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MINING NEWS OF THE
PORTLAND CANAL
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DEVOTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALASKA AND THE PORTLAND CANAL MINING DISTRICT.
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VOL 6, NO. 42
HYDER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, JULY 26,1936.
PRICE TEN CENTS
B. P. R. PLANS
IMPROVEMENT OF
SALMON R, ROM
Extensive improvements con
templated by the Bureau ol
Public Roads on the uppei
reaches of the Salmon Rivei
road were disclosed in an an
nouncement made Wednesday
by L. W. Turoff, supervising
engineer of local road con
struction, that the Bureau ha:
called for bids for widening
and otherwise improving the
highway between Eight-mile
and Eleven-mile during the
present year. In addition to
widening the highway the road
bureau also plans to raise the
present grade to a higher ele
vation above the Salmon River
with the object of removing
the danger of flooding dur
ing periods of extreme high
water, such as have occurred
several times since the road
was built.
The present width of the of
the highway in the indicated
area is about 8 feet, and will be
increased to the same standard
width as along the lowei
reaches extending from Eight
mile to Hyder.
' Bids for the new construction
will be opened September 3
Mr. Turoff said, and work on
the project will in all probabil
ity be started around the firs;
of October and continue a:
long as climatic conditions per
mit. Mr. Turoff expressed the
view that the work can be car
ried on until close to the holi
day season at least.
Mr. Turoff informed the Her
ald that the new project will be
almost entirely rock work ant
will involve the cutting- off oi
many of the rocky points along
the present route,, making the
road not only higher and widei
but also considerably straight
Mr. Turoff was not prepared
to state the amount to be ex
pended on the new project but
from other sources it is learec
that an appropriation of $126,
000 has just been allotted br
the Secretary of Agriculture t<
the Alaska Forest Service dist
rict for road construction dur
ing the current year and that
$85, 000 of the amount has
been allotted for the local pro
ject.
News of the Bureau’s contem
plations was received with the
highest degree of gratification
by our citizens, who realize the
benefits that will accrue fron
the increased employment o!
labor and supply purchases ir
the worst period of depression
in the camp’s history.
The new project will culmi
nate a long-continued series of
roads improvements by the Bu
reau of Public Roads, which
have given the district one oi
the finest roads in the North.
Work carried on during the
past five years has involved
rebuilding of long sections of
the original highway with the
object of raising the elevation
to such degree as to place it
beyond the reach of the recur
rent floods of Salmon River,
which parallels the highway
along practically its entire
length. With the completion
of the new improvements the
road will be not only practical
ROAD OFFICIALS
VISIT DISTRIC1
The Bureau of Public Road;
’ motorship Highway, bearins
J. F. Bright, assistant regiona
engineer of the Bureau of Pub
lie Roads, district engineer M
D. Williams of the same bu
reau, and Robert J. Sommers
Territorial highway engineer
arrived from Ketchikan earlj
Friday evening.
The Bureau of Public Road*
officials are here to inspect the
local road construction projects
of the bureau, and Mr. Som
mers’ visit is principally in con
nection with the Salmon River
flood control plans worked out
by him last year and which
have so far proved eminently
satisfactory in protecting the
camp from the annual flood
danger.
Mr. Bright, whose official
headquarters are in San Fran
cisco, is on a field inspection of
Alaska projects and also is fa
miliarizing himself with Alas
kan conditions. Accompanied
; by Mr. Williams, he has al
j ready visited a large portion of
; the forest road districts of oth
I er sections of the Territory,
i The visiting officials will be
| tendered a lundneon by the Hy
j der Chamber of Commerce at
the Ideal Cafe tomorrow (Sun
day), commencing at 12:00
o’clock.
-o
Texas Creek Road Progress
1 -
The big power shovel of the
Siems-Spokane Co. has rough
graded the last section of the
Texas Creek highway to a
point about % of a mile be
yond Ibex Creek and is now op
erating close to the Malcolm
Smith ground. Excellent prog
ress is being made on the pro
ject and it is now practically
ceitain that the contract will
b e completed considerably
ahead of time.
The Bureau of Public Roads
has completed about 1 Vi miles
of base or coarse surfacing on
.he grade constructed by the
j Gardner company east of Ibex
Creek. Surfacing on this unit
will consist of two layers of
| crushed rock, the base, of
j coarse material, being about 6
inches thick, with an overlying
layer of finer material about 4
inches deep. Surfacing ma
terial is provided by a rock
Crusher located near the Carl
son cabin. About 60 men are
employed on the construction
operations.
_n-—
!
Improving Road to
Big Missouri Group
In evident anticipated of r.
big movement of materials and
equipment to the Big Missouri
in connection with the project
ed mill construction, the B. C.
road bureau is engaged in fix
ing up the road to that proper
ty, with a good sized ei-ew of
men employed.
ly safe from floods but also in
, .splendid shape to carry the
large amount of traffic -be
tween Hyder.and also Stewart,
B. C., and the Premier and oth
er mining properties in the up.
per Salmon valley and Texas
Creek “areas.
