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Entered as secono-eass matter Ao
jusjt 20th, 1928, at the postoffice at
Tokotna, Alaska, under the Act of
Mapeh 8, 1870.
rr. ..f wpw—n. ■ i^T" -
Takotna,. Alaska, Jaaurry 2, 1932.
■ r . 1 jtfS.
Minerals
Of Alaska
JO*,!) OUTPUT FOR MO SHOWS
SLIGHT INCREASE OVER
THAT OF 1930,
WASHINGTON, Jan. i.—The:. De^
payment of the Interior announces,
through- advance statements prepared,
by the Alaska branch of the Geolog
ical Survey, that mines in Alaska are
•estimated to have produced minerals
valued at $12,010,000 in 1931 as
against $13,812,000 in 1930. The total
value of the mineral output of Alaska
since 1880 is approximately. $641,000,
000* . The figures for. 1931,. which are
preliminary estimates and conse
quently subject to revision, are taken
from the Geological Survey’s annual
report on the mineral resources of
Alaska, now in preparation. The
so’Jfce of this mineral wealth was
approximately as follows;..
Value >of Mineral Output of Alaska, in
1931 and 1930
1931 (est.) 1930.
Gold . $9,342,000 $8,476,000
Copper . 1,712,000 4,244,000
Silver .99,000 167,300
Coal. 667,000 631,000
'Other min
erals .. 290,000 303,100
Tota ..$12,010,000 $13,812,000
* (lead, petroleum, marble, tin, plat
inum, etc.)
General industrial conditions thru
out, Alaska in 1931 reflected more or
less. closely than conditions in the
Stages, though the severity of the de-1
presaion in Alaska was by no means
■q, acute. As a result the mining in
dustry as a whole was slowed down,
and; the search for ore deposits and
development of mines, others than
those whose ore was primarily, valu
able for god, was suspended or ma
terially curtailed. This condition was
the .inevitable! outcome of the ex
tremely low-.prices that prevailed for
all pf tha. mineral commodities except
gold. For instance* the average sell
ing price of copper in 1931, according
to the Bureau of Mines,, was 8.3 cents
a poind, as against 13 cents in 1930, a
decrease equivalent to more than one
third of the price paid in 1930. Es
sentially the same condition prehailed
for silver and lead, the prices for.
which, according to the Bureau of
Mines, were respectivey 29 cents an
ounce and 3.8 cents a pound in 1931
against 38 1-2 cents and 5 cents in
1930. In fact, it is estimated that
had the amounts of these three met
als that were produced in Alaska in
1931 been sold at the prices that were
paid in. 1930, their combined value
would have been over $1,000,000
greater than the amount stated in
these estimates. Not only are tin;
low prices paid for the metals re- ;
fletcod in the value of the minerals !
produced, but also they, had a great, j
though indeterminate, effect on re- j
stricting production and discouraging 1
the undertaking of new developments.!
In the face of this general reduction I
the large increas ein the output of1
gold from Alaska is exceedingly en
couraging.
The total production of gold from
Alaska mines in 1931 is estimated at!
$9,342,000, about $866,000 more than i
in 1930. This marks a notable in-1
crease . not, only, over ..the. preceding !
year but also over any of the years i
since 1919. Together with the value!
of gold mined in earlier years. Jt
brings the total value of gold pro
duced from the Territory; tp the. mss*
able figure of almost $400,000,000. , j
According to preliminary estimates,,
the production of gold was about ,
evenly distributed between the lode;
and, placer mines, about .491-2 . per
cent having come from the lode mines
and. about 50 L2 p$r cent, from the
placers. This marks a rather notable
change from the ratio in .1930. when,
less than 43 .per cent came from the
lodes and more than, 57 per cent from
the placers. The pronounred change
in the ratio for 1931, was, bropgbtj
about b; the very large increase in
the value of the gold .recovered, from
the loth mes and the slight decrease
in that from the ;placer mines over
the value of the gold recovered from
these sources in 1930. In tho period
since goid mining began, the ratio
between the value of the gold from
the two sources is about 34 per cent
from looes- and 66 per cent from
•placers. Obviously, as the Alaska
placers are more easily and extensive
ly worked, they contributed more
largely to the output of the Territory
in the early days, but as their extent
is limited they will be the first to be
exhausted. The lodes, on the other '■
hand, are relatively more expensive
to develop, but if they are skilfully
managed they are much more likely
to afford, continuous output and thus
equalize or even reverse the ratio
that formerly existed between their
output and that from the placers.
