Ore Is Copper Glance, Technically Known as Chal
cocite, and Outcrop Shows 8,000 Tons of
Product in Sight—Extensive Devel
opment Work in Progress.
The Bonanza mine, situated on s
high ridge between McCarthy creel
and the Kennecott glacier, in tin
Copper river country, was discoverer
by C. L. Warner and Jack Smith
in the month of August, 15)00. Thesi
men formed one section of a compa
ny of ten prospectors, who were en
deavoring to prospoct the whole Chit
tyna country. They located a num
ber of claims in the names of llu
whole company, and on their return
to Valdez, a deed was given Captain
Abercrombie for an equal interest "foi
services rendered," making eleven or
iginal locators in all. Among the ten
in addition to Warner and Smith were
Millard, Amy, Fitch, McClellan, Me
Neer, Gates, and two others. Nothing
was done the Hint year, except l<i
carry away some of the rock as spe
cimens and advertise the llnd broad
cast. In 1901 Stephen Birch, the pres
ent manager, acquired his interest by
purchase and the property was visit
ed by two mining engineers!, J. S.
Fuw<,n for a San Francisco company,
and*Alfred B. lies, .epre-ien' ing a Now
York syndicate. T!ie following win
ter the pr< pevty was transferred to
the Havcmeyera of New York, and
active operations began \\ I»l<-1« have
continued eve.- since.
The Bonanza is eonce led t o be one
of the greatest, copper depos-i>i ever
found. The <.re is eopper glance, ci
chalcocile, and samples acres:; tla
the entire outcrop, which vaiics fr< m
•1 to 12 feet t.f solid (.ie, avoiago 77
per cent eepi er and 20 < zr. silver to
the ton. The* ore body has; been cx■
posed by ercsiion of the liir.es re, i;i
which it occurs, leaving it a cracked
up mass that needs only a sledgeham
mer to get it ready for transportation
to the smelter. Experts vary as to
the amount ore lying there as Nature
milled it, hut (lie most conservative
of them places it at H,000tons, i his of
course represents only the ore on the
surface, and has no relation to that
developed under ground. There in
also a large tonnage of concent rating
ore, and still anothersoun cof wealth
in the slide reck which has caught
hundreds of tons of the lloat ore as it
broke away from the lode above.
The vein is supposed to he a true
fissure, but as to that fact, even if it
were true, adds nothing to its value
as a mine. In our mind it is simply
a replacement of the copper which
permeates the greenstone all through
thatdistrict. The waters of the ther
mal springs have dissolved the parti
cles of copper in the greenstone and
loaded with the mineral they have
followed the fractun s in the earth's
crust, in their travels to the surface.
When descending waters impregnated
with lime meet the ascending warm
waters leaded with copper, the result
is easy to foretell. However, the ore
is there and so far its limit has not
been reached, which fact is much
more Interesting than the story of
just how it happened, which is only a
supposition anylrnv.
Two years*aftcr its discovery, this
great property became involved in
litigation, eventually falling into the
hands of the present owner, the Kei -
neeott Mines**eompany. 1'nder the
terms of a contract on tile in the Val
dez recording olllce, the Kennecott
Mines company agrees to deed a to
per cent interest in the Bonanza and
contiguous claims to Daniel Guggen
heim and associates, in consideration
of which the latter are to furnish
transportation facilities for the mine
product from the property to tide wa
ter before the end of the year 1010,
This is the incentive for the construc
tion of the (topper lllver «St North
western railroad, now building from
Cordova.
