Mining Bulletin Reports on Tin,
Gas Strike, New Oil and Gas Tax
Terr. Dept, of Mines Bulletin
May, 1955
Second Division mining opera
tors should be somewhat cheered
by the news that the Senate has
voted unanimously to continue
operation of the Texas City tin
smelter for another year to June
30, 1956.
The oil and gas tax that was
passed late in the special session
is a tax of one percent of the gross
value of all oil and gas produced
within the territory. This will be
in addition to the Oil and Gas
Conservation Law tax of Vz cent
per barrel of oil and per 50,000
cubic feet of gas.
Everyone in Alaska knows by
now of the gas that was struck at
a depth of 200 feet by Mr. Seaton
when drilling for water for his
service station on the Alaska
.Highway near Northway. It has
been found by analysis to contain
96.3 percent methane, but no one,
to the best of our knowledge, has
yet announced whether it is
swamp or natural gas. At last re
port, it was still blowing. Applica
tions for4 leases on over 200,000
acres in the vicinity were rapidly
filed in the Fairbanks Bureau of
Land Management Office.
Richfield Oil Co. has announced
plans to drill a deep test well on
the Kenai Peninsula this summer.
They will also continue explora
tion with geological and geophysi
cal techniques.
It is reported that for one-half
interest in Alaska Oil & Gas Co.’s
holdings, the Aledo oil Co. of Fort
Worth, Texas, will take over and
finish drilling the first company’s
well near Eureka on the Glenn
Highway.
Other newcomers to Alaskan oil
activity are Sunray Oil Corp. of
Los Angeles and General Petrol
eum Corp. Sunray has taken op
tions on 100,000 acres and General
has acquired leases on 38,400 acres
—both in the same area on Kenai
Peninsula. Other firms holding
land on the Kenai are Shell, Ohio,
Union, Standard, and Richfield oil
companies.
NOTES FOR PROSPECTORS
“Let’s Go Prospecting” by Ed
ward Arthur is a new book which
contains a summary of prospect
ing methods, uses, and marketing
data of industrial minerals and
metals likely to be found in Cali
fornia. Forty-six minerals are
covered, and a description of the
book indicates that it contains
much information that would be
of interest and help to the Alas
kan prospector. Mr. Arthur will
accept orders at 1151 South Broad
way, Los Angeles 15. Price: $3.50.
Another new book which is very
well recommended is “Minerals
for Atomic Energy,” a 367-page
volume by Robert D. Nininger. It
is intended as a “guide to explora
tion for uranium, thorium, and
ium” and is reportedly the
I illUSt comprehensive treatise on
the whole subject of prospecting,
identifying, claiming, mining, and
marketing of radioactive minerals
published to date.
Although the author of this
book has a dim view of Alaska’s
possibilities (a vjew with which
the TDM disagrees) it can be a
very useful item for the truly
serious Alaskan radioactive pros
pector.
ALL ABOUT TIN
The U.S.A. is the world’s larg
est consumer of tin and yet has
substantially no tin ore within its
borders except the deposits on the
Seward Peninsula. The produc
tion from these deposits has been
insignificant in comparison with
the amount used. The world’s
chief source of supply is in Mal
aya and the East Indies, which
countries are constantly in danger
of being brought under Commu
nist rule. The next best source is
Bolivia, whose mines have been
nationalized. So it would appear
that everything possible should be
done to develop Alaska’s tin re
sources.
Tin is used as a plating on steel
in making “tin cans,” as an alloy
with copper to produce bronze, as
an alloy to make bearings, in foil
for preservation-wrapping etc.
Placer tin is found in several
localities in Alaska, but chiefly in
t the Hot Springs and Melozitna
| districts and on Seward Peninsula.
Large reserves of placer tin are
known in the latter location, and
tin placer operations were carried
on there almost steadily from ear
ly in the century until 1953. Prob
ably the best of these was the
Ramstad dragline - jig operation
near Potato Mountain. The tin
placer deposits carry small
amounts of gold also.
Lode tin deposits, as known so
far, are confined chiefly to the
Port Clarence District on Seward
Peninsula. The district is one
where tin-bearing granite intru
sives underlie at shallow depths
a series of limestones and slates
and also break thru to the surface.
Tin has been found both at the
contacts and in the adjacent sedi
ments, and also within the granite
itself. The Lost River operation is
mining tin from a 12 to 14 foot
dike of 70 degrees dip where it
runs one to two percent. Nearby is
a granite cupola, or dome, under
lying the limestone, which con
tains tin.
—-f—
An unabridged dictionary
printed in Braille requires 32
volumes.
STEVENSON IN AFRICA
LEOPOLDVILLE Belgin Congo,
Adlai Stevenson paid a brief visit
here yesterday, then went onto
Accra for a four-day visit to the
Gold Coast.
Ernest Hemingway Gives
High School Girl Help
With English Theme
CHARLOTTE, N.C., UP — Bar
bara Blake, 17 - year - old high
school student here, needed help
with an English theme about Er
nest Hemingway so she tele
phoned the writer at his Havana,
Cuba, home.
A secretary promised that Hem
ingway would return the call the
next day. Barbara played hookey
from school Friday and sure
! enough Hemingway telephoned.
He answered her questions, tell
ing her to judge her theme "feal
hard.”
‘‘That’s the way he does after
he writes,” Barbara said Heming
way told her. “He said he cuts out
all the junk and he said sometimes
there is a lot of junk.”
Biggest Study Yet of
North Pacific To Be Made
By U.S., Canada, Japan
LA JOLLA, Calif., — An
oceanographic exploration of the
north Pacific, described as the
largest such study ever made, will
be conducted by cooperating
agencies of the United States,
Canada and Japan this year.
The University of California’s
Scripps Institution of Oceano
graphy, disclosing details Friday,
said the survey in August will
cover 10 million square miles. It
will extend from North America
to Japan ad from the Tropic of
Cancer almost to the Bering Sea.
Scripps, which has explored
parts of the great area with U.S.
Navy cooperation in the past, said
at least 20 fully equipped oceano
graphic research vessels will sail
a total of about 70,000 miles.
Information obtained will be
used particularly in relation to
the fisheries problems of the three
countries.
Joseph L. Reid Jr., of Scripps,
who has coordinated plans, said
the cooperating agencies will
make possible for the first time
a study of north Pacific current
pattern without disturbances due
to seasonal change. Previous ex
peditions have extended beyond a
single season.
Fine Job Printing at The Nugget
ESKIMO COMPANION TO
ADM. PEARY DIES AT 80
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, UPi—
The Greenland department of the
Danish government today an
nounced the death of Ootah, an
Eskimo who accompanied Rear
Adm. Robert E. Peary to the North
Pole in 1909.
Ootah’s name also has* been
spelled “Odaq.” His exact age was
unknown, but he generally was
believed to be about 80. *
The Greenland department said
he died in New Thule, not far
from the U.S. airbase built in an
area where he used to hunt.
Joe Wallace, who built the Wal
lace Hotel, and who now makes
his home in Seattle, returned Fri
day on a business trip and is see
ing many of his friends while
here.
FOR DEPENDABLE FUEL SERVICE
CALL
GREEN’S
CITY FUEL & TRANSFER
PHONE MAIN 152
--f~
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COMING TO
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Nome Laundry
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CALL MAIN 29
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Joe Amarok, Proprietor
ARCTIC OIL DELIVERY
STOVE OIL FURNACE OIL
Ben Young
Authorized Standard Oil Dealer
We Check Your Tank Regularly
Office Phone: BLACK 76 Residence: MAIN 52
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