Alaskan Mineral Output
Seen as Remarkable
-:X
The total mineral wealth pro
duced in Alaska is estimated at
$615,501,000, and the value of the
output is considered “remark
able” since the large operations
are confined principally to the
coast because of transportation
facilities, while “vast mineral
wealth of the interior” except
the richest of the gold placers
and copper lodes, remains al
most untouched, the Department
of the Interior points out in a
volume of information on the
Territory just published.
Gokl output of all placer
mines has a -value of about $254,
125.000, the publication points
out. In 1929 the placer-mine
output was estimated above $4,
100.000.
That part of the publication
dealing with Alaskan mineral
resources follows:
The developed mineral re
sources of Alaska include gold
lodes and placers, copper, coal,
tin, petroleum and marble. In
addition to these, silver, lead
antimony tungsten, palladium,
platinum, zinc, quicksilver, lead,
peat, graphite, asbestos, mica,
molybdenite, sulphur, and barite
have been produced either in
temporary mining operations or
as a by-product of other com
modities.
Gold-lode mining has been
carried on in southeastern Alas
ka since 1880, and is a large and
well-developed industry. The
value of the total lode produc
tion is about $128,716,000, of
which $3,644,000 should be cred
ited to 1929.
Copper mining began in 1900
and has made rapid strides dur
ing the last few years. The total
copper production is about 1
180,989 pounds, valued at $208,
008,000. Of this, 40,510,000 pounds
valued at about $7,130,000, re
presents the output of 1929.
Placer mining, began at Ju
neau in 1880, was extended to
the Yukon Basin in 1886. No
very important discoveries of
placer gold were, however, made
in Alaska until after the Klon
dike rush of 1893. This brought
a large number of people into
the Territory and led to the find
ing of gold at Nome in 1898, at
Fairbanks in 1902, and in the
Innoko-Iditarod region in 1908.
Meanwhile the other smaller
districts were developed, notab
ly those of the Yukon, the Cop
per, and the Susitna Basins. The
total gold output of all the plac
er mines has a value of about
$254,125,000. and the placer-mine
outnut of 1929 has an estimate
value of $4,117,000.
Silver has been recovered,
most of it in mining gold and
copper, to a total value of about
$11,738 ono The value of the out -
put of all other mineral products,
including tin, marble, gypsum,
coal, petroleum, lead, etc., to the
close of 1929 is about $14,914,000.
The first attempt at any form
of mining in the Territory was
the exploitation of coal deposits
on Cook Inlet by the Russians in
1854. Though public attention
had for several vears been focus
ed on the reel deposits of Alas
ka, practically no coal mining
was done, except that of exploit
ing lignite deposits for local use,
untu 1917. Prior to the with
drawal of all coal lands in Alas
ka large sums were spent on
surveys, development, and othQY*
work in the Bering River and
Matanuska fields.
No shipments were made,
however, and the total outout of
coal in the Territory up to the
close of 1916 is insignificant, b*
Jng about 884,000 tons. In 1917,
iiv^ver, coal mining was begun
on a large scale, and an average
bf about 85,000 tons a year has
been mined between that year
and 1929, mostly from tile Ma
tanuska field. The largest pro
duction for any one year was
126,000 tons in 1928. The total
coal output to the end of 1929
was about 1,213,154 tons. During
this period more than 2,887,000
tons of coal have been imported
into the Territory.
•-“A--—
FISH TRAP ADRIFT IN
SUMNER STRAIT
-X-—
Floating fish traps might
prove detrimental'to navigation,
so the Customs House has noti
fied the Lighthouse Service of
such a menace in Southeast
Alaska waters. The following
message was sent by the Customs
Collector to the Lighthouse office
in Ketchikan.
“The captain of the motorship
Pandora reported here this
morning of having passed a
floating fish trap adrift three
miles east by south from Point
Amelia in Sumner Strait at 9 a.
m. Wednesday.”
V
PULP MILLS, ET CETERA
-x
The possibility of the Govern
ment doing anything to delay
the establishment of paper and
pulp mills at Juneau, Ketchikan.,
and possibly other points, is not
regarded as even a remote pro -
bability. It is expected that with
the return of business readjust
ment the different parties who
investigated the projects at
great cost will be ready to com- *
plete their arrangements and
start actual construction. As
the forests in Alaska are ripe for
cutting and considerable cost is
involved in deterioration due to
delay, the Forest Service offi
cials feel that unnecessary post
ponement would ^ da tridental,