T " ■- . -■■ ' - ^ "
Mineral Production
Of Alaska In 1934
_%—
Nome and Seward Peninsula Output is
Rated Second Highest Production
In Placer Gold Yield *
* ___
The Department of the Interior an
nounces, through an advance state
ment prepared by Philip S. Smith, of
the Alaskan branch of the Geological
Survey, that the minerals proceed
from Alaska mines in 1934 had an
estimated^ value of $16,793,000, as
compared with $10,366,000 in 1933.
This brings the value of the miner
al output of Alaska since 1880 to
more than $680,000,000. The figures
for 1934 are preliminary estimates
and subject to revision. The final
figures will appear in the Geolog
ical Survey’s annual report on the
mineral resources,of Alaska, now in
preparation.
General Conditions
A low price for all the mineral
commodities other than gold contin
ued through the year, though the
prices were somewhat higher than
in 1933. A serious disruption of ship
ping facilities, brought about thru
strikes and labor difficulties in May
and June, hampered the sending in
of necessary machinery, equipment,
and supplies for many of the mining
camps and so had an indirect though
very real effect in reducing the out-*
put of minerals. On the other hand,
the climatic conditions that affect
mining, such as length of season and
precipitation, were on the whole
favorable "throughout the camps in
central Alaska, which yield the great
er part of the placer gold. In south
eastern Alaska and in western Al
aska, notably in most of Seward
Peninsula, the season was unusually
dry, so that the supply of water for
mining purposes was scarce and
many of the mines had to curtail or
suspend operations for part of the
season. This condition affected not
only the placer mines, which are or
dinarily very dependent on water
supply for most of their operations,
but also some of the smaller lode
mines that use water in milling their
ore.
Gold
The gold production of Alaska in
1934 is estimated to have been wor
th $16,105,000s based on the current
price of $35 a fine ounce. This value
exceeds that for the production of
any other year subsequent to 1916.
In this comparison, however, it
should be remembered that in all
the preceding years the established
price of. gold has been $20.67 an oun
ce, so that the new price is about
69 percent greater than the old price.
The total value of the gold produc
- tion of Alaska from the beginning
of productive mining in 1880 todate
is estimated at nearly $45,000,000.
As is well known, the gold pro
duced in Alaska comes from two
distinctly types of deposits, placers
and lodes. In the placers the gold is
recovered from gravel or other un
consolidated deposits, whereas in the
lodes it occurs in the solid rock or
vein matter. In 1934 the proportion
of gold produced from deposits of
these two types is estimated to have
been about 56 to 44, or $8,996,000
from placers and $7,109,000 from
lodes. This is the same ratio as in
1932, but in 1933 the ratio was 54
to 46. As has long been the case, the
bulk of the lode gold produced in
the Territory came from mines in
southeastern Alaska, of which the
mine of the Alaska Juneau Gold
Mining Company, near Juneau is by
far the largest However, while this
region still maintained first place in
production of gold from lodes, its
lead over other Alaska districts ap
pears to have been lessened, for in
1934, it is estimated to have sup
pljaH only 68 percent of the Alaska
lode production, whereas in 1933 itj
supplied about 74 percent. This de
crease appears to have been brought
about through both a smaller pro
duction of lode gold in southeastern
Alaska in 1934 and a considerable
increase in the output from the oth
er lode gold districts. The greatest
increase in the value of the lode pro-j
duction of these other districts oc
curred in the Willow Creek and
Fairbanks districts, in each of which
the value of the output was nearly
double that in 1933. Increases were
also noted from many of the scatter
ed smaller gold lode mines in Alas
ka. In fact, there was a notable stim
ulation in lode1 prospecting through
out the Territory, and at several
places preliminary development
work that had been in progress for
some time was rapidly approaching
such a stage that the properties
should soon commence actual pro
duction. Among mines of this sort
may be mentioned that of the Brem
ner Gold Mining Company in the
Copper "River region and several of
the properties in the Prince William
Sound region. Altogether the outlook
for a material increase in the lode
gold output of the Territory in the
near future seems excellent.
