literal Description Dome District
The Nome Mining District, comprising 22,700
junre miles of territory, occupies a large section of
orthwestern Alaska known geographically as Seward
enlnsula; is bounded by the Arctic Ocean on the North
id Bering Sea on the West and possesses some 600 nnios
coast line. Nome, with a population varying from 850
i winter to 2.000 in summer, is the chief port and com
.ercial center of the entire district, the regions farther
orth and a vast section of the Northeast coast of Siberia,
omo is the mail distributing center for the entire district
nd is also the judicial headquarters for the Second Al
ska Division. In practically all things the entire divi
on is served from this port. The country generally is
f rolling character with wide valleys and numerous lakes
nd streams. The lowlands merge Into low rounded hills
routing a single lofty range* which crosses the heart of
he district. The mean summer temperature ranges be
ween 40 and 50 degrees: the mean annual temperature
etween 25 and 40 degrees. Extremes of temperature re
orded at Nome are around 77 degrees in July to 30 de
rees minus in January. Annual precipitation is about
5 inches.
’ The district is unquestionably one of the most
highly mineralized regions of the known earth. Gold
. s the chief resource but numerous varieties of lesser
ninerals are found over a large portion of the district
.nd petroleum is known to exist in the region of Point
Jarrow, a short distance to the nqrth of the peninsula
)il indications are also found within the district at sev
eral points. The only real tin mines fn Alaska and the
argest known deposits of tin in America are located in
he Port Clarence section and coal beds of important ex
ent exist in the Kugruk and Cape Liabvrne regions near
he northern coast.
Since the discovery of gold 23 years ago. the
*ome District has produced more than $81,000,000 in
;old and silver, in addition to tin, tungsten, antimony and
Jther metals valued at several millions. Copper and
;raphite are known to exist In exploitable quantities and
•ich gold quartz In small bodies and low grade quartz
u large bodies lias been found at numerous points.
\lmost all the best known metals are found in exploita
>le quantities. The gold produced is almost entirely
from placers, quartz mining not having reached a state
>f active development as yet. Dredging has become the
chief method although numerous hy
draulic and “open cut" plants are operated A very
large part of the known mineralized areas have been
hardly more than prospected, remoteness and inadequate
transportation facilities having greatly hindered develop
ment in the past, and many new placers and other min-',
eral discoveries may be expected In the future when the
district is thoroughly exploited.
In addition to its great mineral resources, the
Nome District also contains tremendously important pos
sibilities in its thriving reindeer industry, which, altho
hardly more than started on a commercial scale, has al- j
ready yielded revenues approximating $3,000,000.
Fish of various species abound in the lakes,
streams and coastal waters and form the basis for a
great industry. Herring are particularly plentiful and
are pronounced by uu^icelled by any herring
known to the world’s markets. Salmon and other va
rieties are also plentiful.
The district also produces a large variety of fur
bearing animals which yield a large annual revenue, in
addition to game animals and wild fowl in large numbers.
Berries and wild flowers grow in abundance in the un
ending daylight of summer. Although the district as a
whole is devoid of timber larger than willows, plant life
exists in great profusion and the low hills and valleys are
covered with a vast carpet of thick moss and grasses.
transportation Roads are the first essentials to
the development of a new territory. As a result of an
extremely short sighted and illiberal policy on the part
of the federal government, inadequate and costly trans
portation facilities have*been the chief drawback to ex
tensive exploitation of the great mineral wealth known
to exist in the Nome District. Within the nearly 23,000
square miles of territory there are less than 250 miles of
permanent roads and more than 25 per cent of the total
mileage is found within 20 miles of Nome. Develop
ment cannot proceed save at a slow pace under such con
ditions. During the past year or two the government
has Inclined to more liberal spirit and prospects are now
bright for important extensions of present highways
which will prove of vast benefit. A projected govern
ment extension of the Nome-Kougarok railway through
the heart of the district to the Kugruk coal fields will not
only open a great area of mineral lands to exploitation
but will also enable the acquisition of cheap fuel, the ai>
sence of which has been a powerful deterrent to mininer
and industrial development In all lines.
(Sold mining The Nome District has been the
source of nearly one fourth of the mineral wealth pro
duced in the Alaska territory during the past 20 years.
Vet withal it is the least developed portion of the country.
This is largely due to the fact that only the districts eas
iest of access have received the attention of the miner
and prospector There are still hundreds of square
miles of known mineral bearing territory untouched by
the hand of industry owing to the absence of roads and
resultant difficulties of transportation.
sluicing winter dump
,The noted geologist. Dr. Alfred H. Btooks, of the
United Statgs Geological Survey Bureau, has estimated
that there are over 210 square miles of placer gold de
posits within the confines of Seward Peninsula’ In ad
dition there are numerous gold deposits in lode form
scattered throughout the district. Of these 210 square
miles of placer gold areas scarcely more than fifty square
miles have been touched by the miner, although their
value has been known for year^, while among the liter
ally hundreds of quartz deposits presenting productive
nn«*ihtiitten there is not one producing values. This re
markable condition la due almost entirely to absence or
highways during the greater part of the two decades of
gold production.