Kxperta or I In* mining world luivr
inspected thin property, and tin* phH
matea of the ore in range a^
high hh $20,000,000 in value. Kxten
Hive development Ih now in progreaa,
and by the time the transportation
facllltiea are furnlahcd the mine will
be ready to prodnee a daily tonnago,
Last. winter machinery for an aerial
tram wbm freighted in and the tratr
placed in poMitlon during the Htimmei
weanon. A largo Hawmlll Iuih beer
built, HubHtantial hulldingH conatroct
ed, wagon roadamade and everything
la practically In ahape, or will be, at
the find toot of the'locomotlve. Hev
oral hundred ton* of aupplies arc now
being freighted to thlw property bj
the old reliable double-endera fron
Vllddli
K, H. MofTlt and A. (1. Maddren
geologist* of the government, madei
comprehend ve report on the Ilonan
za, which theydeacrlbe a« the largon
and richest body of ore in the conn
try, and the ore in Might amount* t<
"hovera) hundred tona," which, fo
government official:*, in Maying a goo<
deal. Thlsoughtto he intercHtlng Mtul
for the Ouggenhelma, who arc Hpotul
Ing fifteen or twenty million* on
railroad in order to bring out thou
"Several hundred tona «»f ore."
Interior Copper Fields
Kncouraging copper prospect* hav
been found on the Kot*dna,ouc ofth
beat, known being the Crawford proj
ertlea. On the Chltty and on Barret
ereok, tributaries of the Kotaina, hoi
i nito ore occurs in the greenstone for
I mat ion.
On Hock creek and'Copper, on the
j name river, are located some of the
| well-known properties of Gelineau &
Hell anil the (Ireat Northern Devel
opment company. On the former a
body of solid borni to and glance seven
i feet thick is one of the attractions of
the property, and 75 tons of ore are
piled np on the dump ready for ship
ment. Tlio other claims of the group
found, but no important sulphide dis
coveries have yet been made. Roar
I ing creek, a close neighbor, has sev
' eral tine showings which only await
j the hammer and drill to transform
them iuto productive properties.
The Elliott creek basin was first ex
ploited In 1899 by Hubbard & Elliott,
and discoveries of copper are report
ed by them.
Alaska, the Golden
Alaska the Golden is becoming a
land of rare surprises. Neglected and
abandoned for years as an almost out
cast territory, it is now rapidly com
ing into its rich and glorious heritage.
If the present rate of progress is kept
up for a decade, and there appears to
be no reason why it should not con
tinue, Alaska will be found knocking
for admission to the Union as one of
its richest States. There is enough j
quartz and placer mining in Alaska
to keep half a million miners busy for
a century; there is sufficient' coal,
copper, and other minerals to keep !
busy another half million of miners
for the same period, and, strangest of
all to the uninitiated, investigation
has shown that the fertile valleys of ,
that far northern country will support i
500,000 prosperous farms and homes. |
The government agricultural station *
Ill COPPER RIVER BASIN
Nicolai Property Was First Claim to Be Staked,
It Being Pointed Out to Millard-McClellan
Party by Old Native Chief, Who
Received Gifts of Food.
I
J Col. B. F. Millard, U. F. Mi%'lellan,
James MK'urtli.v, Fdward (Sates and
A. II. MeNeer arejjenerally accredit -
wl to lu> the men who first attracted
public not ice to the mineral reeources
of the Copper river country, l»\ the
location of the Nicolai mine in the
year ISOS. The Nicolai mine i,; named
for Chief Nicolai of the Taral Indian:;,
who pointed out the vein to l.ieut.
Allen and party in issii. The proper
tv was not loeated, however, tmti
I
though less prominent, also contain |
copper minerals, ami the rock be-!
(With is out l»y many stringers of oro.
in the vicinity of the shaft the main }
vein ban a width of from 8 to 1*2 fret, -
ami is divided about equally by a
horse of greenstone I? to I feet aeross
in which the shaft has been sunk.
The ore on either side of the horse is i
practically pure bornite, with only a 1
small amount of quartz associated in
an irregular way. Locally, as shown
Interior llcudqii Hi,.is of KriiiiccutI Miiw
« w I n r i 1 I*
Bonanza Mine and Aerial Tram Leading from it |<, Mi<• Valley Ut low
,, vio iiuuirn, imu iikc «l 11
tin* other claim ownera of the diHtrict
arc awaiting the advent of a railroad
before they ean aetid their ore In the
Hmeltor.