HUM EMPLOYEE
FATHLLY INJURE!
Falling between 50 and 6(
feet from an overturned on
bucket on the Premier Goh
Mining Company's aerial tran'
system while riding from tht
i Nine-mile camp to the Fist
Creek angle station shortly af
ter 3 p. m. last Saturday after
noon, Larry (“Red”) Mullen,
telephone lineman employed
by the mining company, sus
tained injuries which resulted
in his death in the Prince Rup
ert Hospital early Thursday
i morning.
The unfortunate accident
occurred in the vicinity of
what is known as the No. 5 ten
sion tower, located a short dis
tance south of the Riverside
mine but was not discovered
until about 9 a. m. Sunday
morning. During the interval
the wounded man lay in the
brush below the tram line ex
posed to wind and rain and
and there appears little doubt
that his demise was to a large
extent due to the effects of the
exposure sustained in the ap
proximately 18 hour period be
fore he was found. After fall
ing from the ore bucket, Mull
en apparently landed on a
stump, but managed to crawl
a distance of approximately 50
feet before relapsing into un
consciousness. Discovery of
his predicament was made by
a fellow employee, who was
proceeding along the tram
right of way on foot.
Failure on the part of Mullen
to observe company regulat
i ions appears to have been the
chief cause of the accident and
for the failure to notice his ab
sence for so long a period after
he left the Nine-mile camp.
Fellow employees state that
he was constantly moving up
and down the 13-mile tram
line in connection with his du
ties as lineman and they sel
dom paid attention to his
movements, especially as he
seldom took the trouble to re
port his goings or comings.
He is also alleged to have dis
regarded the company regu
lations against riding on the
ore buckets. As a result, none
of his fellow employees ap
pear to have given a thought
to his whereabouts until he
failed to appear for breakfast
at the Nine-mile camp Sunday
morning. Even then no one
appears to have become uneasy
over his absence, as it was be
lieved that he was either at
Fish Creek or had gone in to
town.
Following his discovery, the
'.injured man was taken to the
l mine hospital at Premier,
where he was found to have
sustained a fractured hip and
other injuries, the exact char
acter of which are said to have
been undetermined owing to
his bad physical condition.
Between spells of unconscious
ness Mullin told a somewhat
disconnected story of his exper
| iences which revealed that his
fall was due to the catch on the
ore bucket becoming un
fastened, permitting the buck
et to turn over suddenly on its
hinges.
In an effort to provide more
adequate treatment than is
possible in the mine hospital,
the injured man was transport
SMSHMMU.
OPTIOHSTORYUNTRUi
The Prince Rupert News, in
its issue of July 19, published a
- purported official denial by
j the Dunwell Mines company of
recent reports that the B. C.
Silver company was negotiat
ing for the purchase of the
Dunwell mill and had obtained
on option on that property.
As reported by the News,
i the Dunwell company stated
■ that the report was untrue and
! that no negotiations had oc
1 curred looking to the purchase
of the mill.
B. C. Silver Reports Progress
The May pi'ogress report of
! the B. C. Silver management,
| published in London June 28,
j discloses no important develop
; ments. The report follows:
“All work during the period
| was confined to No. 6 level.
Drift 646, the north-easterly
I drive on the zone, was ad
vanced 196 ft. during the
month, thus bringing the face
374.5 ft. from 676 crosscut.
This advance was all in med
ium-dark coloured porphyry.
No commercial values were
found. Three short cross-cuts
Were driven off the main drift.
These all showed the same por
phyry. A total of 428 ft. of
drifting, cross-cutting and side
swiping was done during the
j period.”
i —.— -n ... _
Average prices for lead, sil
ver, zinc and copper all hit
new lows for the year in June,
according to the American bu
reau of metal statistics. Month
i ly averages for prices of all
metals except silver decreased
i steadily since the first of the
1 year. The average silver price
was higher in April, but again
hit the decline in May. The av
erage price for the first six
months of 1930 as compared
with a similar period last year
is lower for all metals,
i The average price for lead
was $5.31 a hundredweight in
i June, against $5,523 in May
and $7.00 in June, 1929, while
I the average for the first six
I months of this year was $5,759
; compared with $7,023 for the
first half of 1929.
Silver averaged 34.595 cents
an ounce in June, compared
with 52.415 cents in June last
year, while the average for the
first half of 1930 was 40.136
} cents, against 55.297 cents in a
; similar period of 1929.
Zinc sold at an average of
| 4.441 cents a pound in June,
compared with 4.641 cents in
May and 6.686 in June, 1929,
while the average for the first
six months of this year was
4.878 cents, against 6.521 cents
in the first half of 1929.
Copper prices averaged 12.
049 cents a pound last month,
against 17.775 cents in June
last year. The average for the
first half of 1930 was 15.625
cents, compared with 16.773
cents during the first six
months of last year.
ed to Prince Rupert Hospital
by the Monday evening boat,
but apparently failed to rally.
The deceased was an old
timer in the district, having re
sided her for the past eight or
nine years, and was well and
favorably known.