Despite the deterring condltioas under which ii
labors, the Nome District was fhe most prosperous of the
Alaska placer mining regions in 1926. It produced
gold valued at $1,317,SI9.00, compared to a combined
total of $1,668,076.00 from all other placer districts.
Eighteen dredges, about seventy five open cut mines an<
thirteen deep or underground placers were operated;
about 550 men being employed. Regarding the future
placer outlook. Dr. Alfred H. Brooks of the U. S. Geologi*
cal Survey, says. "It was estimated some years ago (1908)
that the value of the gold reserves in the gravel plain,
ancient beach and high beach placers of Seward Penin
sula was about $215,000,000.00. Substracting the
amount of gold that has since been mined from these de
posits leaves the value of the reserves $200,000,000.00.
Though the above estimates of the available placer re
serves may appear extravagant to some, a comparison
will be shown that they are moderate, t 1. With the
return of normal conditions, development has Increased
steadily in recent months and several important small
strikes have been made as a result of renewed prospect
ing efforts
Platinum valued at $34,087.00 was produced in Al
aska in 1920. a large portion being obtained in the Nome
District. The bulk of the Nome outpnt was mined from
the Dime Creek placers, although recoveries of consid
erable value were made on Bear and Sweepstakes Creeks,
and at Willow Creek. Until 1916 no effort was made to
recover this valuable metal, but each succeeding year wit
nesses an increased output as efforts at recovery are ex
tended .
Cungsttn bearing lodes were developed at Fair
bankB and Nome when the war needa led to abnormal de
mand • • • • . Considerable Tungsten was shipped
from these properties between 1916 and 1918 and Schel
lite was recovered from concentrates of gold dredges at
Nome * • • • . In all about 87 tons of Alaska Schellite
concentrates have been mined and marketed, t 1.
bearing ores are found in many places in the
Nome District. The Omalik silvel*-lead mine on Fiah
River has produced considerable ore in the past but sus
pended operations with the decline in silver some years
ago. Promising lodes are located at various other
points, notably on the Kugruk River, where extensiv
development work has been done during the past two
years; although transportation difficulties have so far
prevented shipment of ore. t 2.
Jtntimony or*> In the form of stibnite, is one of the
most widely distributed minerals in Alaska • • • •. The
high price and ready market for antimony during the
war led to development of stibnite ores at several lo
calities in the Nome District • • • • . The facts in hand i
indicate that there are large reserves of antimony ore in |
this district. t 1.
Copper deposits have been found on Seward Penin
sula and some of these have been developed in a small
way. A few test shipments have been made • • • • .
Copper lodes have been located in several places in tfce
Nokatak-Kobuk region of Northern Alaska. Consider
able prospecting has been done on some of these deposits
near Shugnak, In the middle Kobuk valley * • • • .
Were those deposits not so isolated, they would undoubt
edly have been mined . t 3 .
Zin Alaska has produced about 972 tons of metallic tin,
which has nearly all come from the placers of the York
District at the west end of Seward Peninsula. A num
ber of discoveries of lode tin have been made in the York
section. The only development has been at the Lost
River Mine. The best hope of the continuation of Al- j
aska tin mining is based on the lode tin in the York Dis-1
trict. The Lost River mine is the only property suffi- j
ciently developed to justify the belief that It will soon ]
BEACH MIXING AT NOME
become a producer; yet there are other deposit* in the
region which deserve further prospecting. t 3.
7f0lf A little work has been done on iron deP°8it8 on
Seward Peninsula located about twenty five miles north
west of Nome. An analysis of samples from one deposit
showed fifty four percent of iron, no titanium and 0.13
per ce t of P-2 0-5. The surface evidences indicate I
that the mineralizing agents hare affected considerable J
areas. t 3.
Graphite, in considerable quantities has been found
in the Keewalilt Mounta^ps, 40 miles north of Nome, and
accessible to the tea from Imaruk Basin, which is con
| nected by tidal estuary with Port Clarence. The grap
j hite in this district occurs os lenses In quartz-biotite
schists, which are themselves graphitic. These deposits
are of sufficient size to justMy the hope that they can be
profitably exploited. t l.
Coal The largest areas of inaccessible coals are those
on the Arctic slope, where there are believed to be exten
sive fields. The coals are chiefly of low grade but in
clude some excellent bituminous coals. Most of these
coals are not now available, but some of them near Cape
Lisburne can be developed for use at Nome and in other
nar^s of Seward Peninsula. (U. S. Geogolical Survey
Bulletin No* 174. P. 46.) Coal has been obtained for a
number of years from the Kugruk coal beds, having be*en
mined at Chicago Creek and on the Kugruk, between
Reindeer and Montana Creeks. This coal is used ex
tensively in Candle and Deering • • • * . f 1. Coal
deposits located near the Kugrhk River also supply the
local needs of that section.
