r “ ' Ll '
SPECIALIZING IN
MINING N0VVS OF THE
PORTLAND CANAL
DISTRICT
i -*
HYDER WEEKLY HERALD
DEVOTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALASKA AND THE PORTLAND CANAL MINING DISTRICT.
t
\
SUBSCRIPTIONS
83.00 PER YEAR
IN ADVANCE
*
VOL 6, NO. 37
HYDER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, JUNE 21,1930.
3P
PRICE TEN CENTS
WORLD GOLD DEMAND
BEHIND MOVEMENT
FOR LOCALMERGEf
The world’s demand for golc
and also a rivalry in nationa
interests is said by the Van
couver Province to be an ani
mating influence in a move
ment recently initiated by Lor.
don interests which has as it:
objective a consolidation of tht
local interests of the Selukwi
Gold Mining and Finance Co
and the Sebakwe and Dist
rict Mines, which may also in
elude the Premier Border.
Rumors of a proposal of this
character have been current lo
callv for some time but, until
the appearance of the article
here quoted, lacked sufficient
confirmation to warrant publi
cation.
Basing it’s article on the re
cent declaration of a noted
British economist that insuffic
iency of the world’s stock of
gold and its converse, the
weakness of commodity mark
ets; is a reason for the present
world-wide industrial depress
ion, the Vancouver journal
points out that the situation is
one of great interest to British
Columbia in view of the locat
ion there of some of the largest
gold deposits in the Dominion.
Attention is then directed to
the Premier-B. C. Silver situa
tion and the failure of negoti
ations looking to the operation
of the Selukwe property by
Premier. The article continues:
“It is reported that differen
ces are due largely to the di
vergent valuation placed by
the two companies on the B. C.
Silver ore, the Premier’s fig
ures being $1,500,000, while
B. C. Silver Company places it
at $7,000,000.
“B. C. Silver is handicapped
from the fact that while its
mineralization prospects are
encouraging, i t s authorized
capital has been fully paid up
and Premier, which already
holds 38 per cent of the stock,
has sufficient voting power to
prevent recapitalization and
the raising of further funds as
was recently proposed by the
Selukwe interests. B. C. Sil
ver is financed and controlled
by the British Canadian Silver
Corporation, Ltd., a subsidiary
of the Selukwe Gold Mining
and Finance Corporation, Lon
aon.
“The rivalry in national inter
ests is also a factor in the diffi
culty of successful negotiations
for acquisition of control by
the Premier, which is an Amer
ican company. British inter
ests are frankly averse to los
ing control of what is believed
to be a valuable gold property
and are endeavoring to retain
it under British direction.
“In vi'ew of the world’s de
mand for gold the London in
terests have recently initiated
a new movement yvhich has at
its objective B. C. Silver and
Sebakwe consolidation, which
might also include Premiei
Border. The interesting posit
ion of Premier Border in such
unification follows from the
fact that the property woub
be the logical site for a mill
and the. proper tunnel levels
for the economic extraction oi
the B. C. Silver-Sebakwe ores
Fro?m its physical position all
C. P. R, SURVEYORS
PAY DISTRICT VISIT
[Canadian trunk line railroad
surveys for the projected west
; ern outlet for the Peace River
district were extended to this
| section Friday with the arrival
I by plane of Chief Engineer Mc
j Nabb of the Canadian Pacific
Railway engineering staff, and
| Mr. Levinston, Chief Location
i Engineer for British Columbia
of the same company, on what
| was designated by the visiting
officials as a general reconnais
sance of the area west of Fin
| ley Forks.
The plane, a sea monoplane
i of the Western Canada Air
[ ways, piloted by Mr. Calder,
arrived from Finlay Forks,
near the western border of the
S Peace district, at 12:1.5, com
i ing over the mountains east of
j town.
j Efforts to interview the visit
ors were unavailing and be
yond admitting that their visit
was made in connection with
the railroad surveys now in
progress, they declined making
a statement.