ARRIVAL OF BRITISH
WARSHIP DELAYEI
The much anticipated arriva
of the British light cruise;
H. M. S. Despatch has been un
expectedly delayed and th<
vessel will not appear here un
til 8 p. m. this afternoon, ac
cording to late advices.
The delay has necessitatec
considerable alteration of tht
program for the reception o1
the ship’s personnel. The
dance for the officers will be
helei in Stewart this evening
commencing at 9:30 p. m. bid
subsequent plans have not beet
definitely arranged.
As originally planned, rep
resentatives of Stewart village
the Canadian Legion, Stewart
Board of Trade and Hydei
Chamber of Commerce will
greet the vessel on arrival and
extend the welcome of the
Oren F. Hill, local represent
ative of the reception commit
tee, announced this afternoon
that Mr. M. D. Williams, Dist
rict Engineer of the United
States Bureau of Public Roads,
has placed the Bureau motor
ship Highway at the disposal ol
the local eommitte, thus en
abling Hyder to make a grace
ful international gesture by
meeting the big warship a
short distance down Portland
Canal and escorting her tr.
port. On board the Highway
will be three American gov
ernment officials, Deputy Unit
ed States Marshal Donald E
Martin, Deputy Customs Col
lector J. L. Abrams and U. S
Immigration Inspector D. J
Mulcare, to represent the Unit
ed States and Alaska,
district. It is understood thal
the ship will remain here until
4 a. m. Tuesday morning.
■o
Big Time At Premier
Hyder appeared almost de
serted last Saturday evening a:
a result of an exodus of citi
zens to Premier to participate
in the annual field day enter
tainment of the Premier Com
munity Club. Stewart resi
dents also turned out enmasst
and the resulting assemblage
at Premier was probably the
largest ever seen at that camp
The program included fielc
sports for young and old in tht
afternoon and a dance with i
circus background in the even
ing. The latter entertainment
was decidedly unique, the bit
Community Hall being realis
tically arranged to present the
aspects of a “big top” show
with the usual side-shows
refreshment booths and bally
hoo. Dancing was the mair.
feature of the program. Spier,
did music was provided by the
Premier orchestra and ai
excellently executed toe dance
was presented by Miss Evelyn
Blanton.
-o
M. M. O’Brien, mines mana
ger for the Consolidated Min
ing & Smelting Co., and Mess
rs. S. Gray and W. Scharm, of
the company engineering for
ces, left on the Prince George
after a short visit on the Big
Missouri.
-O
H. L. Batten, E. M., left for
the south last Saturday after
visiting the B. .C. Silver.
HUSH MINERAL
1 OUTPUT GREATLY
1 INCREASED III ISIS
Alaska mines produced $16,
X)66,000 worth of minerals in
1929, as against $14,061,000 in
1928, according to an an
nouncement by the Geological
. Survey. The total value of the
mineral output of the Territory
since 1880 is placed at $615,
501,000.
Gold produced during the
year was valued at $7,761,000,
as compared to $6,845,000 in
1928. Copper production tot
aled $7,130,000, against $5,
965,000 for the preceding year
while silver production was
slightly below that of 1928
with $252,000. Lead increased
to 166,000, compared to $118,
00 for the previous year and
coal and tin were slightly less
than in 1928. Miscellaneous
products such as petroleum,
platinum metals, marble, gyp
rum, etc., showed a substantial
gain in value.
The increase in gold, coppei’,
lead and miscellaneous prod
ucts is attributed to the in
creased selling price of copper
and a very notable increase in
the output of gold from both
lodes and placers. There was
also an increase in the quantity
of silver, though the value of
that metal was less than in 19
28.
More than 95 percent of lode
gold output came from lodes in
southeastern Alaska and the
total output was distributed
between lodes and placers ap
proximately in the proportion
of 47 to 53, or $3,644,000 from
lodes and $4,117,000 from 4
placers.
The output of copper was
nearly 911,000 poundslessthan
in 1928, but because of the in
creased selling price its value
was $1,165,000 greater than
n the earlier year. Silver to
.he value of $187,400 was re
covered from the copper ores
of the territory, $50,300 from
he gold lodes, and $14,300
from placer gold. Although
the total value was less, pro
duction of silver was 18,000
ounces greater than in 1928.
The lead produced amounted
o 2,630,000 pounds, valued at
$166,000. This was the largest
output and highest value for
lead production since the met
al was first produced in the
territory .
■o
Geology of Eagle Circle
District Interesting
The Circle-Eagle district of
interior Alaska, comprising an
area of about 10,000 square
miles, is the only area in the
Territory where Cambrian
rocks have yet been definitely
identified, according to Geo
logical Survey Bulletin 816, re
cently issued.
The district is peculiarly in
teresting to the geologically in
clined because of the complete
ness of its geologic section.
Sedimentary rocks of every
'period except the Jaurissic are
found there, as well as an ex
tensive pre - Cambrian s e
quence; and igneous rocks Of
several ages have also been
recognized.