The bulk of the lode gold continued
to come from Southeastern Alaska,
especially from the properties of the
Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Com
pany, in the Juneau district. At this
place search for new ore bodies, as
wel as extension for those already
known, was conducted with special
activity, and the results appear to
have been distinctly encouraging, so
that the work will be continuedand
will probably be reflected in increased
proportion in the not distant future.
The second largest gold lode producer
in Southeastern Alaska is the Chica
gof Mines (Ltd.), whose property lies
some 60 miles northwest of Sitka.
FIRE INSURANCE
You should carry a liberal amount of fire insurance,
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Needless to say this insurance should be of the very
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Alaska Insurance Agency
FAIRBANKS, ALASKA
tmpzire «rf Koako Him.
The Willow Creek gold ode district,
which lies north of the head of Cook
Inlet, has long been a notable pro
ducer, though for the past few years
its output has been small. The re
sumption of extensive mining on the
property of the Willow Creek Mines
(Ltd.) on Craigie creek and opera
tions at a number of small mines in
this camp brought this.. district in
.1031 into second place among the gold
lode producers of the Territory, .and
the developments already made there
indicate that it wil probably continue
to yield an. equal or even greater vol
ume of gold in tha succeeding years,.
The Fairbanks district was third of.
the Alaska districts in its output of
lode gold iu 1931, and from the in,
formation, now available its produc
tion appears to have been materially,
greater than, in 15)38. Developments
in progress in that district promise
well for an. evengreater output in
the future. . In the Nabesna district
the mine of the Nabesna Mining Cor
poration began active production dur
ing 1931 and appears to have had a
successful season. A unique feature
of the .operations at this place was
that considerable amounts of the
Cpncentratoa- were sent by airplane
from the. mine to a point where more
usual means of transportation was
available. Several other lode gold
mines- widely scattered through the
Territory yielded some gold* The
most productive of these were the
S,onny. Fox mine, in the Nuka. Bay;
.district, the Lucky Strike mine om
Palmer creek in the Hope district, and.
the old Pearson & Strand mine.in the.
Nixon Fork district of the Kuska
kwim valley. Prospecting was also
active at a number, of other points,,
and some of the properties have,
reached, a stage where they will enter.,
the ist of producers shortly. Prob
ably the most notable example of this
aass is the property, of the Eva,
Quartz Mining Company , near Ferry,
which has blocked out a considerable
amount of ore and before the close of
1931 should have completed the erec
tion and testing of its. mill, which
vyas purchased and shipped, in during
the late summer;.
The value, of it he gold recovered
fro mAlaska,.placers in 1931 is; esti
mated to hs.ye.been $4,706,000, or
about $130,009,sless than was recov
ered from mines of this type in 193Q.,
This comparison shoud not be inter
preted us indicating a great falling,
off of placer mining as a whole, be
cause the output in 1930 was espe
cially large. By far the largest
amount of placer gold came from the
Yukon region, with the Seward Penin
sula region second- The other placer
mining regions together contributed
less than ,cme-tenth‘. of the entire pla
cer gold output of the Territory, and
in the order of their placer produc
tion stood as folows: Kuskokwim,
Copper River, Cook Inlet-Susitna,,
Northwestern Alaska, and Southeast
ern Alaska. The largest producer iit
the Yukon region was the Fairbanks
Exploration Company, and ttar larg*
est one in the Seward. Peninsula, re
gion .was the Hammon Consolidated
Gold Fields, at Nome. Throughout
most of the placer camps the weather
conditions which affect mining, such
as plentiful water supply, were somer
what adverse, as in the early part of
the season there was only a small
rainfall, so that the water supply in
many of the camps was inadequate
for sluicing. The length of the work
ing season, however, was about nor
mal. (
Most of the placer gold is now re
covered by dredging, the more primi
tive, hand methods, and the use of the
simpler mechanical methods having
largely disappeared, except in the
more remote districts. It appears
that about 79 per cent of the placer
gold that was recovered in 1931 was
produced by dredges, which ratio
compares with 1930, when about: 81;
per cent of the placer gold was re*
covered by dredges. So far as re
ported 27 dredges were in operation
in 1931, which is the same number as;
(Continued on Page 3.)
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