UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Harold L. Ickes, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

W. C. Mendenhall, Director

Bulletin 857

MINERAL RESOURCES 

OF ALASKA

REPORT ON PROGRESS OF 

INVESTIGATIONS IN

1932

BY

PHILIP S. SMITH AND OTHERS

UNITED STATES

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

WASHINGTON : 1934

CONTENTS

Page

Mineral industry of Alaska in 1932, by P. S. Smith____________ 1 

Selected list of Geological Survey publications on Alaska________ 77 

Past placer-gold production from Alaska, by P. S. Smith___ 93 

The Curry district, by Ralph Tuck_____________________ 99 

Notes on the geology of the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands, by

S. R. Capps_________________________'__________ 141 

Core drilling for coal in the Moose Creek area, by G. A. Waring____ 155 

Index_____________ ___ _ __________________ 167

ILLUSTKATIONS

Page 

PLATE 1. Geologic reconnaissance map of the Curry district, Alaska___ 112

2. A, Eocene coal-bearing rocks and vegetation-covered moraine 

of Ruth Glacier; B, Rugged granitic mountains on the east 

side of Mount McKinley______________________ 112

3. Rugged topography along Eldridge Glacier____________ 112

4. Buckskin Glacier with Mount McKinley in the background- 112

5. Map of the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands____~ 146

6. Map of the Moose Creek area, showing geology, coal mines, and

drill holes___________________________.__ 160

7. Logs of diamond-drill holes in the Moose Creek area___ 160

8. Logs of diamond-drill holes in the Moose Creek area correlated 

on conglomerate beds and with the coal seams of the Premier 

mine_-_________________________________ 160

9. Progress of core drilling in the Moose Creek area__ __ __ 160 

FIGURE 1. Trends of mineral production of Alaska, 1890-1932________ 8

2. Trend of value of gold production of Alaska, 1880-1932___ 11

3. Copper produced from Alaska mines, 1900-1932, and fluctuations in the price of copper during that period___ _ 56

4. Index map showing the location of the Curry district_____ 101

5. Sketch map showing the distribution of timber in the Curry

district _____________________________ 111

6. Map of part of Alaska showing location of the Moose Creek

area _ _________________ __ 157

. ni

o
'7 4 ' H1 i

Please do not destroy or throw away this publication. If you have no further use 

for it write to the Geological Survey at Washington and ask for a frank to return it

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Harold L. Ickes, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

W. C. Mendenhall, Director

Bulletin 857 A

MINERAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA IN 1932

BY 

PHILIP S. SMITH

Mineral resources of Alaska, 1932 

(Pages 1-91)

UNITED STATES

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

WASHINGTON: 1934

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, B.C. --------- Price 10 cents
CONTENTS

Page

Mineral industry of Alaska in 1932___-_-__---___--____-____-_____-._ 1

Introduction _______________________________________________ 1

Mineral production.____________ ____________._______._________ 4

o General features.__________-_-_-------______--_________-__ 4

Total mineral production.____-_--_--_-_-___-__________-___ 6

Gold__________.__. _______-_-__--_-_---___---__ _-__-_._ 9

General features.______-.-_-_---_-_-_____-.__---__--__ 9

Gold lodes.__________-__-_------_--_----___--_.----._ 12

Gold placers__._____________________._____ 22

General condition._______-_-----_________-___-_-__ 22

Production by districts.___________________________ 24

Southeastern Alaska---__--_-_____-____-___-__- 25

Copper River region ________________________ 26

Cook Inlet-Susitna region._____________________ 27

Yukon region..__-_____---___-___-________--__ 29

Kuskokwim region.___________________________ 40

Seward Peninsula.____________________________ 42

Northwestern Alaska.__________________________ 47

Dredging. ________________________________________ 49

Copper.________________________________________________ 53

Silver.._________________________________________________ 58

Lead___._.______________________________________________ 60

Platinum metals.__________-_-_---_-_-______-_____-_______ 62

Tin.___________________________________________________ 64

Coal. ___________________________________________________ 65

Petroleum. ______________________________________________ 70

Miscellaneous mineral products.__-----__-______.______..___ 72

Selected list of Geological Survey publications on Alaska. __-____-_-_-._ 77

ILLUSTRATIONS

Page 

FIGURE 1. Trends of mineral production of Alaska, 1890-1932__-___-__- 8

2. Trend of value of gold production of Alaska, 1880-1932_.____ 11

3. Copper produced from Alaska mines, 1900-32, and fluctuations in the priqe of copper during that period____________ 56

n
MINERAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA IN 1932

By PHILIP S. SMITH l

INTRODUCTION

The mineral industry of Alaska was for many years the dominant 

incentive for the development of the Territory. Later, as the other 

possibilities of the Territory became better known, other industries 

sprang up and partly reduced the preeminence of mining, though 

they have by no means displaced the hold that mining has on the 

welfare of the people. Although the annual value of the minerals 

produced in Alaska is now second to that of the fish products, it is 

probably safe to say that mining developments still hold first place 

in the'general interest of most of the residents. Assistance to the 

mining industry of Alaska has therefore long been recognized as a 

Federal obligation, and through the Geological Survey efforts have 

been made to determine the distribution and extent of these resources 

and to disseminate all pertinent information about them to the 

miner, prospector, or business man who might undertake their development. As a result several hundred reports have been issued by the 

Geological Survey describing the different mineral commodities or 

mining camps and setting forth, both in text and by illustrations and 

maps, the facts that have been determined and the inferences that 

may be drawn from them. Among these studies relating to the 

mineral industry is the collection of current information regarding 

the kinds and quantities of minerals produced and the places from 

which they came. To obtain this information the Geological Survey 

conducts an annual canvass of the mineral production of Alaska and 

makes the results available through reports published as soon as 

practicable after the end of the year to which the records relate. The 

present report, which is of this type, is the twenty-ninth of the series. 2

The collection of the facts requisite for the preparation of these 

annual statements involves difficulties, because the great size of the 

Territory, the diversity of its mineral products, and the large number but small size of many of the enterprises make it impracticable 

to gather all the "desired information at first hand. The information used is therefore derived from many sources, which necessarily

i The canvass of producers, the tabulation of their replies, and some of the compilation of the statistics set 

forth in this report have been made in association with Edith Bennett and Kathleen^?. Stead, of the 

Alaskan branch of the U.S. Geological Survey.

i The other volumes of this series, commencing with that for 1904, are Bulletins 259, 284, 314, 345, 379. 

