JErnegt ZEer
eZimmeng at Icaw
YOU-, Bis-lu
PORTLAND CANAL LODGE
1218
LOYAL ORDER OF MOOSE
MEETS EVERY THURSDAY EVENING
STEWART, B- C. AN ) HYD’SR VASKA
Dr. Richard t. ikiier
DENTiST
PORTLAND CANAL NEWS BUILDING
STEWART, B. C.
HYDER M. E. CHURCH
Services Every Sunday
Sunday School at 11 o’clock
Classes for all ages
Preaching at 8 o’clock P. M.
Rev. F. E.Reddick Pastor.
NOTICE
Weekly Miner subscribers are
herewith notified that in the
event of our carriers being un
able to make deliveries because
of deep snow or unbroken
trails, their papers will be left
at the Hyder Drug Company
store or mailed.
..LOCATION NOTICES and
PROOF OF LABOR blanks at
the MINER office.
In the Commissioners ..Court;
Territory of Alaska; Division
Number One; Hyder Precinct.
In Probate.
In the matter of the Estate of
Frank Johnson, deceased.
Notice to Creditors
Notice is hereby given by the
undersigned administrator of
the estate of Frank Johnson,
deceased, to ail persons having
claims against said estate to
file the same within fifteen
days from date hereof with
proper vouchers at my office
in the town of Hyder, Alaska.
Dated at Hyder, Alaska this
3d. day of January, 1924
Merl F. Thomas
Administrator
Publish January 7th-14,1924.
WEEKLY MINER WILL
DO JOB PRINTING
Included in the equipment
of the Hyder Weekly Miner is
a complete job printing plant,
capable of filling all orders for
letterheads, billheads, state
* ments, cards, circulars, invita
tions, etc. Those who desire
job work of this character
* will find it to their advantage
to secure our prices before or
dering elsewhere.
PULP PLANT CLOSED
DOWN FOR A WHILE
The plant of the Alaska Pulp
and Paper Company at Speel
river has been closed down
temporarily. The company is
said to have on hand one thous
and tons of pulp awaiting ship
ment, which is said to be suf
The heaviest producer on
Keno Hill this winter will be
the Treadwell Yukon Comp
„ any, says the Dawson News. It
has about 3,000 tons of ore out
and sacked ready for ship
- ment and it is estimated that
that the company will get out
* an additional 6,000 tons this
winter. The ore will be hauled
from the mine by means of cat
*m erpillar tractors.
To exist in a small town like
Hyder, a newspaper must have
the fullest support of everyone.
Are you doing your bit to keep
it going? Whv not?
ALASKA MINERAL OUTPUT SHOWS
INCREASE DURING PAST YEAR
The Department of the Inter
ior has announced by the ad
vance statements of the Geo
logical Survey that mine in
Alaska produced $20,300,000
worth of minerals in 1923, as
against $19,500,000 in 1922.
The total value of the mineral
ntput of Alaska since 1880 is
'518,000,000. These figures
re taken from the annual re
port of Alfred H. Brooks, Chief
'eologist, now in preparation.
The source of .this mineral
wealth is approximately as fol
lows.
Gold, $6,150,000; Copper, $12,
500,000; Silver, $600,000;
Lead $60,000; Coal, $600,000;
Petroleum, Marble, Gypsum,
Platinum, etc., $310,000. Totai
$20,3000,000. Measured by
production, gold mining declin
ed during the year, while tne
output of copper and coal in
reased about 20 per cent over
that of 1922. In spite of the
abatement of placer mining be
cause of an unusually dry seas
on the value of the mineral
production of the region trib-r
utary to the Alaska railroad in
1923 was $2,100,000, which is
greater than that of 1922. This
increase was due to the larger
production of coal and lode
gold and proves that cheaper
transportation has already
stimulated the mining industry.
The Alaska miner shares with
his colleagues in the rest of the
world the disability produced
by disrupted economic condit
ions, which cause very high
operation costs, while the val
ue of his product remains fix
ed. Were it not for the im
provements in transportation
furnished y the railroads anu
wagon roads that in certain
districts have reduced the cost
he Alaska gold output would
nave been far less than it has
been.
In spite of the adverse eco
nomic conditions the search for
and development of auriferous
lodes showed decided pro^
•ess during the year. Though
no new projects for the exploit
ation of large gold-bearing
quartz deposits are in view, it
has come to be realized that
Alaska affords many good op
lortunities for the development
of promising rich auriferous
lodes. Most of the projects
based on such opportunities
are too small to attract cap
italists having large resources
but they give opportunities to
small investors; yet they
should be undertaken only
wiKh the guidance of sound
technical advice.