It is learned from other sourc
1 es, however, that the engineers
,have been engaged on an air
survey of the several mountain
passes through which the pro
jected railroad line may reach
the Pacific Coast.
After remaining here a short
while, the party left for Prince
George.
1 Local rumors that the party
; took aerial photographs while
over the district were unveri
| tied and no photographic ap
I paratus was seen on the plane
; by visitors.
-o
Texas Road Work Progressing
j -
The Siems-Spokane Company
is making steady progress on
the Texas Creek road con
struction program despite the
adverse snow conditions and
active construction work will
: soon be well under way.
Employing its fleet of Ford
trucks, the company' is moving
i up supplies and materials an 1
! the tractor power shovel
shipped in recently on the
! Northland has b?en assembled
and is now well on its way to
: the scene of operations beyond
Ibex Creek. Owing to the
large size of the machine, it s
progress has been somewhat
i hindered through the necessity
for widening narrow places
enroute. At last accounts the
ihovel was in the vicinity of the
Texas bridge. The company is
splendidly equipped to carry
on the work and will undoubt
edly make rapid progress
after getting under way.
■o
Population Jumps
Two births occurred in Stew
art Friday. A daughter was
born to Mr. and Mrs. Allan
Carolan, and Mr. and Mrs.
Chas. Young became the par
ents of a boy.
ore could be extracted by the
gravity method. In addition
the Premier Border has devel
oped a promising porphyry
zone in its main tunnel level
which may be a continuation of
the Sebakwe zone or geologi
cally related to the main Pre
mier porphyry zone.”
[FLOOD control
PUNS OUTLINED
(Continued from last week)
The Bureau of Public Roads,
Department of Agriculture, in
co-operation with the Territory
of Alaska, has constructed a
j road extending from the docks
at Hyder up the north side or'
the Salmon River Valley to- the
international boundary. This
road includes a trestle ap
proach to the docks construct
I ed at a cost of $28,500. The
j road was originally located on i
! the grfcvel flood plain of the j
| river but is being mqved bad. ,
onto the lower slopes of the
mountain ridge in order
avoid the frequent floods and
washouts. To date the total |
expenditure on this road, in
cluding the dock approach and
work to protect against the
Salmon River, has been $431,
749.05, of which $380,429.65
has been contributed by the
United States.
There is at present a move-1
ment on foot to revive the pro -1
ject of connecting Hyder and
Stewart, British Columbia, by
standard gauge railroad with,
the Canadian rail net, which
would open rail transportation
to all points in the United
States. Fifteen miles of this
railroad were actually complet
ed prior to the war.
Hyder is a small town having
a population of about 500 pea.
pie. It is located at the mouth
of the Salmon River, partly on ,
the tide flats, some of the
buildings resting on pile found- ,
ations. It serves as an outlet \
for the important Salmon Riv-1
er mining district. The Salnv n \.
River rises in British Columbia,
crosses the international
boundary into Alaska, and
empties into the Portland Can- j
al west of Hyder within Alas
kan territory. This valley po- ;
sesses large bodies of rich ore
containing gold, silver, and 1
copper. During the past few ,
years it has had greater activ- j
ity in prospecting and develop- ,
ment than any other lode dist
rict in Alaska. The most im
portant properties are near the
head of the valley within Brit
ish Columbia. Rugged mount- ,
ains, which bound the valley
on the east and extend to the ,
tide flats at Hyder, force al!
supplies to be obtained and !
products to be taken out via the 1
river valley and therefor?
through Alaskan territory. 1
One large producing mine, the 1
Premier, handles its ore by aer
ial tramway through Alaskan
territory to its own wharf in
Canadian territory. The out
put of gold and silver of the
mines in the Portland Canal
district within British Colum
bia, practically all of which
was from the Premier mine
mentioned above, has been as
follows for the past sevenf
[ years:
Editorial Note :-The report i
at this point presents an extcn-!