442, 480, 520, 542, 5£2, 622, 642, 662, 692, 712, 714, 722, 73C, 755, 773, 783, 792, 797, 810, 813, 824, 836, and 844.
6 MINERAL RESOURCES OF A.LA.SKA, 1932

vary in reliability and completeness. Efforts are made, however, 

to reduce all the statements to a comparable basis and to give only 

those that appear to be well substantiated. Among the most reliable 

sources of information are the geologists and engineers who are sent 

out each year by the Geological Survey to conduct surveys in different parts of Alaska and who acquire not only much accurate information regarding the mineral production of the regions in which 

they work but also general information by contact with miners and 

operators in the course of their travels to and from the field. Members of other Government organizations for instance, the Bureau of 

Mines, the Bureau of the Mint, the Alaska Railroad, the Bureau of 

Foreign and Domestic Commerce, and the Customs Service in the 

course of their regular duties collect many data which are extremely 

valuable in these studies and the use of which avoids unnecessary 

duplication in collecting records. Most of the banks, express companies, and other business organizations in Alaska collect for their 

own use data regarding mineral commodities of their particular districts. Some of these data are extremely pertinent to the general 

inquiry conducted by the Geological Survey, and through the cordial 

cooperation of many of these companies important facts have been 

made available to the Geological Survey, though some of this information is confidential and is not released for publication. Most of the 

larger Alaska newspapers and certain papers published in the States 

that feature Alaska matters are courteously sent by their publishers to the Geological Survey, and from these and the technical 

and scientific periodicals are gleaned many items regarding new 

developments.

In addition to all these sources the Geological Survey each year 

sends out hundreds of schedules one to every person or company

known to be engaged in mining on which are a number of questions 

regarding the mining developments and production of each individual 

property during the year. These schedules when filled out by the 

operators of course constitute a most authoritative record. Unfortunately, however, not all of them are returned by the operators, and 

even some of the operators who return them have not all the specific 

data desired, misunderstand the inquiries, or reply in such a manner 

that the answers may not be correctly interpreted when the schedules 

are edited. It is a gratifying evidence of the general appreciation of 

these annual summaries that so many of the operators cooperate 

fully and cordially with the Geological Survey by furnishing the 

information called for on the schedules as well as volunteering much 

other pertinent information.

It is apparent, however, that facts collected from one source, 

although of themselves strictly accurate, are likely to be computed or 

stated on a different basis from equally reliable reports received from
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 O

another source, so that considerable editing and revision must be 

done in trying to bring all to oiie standard. It is not possible to 

know exactly all the corrections that should be applied in order to 

reduce the reports of production to a strictly uniform standard. 

However, though some uncertainties necessarily remain, it is believed 

that they do not have significant effect on the results expressed and 

that the report is consistent within itself and with the other reports 

of this series. The reader should realize that while the statistics 

given in these reports are comparable among themselves, they necessarily differ from those published by some of the other Government 

bureaus, because these are primarily records of production, whereas 

those issued by the Bureau of the Mint, for instance, relate to receipts 

at the offices of that bureau, those issued by the Customs Service 

relate to shipments recorded at its stations, and those issued by other 

organizations may be computed on still other bases.

Another reason why the totals used in this volume for certain mineral commodities may differ from the reports received from other 

sources is that all values here stated are computed on the average 

selling price for each of the individual mineral commodities for the 

year, as determined by the Bureau of Mines, and not on the prices 

actually received by the individual producers. It is obvious that this 

method of computation disregards the amount received by individual 

mines, but it is believed to afford a better representation of the industry as a whole. The adoption of this method probably does not 

introduce any significant differences in the totals, inasmuch as higher 

prices received by the more shrewd and efficient mine operators 

should be about balanced by lower prices received by the less fortunate ones.

It is the constant aim of the compilers to make these annual summaries of mineral production as accurate and adequate as possible. 

The Geological Survey therefore bespeaks the continued cooperation 

of all persons concerned in the Alaska mineral industry and urges 

them to communicate any information that may lead to this desired 

end. It should be emphasized that all information regarding individual properties is regarded as strictly confidential. The Geological 

Survey does not use any facts that are furnished in a way that will 

disclose the production of individual plants nor allow access to its 

records in any way disadvantageous to either the individuals who 

furnish the information or those to whom it relates. So scrupulously 

is this policy followed that in this volume it has been necessary to 

combine or group together certain districts or products so that the 

production of an individual may not be disclosed.

In addition to all the mining operators and prospectors of the Territory who have filled in and returned the inquiry blanks sent out by 

the Geological Survey, special acknowledgment is due to 0. E. Kies-
4 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

sling and other officers of the Bureau of Mines and the Bureau of 

Foreign and Domestic Commerce, of the Department of Commerce; 

the collectors and other officers of the Alaska Customs Service and of 

the Bureau of the Mint, of the Treasury Department; the officers 

of the Forest Service, of the Department of Agriculture; Col. 0. F. 

Ohlson and other officers of the Alaska Railroad; F. H. Moffit, S. R. 

Capps, J. B. Mertie, Jr., B. D. Stewart, R. H. Sargent, Ralph Tuck, 

P. A. Davison, J. J. Corey, C. F. Fuechsel, and Gerald FitzGerald, of 

the Geological Survey; the agents of the American Railway Express 

Co. in Alaska; officers of the Alaska Road Commission; the Alaska 

Weekly and Volney Richmond, of the Northern Commercial Co., of 

Seattle, Wash.; Ralph and Carl Lomen, of Seattle and New York; 

the Hyder Weekly Herald, of Hyder; C. Clausen of Petersburg; the 

Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Co., the Daily Alaska Empire, and J. C. 

McBride, of Juneau; Jos. J. F. Ward, of Skagway; the Cordova 

Daily Times, of Cordova; J. B. O'Neill, of Cordova and Seattle; the 

Kennecott Copper Corporation, of Kennecott and New York; Carl 

Whitham, of Gulkana; C. T. O'Neill, of McCarthy; Durell Finch, of 

Unalaska; H. N. Evans, of Kanatak; W. J. Erskine, of Kodiak; the 

Anchorage Weekly Times and Alex. Liska, of Anchorage; W. E. 

Dunkle, of Wasilla; Ross Heckey, of Chickaloon; H. W. Nagley, of 

Talkeetna; Charles Zielke, of Ferry; C. C. Heid, of Nenana; the First 

National Bank, 0. J. Egleston, and J. D. Harlan, of the Fairbanks 

Exploration Co., the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, the Pacific Alaska 

Airways, Inc., and the formerly independent companies that have 

become associated with it, the Wien Airways, Inc., James S. Newlan, 

and G. E. Jennings, of Fairbanks; Mrs. Jessie M. Howard, of Tanana; 

C. E. M. Cole, of Jack Wade; William Yanert, of Beaver; Chris

Thyman, of Rampart; George Jesse, of Poorman; the Miners & Merchants Bank, of Iditarod; D. E. Browne, Alex Matheson, and Harry 

Donnelley, of Flat; H. S. Wanamaker, of Wiseman; J. W. Wick, of 

Russian Mission; C. M. Link, of Bethel; Charles Mespelt, of Medfra; 

Oliver Anderson, of McGrath; John Haroldson, of Quinhagak; the 

Nome Nugget, the Northern Air Transport Co.,Hammon Consolidated 

Gold Fields, Grant Jackson, of the Miners & Merchants Bank, Col. 

E. R. Stivers, A. C. Stewart, J. G. Galvin, and C. W. Thornton, of 

Nome; A. S. Tucker, of Bluff; T. P. Roust, of Candle; Arthur W. 