The Salmon River district, at
the head of Portland Canal,
contains many promising gold
ind silver propertied that
have been considerably devel
oped but as yet no productive
mines. A. F. Buddington re
ports that in 1923 the prospect
ors found a western exten
sion of the metalliferous belt ot
che district containing some
promising gold and silver pros
pects, notably in the valley oi
Texas Creek.. In the Ketchikan
district a newly discovereu
auriferous lode on Helm Bay
was developed during the year,
A town without a newspaper
1 of its own is a dead town: Help
| keep your own paper alive by
Subscribing: Only SO cts. per
and a small mill was installed.
Further work was done on the
Monshine silver-lead deposit
at Cholmondeley Sound, Prince
of Wales Id. The continued suc
cessful mining of very low
grade auriferous lode ores at
the large Alaska-Juneau prop
erty is the most important
event of the Alaska quartz
mining industry of 1923. Inter
est in auriferous lodes was re
newed by the discovery of ncn
ores on Hawk Inlet and on
Windham Bay. In the Sitka dis
trict the large Chichagoff gold
mine was operated to full cap
acity, when a change of own
ers led to the shutting down of
operations. The new owners
did not resume productive min
ing before the end of the year.
Productive work was contin
ued at the Hirst-Chichagoff
mine, which is equipped with
a five stamp mill. The Apex
Nido mine, near Lisianski St.,
on Chichagof Island, contin
ued development and at the
end of the year began the in
stallation of a ten-stamp mill.
Development was also contin
ued on gold properties near
Pinta Bay and Falcon Arm.
Work continued on some of
the nickel-bearing copper oie
deposits in the Sitka district,
though it appears that no ore
bodies of proven commercial
value have yet been developed,
further underground explorat
ion is fully justified.
The tuekel occurs with phrr
hotite and chalcopyrite in as
sociation with gabbro and nor
ite intrusives. In 1923 work
was continued on nickel depos
its in the Bohemian Basin, in
the eastern part of Yakobi la,
and new deposits were founu
at Surge Bay, on the east coasi,
and at Takanis Bay, on tne
west coast of the island. Nick
el ore was also found luu
miles to the south, at Snipe
Bay, on the west coast of Bar
anof Island. These widely sep
arated nickel deposits, inclua
ing that of the Alaska Nickel
Mines Company, occur under
the same geologic conditions
and lie along the same struci
ural trend, a fact which sug
gests that other nickel depos
its may be found between
them.
During the year there were no
considerable developments of
auriferous quartz in the Cop
per River basin, on Prince Wil
liam Sound, or on the Kenai
Peninsula, where only five
small mines were operated.
Auriferous quartz was dis
covered at Nuka Bay, at the
southern end of the Kenai Pen
insula. Five lode mines were In
operation in the Willow creea
district, making a gold output
of over $200,000. More import
ant is the fact that deep ex
ploration of the lodes is now
under way, which should re
veal precise information about
the vertical distribution of the
valuable gold deposits in the
district. Some chalcopyrite ore
was found in the mountains
about ten miles east of Mata
nuska station on the Alaska
railway. The report of pros
pectors indicate a large depos
Now that you have a news
paper in your own town* why
not do your bit to keep it going
Only SO ct». a month delivered
BODY OF NATIVE WOMAN
FOUND FROZEN SOLID
ON CHENA TRAIL
A Fairbanks news dispatch
reports the findjng in early
December of the body of a
native woman known as Eliza
Harry frozen to death on the
trail between Chena and the
cabin of a settler known as the
Norman Hadley camp. The
body was frozen solid and the
face of the dead woman was
bruised and covered with
blood. Norman Hadley, who
lives about a mile from the
place where the body was
found, arrived in Fairbanks a
short while afterward and
gave himself up to the author
ities pending an investigation.
CONTRACT IS LET
FOR BREAKWATER
AT WRANGFLL
The Wrangell Commercial
Cl lb received word recently
that the contract for the con
struction of the breakwater at
Wrangell, authorized by the
government recently, had been
let to the Sims Carlson Com
pany of Spokane and Seattle.
The contracting firm has un
til March 1 to inaugurate work
under its contract but is ex
pected to start operations as
'soon as its bond is approved. .
it. A lode carrying ruby silver
was discovered at Portage
Creek, 12 miles east of Chulit
na station, on the railroad.
In this brief review it will be
impossible to mention all the
recent discoveries of lodes hi
inland Alaska. In the Bonni
; field district, 50 miles south of
Fairbanks, considerable work
;was done on a bismuth-bearing
1 auriferous jode, which, how
jever, is too far from the rail
road to permit its profitable ex
ploitation now. Some silver
lead ores vere mined on two
I properties in the Kantishna
district, 60 miles from the rail
road, but these, likf. other
properties in the region, must
await road connection to just
ify large development. Small
rich gold qn.it tz v-jvw have
mrg been known in lha ldit
arod district. This year a pro
ject was started to develop one
of these and to install a small
stamp mill.