i sive series of tabulations show
1 ing gold and silver exports to
taling $27,404,179; the local’
I commercial and passenger!
traffic, exclusive of ore pass
ing through, for the years 19
26, 1927 and 1928, showing an
nual average shipping in ex
cess of 8,000 short tons, valued
at $2,865,325 and passenger
traffic of 1,231 persons; im
ports of general merchandise
MINING ACTIVITIES
GETTINGUm
Despite unfavorable snjw
conditions, mine development
activities are gradually getting
under way in various parts of
the district and quite a num
ber of properties are already
at work on summer programs
of varied extent..
So far there has been little do- i
ing in the Alaska section, al
though considerable develop-!
meat work was accomplished
on the Titan property in the
Fish Creek area earlier in the
season. In the Texas C-oek
section, Metcalf and Fendley
are transporting supplies to
their properties on Banded
Mountain but there is little
other activity aside from the
road construction operations.
Conditions in the Bear River
area are somewhat better and
several outfits are reported
starting on their summer pro
grah, according to the Stewart
News. These include George
Copper,, where a small crew is
at work preparing camp and
making preparations for a re
sumption of diamond drilling
ind surface operations; George
Copper, where a ^number of
men are getting things ready
for more active operations lat
;r in the season, and the Wind
>or group on Bitter Creek. Sup
plies were taken up to the lat
er property last week Far- (
her up the valley the snow is (
still deep and holding up work
rut American Creek Mining ,
Company, Excelsior Syndicate
Mountain Boy and others are i
•eported ready to start as soon j
is conditions are favorable. (
Except for Premier operat- ,
ons on Porter Idaho and Pros- ,
rerity, there is still little activ- ,
ty on the Marmot, but the Bi
metallic Syndicate is prepar- .
ng to get under way and there ,
,vill also be some activity on
he Engineer group. The Pre
mier Gold Mining Company
s making preparations to re
:ume work on the Silverado
rroperty and supplies are re-1
rorted going up the hill s1' i ‘e (
ast week. 1
Up the Salmon the snow is '
still much in evidence but the ‘
Jnfcorn is reported active in a '
small way.
i
I
:oal and gasoline valued at j
5805,646 in 1928 and domestic
;xports to the United States in <
he same year amounting to j
562,800.
Continuing, the report says: i
The above comparative state i
nent shows that the average |
ate of increase of traffic is |
ibout 2 per cent per year with- ]
>ut protection. If complete pro
ection is provided it is bc
ieved that a slight increase in ]
;his rate would follow.
The flood area for which pro
motion is sought is covered by <
:he limits of the impro\ed
:ownsite or approximately 200
acres. Additional unimproved 1
area which should be protect- \
2d to permit future develop
ment and expansion amounts
to 100 acres. Due to local to-1
pography, this additional area
would automatically be behind
the most economical location
for works for protection. Total
area to be protected, 300
acres.
(Continued next week)
PROSPERITY SHIPMENTS
INCREASING STEADIll
Shipments of ore from the
Prosperity are now going south
with increasing frequency and
regularity, according to reports
from the Marmot.. Two con
signments left for the smelter
during the past ten days or so
and a steady stream of the
highgrade is coming down on
the tram daily.
Reports from reliable quar
ters indicate that Porter Idaho
ore will soon be added to the
Premier company output Torn
that section. Despite purported
authoritative statements to th.;
contrary, it is said that the ore
resources of that property are
of large magnitude and value
In fact it is stated by parties ir
a position to know the in«d j
facts that conditions on the
property are far more promis
ing than the public have been
given to understand and ilidi
:ate that the mine will soon be
come highly productive.
What the true facts are must
be left to the disclosures • I
:ime, as the latter declaration?
ire in wide variance with the
official statements.