Johnson, of Haycock; Ethel M. Marx, of Teller; and Lewis Lloyd, of

Shungnak.

MINERAL PRODUCTION

GENERAL FEATURES

The total value of the mineral production of Alaska in 1932 was 

$11,638,000. This was furnished by several mineral products, but 

gold and copper account for more than 92 percent of the total. The 

value was about 95 percent of that of 1931, showing a decrease of
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 5

about $640,000. To persons familiar with the general business situation throughout the world in 1932 the statement that the value of the 

Alaska mineral output in that year showed a falling off of only 5 percent is indicative of the extremely sound condition of the mining 

industry in the Territory. To those who have not followed closely 

the conditions in industry in general, it may be pointed out that 

increasing stagnation, retrenchment, and suspension have occurred in 

practically every line of endeavor during 1932. As part of the vicious 

circle created by that condition people ceased to buy, prices dropped, 

and production dwindled. How this condition affected the mining 

industry of the States as well as Alaska may be learned from the following comparison of the average selling prices, in cents, of three of 

the common metals for the last 4 years:

1929

17.6

58.0

6.3

1930

13

38.6

5.0

1931

8.3

9Q n

3.6

1932

0.3

9Q 9

3 A

Translating the decline in prices represented by these figures into 

other terms, it may be said that had the price of copper in 1932 been 

the same as in 1929 the value of last year's production would have 

been nearly a million dollars more than it was. Or if the comparison 

is made only with the preceding year we should find that in 1932 

copper brought only 76 percent, silver 97 percent, and lead 83 percent 

of the prices in 1931, so that had those prices held good in 1932 the 

value of the output of 1932 would have been nearly $200,000 greater, 

and the decrease from 1931 would have been only about $450,000. 

There was of course no change in the unit price of gold during the year.

But it was not the direct effect of decrease in selling price of these 

metals that has had a depressing effect on the mineral industry so 

much as the indirect and less obvious effect in deterring operators from 

opening up new properties or maintaining even a normal rate of output from many of the mines already producing. In many places 

development work was considerably curtailed, retrenchments were 

instituted in order to effect economies required, and the undertaking 

of new enterprises except gold mining practically ceased. That these 

conditions are only temporary cannot be doubted, for the metals 

enter too fundamentally into every phase of life to be displaced, but 

it is too much to expect that there will be early resumption of extensive 

mining ventures looking to the development of the intrinsically less 

valuable of Alaska's minerals. With the return to normalcy, however, 

Alaska may well be expected to share in the general improvement, for 

it certainly contains mineral deposits of value that have not yet been 

thoroughly tested.
6 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

While large parts of Alaska remain almost unknown and unexplored, 

other parts, especially those along the main avenues of communication, have lost most of their frontier characteristics, and their facilities 

compare favorably with those of many parts of the States proper. 

In many of these areas large, stable mining enterprises have been 

built up, and there is the constant tendency to undertake operations 

on a larger scale than formerly, so that the unit cost of the work may 

be kept at a low figure. That mining may be done in parts of Alaska 

at an extremely low cost has been demonstrated by the past performance of one of the mines in southeastern Alaska, where costs are 

below those of any comparable enterprise in the world. This tendency 

to operate in larger units marks a distinct departure from the old 

days when the search for mineral deposits was directed mainly toward 

the discovery of small rich deposits that could be worked by relatively 

crude methods and little outlay of capital. Today by far the larger 

part of all the minerals produced from Alaska comes from mines 

utilizing extensive equipment to handle large volumes of relatively 

low-grade material. The modern prospector is therefore not limited 

in his search to small rich stringers or concentrations but may much 

better direct his attention to finding deposits that appear to hold 

promise of yielding large quantities of average or even low-grade ore.

TOTAL MINERAL PRODUCTION

From the time of the earliest records of mining in Alaska to the 

end of 1931 minerals to the value of more than $653,000,000 have 

been produced in the Territory. The distribution of this large total 

among the individual years is set forth in the following table and is 

graphically represented by the curves in figure 1. From this table 

and diagram it will be evident that prior to 1898 the annual production ranged from negligible amounts to a maximum of less than 

$3,000,000. After the discovery of the Canadian Klondike and the 

entrance of a swarm of prospectors and miners into Alaska the production quickly mounted until in 1906 it reached a high point that 

marks the mining of many of the rich placers in the Nome and 

Fairbanks regions. For the next 8 years the annual production 

fluctuated somewhat but ranged around $20,000,000. Then it 

mounted by leaps until it reached a maximum of more than 

$48,000,000 in 1916. This rapid increase was due to the growth of 

copper production under the stimulation of the World War, when 

prices advanced to unprecedented heights. By 1919 the war stimulation was over, and the annual production from Alaska dropped again 

to about $20,000,000. During the post-war period Alaska has suffered through the fact that in the States scales of wages and opportunities for the employment of capital have seemed to offer mor& 

advantages, and as a result there has been more or less fluctuation in
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932

the mineral output from Alaska, the production during the period 

from 1921 to date ranging between about $12,000,000 and $20,000,000. 

It is believed, however, that the decrease shown during recent years 

does not mark a permanent downward trend. In fact, as will be noted 

elsewhere in this report, there is direct evidence that the mining of 

certain of the metals is decidedly on the increase.

Value of total mineral production of Alaska, by years, 1880-1932

1880.... ........... $6,826

1881..... .......... 15,000

1882.................. 23,000

1883 ............... 67,146

1884.................. 72,000

1885.................. 425,000

1886.... ........... 540,000

1887.................. 657,000

1888.................. 667,181

1889..................' 847,490

1890.................. 873,276

1891.................. 1,014,211

1892.................. 1,019,493

1893.................. 1,104,982

1894.................. 1,339,332

1895.................. 2,588,832

1896... .. . 2,885,029

1897.... ........ 2,539,294

1898.................. 2,329,016

1899 $5,425,262

1900 7,995,209

1901 . 7,306,381

1902.... - 8,475,813

1903 9,088,564

1904.. . 9,627,495

1905 .............. 16,490,720

1906 23,501,770

1907 20,840,571

1908 20,092,501

1909 21,140,810

1910 - 16,875,226

1911 20,720,480

1912..... . . 22,581,943

1913. 19,547,292

1914...... 19,109,731

1915 32,790,344

1916 48,386,508

1917.... 40,694,804

1918.................. $28,218,935

1919 ... . 19,626,824

1920 23,330,586

1921 .. 16,994,302

1922. .. . 19,420,121

1923... .. 20,330,643

1924..... 17,457,333

1925 18,220,692

1926 17,664,800

1927.................. 14,404,000

1928 -. . 14,061,000

1929 16,066,000

1930.. . 13,812,000

1931. 12,278,000

1932 11,638,000

653,229,000

NOTE. $37,205 for coal produced prior to 1890 has been credited to 1890, as data are not available for distributing the value by years.

In the following table the value of the total mineral production 

from Alaska is distributed among the metals and nonmetallic products. From this table it will be seen that gold accounted for more 

than .62 percent of the total production and that gold and copper 

together accounted for about 95}£ percent.

