known to be of value. Under existing law all oil fields are withdrawn from either entry or lease. There is only one patented claim in all of Alaska. A few operators, having faith in ultimate action by the Government, have maintained their interest in the Territory for years and have been active in endeavoring to procure legislation which will allow development. In all fairness surely the Government can not much longer prohibit an industry which means so much to the Territory. On the one patented claim lying in the Katalla field the owners are producing, in a small way, pumping and refining about 50 barrels per day. The oil is very high grade and of paraffin base. The product finds a ready market. There are approximately 1,000 gas boats in Alaska, practically all of which are now importing their oils from the States. This demand in itself would create quite an industry, eliminating the still greater demand for fuel oils used by steamers and mines. It is noted that the oil production and consumption curves have crossed and, if for no other reason than to help reduce the exorbitant prices now paid for oils, every encouragement should be held out to the developers of the fields.

OTHER MINERALS.

Of the other minerals, it is unnecessary to make comment additional to that contained in the report of the Geological Survey following. With an increased market and available transportation, Alaska will come well to the fore in the production of zinc, tin, lead, antimony, molybdenum, tungsten, barium gypsum, marble, and other minerals. Mention must be made of recent reported discoveries in southeastern Alaska of large deposits of lime rock, 90 per cent pure, which I understand will be greatly in demand should pulp mills ever be allowed to become established in the forest reserves.

MINING IN ALASKA IN 1918.

The following statement is an abstract of the annual report on the mineral resources and mine production of Alaska in 1918 by the United States Geological Survey, Department of the Interior. The complete report is contained in Bulletin 712, which can be obtained on application to the Director United States Geological Survey, Washington, D. C.

MINERAL PRODUCTION.

The value of the mineral output of Alaska in 1918 is estimated at $28,253,961, a decrease of almost $12,500,000 from the value in 1917 and the smallest since 1914. The decrease was chiefly in copper and gold and was due to a shortage of labor and ships and high cost of mining. There was an increase of more than 60 per cent in the production of mineral fuels and a slight increase in chrome ore. The only new item among Alaska mineral products in 1918 is palladium. Since 1880 Alaska has produced gold, silver, copper, and other minerals worth more than $118,000,000.

Alaska mines produced gold to the value of about $9.480.952 in 1918, compared with $14,650,000 in 1917. The total value of the gold mined in the Territory is now about $302,000,000, of which $213.000,000 has been won from placers. In 1918 about 69,224,951 pounds

of copper was produced in Alaska, valued at about $17,098,563. The production in 1917 was 88,793,000 pounds, valued at $24,240,000. The total copper produced to date is 497,786,565 pounds, valued at $105,743,033. The value of Alaska's lesser mineral products in 1918 was as follows: Silver, $847,789; coal, $411,850; tin, $118,000; lead, $88,088; miscellaneous metallic products, including chrome ore, tungsten, palladium, platinum, and antimony, $96,100; and miscellaneous nonmetallic products, including petroleum, marble, gypsum, and lime, $120,619.

COPPER MINING.

The copper production of Alaska in 1918 was about 69,224,951 pounds, valued at $17,098,653, obtained from about 722,047 tons of ore. This is less than the production of 1917, which was 88,793,000 pounds, valued at $24,240,000, obtained from 660,000 tons of ore. The reduction in output was due to shortage of labor and ships. During the year 17 copper mines were operated, the same number as in 1917. Seven mines in the Ketchikan district yielded 1,372,347 pounds of copper; five in the Prince William Sound district vielded 15,311,590 pounds; and five mines in the Chitina district yielded 52,541,014 pounds.

GOLD PLACER MINING.

The value of the placer gold produced in Alaska in 1918 is about $5,900.000, derived by regions as follows: Yukon basin, $4,264,000; Seward Peninsula, $1,108,000; Copper River, $239,000; Cook InletSusitna region, $160,000; Kuskokwim region, $100,000; miscellaneous, $29,000. The total production in 1917 was $9,810,000. The decrease in 1918 was general throughout the Territory, except in the Copper River, Yentna, and some of the smaller Yukon districts. The decrease was in general due to curtailment of operations because of a shortage of labor and high cost of supplies. Local decreases were due also to unfavorable climatic conditions and to the depletion of some of the richer placers. Twenty-eight dredges were operated in 1918-21 in Seward Peninsula, 3 in the Iditarod district, and 1 each in the Circle, Fairbanks, Yentna, and Kuskokwim districts. Thirty-six dredges were operated in 1917.