Since 1867,.Alaska has produced furs to the
value of about $90,500,000, of which about $53,000,000
represent the value of the fur seal skins. The raising
of foxes and other fur bearing animals is on the increase
and promises to become a most important industry. The
evidence in hand indicates that this section of Alaska
will continue to yield a valuable annual fur product, t 4.
Nome is the distributing point for trade with
those engaged in the fur business in Northwest Alaska
and Siberia, and many thousands of dollars worth of fur
pelts are handled annually at this Port.
fltittdttf Between 1892 and 1902, the Government
imported 1,280 reindeer into Alaska for the use of the
Alaska natives. The natural Increase from the original
stock has resulted in a herd, numbering nearly 200,000,
I besides which about 100,900 have been killed for food
I and skins • • • •. Shipments of reindeer meat are lim
ited to the cold storage capacity' of steamers running to
Nome, and were 99,000 pounds in 1918, 37,000 pounds in
1919, and 257,544 in 1920. There are extensive rein
deer pastures in the interior of Alaska and on the shores
of Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean. It is estimated
that these pastures should support a total of Ten Million
animals, t 4.
REINDEER HERD GRAZING
Tisbtrits Salmon fishing in the Nome District over
shadow, si the rest of the fishing industry. Canner
i ies located at the mouth of the Yukon River operate each
| year and yield a large return annually. The yearly run
of herring at Golovin Bay. offers an opportunity for large
investment. Beluga—white whale—frequent the flats
of the Yukon River but as yet, no effort has been made
to catch and market this valuable sea mammal, de
spite large commercial possibilities. Walrus and hair
seal are numerous, and present strong possibilities as
leather resources, as well as unique game for the sports
man and hunter.
NOME AND NORTHWESTERN ALASKA WUJ.
PRODUCE MILLIONS IN OIL
Growing out of the fact that use of oil for power
and locomotion has created a vast and unprecedented de
mand for that product during the past year, the Standard
Oil Company and also a group of Western investors sent
into the Point Barrow region of Northwestern Alaska a
number of representatives and several well known geolo
gists to investigate the oil seepages found in that section.
A number of these investigators went to the district dur
ing the winter by dog team and were followed by the geol_
oglcal experts in gas boats during the past summer. These
survey parties made extensive examinations and also loca
tions during the summer and filed for prospecting permits
at the United States Land Office at Nome. Active oper
ations are scheduled to commence next spring upon open
ing of navigation.
The Point Barrow’ oil region lies in latitude some
what farther north than the Fort Norman oil fields, com
prises thousands of square miles of territory, and will
all probability jecome the greatest ofl producing area on
the continent as development proceeds. The district is
much larger than the combined areas of Texas, Oklahoma.
Wyoming, Montana, Arkansas and Louisiana, and con
tains thousands of acres of undeveloped oil lands. With
the exception of less than twenty locations, all of thl*
great oil bearing area is still open to entry.
The existence of these vast oil deposits in the Par
row region has been known for years, but only during the
past winter and summer has there been any effort on the
part of either individuals or corporations to investigate
the field. Last summer’s investigations were of such
promising character that Nome is now preparing for an
oil stampede that will equal the great gold rush of 1900,
when 50,000 people came to this section of Alaska in
search of the yellow; metal. This time the rush will be
for "Liquid Millions"! It must be said, however, that
those who anticipate coming to this district to locate
should be prepared with sufficient capital to carry on. as
prospecting for oil requires time and money. The gov
ernment has adopted a very liberal policy with respect to
oil locations, the regulations providing that ci‘
corporations may locate five claims of 2560 acres each.
Providing oil Is discovered, the prospector can lease one
quarter of the area covered by his permit, with first pie
ference on the remainder. Royalty on production is as
low as five per cent.
Nowhere is there a greater opportunity for oil
land investment and practically all of this vast oil terri
tory with its semi-proven acreige is awaiting the coming
of capital for development. Prospecting and development
may be confidently expected to reveal an oil area that will
HYDRAULIC MINIMG SCENE
surprise the world and make Alaska known as one of the
greatest oil sections of the globe.
Drilling for oil is also in progress adjacent to
Nome at present and reports given out by officials of the
company disclose that favorable oil indications have been
encountered. Back <^f Nome in the interior of Seward
Peninsula other oil indications have been recently found.
A few locations covering acreage in this section have al
ready been filed. The districts last referred to are ad
jacent to water and rail transpotation. Drilling is ex
pected to commence next June. Several locations have
also been made in the Port Clarence section and permits
applied for. All the oil sections indicated may be reach
ed by steamers or gas boats.
t 1 U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin No. 714.
t 2 U. 6. Geological Survey Bulletin No. 714 A.
t 3 U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin No. 714 P.
t 4 Report of Governor of Alaska, 1920.
For Further Information Write The Secretary
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, OF NOME
Photos by Lomen Bros, Nome,
Tht^ Page Contributed by The Nome Nugget.