Total value of mineral production of Alaska, by substances, 1880-1982

Marble and other products (including platinum metals). _ - ... $5, 972, 000

Gold...._....--....__ $409, 033, 000

Copper____._____ 214, 680, 000

Silver................ 12,063,000

Coal................. 8,443,000 

Tin.................. 1,094,000 653,229,000

Lead...--.......----- 1,944,000

Each mineral product is discussed in more detail in the following 

pages, in which are set down such facts as are available regarding 

the amount of each product, the places from which it came, and any 

new developments. The following summary table shows the production for 1932 and 1931, distributed by quantity and value among the 

main kinds of substances, so that a comparison between the two years 

may be readily made. A very great increase in the quantity and 

value is shown for gold, but decreases are shown for all the other
MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932

mineral commodities, the decrease in value of all substances being 

more than in the quantity, for the reasons stated on a preceding page.

Mineral output of Alaska, 1932 and 1931

Gold flnfi ounces

Copper..... ___ ... _________ poundsSilver... . . flnfi minnes

Coal........................ __ .

Miscellaneous mineral products, 

leum, platinum metals, marble,

...........do....

....... ....do....

including petro1932

Quantity

493, 860 

8, 738, 500 

234, 050 

102, 700

1,260

Value

$10, 209, 000 

550, 500 

66, 000 

513, 500

75, 600 

223, 400

11, 638, 000

1931

Quantity

459,000 

22, 614, 000 

352,000 

105, 900 

4.07 

1,660

Value

$9, 507, 000 

1, 877, 000 

102, 000 

556, 000 

2,000 

126, 000

108, 000

12, 278, 000

GOLD

GENERAL FEATURES

The total value of gold produced from Alaska mines in 1932 was 

$10,209,000, as contrasted with $9,507,000 in 1931, an increase of 

more than $700,000. The general trend of gold mining in Alaska 

since 1890 is graphically represented by one of the curves in figure 1. 

From 1890 to 1904 the curve for the value of the gold produced 

practically coincides with the curve for the value of the total mineral 

production of Alaska and marks a fairly even upward trend. From 

1904 to 1906 there was an abrupt increase in gold production, marking 

the boom periods of many of the placer camps. From the peak of 

1906 there was a gradual decline for the next 10 years, and during 

the period of the World War there followed a rather rapid decrease 

to less than $10,000,000 a year. From 1920 to 1927 the annual 

gold production was fairly uniform and ranged between about 

$6,000,000 and $8,000,000. In each year since 1927 there has been 

a marked increase in the amount of gold, and in 1932 the output 

was greater than in any other year since 1917.

There are two principal types of deposits from which the gold is 

recovered lodes and placers. The lodes are the mineralized veins 

or masses of ore in the country rock that were in general formed 

through deep-seated geologic processes and represent material in p lace. 

The placers are deposits of sand and gravel which have been worn 

from the hard rocks in their general vicinity and in which the loose 

grains of gold or other valuable minerals have been more or less 

concentrated by surficial geologic processes that were effective because 

of some distinctive physical or chemical property of the material thus 

concentrated.

The following table shows the amount and value of the gold produced annually for the last 17 years, the total amount that has been
10

produced since gold mining began in the Territory in 1880, and the 

value of the gold that has been derived from each of the two principal 

types of gold mines. The same information, except that the annual 

production for each year from 1880 is also included, is graphically 

represented by figure 2. Of the $409,033,000 in gold that has been 

produced from Alaska mines $269,326,000, or about 66 percent, has 

come from placers and $139,707,000, or about 34 percent, from lodes. 

The relation between the outputs from these two sources has varied 

widely. Thus up to 1898 the lode production was greater than that 

from the placers. Then ensued a period of more than 20 years when 

the annual placer production far exceeded that from the lodes. 

Since 1919 the production from each source has been approximately 

the same as in 1932. There is reason to believe that the production 

from the lodes is more likely to show an increase than that from placers. 

In fact, the record seems to indicate clearly that the peak of lode-gold 

production has not yet been reached.

Gold produced in Alaska, 1880-1932

1880-1915...................................

1916.....- ................. ...........

1917..... ............................... ....

1918..-....... ...........................

1919........................................

1920.......... ..........................

1921.. ................................ ......

1922................................... ..

1923.. ...................................

1924................ ............. ........

1926.... .............................

1926........................................

1927.... .............. ............ .......

1928._____....... .......

1929... ......................... ............

1930...... ..................................

1931...... ..................................

1932................. .......................

12, 592, 121

834, 068

709, 049

458, 641

455, 984

404, 683

390, 558

359, 057

289, 539

304, 072

307, 679

324, 450

286, 720

331,140

375, 438

410, 020

459, 900

493,860

19, 786, 979

Total

$260, 302, 243

17, 241, 713

14, 657, 353

9, 480, 952

9, 426, 032

8, 365, 560

8, 073, 540

7, 422, 367

5, 985, 314

6, 285, 724

6, 360, 281

6, 707, 000

5, 927, 000

6,845,000

7,761,000

9, 507, 000

10,209,000

409, 033, 000

Value

Placer mines

$185, 200, 444

11,140,000

9, 810, 000

5, 900, 000

4,970,000

3, 873, 000

4, 226, 000

4,395,000

3, 608, 500

3, 564, 000

3, 223, 000

3,769,000

2, 982, 000

3,347,000

4,117,000

4, 842, 000

5,522,000

269, 326, 000

Lode mines

$75,101,799

6, 101, 713

4, 847, 353

3, 580, 952

4, 456, 032

4, 492, 560

3, 847, 540

3, 027, 367

2, 376, 814

2, 721, 724

3, 137, 281

2, 938, 000

2,945,000

3,498,000

3,644,000

4, 665, 000

4,687,000

139, 707, 000

In the following table, which lists the sources from which gold was 

produced in 1932, all the ores from gold mines that yielded gold have 

been included, and the gold recovered from placers has been listed 

separately. It is a noteworthy feature that no gold is recovered from 

the Alaska ores that are principally valuable for their copper content, 

though those ores are usually the source of most of the silver that is 

recovered.
IVHHNIW iHvLSflCTNI NI 286T IT
12 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932 

Gold and silver produced in Alaska, 1932, by sources

Gold ores.... ..........................................

Copper ores ________________________

Placers __________________________

Gold

Fine ounces

226, 733

267, 127

493, 860

Value

$4, 687, 000

5, 522, 000

10, 209, 000

Silver

Fine ounces

115,300 

81, 150 

37, 600

234, 050

Value

$32, 500 

22, 900 

10, 600

66, 000

GOLD LODES

Alaska lode mines in 1932 yielded $4,687,000 in gold, or slightly 

more than in 1931, when the production was $4,665,000. The gold 

derived from lodes was about 46 percent of the entire gold production 

of the Territory for 1932. In 1931 lodes furnished about 49 percent 

of the total. The gold was recovered from widely distributed mines, 

but about 75 percent came from southeastern Alaska, as shown in 

the following table:

Gold produced from gold-lode mines in Alaska in 1982, by districts

District

Willow Creek ...................................................................