Native Copper
On KIuvchiui creek i« the identical
formation of grcenatone carrying na
tive? copper that in ween all over the
VVrangcll diHtrict. It oecura in bed
ded planea, and HometlmcH, an on the
l/akina, it can be followed forathouH
and feet, and varying In width from
a few inchcH to 40 feet. The copper
j occurn uaually in umall particlca acat
tered profUHcly through the rock, but
along the bed of the zone the copper
appeara in large nuggcta, aheeta and
all kindn of fant ant leal ahapcH, an if
the hot metal had fallen through wa
ter and Mettled at# the bottom of the
pot. The large nugget on Nugget
creek and the nugget copper which
elogH the hIiiIcc riflleH on the Nizina
all have a common origin, which will
be found in the altered diahaHC, or aa
' the boya in the interior prefer to call
' j it—amygdaloidal grcenntone. The
i j writer haw aamplcd thin rock by pan
j concentration In many placca with
, ulmoat Invariably the name rcHtilta—
i percent In thetaillngH after wanh
• Ing off the free copper. Thin Ih not a
t very clone Having, but Horven to nhow
• what a field for concent ration there Ih
» awaiting the enterprlHing mill man in
p thin nnllmitcd field. The free copper
1 waahed off varied from 4 to 19 per
f cent of the rock ertwhod. The ('alu
- met & Hecla HtandH <»fT the Hherlff by
i milling anything from I per cent up,
[> and the rock la the Hame aH in the
Chlttyna; If It would fiend one of Ita
ntamp millM over here It might be
n able U, pay a dividend.
n The Htrelna la another creek on
- which important copper Htrlkea have
t been made. Htrelna wan the flrat
'• creek on which native copper was
hi. t opper »'outer Iuih demonstrated!
that wheat, oats, barley, and practi-j
eally all of the common garden v<y*
otableM can ho grown to perfection in '
the rich virgin soil of Alaska.
Railroad development Is nil that is
needed to bring about a wonderful |
tranHformation, and already line« of
steel are penetrating Into this new
empire. Frederick J I. Chase, in a
current review, says: "Alaska Iuih
more gold than ever had California,
AiiHtralia or Mouth Africa; It Iuih more
eopper than twenty HntteH; it Iuih
more hard coal than Pennsylvania,
and It has more tin than Walow, The
hay that rots on Its tundras and plains
would fatten all the entile that roam
on the plains of Kansas, Oklahoma j
and Texas. Ami their the wild, fer- |
tile, untouched plains and valleys
await the ax, the spade, the plow,
and the reaper of half a million Amer- j
lean farmers."
Three railroads are now being con-■
struetcd from |w>ints on the Pacific!
coast to the interior, and other pro-1
Jects are under consideration. The
roads now being built are the Alaska
Central, from Howard; the Valdez
Yukon, from the head of Port Valdey,,
and the Copper River & Northwestern
at Cordova, on Cordova bay. The
completion of any one of these roads
to the Yukon means the opening to
settlement of an agricultural and min
ing territory larger than Texas, Hut
the primary object of the railroads is
the development of the coppor and
coal fields, said to be among the rich
est In the world. One of tne bridges
on the Cordova road, It is stated by
the engineers, will cost $2,000,000,
f;ood evidence that some one believes
n a rich and prosperous future for
the territory.
A new era is dawning for Alaska,
and It may not Ira long before the vote
from beyond the Arctic circle will he
a more or less decisive factor in the
election of a president of the United
HtatoH.—Washington (I). ('.) Post.
the Miilard-Mc('lell;in parlv >Ii<I n in
'»H. The old chicftiiin, in r><>11 ■ i«l<■ i it
(ion of j.»iflm of food, wa". induced lo
reveal the location of tin mine lo
Millard and associates, \ylio realized
i t m value, regard 11 mm of ii<« iiMiecewwa-,
billty. Walt or Mcndcnhall, a gov
ernment neolo^iwt, limn d».".< ribew tliej
property which waw res ponwihlc for
the later dlweoveriew in the ('hit tyna '
region:
, "Tim Nioolai mine in near Nicolai |
creek, a trilnitary of Me 'arth\ creek,
and Ih Hituatcd l.unn feet or more
ahove timber line, nt an elevation of
4t2(M> feet. The country rock in the
lower part of t he creek iw Trlawwic
whale intruded by porphyry, but a
great fault hrin^n Hp tjie Nicolai
greenwtone, which formwthc 1 »• «I rock
from the vicinity of the. main fork-, of
tlie creek to a point ahove the mine.