The placer production from Alas
ka in 1934 showed a very great in
crease in value over that for the
preceding year, owing to the increas
ed price of gold but it was also some
what greater in quantity. The Yukofi
region, including a dozen or more
important mining districts and scor
es of small camps throughout its
extent, continued to lead in the val
ue of its placer output which is es
timated at about $7,000,000. Second
in the list was Seward Peninsula
with nine principal districts which
had an estimated placer output of
nearly $1,500,000. These were follow
ed by the Kuskokwim, Cook Inlet
Susitna and Copper Rivfer regions,
named in the relative order of their
estimated placer production, with
small amounts from northwestern
Alaska, southeastern and southwest
ern Alaska.
Of the gold won from placers
about 75 percent was recovered by
dredges, the remainder being recov
ered by hydraulic methods by the
use of mechanical scrapers, or by
the more primitive and simple meth
ods of ground sluicing and shovel
ing the gold-bearing gravel into
the sluice boxes by hand. Twenty
nine dredges, 15 in the Yukon re
gion, 13 in the Seward Peninsula,
and 1 in the Kuskokwim region,
were active throughout the season.
In spite of the large output of gold
from the dredges in 1934 there is
no reason to doubt that at least the
same or a larger output can be
maintained for some years to come.
Thus extensive new development in
the vicinity of Ester Creek in- the
Fairbanks district should reach a
productive stage shortly, and one of
the largest operators on Seward Pen
insula would doubtless have shown
a much larger production had the
company been able to prepare suffi
cient ground in an earlier season for
full-time operation in 1934. New
equpiment is being placed on sev
eral of the placer properties, and,
plans are being formulated for larg
er and better mining operations thru
out the Territory; Among plans of
this sort may be mentioned explora^
tions and developments that were
in progress on Dan Creek, in the
Copper River region; at Cole Creek
and Walker Fork in the Circle and
Fortymile districts, in the eastern
part of the Yukon region; in the
Hot Springs and Tolovana districts,
in the central portion of the Yukon
region; and in the Ruby, Iditarod
and Innoko districts; in the western
part of the Yukon region. On the
whole the story of the year’s placer
mining operations in Alaska may be
summed up as recording an encour
aging increase in output and indicat
ing a pronounced revival of mining
activities.
Other Minerals
Several other minerals were pro
duced by Alaska mines in 1934. Of
these perhaps the most significant
were the platinum metals which
showed a great increase in output.
This was brought about mainly thru
the installation of a power scraper
in the Goodnews Bay district, near
the mouth of Kuskokwim River, on
an extensive property that had been
recently acquired by a skilled plac
er-mining operator who had had lar
ge gold-mining experience in other
parts of Alaska. Some platinum met
als were also won by reworking the
tailings that had resulted from ear
lier lode-mining operations on Kas
aan Peninsula, in the Ketchikan dis
trict of southeastern Alaska, and a
small amount was recovered in con
nection with placer gold mining in
the Koyuk district of Seward Pen
insula.
Considerable quantities of lead
were also recovered in the course of
smelting the concentrates from the
gold lode mines. About one and three
quarters million pounds of lead were
derived from this source, mainly
from ores of the Alaska Juneau
Gold Mining Company of southeast
ern Alaska. At the average price
for the year, which is estimated as
3.9 cents a pound, this lead was
worth about $69,000.
Small amounts of quicksilver and
tin ore are also reported to have
been produced by Alaska mines dur
ing 1934. Revival of activity at one
of the quicksilver properties in the
central part of the Kuskokwim re
gion was se(. under way during the
year, and considerable exploration
and new construction were in pro
gress there. All of the tin so far re
ported to have been produced by
Alaska mines in 1934 was a small
quantity that came from placer min
ing operations in the York district
of Seward Peninsula.
Although in the recent past con
siderable quantities of petroleum,
marble, and limerock have added
ea€h year to the mineral output of
the Territory, none of them, so far
as the Geological Survey is inform
ed. were produced in commercial
quantities during 1934. This does not
indicate that the known reserves of
these minerals have been exhausted
but was brought about in the main
by the general state of the market,
which discouraged production. De
posits of other mineral commodities
like antimony, chromium, molybden
um, nickel, tungsten, graphite, gyp
sum. and sulphus, which are known
to occur in Alaska and which in the
remote past have swelled the total
output of the Territory, are also lying
dormant or are, attracting little ex
ploration at current prices, but they
form reserves of much potential val
ue to the Nation.
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