Fine ounces

169, 506

34,298

8,707

14, 222

226, 733

Value

$3, 504, 000

709,000

180,000

294, 000

4, 687, 000

Of the Alaska lode-gold mines the properties of the Alaska Juneau 

Gold Mining Co. in southeastern Alaska are by far the largest, and 

that company alone produced over two thirds of the total lode-gold

output of the Territory in 1932. The magnitude of this company's 

mining operations is set forth in its published report to its stockholders, 

from which the following statements are abstracted: The total rock 

mined and trammed to the mill in 1932 was 4,001,630 tons, an average 

of over 10,960 tons a day. Of this amount 1,587,161 tons of coarse 

tailings was rejected and 2,414,469 tons was fine-milled. The 

average gold content of all the material, mined was $1.00 a ton. The 

amount of gold in that part of the rock which was rejected was about 

17 cents a ton, and the value of the gold content of the rock that was 

further treated was about $1.54 a ton. Of this content gold worth 

24 cents was lost during the treatment, $1.02 was recovered as bullion, and 28 cents was recovered in the concentrates, which were 

subsequently smelted. The following table, compiled from the 

published reports of the Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Co., summarizes the mining record of this company since the beginning ol 

its operations in 1893:
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 

Production of Alaska Juneau mine, 1898-1982

13

Year

1893-1913... .....

1914-15.............

1916................

1917...............

1918.... 

1919... ...

1920.... .........

1921................

1922...... . .........

1923....... ......

1924................

1925......... .......

1926... ...

1927... ...

1928................

1929... 

1930................

1931.... . 

1932....... .........

Ore (tons)

Total

507, 254 

242,328 

180, 113 

677, 410 

592, 218 

692,895 

942,870 

1, 613, 600 

2, 310, 550 

2, 476, 240 

3, 068, 190 

3, 481, 780 

3, 829, 700 

4,267,810

3,718,140

3, 836, 440 

3, 924, 460 

4, 162, 350 

4,001,630

44, 525, 978

Fine 

milled

330, 278 

239,918 

180, 113 

677,410 

574, 285 

616, 302 

637, 321 

904,323 

1, 108, 559 

1, 134, 759 

1, 367, 528 

1, 537, 884 

1, 649, 678 

1,839,695 

1,795,191 

2, 020, 470 

2, 066, 239 

2,298,998 

2, 414, 469

23, 393, 420

Coarse 

tailings 

rejected

176, 976 

2,410

17,933 

76, 593 

305, 549 

709, 277 

1,201,991 

1,341,481 

1, 700, 662 

1, 943, 896 

2, 180, 002 

2,428,115

1,922,949

1, 815, 970 

1, 858, 221 

1,863,352 

1, 587, 161

21, 132, 558

Metals recovered

Gold

$707, 730 

251, 655 

115, 022 

429, 262 

430, 124 

499, 002 

732, 870 

969, 703 

1, 296, 157 

1, 427, 199 

1,907,374 

2, 030, 067 

1, 931, 052 

2,328,540

3,142,808

3, 410, 4fl& 

3, 375, 659 

3,710,927 

3, 133, 122

31, 828, 681

Silver 

lost in 

tailing

Ounces

6,192 

2,844 

12,248 

11,828 

16,431 

23,348 

40, 619 

49, 405 

41, 876 

63, 191 

55,971 

52, 333 

61, 232 

77,591

90, 635 

97,607 

118, 508 

94, 519

916, 378

Lead 

lost in 

tailing

Pounds

117, 031 

61,068 

296, 179 

273, 297 

359, 762 

487, 574 

550,913 

687, 315 

755, 423 

1, 256, 857 

1, 288, 974 

1, 300, 915 

1,513,306 

2,058,655 

2,501,832 

2, 640, 771 

3,309,176 

2, 509, 263

21,948,311

Total 

value

$707, 730 

261,326 

121, 378 

460,666 

459, 445 

542, 714 

791, 389 

1, 035, 251 

1,388,679 

1, 514, 774 

2,055,782 

2,184,384 

2,067,836 

2,463,262 

3,316,019 

3, 627, 247 

3, 551, 950 

3,879,839 

3, 236, 183

33, 665, 854

The cost of mining for 1932 was stated by the company to have 

been 26.24 cents for each ton of ore trammed to the mill, the cost of 

milling was 21.20 cents, and all other marketing costs and expenses, 

including interest, amounted to 6.41 cents, making the entire operating cost for each ton of ore trammed only 53.85 cents. Not only 

have the mining and milling costs been kept at a low figure, but the 

tenor of the ore handled has been rather higher than the average. 

So successfully have the company's affairs been handled that the 

officials report a net operating profit of 27.02 cents a ton of ore 

trammed and were thus able to pay dividends.

This record is especially impressive for the last few years, when 

operating costs have been successively reduced, until now they stand 

at so low a figure as to compel the highest admiration for the technical 

insight and administrative ability that have developed such efficient 

operation. The outstanding significance of this enterprise has long 

been recognized by mining engineers throughout the world but 

received special attention in 1932, when one of the most prominent 

technical journals devoted an entire issue to a series of articles 

describing each of the major subdivisions charged with the conduct 

of parts of the enterprise. These articles 3 are replete with specific 

information facts of significance regarding this particular property 

but applicable in general to efficient modern practice in the handling 

and treatment of large quantities of low-grade mineralized rock.

During the year the Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Co. has done considerable prospecting and development work. On the north ore body

'Bradley, P. R., and others, The Alaska Juneau enterprise: Eng. and Min. Jour., vol. 133,pp.459-<603, 

1932.
14 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

about 18,750,000 tons of ore has been partly blocked out, and preparatory work to bring out this ore has been advanced to such a stage 

that some 300 tons a day is now being taken out, and by the end of 

1933 this should be increased to more than 1,000 tons a day. In the 

southern part of the mine, where 38,900,000 tons of ore has been 

blocked out above level 3, the new developments have consisted 

mainly in preparatory work and the cutting out of cone 8. There 

was a small decrease in the tonnage trammed during the year, but a 

larger proportion of it was fine-milled. Milling operations were 

carried on without change from the preceding year and at slightly 

lower cost.

In addition to the work on its main property, the Alaska Juneau 

Gold Mining Co. undertook some prospecting in other parts of the 

Juneau District. The Hallum-Dora group of claims, on which it had 

done considerable testing under option, was dropped during the year 

because, as stated by the company, "exhaustive prospecting in the 

claims failed to indicate sufficient value to justify continuing the 

work." In the Taku River Valley the company also has undertaken 

considerable prospecting work, which is thus summarized in the 

company's report: "In addition to the group of 20 claims under 

option on the Tulsequah River, options were taken on the White 

Water group and on the McDougall group, all contiguous. It is 

proposed to move portable gasoline-driven compressors on the 

ground this summer (1933) and to do some underground prospecting 

at those places showing the best assays."