On the wouth Hide of (he tfiilch. oppo
wite the mine, the ^reeiintone iw op
ponent hy the uncomformahle lied", of
the Kennccott formation, hut. to the
north the ( 'hittlwtone mawwive linn
wtone iw ween dipping wteeply into the
monntainw, and thi:-* iw followed by
the Triawwic whalcw, covvrii>K '» hirge
area between McCarthy croek and
Nlxlna river.
"The vein occlirw in the greeuwlone
at a horizon not more than AO feet be
low the bottom of the limewtonc,
which outeropw in the creek bed a
few hundred feet ahove the abaft. It
Ih a true Mwnnre vein, with well
marked wallw, and there haw been
diwplacement along Hie Vein to the
amoimt of pcrhap* W) feet, with the
upthrow on the nn'rthwOut, The vein
maybe traced for Movcral thousand
feet, though it whoWw no ore -on the
Hurface except near I lie place of diw
covery. The main tlwwure iw paraded
j At a dlHtanee of tw» and I to feet, re
| wpectlvely, by two tlwwnrew which.
I.
Ik-3ii* llii- ercek hed, there is a hand of
eha lei»|»yrit«■ lying next to the hang
ing wall. Ore having a thickness of
from 'J to I feet has been exposed, i
ami in 111< • bottom of the shaft the;
horse lias Imtii penetrated ami horn- 1
ilr ore was found on tin* foot wall '
side. The <icvelopment has been suf
tlcient li» show tin* presence of a large
chute of on- which can ho mined from
the present shaft or from a short adit
which could he driven to cut tlie vein
at a depth of perhaps 100 feet, hnt
whether the ore is generally distrib
uted or whether there are other large
ore hollies along its course is yet to
he determined.
"Illeli deposits of native copper are
reported to occur at the lieAdwaters
of the Chittyna river, ami since the
geological structure of the region ad
jacent to the west Indicates the prob
nhle continuation of the greenstone
licit into this'region, it seems likely
that workable amounts of copper will
he found there.' The" region lies di
rectly between 'the exposures of
greenstone on the Nizlna and those
which carry nat ive copper at the head
of White Hver 'aerdss the intervening
range."
D. F L Y N N
ARCHITECT
. 0 > • ». I
Vulriex, Alnnkn
References
The White (Jo.
H. Bltim ft Co., (tankers
Owl Drug Co.
Ostrandcr & Donohoo.
Attorneys
C'ahin at Mine which «.t Sll.oiin
l\nuii\ 111 ( l!i\« c N ii u t ..
J. G. SNYDER
I >LALER
I N
GENERAL MERCHANDISE
NINE DEPARTMEN IS
Oldest Store in Valde/
Special Attention Paid
....to Miners' Outfits....
surveying ancI Patenting Map Making. Estimates
of ClainiH Made, Etc.
F. BUTTER WORTH
CIVIL. ENGINEER
U. .S. Deputy ' ami and Mineral Surveyor
VALDEZ ALASKA
Edmund Smitii
ATTORNEY
AND
COUNSELOR
AT LAW
Mining a it (I
Corporation Law
Rpffirrnroi
Any bank or hunincmi limine
In Vnldex,
VALDEZ
REAL ESTATE
I AGENCY
<lN<\ )
liny and noil l{««al Kntato, Mino*
mill Mining I'rtipprly. AliNlracto
KiirnlHliod, Proportion of Non-r^nl*
(IciiIhciircfully managed. Collection*
fnado, Ilofereneo: Any l>ank or
lillMincMH hotmo in Valdoa.
I
II. \\. l.o< KIIAUT,
H«<o. mihI Trea*.