--o
Prosperity Profit Over
$29,COO In April
Production of the Prosperity
nine during April was 1,39£
ons of a gross value of $54,
102.21, an average of $38.5C
)er ton, and netted $29,112.55
m average of $20,81 per ton
During the six months ended
\pril 30th that the Prosperity
las been shipping, 7,038 dry
ons of ore were mined and
ihipped, with a gross smeltei
alue of $228,085.14, an avei
ige of $32.41 per ton. The ntd
irofit for the period was $93,
142.40, or an average of $13.2;'
t ton.
■o
B. P. R. Engineer Arrives
L. W. Turoff, of the Bureau
>f Public Hoads engineerini
taff and supervising engineei
>f the Texas Creek highway
onstruction work, a rived fron
lis headquarters in Juneai
Monday evening on the bureau
notorship Highway. Mr. Tur
>ff was accompanied by hit
amily.
The Highway also brought r
imall quantity of supplies foi
he Bureau of Public Roads.
Mr. Turoff and family wil
•eside on Texas Creek, occupy
ng a new cabin erected neai
he bridge to replace the quar
ers destroyed by a snow slide
ast spring.
-o
Wine Supplies for Big Missouri
The motorship Fairbanks ar
•ived from Ketchikan Friday
norning on a special trip with
i consignment of pipe and oth
;r mine supplies for the Big
Missouri mine.
-o
Texas Pack Train
The Crawford Transfer Co.
las established a pack train on
:he west fork of Texas Creek
:o facilitate transportation of
inning supplies into that sect
bn. .
REVENUE CO, PUNS
' URGE ACTIVITIES ON
THE INDEPENDENCE
Large scale development ac
tivities on the Independence
group are contemplated in the
summer operations of the Rev
enue Mining Company on that
promising local property, it is
reported from Vancouver fol
lowing the annual meeting of
the company at that point. De
tails of the program disclose
the proposal to continue the
No. 2 tunnel 1000 feet, to come
under the diamond drill holes
| run last year and which cut
j the entire vein system, then to
I drift north and south This is
j expected to crosscut practical
ly the entire system of ore bod
ies. A three-drill compressor
will we installed in connection
I with the program, which is un
derstood to involve an expend
iture of close to $100,000. The
tunnel extension proposed wi 1
give a depth of 1,000 feet.
o
Movement To Revive
Cemetery Association
Directed by N, M. Traversy,
a movement is under way look
ing to the proper maintenance
and care of the local cemetery
and the possible revival of the
old Riverview Cemetery Asso
ciation, which in the past per
formed highly effective serv
ice in providing the communi
ty with a creditable burial
ground.
Mr. Traversy points out that
under the present unregulated
system of burial, conditions at
he cemetery are hardly as
good as could be wished. Un
desirable features of the situ
ation mentioned by Mr. Trav
ersy are the absence of consid
eration of drainage conditions
n the location of graves; fail
ure to place proper markings
rfter burial, with resulting dif
ficulties in locating the burial
Maces of individuals, particu
larly when burials have taken
olace during the snow season,
and the necessity for systemat
ic allotment and numbering of
burial plots.
The revival of the cemetery
association or the creation of
some form of organization
to control the cemetery is a
necessity, Mr. Traversy says.
It is his intention to present the
situation at the next meeting
uf the Chamber of Commerce
n an attempt to enlist the as
sistance of that body.
-n
Tanker Brings Oil Supplies
The Standard Oil Company
supply steamer Alaska Stan
dard arrived Monday with sup
plies of oil and gasoline for the
company’s local station. The
vessel discharged upward of
40,000 gallons of oil and gas
before sailing for Ketchikan
Monday afternoon.
-o
Marmot Engineer Meeting
The annual meeting of the
Marmot Engineer Mines Comp
any, Ltd., will be held at Pre
mier Monday, June 23. The
meeting is expected to result
in the creation of a new pro
gram for future development
of the Engineer property on
Marmot River.