The next most productive gold-lode district in southeastern Alaska 

is Chichagof Island. On this island the two principal mines are those 

of the Chichagoff Mining Co. and the Hirst-Chichagof Mining Co.,

the former situated near Klag Bay, about 60 miles northwest of Sitka, 

and the latter near Mine Bay, about 10 miles beyond to the northwest. At the Chichagoff property the new development work, which 

had been in progress for some time, was so far advanced that an output 

of ore was maintained to supply the mill practically without interruption. More than 50 men were employed at the property in various 

capacities, both above and underground. Further underground 

development was in progress, especially in extending the work on the 

fifteenth level and in preparing to sink and open up ground on the 

sixteenth level. At the Hirst-Chichagof mine operations were carried 

on almost continuously throughout the year by a force of a.bout 30 

men. The main new feature at this property was the installation in 

the mill of apparatus required in treating part of the ore by flotation, 

in the expectation that thereby the recovery of gold would be greatly 

increased. The method seems to have worked successfully, not only 

in treating freshly mined ore but also in re-treating considerable
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 15

amounts of the old tailings that had been accumulated from the earlier 

milling activities, when the recovery of gold was not so efficient.

The developments at these two larger properties on Chichagoff 

Island have revived interest in prospecting in the entire region, and as 

a result several new finds of ore have been made, and development 

work has been resumed at several of the properties that lately have 

been inactive. Among these properties is that of the Alaska Chichagoff Mining Co., more generally known as the Bez property, or 

sometimes as the McKallick Chichagoff Gold Mines, Inc., where 

several men were employed during the season in development work.

Farther north on Yakobi Island the Apex-El Nido mine, which in 

the past had yielded much lode gold, was the.scene of some mining, 

and a small amount of ore was milled. Work at this place is reported 

to have been carried on by a crew of a dozen or more men and consisted mostly of prospecting and development work. Still farther 

north, on Dundas Bay, on the north shore of Cross Sound, a small 

crew did some work on the property of the Alaska Independence 

Mining Co. The general revival of interest in the whole western part 

of Chichagoff Island and adjacent areas is regarded as a promising 

indication of increased mining activity. Unfortunately, however, 

this interest is being utilized by some unscrupulous promoters to 

impose on a credulous public. Among the schemes of this sort which 

were set on foot was the sale of stock in a company said to hold claims 

on Fish Bay, on the northern coast of Baranof Island, in the so-called 

Blackhawk district. This enterprise .appears to have been purely 

a promotional scheme, as there had been no recent developments on 

the property, and former investigations had not disclosed conditions 

that would give a basis for the roseate claims of the promoters.

Elsewhere in the northern part of southeastern Alaska the only 

other property from which gold was produced in 1932 appears to have 

been that of the Admiralty Alaska Gold Mining Co., on Funter Bay, 

Admiralty Island. During the year this company acquired an option 

on a large number of claims adjacent to its own property and extending all the way to Hawk Inlet. Further prospecting and exploration 

are reported to be contemplated before definite plans looking toward 

placing the property on a continuously productive basis are formulated. A little new work is reported to have been done on the old 

Marty claims, on Windham Bay, but it was mostly of a prospecting 

type. About 6 miles north of Juneau a small crew did considerable 

prospecting on Carlson Creek on ground that had been known as the 

Clark claims. It is understood that this work was being done by a 

subsidiary of the Premier Gold Mining Co., whose principal holdings 

are in British Columbia, a short distance inland from Hyder, at the 

head of Portland Canal.

12466-33-
16 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

In the Ketchikan district, in the southern part of southeastern 

Alaska, there was considerable prospecting for gold lodes but only a 

little production. Some gold was recovered from ores mined on the 

property of the Gold Standard, on Helm Bay, Cleveland Peninsula, 

north of Ketchikan, and frOm the old Sea Level mine, on Thorne 

Arm, southeast of Ketchikan. During the year appreciation of the 

opportunities that mining offered in building up and stabilizing the 

development of the entire district led a group of the more forwardlooking citizens of Ketchikan to associate themselves together for the 

purpose of aiding prospecting in the district. This enterprise had 

been under way too short a time to have achieved noteworthy results, 

but it is understood that a start was made and that five prospecting 

projects were undertaken.

Little detailed information has been received by the Geological 

Survey regarding recent developments in the Hyder district, east of 

Ketchikan. Apparently work was continued there on about the same 

scale and at about the same places as in 1931. The greatest amount 

of development work appears to have been done on claims along the 

flanks of Banded Mountain, near the head of the Chickamin River, 

and at the head of the West Fork of Texas Creek. Some steps were 

taken toward reopening the old Riverside mine, in the eastern part of 

the valley of the Salmon River, but up to the end of the year these had 

not led to any definite action.

The Willow Creek district, at the head of Cook Inlet, has long been 

the second most productive gold-lode district in the Territory, having 

produced gold worth nearly $5,000,000 since lode mining started there 

in 1909. The principal producing company in this district is the 

Willow Creek Mines, Inc., which holds considerable property on

Craigie Creek and gets its ore mainly from the Lucky Shot mine, on

the northern slopes of the creek valley. Between 80 and 100 men were 

employed on the property in construction work, as well as in the mine 

and at the mill. This property has been capably managed and 

adequately equipped, so that it is an excellent example of a modern 

plant capable of producing and treating about 50 tons of ore a day, 

most of which will average better than $25 a ton. Heretofore the cost 

of freighting supplies to the mine has been high, owing to the fact that 

the wagon road crosses a high ridge that remains blocked by snow for 

nearly 8 months each year and at all times presents steep slopes. 

During the year, however, a new road following the creek grade 

leading from the railroad at Willow to the mine was completed, so that 

tractors can be used on it throughout the year. A landing field for 

airplanes was also built a short distance from the mine, so that communication with Anchorage and other places may be quickly effected.' 

A short distance north of the Lucky Shot, on Craigie Creek, considerable development was undertaken on the old Kempf claims by
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 17

the Gold Top Syndicate. Work on this project was considerably 

delayed by the lateness with which the season opened in the spring 

of 1932 and by the heavy freshets which occurred during the summer. 

In spite of these handicaps a camp was established, several hundred 

feet of underground development begun, and an aerial tramway built, 

and every indication points to the conclusion that prospecting will be 

vigorously continued.

Throughout the Willow Creek district the winter of 1931-32 was 

marked by exceedingly heavy snowfall, and this badly hampered 

normal activities and led, with the softening of the snow, to serious 

.slides that wrecked many of the buildings at the various camps, so 

that much time was lost from productive mining in the necessary 

work of reconstruction. Damage of this sort was especially severe at 

the Fern mine, on Archangel Creek; at the camp of the Marion Twin,

at the head of Craigie Creek; and at the Gold Cord, on Fishhook 

Creek. Furthermore, the summer of 1932 was marked by several 

heavy floods that swept out considerable stretches of the main road 

leading from the railroad at Wasilla to the district and at times made 

the other roads and trails impassable and destroyed many of the 

mining facilities. Among the heavy sufferers from the floods was the 

Marion Twin mine, in the Little Susitna Valley, where flumes and 

pipe lines were carried away. In spite of these difficulties productive 

mining was done at the Gold Cord, Fern, and High Grade mines, and 

considerable development work was also accomplished on a number of 

the other properties that have long been known. Some cruder exploratory work was also carried on at points more remote from the proved 

productive areas, and a general revival in mining throughout the district was evident. The showings already made give a firm basis for 

the belief that excellent as was the showing of the Willow Creek camp 

in 1932, that record by no means marks the limit of the output that 

may be expected as developments now in progress are brought to a 

productive stage.

