the okpiianaue news letter.
cline in all parts of lode mining, es
pecially that of copper, for the output
of gold placers whs somewhat larger
that of the preceding year, and a lit
tle progress was mad** in the develop
ment of the coal fields The stagna
tion of Alaska mining is but a reflec
tion of the world-wid»* depression of
the industry and is not caused prima
rily by local conditions. During 4*2
years of miuing the Territory b^s
pioduoed minerals to the valua of
1*478. 000.000.
The most important event of the
year to the future ®f tile mining in
dustry was the practical completion of
the Alaska Railroad, the (Giveru
meut line ). There only remains the
bridge at RiUy Greek to he built thia
winter to give a train service from
Seward to Fairbanks, except far the
transfer across Tatiana River at Ne
nana. The building of roada in Alas
ka was expedited dnriu* the year, eo
far as the funds permitted. There is
a good reason to believe that the ocean
transport service to Al»ska is soou to
bo improved. These betterments of
means of comraunica'ion are the most
valuable local factors io promoting
the revival . f Alaska mining.
Tlie petroleum produced in Alaska
in \921, a? in previous years, was de
rived from a single patented claim in
the KatallaJOil Field. Thin property
is owned by th« Chi Ik at oil Co., which
usee it* entire p-oduer in its own re
finery Except for the work done by
this company, there was no drilling
in tha Alaska petroleum fields. The
staking of Alaska oil claims began in
1920 and continued in 1921 Some
-claims are in regions of known seep
ages and favorable structure and seme
are in wildcet territory, not unooin
monly in areas where what is known
of »he geology is mifavori bl#» to the
occurrence of oil. Drilling in someot
the A lank a oil fields will no doubt be
undertaken in 1922.
An examination made under pri
vate auHpic • of the long known lo
cality of petroleum residue Hear
Smith Bay, about 100 miles southeast
of Point Barrow, is reported to have
disclosed several large seepages.
In July IS*il, a petroleum seepage
flowing about 2 ounces » day was
jfnunil about 1 mile southwest of the
town of Anchorage. ' his was visited
by Alfred H. Brooks, who reports that
it emerges from a gravel bank on top
ol a strata of clay Its bedrock source
is unknown, for the region in winch
it occurs is largely covered by gravel,
s: nd, and clay to a depth of 200 feet
or mors. Other seepages are report
ed near Anchorage.
The United States Geological Sur
vey in 1321 examined theltnskiu B.iy
otl region, on Cook Tnltl, and a p.iit
ot the Cold Bay region, on the Alaska
Peninsula. The reports on this work
have not yet been finished, but the
general results can be announced. F.
H. Moffit found that thelniskiu Bay
region includesa numberoflong, nar
row anticlines which are joined on the
seaward side by a great mono
cline. This monocliual structure af
fords a oonsiderable drainage area and
may have resulted in the accumula
tion of pools of oil.
8. li. Capps reports that in the ('old
Bay district and probably in other
parts of the Alaska Peninsula there
are struotural features to the accumu
lation of oil and that these are well
worth drilling. These are of such di
inenr n» that there is a possibility of
their containing large oil pools."