In 1923, 20 Alaska quartz
mines produced about $2,575,
000 worth of gold; in 1922,
25 mines produced $3,133,
585. This decrease is largely
due to tho fact that the large
Chichagoff mine was operateu
only half the year. The silver
and lead produced in Alaska
was a by-product of gold ana
copper mining, except that ob
tained from the galena ores oi
the Kantishna district. In 1923
Alaska mines produced about
658,000 ounces of silver anu
4000 tons of lead.
A hog which dressed 500
pounds was raised by Oscar
Anderson on a ranch near An
chorage.
ALASKA RAILROAD BUSINESS
SHOWING STEADY INCREASE
Steady gains in revenue on
the Alaska Railroad are report
ed by Governor Scott C. Bone,
who returned today from Sew
ard where the governor attend
ed the first meeting of the Pol
icy Committee of the railroad,
of which he is chairman ex-of
ficio. All members of the com
jmittee, including Col. Lee M.
'Landis, Col. John C. Gotwals
land B. H. Barndollar, were in
attendance. The initial com
mittee meeting was short, last
ing one day. Plans for the in
auguration of a colonization
policy were discussed and one
or two other matters taken up.
A second meeting will be held
! at the end of January or early
i in February. Commenting on
I railroad conditions, Gov. Biwit
| said:
‘Both the passenger and
freight business of the road ai\
•■howing a steady gain and it i:
estimated that gross revenue:
will be increased over $200,000
the coming year. Industrial and
-•oIonization plans are under
| way which will augment these
| revenues and spet ' "evelop
ment. The wisdorr the gov
ernment's investm^i.l in this
great project has been demon
strated most conclusively in the
first few months of it3 oper
ation. Its growing busine3S is
proof of the falsity of the pre
posterous charge that it is b^
ing strangled. It was honestly
built and efficiently managed
by a capable and experienced
railroad man. Attacks emanat
ing outside of Alaska are
prompted by vicious animus
and have been in evidence at
every stage of the project.
“Col. Landis, who recently
assumed control of the rahroai
as its general manager, is mak
ing a fine impression when
ever he has visited in the per
sonnel of the railroad organiz
ation,” declared the Governor.
“He is taking hold of the en.er
piise in a way to command re
spect and win the confidence
of both his associates and the
general public.”—Juneau Em.
pire.
Prospector Should Have
Knowledge Of Metallurgy
It is an old threadbare saying
that “The gold is where yon
rind it,” and like all thread
bare statements is about halt
true. But, as facts, gleaned
from mining ore deposits tht
| world over, begin to be assem
bled, it becomes apparent tha
the gold is not there by chanct
alone, but that there are def
inite laws and reasons which
control its depositon in certair
areas.This does not mean tha.
by some mysterious formula
men will be directed to a hid
den Galconda but it does meai
that the promising areas car
be separated from the unprom
ising areas and work concern
trated around a section where
conditions are favorable foi
the occurrence of ore bodies,
[n this manner a prospectoi
.tan make his season’s work
:ount much more effectively
thn if he moves out blindly ana
trusts to the godess of luck
to guide him.
Then, there are certain proven
relationships between certair
ores and some particular kind;
of country rock. For.example,
all occurrences of platinum,
as far as we now know, art
limited to a certain family oi
rocks. If the prospector can
recognize this family when ht
encounters it in the mountains
he will naturally pan thor
oughly in the streams draining
that area in search of platinum
When a find is made it is vit
al that the mineral be recog
nized. There is much valuable
material in Alaska that hat.
been passed unnoticed by th(
prospector who is looking only
for minerals that have the lus
ter of metal on their faces.
There are many instances
where an entire season has
bean lo3t by the prospe tor
v’.io makes a fipd far from
ran portation and is unabl •
o determine for h'nv'elf
whether the deposit really ha .
any valuable metals in it.
Unless the prospector is for
tunate enough to find a pro.;.
nantly exposed ore body of
?reat size or unusual richnesi
his battle is only half won on
the day of discovery. Ordinar
ily his capital is meagre and
every dollar must count. This
is why he should be familiar
with the most economic and
effective methods used in de
veloping different types of ore
deposits. By undertaking the e
he depends not alone upon hia
own experience bud has ac
cess to the experience of many
men working under ah ainui
of conditions.
If he wants to interest capital
his problem is to do develop
ment work that will best ex
tend and improve his “show
ing. He should also know how
to put an accurate description
of his property on paper in a
way that will be intell.giv.le
to the engineer repreoenang
prospective investors. For tiie
man who is developing a.small
mine an elementary knowledge
of metallurgy is invaluable—
it helps him if he has concen
tration problems to undertake
or if there are cotracts to be
executed with a smelter.— Ex
change. a-|
Buchan and Heinen, who
operated a herring plant at the
old whaling station of Port
Armstrong, closed down with
an output of about 450 tons or
herring meal, 130,000 gallons
of oil and 800 half barrels or
Scotch cured herring.—Ketch
• '<*
The coast lie of Alaska, in
cluding the coast line of its
islands, is approximately 26,
000 miles long, more than the
distance around the world.
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