The third most productive lode-gold district in the Territory is in 

the vicinity of Fairbanks. Its lode-gold output in 1932 was somewhat 

more than in 1931, and the indications are that an even greater 

increase may be looked for in the future. The total output of lode 

gold from the Fairbanks district during the period since 1910, when 

that type of mining began, has been about $2,300,000. There are 

two principal producing lode-gold areas more or less close to Fairbanks; one embraces the country adjacent to Pedro Dome and lies 

15 to 20 miles north and east of the town, and the other, embracing 

parts of Ester Dome, lies 6 to 10 miles west of the town. In the Pedro 

Dome area the largest production came from the property of the 

Cleary Hill Mines, near the junction of Bedrock and Cleary Creeks, 

formerly known as the Rhoads-Hall mine. Smaller camps at which
18

some development work was in progress and some gold recovered are* 

widely scattered throughout a more or less definite eastward-trendingtract about 10 miles long. Of these smaller camps the one maintained by C. M. Hawkins, on part of the old Spaulding claims on 

Dome Creek appears to have been most successful. Work on this 

property was discontinued during the summer, however, and Mr. 

Hawkins transferred his activities to the development of one of the 

properties in the vicinity of Ester Dome. In the Ester Dome area 

the search for gold lodes was carried on fully as energetically as heretofore, but the amount of productive mining was somewhat less than 

usual. This condition is regarded as merely temporary, for, in fact,, 

several of the lines of evidence indicate an early resumption of work 

at several of the properties on a more productive scale. The lode 

deposits of the whole Fairbanks district were examined with special 

thoroughness by J. M. Hill,4 of the Geological Survey, and his report 

discloses evidence that leads him to conclude that with adequatefinancial support and skillful technical and administrative assistance 

many of the Fairbanks lode deposits are likely to be developed 

profitably.

Among the districts producing lode gold grouped together in thetable on page 12 under the heading "Other districts" the most productive, arranged in the relative order of their output of lode gold, 

are the Nabesna district, which lies north of the Wrangell Mountains,. 

of the Copper River region; the Bonnifielo! district, north of the 

Alaska Range; the Nixon Fork district, in the Kuskokwim region;. 

Kenai Peninsula, including the Nuka Bay area, the area south of 

Hope, and the hills north of Girdwood; and the mines in the vicinity 

of Valdez, in the Prince William Sound region. In most of these 

districts the production came from a single mine, so that to avoid

disclosing the individual output it has been necessary to combine the 

statistics.

In the Nabesna district the only producing gold-lode mine is that 

of the Nabesna Mining Corporation, which is sometimes referred toas the Carl Whitham mine, from the name of its principal owner and 

manager. This mine is situated on White Mountain west of the 

Nabesna River, between its tributaries Jack and Jacksina Creeks. 

Active production began at this mine in 1931, and a large part of 

that season was spent in necessary construction work, so that 1932: 

was the first year when the full open season was utilized in productivemining. The results of that work were decidedly encouraging and 

have induced the operators to put in additional equipment, so that 

an increased amount of ore will be mined, and a better recovery of 

value from the ore treated is expected another year. So far theproperty has been operated only during the open season, a period o£

< Hill, J. M., Lode deposits of the Fairbanks district, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 849-B, 1933.
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 19

.-about 4 months, though considerable freighting of the needed supplies is done during the winter. With continued development it 

seems probable that year-round mining would prove not only feasible 

but advantageous in reducing costs. This mine was visited by Fred 

H. Moffit 6 in 1931, and his description of it has recently been published by the Geological Survey.

In the Bonnifield district the only lode mining in progress was that

 on the property of the Eva Creek Mining Co. This property is 

reached from the Alaska Railroad station at Ferry by a good wagon 

road about 14 miles long. The deposit has been known for many 

years, but it was not until late in the fall of 1931 that the owners felt 

that they were justified in placing a mill on the property and beginning 

productive mining. The deposit consists of a large body of mixed

 sulphides, largely arsenopyrite, lying at a very flat angle in schists. 

Its position makes it particularly difficult to mine by ordinary methods 

without excessive caving. After attempting to extract the richer 

portions of the ore by means of drifting, that scheme was abandoned, 

;and a method somewhat similar to that of the longwall retreating 

method used in many coal mines was adopted. By this plan it is 

practicable to take out almost all the mineralized rock, though by so 

doing the tenor of the ore is considerably less than that recovered by 

'the more selective system formerly in vogue. The ore is concentrated in a mill on the property, and the concentrates are shipped to 

a smelter in the States for treatment. A description of the property 

based on examinations made in 1930 by Fred H. Moffit and in 1931 

by J. M. Hill has recently been published by the Geological Survey.6 

In the Kuskokwim Valley the only lode-gold production reported

 came from the old Pearson & Strand mine, on Ruby Creek, in the 

Nixon Fork district, which was operated by Charles Mespelt and associates. No details regarding the recent developments at this mine are

 available, but the output of gold seems to indicate that less work was

 done than in 1931. The mine was in operation throughout the year, 

but the mill was operated only during part of the summer. A crew

 of half a dozen or so was employed. Although no other mine in this 

district reported having produced any lode gold in 1932, some prospecting was said to be in progress at the old Whelan mine. This work 

^consisted mainly in the digging of several surface trenches in search 

of veins worthy of more intensive examination. It is reported that 

this work disclosed some ore that appeared of sufficiently high grade 

to justify continuation of the search.

The principal districts in the so-called Kenai Peninsula region in 

which some lode-gold production was reported in 1932 were the Nuka 

Bay, Hope-Sunrise, and Girdwood. The Nuka Bay district embraces

« Moffit, F. H., The Suslota Pass district, Alaska: U.S. Qeol. Survey Bull. 844-C, 1933. 

» Moffit, F. H., Mining development in the Tatlanika and Totatlanika Basins, Alaska: U.S. Qeol. Survey 

Bull. 836, pp. 340-345, 1933.
20 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

country near the extreme southern part of Kenai Peninsula; the HopeSunrise district embraces much of the country lying north of the Moose 

Pass station, on the Alaska Railroad, and extending to the old settlements of Hope and Sunrise on Turnagain Arm; the Gird wood district 

really does not fall within the limits of Kenai Peninsula proper but 

lies just north of it, extending a few miles northward from the shores 

of Turnagain Arm. The entire belt of rocks in which the deposits of 

these three districts occur is dominantly a deformed series of slate 

and graywacke which has locally been intruded by igneous dikes that 

are currently referred to as greenstones. The veins occupy fractures 

of rather irregular form and moderate extent, and their values are 

largely free gold, though sulphides are by no means uncommon. In 

the Nuka Bay district the greatest amount of work has been done and 

the most gold recovered from the Sonny Fox mine, operated by 

Babcock & Downey, but there are at least a dozen other properties on 

which considerable exploration work has been done, and from several 

of these some shipments of ore have been made. The entire district 

was recently examined by Earl Pilgrim, under the auspices of the1 

Territorial Government, and the results of his findings have been 

incorporated in a report recently published.7 In this report, which is1- 

accompanied by an excellent sketch map of the districtr is given 

detailed information regarding the extent of developments on each 

of the properties.