GOLD LODE MINING.

About 25 gold lode mines were operated in 1918, compared with 31 in 1917. The value of the lode gold mined in 1918 is about $3,473,317, compared with $4,580,000 in 1917. The decrease was due partly to the disaster at the Treadwell mine in April, 1917, and partly to curtailment of operations, especially in the Juneau district, because of shortage of labor. There were increases in output at the Chichagof mine in southeastern Alaska and in the Willow Creek district. Most of the gold mines on Prince William Sound have suspended operations. The mill and cyanide plant of the North Midas mine, in the Chitina Valley, was completed and began operating late in the year. In the Fairbanks district seven small mines operated part of the year, yielding a total output about half as large as in 1917.

MINERAL FUELS.

There was a notable increase in the production of mineral fuels in Alaska in 1918, and it is believed that a substantial coal-mining industry has at last been started. The output of coal in 1918 was 75,606 tons, valued at $411,850, compared with 53,955 tons, valued at $265,317 in 1917. The larger part came from the Matanuska field, which yielded 63.092 tons. The remainder came from 8 or 10 small mines in various parts of the Territory. All these mines, except in the Matanuska and Bering River fields and at Port Graham, produced coal for local use under free-use permits.

In the Matanuska field the Eska Creek mines were operated regularly throughout the year by the Alaska Engineering Commission to supply fuel for railroad and other Government use. At the Chickaloon mine, also operated by the Alaskan Engineering Commission, the work has consisted primarily of exploration and development, and only a small amount of coal, won incidentally, has been produced. In 1918 for the first time Matanuska coal was shipped beyond Anchorage. Private operations preparatory to mining were continued by two lessees in the Matanuska field, but their mines are not yet productive.

It is reported that in the Bering River field the railroad has been extended from its temporary terminus on Bering River to the mine of the Alaska Petroleum & Coal Co. in the castern part of the field, and that small shipments of semianthracite coal were made late in the year. A lease was granted in 1918 to another company for a tract of semibituminous coal land in the western part of the field and it is reported that extensive operations preparatory to mining are being undertaken.

In the Nenana field no leases have yet been granted, but a small amount of lignite was mined for use in the construction of the railroad.

In the Cook Inlet region lignite was mined at Bluff Point on Port Graham, in the Cache Creek district, and on the Little Susitna River for local markets.

In northern Alaska lignite mined near Unalaklik on Norton Sound was shipped to Nome and St. Michael, and lignite mined on Kobuk River was shipped to Kotzebue. It was reported that lignite would be mined on Kugruk River, Seward Peninsula, during the winter of 1918-19 for use at the placer mines on the Inmachuk.

The Alaska petroleum output is still derived wholly from the single patented claim in the Katalla field. The old wells on this claim and the refinery were operated as usual, and two new productive wells were drilled. The total production was somewhat larger than in 1917.

TIN MINING.

About 104 tons of cassiterite, containing 136,000 pounds of tin, was mined in Alaska in 1918. Most of this came from the York district, Seward Peninsula, where one tin dredge was operated. Stream tin was also obtained by sluicing at one mine in the York district, at several mines in the Hot Springs district, at one mine in the Ruby district, and at one mine in the Gold Hill district. Considerable work was done on the Lost River tin lodes, but no ore was mined. The examination of placer concentrates by the Geological Survey has

resulted in the discovery of stream tin in concentrates from Yentna River in such amount as to indicate that it possibly occurs in commercial quantities, and also in small amounts in concentrates from Boob Creek, in the Tolstoi district; from Willow Creek, near Nome; and from Riglagalik River, in the Kuskokwim Delta. The discovery of placer tin has been reported from Potato and Humboldt Creeks on Seward Peninsula and from Moran Creek, a tributary of Melozi River, where the gravels are said to contain 23 pounds of tin and 10 cents' worth of gold to the cubic yard.

MISCELLANEOUS MINING.

Among the miscellaneous metallic products silver was produced in 1918 only from copper and gold mines and lead only from gold mines. Some silver lead ore was mined but not shipped from a mine in Seward Peninsula. Chrome ore was mined at Port Chatham on a somewhat larger scale than in 1917. The production of tungsten continued at several mines in the Fairbanks district and Seward Peninsula, but the total output was only about 11 tons, valued at $22,000. A vein of scheelite has been discovered near Sitka. The mining of antimony ore (stibnite) almost ceased because of low prices.

