
information on mineral deposits
and mining operations. Mine
safety examinations and enforce
ment of safety laws are also
among their duties. Reports are
prepared on deposits examined
and occasionally results of inves
tigations of common interest are
published. Unpublished reports
and other mining information are
kept on file and are available to
interested persons.
The Territorial assayers iden
tify and assay ore samples sub
mitted by miners and prospect
ors, purchase ores of the strategic
minerals mentioned above, and
act in an advisory capacity on
milling and metallurgical prob
lems. According to the Territor
ial Assay Law, any resident of
Alaska may obtain, free of
charge, assays on samples from
prospects and non-operating
mines. Assay results are kept
confidential if it is desired.
Investigations in Northwest
ern Alaska During 1943
During the present field season
investigations of a number of
strategic mineral deposits have
been begun on Seward Peninsula
and elsewhere in Northwestern
Alaska. Included among these
are examinations of molybdenite
deposits on St. Lawrence Island,
a tungsten and tin lode in the
Lost River area, and mica depos
its in the Bendeleben Mountains.
A reconnaissance survey of
strategic mineral deposits in
areas between the Kobuk and
Noatak rivers was also made. In
addition to asbestos deposits
previously reported, other asbes
tos occurrences have become
known through samples obtained
from Eskimos along the Kobuk
river. In the Shungnak region a
number of deposits of quartz
rock crystals were examined. An
occurrence, near Kiana, of col
umbium and tantalum, rare me
tals which are much needed dur
ing the present war, is also be
ing investigated.
Examinations of antimony,
tungsten and mercury occur
rences, and of a coal and a lead
silver deposit in the Kug
ruk river basin were also made.
Many of the prospects examined
are in regions accessible at pres
ent only by back-packing in the
summer but most are not far
distant from the sea or naviga
ble rivers and transportation
costs would not be much more of
an obstacle to development than
the cost of transportation in the
Snake and Nome river basins,
Reports on examinations made
during the 1943 field season will
be prepared during the coming
winter and will be on file at the
Juneau and Nome offices of the
Territorial Department of Mines.
Three government agencies
have been working on mineral
deposits in northwestern Alaska
during the summer. The chief
function of the Territorial De
partment of Mines has been to
make preliminary investigations
as described above. The U. S.
Geological Survey has also been
engaged in making preliminary
jaaoioui ;bxim3uios irtat) sjaoijjo
examinations and iri mapping
and geological studies of the tin
deposits near the tip of Seward
Peninsula on which the U. S.
Bureau of Mines is at present
doing development work. The
function of the U. S. Bureau of
Mines has been mainly to carry
on extensive prospecting and ac
tual development work on de
posits which appear upon pre
liminary examination to justify a
thorough investigation. The work
of the three agencies has been
carried on cooperatively.
I
| So far in northwestern Alaska
the part which the Territorial
Department of Mines has played
in the strategic minerals pro
gram has been mainly the gath
l ering of information on a large
number of deposits and the des
cription of individual deposits.
Such information is necessary to
, production during the war and
should also influence post-war
lode developments. In the Inter
ior where the war minerals pro
gram was begun earlier than in
j this part of Alaska, several mines
' are now producing war minerals
and more are expected to come
into production during this year
and next.—Eskil Anderson, Field
Engineer, Territorial Department
of Mines, Nome, Alaska.
117,164 SEALS TAKEN THIS
YEAR OFF PR1BILOFS
A record-breaking take of 117,
164 sealskins were taken off the
. Pribilof Islands this year in spite
| of war operations, according to
a report of Secretary Harold
Ickes of the Department of In
| terior. Last year operations were
; halted after only 127 skins had
. been taken, because of a military
order to evacuate the islands.
The seals were taken this year
by 183 white and native sealers
who went to the islands in May
and returned August 9.
When vanadium the mineral
that toughens steel, was first dis
covered in 1841, it was called
erythronium.
The original American Expedi
tionary Force in North Africa
required 700,000 items of epuip
ment and supplies.
Sicily is about the size of Ver
mont, but has more than ten
times as many inhabitants.
Post-War rst
Aid For The
Fighting Forces
(First of Four Articles On The
Peacetime Future of the Veterans
of World War II.)
(By Jack Stinnett)
WASHINGTON — Observers
returning from the war fronts
say that the quesiton most asked
by American fighting men is
“What’s cooking for us when we
come marching home?”
It isn’t that they’re selfish or
want anything handed them on a
silver platter, these observers
say, it’s just that they want to be
sure they’ll get a slice of those
Four Freedoms they are sweat
ing and bleeding for. And ac
j cording to the men who have
i known them best, they consider
! most important the freedom to
work and earn a decent living
for the missus and the kids.
This much assurance can be
given them right now: If all or
part of the war ended tomorrow,
they would find -the program of
demobilization, rehabilitation and
reemployment already function
ing.
• * *
A survey discloses that these
agencies and organizations are
operating:
(1). The Reemployment Divi
sion of Selective Service, whose
chief is Col. Lewis Sanders. This
division in time will have one
committee member on every Se
lective Service local board to
I each 20 or 30 men to be demob
j ilized. It will be their duty,
briefly, to see that the soldier
: gets his old job back and that all
rights and benefits specified un
der the Selective Service law are
allowed him. If his job isnt’
there or he doesn’t want it, the
i committee member will direct
▲ ▲ AAAAkAAAA A. .A
him to the other channels of em
ployment.
(2) . The Veterans Employment
Division of the U. S. Employment
Division of the U. S. Employ
ment Service, the clearing house
and placement agency for all vet
erans who want jobs.
(3) . The Vocational Rehabili
tation Division of the Veterans
administration, whose duty it al
ready is to see that no veteran
with any disability go without
employment for lack of training
or education.
(4) . The Vocational Education
division of the U. S. Office of
Education, which, in cooperation
with state vocational education
departments in the last three
years, has trained more than 7,
000.000 war workers and has a
program this year for training
50,000 physically handicapped.
(5) . The Red Cross, which will
be the final buffer in hardship
cases and will act both as a re
lief and advisory agency.
(6) . The National Clearing
House Committee. %
• • *
This last group hasn’t even the
semi-official status of the Red
Cross, but if it achieves its aims,
it may become the most vital un
official force in seeing that vet
erans get all that is coming to
them under the law in the way
of a chance to work.
The committee is headed by L.
J. Fenlon of the American Legion
and among those who partici
pated in its organization and
whose members will serve on
the great network of state and
local committees are the Legion,
the Veterans of Foreign Wars, 1
the Disabled American Veterans,
the two major affiliated labor
unions, junior and Senior Cham
bers of Commerce of the United
States, the National Association
of Manufacturers, the National
Grange, the National Farm Bu
reau Federation, and a number
of other of the nation’s largest
trade and civic organizations.
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