One of the most interesting events of the year in connection with Alaska mining is the production of palladium from the copper ore of the Salt Chuck mine near Ketchikan. The recovery of substantial amounts of palladium and of some platinum is authentically reported. Platinum was recovered also from the gold placers of the Dime Creek district, Seward Peninsula, in larger amounts than last year. The recovery of some platinum was reported from Boob Creek in the Tolstoi district and from Slate Creek in the Chistochina district.

Among the miscellaneous nonmetallic products marble was quarried in a somewhat lesser amount than in 1917. The production of gypsum decreased, as the gypsum mine on Chichagof Island has not operated since March, when the mine buildings were burned.

REVIEW BY DISTRICTS.

SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA.

The mineral production of southeastern Alaska in 1918 is valued at $3,825,495, compared with $5,370,000 in 1917. The gold was worth $3,195,939; copper, $338,970; silver (derived wholly from gold and copper mines), $97,878; and miscellaneous products, including lead (from gold mines), gypsum, marble, palladium, and platinum, $192,708. These products were derived from six gold quartz mines, seven copper mines, several small placer mines, one gypsum mine, and one marble quarry.

In the Ketchikan district the It, Jumbo, Rush & Brown, Mamie, Salt Chuck, and Rich Hill mines were operated, each for at least part of the year, producing about 1,372,347 pounds of copper and $37,952 worth of gold and silver. The new concentrating plant of the Salt Chuck mine is reported to have been operated successfully. All the mines of the Ketchikan district were affected by shortage of labor and ships. The most interesting local mining feature is the recovery of palladium from the concentrates of the Salt Chuck mine.

In the Juneau district the Alaska-Gastineau, Alaska-Juneau, and Ready Bullion mines were operated throughout the year, but at a reduced capacity because of scarcity of labor. Work preparatory to mining was undertaken at several nonproducing mines.

In the Sitka district the Chichagof mine was operated throughout the year, and extensive developments were under way at the HirstChichagof property.

Preparations for mining were undertaken at the Molybdenite deposit at Shakan. The gypsum mine on Chichagof Island has been shut down since March because of a fire. The marble quarry at Tokeen made periodic shipments throughout the year.

COPPER RIVER REGION.

The productive mines of the Copper River region in 1918 included five copper mines and one gold lode mine in the Chitina Valley and the gold placer mines of the Nizina and Chistochina districts. The total value of the mineral output of the Copper River region was about $13,811,135.

The Kennecott-Bonanza and Jumbo mines were in continuous operation except when the Bonanza mine was shut down for two weeks because the tram had been carried away by snowslides. Shipments from the Jumbo mine were curtailed for six weeks from the same cause. The production of both mines was reduced throughout the year by scarcity of labor, the mines being operated from March 1 to October 1 with approximately a 75 per cent crew. In October the crew was increased to about 90 per cent of the normal capacity of the mines. At the Jumbo mine a new double-compartment incline was begun and was extended to the 500 level. At the Bonanza mine the double-compartment incline was extended to the 800 level. The 700 level was the only new level opened during the year, but a large amount of development was done in the 600 level. Some work was done preparatory to increasing the capacity of the Bonanza tramway from 500 to 800 tons and of the Jumbo tramway from 450 to 650 tons a day. At the mill only minor changes and additions were made. The addition to the ammonia leaching plant was not entirely completed during the year, but was so far advanced that the plant is now capable of treating all tailings coming from the concentrating mill. Material treated in the leaching plant for the year will assay approximately 0.85 per cent of copper in the form of carbonates. An extraction of about 75 per cent will be made, with a loss of half a pound of ammonia per ton of material leached. The Erie mine was operated until August 10, when it was shut down for lack of labor.

The Mother Lode mine made shipments of ore during the winter. Developments at the Mother Lode mine include the continuation of the sinking of the shaft and the driving and development of the Rhodes level by about 2.500 feet of drifting and tunneling thereon. Some ore was shipped from the Westover mine in the winter. The Nugget Creek mine of the Alaska Copper Corporation was operated during part of the year, and some ore and concentrates were shipped from it. A mill was installed in 1918. Development work was continued at several other copper properties.