Farther north, in the Hope-Sunrise district, the principal producing 

property is the Lucky Strike mine, on Palmer Creek, long successfully 

developed by John Hirshey but in 1932 operated under a new management. In addition there are more than a dozen places where lode 

developments have been undertaken in the past, and at some of these 

active prospecting is still in progress. A comprehensive description 

of all the lode prospects in this part of Kenai Peninsula, prepared after 

a thorough field examination, has been published by the Geological 

Survey.8 Late in the fall of 1932 an examination of one of the prospects near Hope was made by engineers representing sound financial 

interests with a view to undertaking an extensive exploration of it if 

the conditions seemed to justify that outlay. No information has. 

yet been made public as to the conclusions reached from this 

examination.

In the Girdwood district, north of Turnagain Arm, the principal 

area in which the search for gold lodes was made in 1932 was near the 

head of Crow Creek, a tributary of Glacier Creek. The production 

from the district was small, and most of the work was carried on by 

parties of 2 or 3 men with very slight financial backing and almost no

7 Stewart, B. D., Mining investigations and mine inspection in Alaska, biennium ending Mar. 31,1933, 

pp. 26-51, 1933.

8 Tuck, Ralph, The Moose Pass-Hope district, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 849-1, 

1933.
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 . 21

adequate mechanical equipment. The entire region was studied in 

some detail by a Geological Survey party, an,d a report on the results 

of that work,9 accompanied by a detailed topographic map of the 

district, by W. G. Carson, has been published.

Lode-gold production from the Valdez district in 1932 was small, 

but at several properties development work was in progress, and there 

were reports that negotiations were in progress for the reopening of 

several of the old properties that have long been inactive, though in 

the past they produced considerable gold. The region is easily accessible to deep-water transportation, and the known occurrence of 

mineralization in it gives adequate incentive to reexamine some of the 

known deposits in the light of present conditions, because costs have 

decreased very much from those that prevailed at the time the mines 

were being worked. This statement, of course, applies only to the

gold mines, inasmuch as their product has a fixed value. The lodes

in which the principal metallic minerals are ores of the base metals 

can hardly be expected to be attractive to capital at this time of 

excessively low prices for base metals.

Prospecting for gold lodes was continued at many other places 

throughout the Territory, though at none of them, so far as reported 

to the Geological Survey, was there any real production of ore, and at 

none of them was any gold produced except the little that may have 

been recovered in the course of testing the ore during development 

work. In the Copper River region considerable prospecting for gold 

lodes is reported to have been done in the Bremner district. According to local reports, more than a dozen men were engaged in the search 

there during 1932, and as a result several leads that are regarded as 

promising have been found and partly opened up. The property 

on which most work is said to have been done is that of the Ramer 

Bros., on Golconda Creek. Elsewhere in the Copper River region 

little new prospecting for gold lodes has been done, though some 

work was done at two lode properties in the Tiekel district, and 

claims are still held in the Kotsina and McKinley Lakes districts.

In the past many other districts in Alaska have disclosed evidence 

of containing lode-gold deposits that merit careful consideration as 

potential sources of that metal. Several of the more promising of 

these districts, adjacent to the Alaska Railroad, in central Alaska, 

were examined in considerable detail in 1931, and comprehensive 

reports, most of which are accompanied by maps, were prepared and 

published. Among the districts of this sort may be mentioned 

Mount Eielson, on the northern flanks of the Alaska Range, about 

60 miles west of McKinley Park station;10 the West Fork of the

 Park, C. F., The Girdwood district, Alaska: U.S. Oeol. Survey Bull. 849-G, 1933.

1° Reed. J. C., The Mount Eielson district, Alaska: U.S. Qeol. Survey Bull. 849-D, 1933.
22 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

Chulitna River, some 10 miles west of Colorado station;11 the Eureka 

area, in the Kantishna district, northwest of Mount Eielson;12 and the 

Valdez Creek district, some 60 miles east of Cantwell station. 13

In addition to the foregoing, the reported occurrence of lode-gold 

prospects in the vicinity of Hidden Eiver some 25 miles west of 

Curry was examined by Ralph Tuck in 1932, and a report of his 

findings is in preparation. 14

In Seward Peninsula development work was in progress at a number of places on lodes containing gold, though so far as has been 

reported none of the deposits yielded appreciable amounts of gold. 

Probably the most significant prospecting of this sort was that 

undertaken in the neighborhood of Bluff, some 60 miles east of Nome, 

where J. G. Galvin and associates took over and propose to test 

thoroughly a large .tract of country known to contain veins that had 

been somewhat cursorily prospected in the past. Much of the ore 

contains considerable free gold, but that from other veins contains 

much sulphide, principally arsenopyrite, so that it will have to be 

concentrated and shipped to a smelter in the States for treatment. 

Development work was also in progress in the divide between the 

Stewart and Snake River Valleys in the vicinity of Mount Distin, 

on the Head & Strand property and to the west at the Jannsen 

prospect. At the Jannsen camp considerable difficulty was experienced at the time of the writer's visit, owing to the large amount of 

surface water in the underground workings, and it was proposed to 

suspend work until the winter, when that source of trouble would 

disappear. Some lode prospecting was also in progress on sulphidebearing lodes disclosed in the course of placer mining within 5 or 6 miles 

of Nome and along the southern slopes of Anvil Mountain. Rumors 

continue to be current that plans are under consideration for the 

reopening of the old Big Hurrah quartz mine in the Solomon district, 

some 40 miles east of Nome, but so far as could be learned nothing 

was done on the ground in 1932 to carry that purpose into effect.

GOLD PLACERS

GENERAL CONDITION

Placer mining in Alaska in 1932 returned gold worth $5,522,000. 

This marks a very considerable increase over the output of the preceding year and in fact was larger than for any other year since 1918. 

The annual production of placer gold and certain other data relating 

to Alaska's gold production are represented graphically in figure 2. 

From this diagram may be traced many of the changes that have

" Boss, C. P., Mineral deposits near the West Fork of the Chulitna Biver, Alaska: U.S. Qeol. Survey 

Bull. 849-E, 1933.

i* Wells, F. G., Lode deposits of Eureka and vicinity, Kantishna district, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey 

Bull. 849-F, 1933.

» Boss, C. P., The Valdez Creek district, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 849-H, 1933.

"Tuck, Balph, The Curry district, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 857-C (in preparation).
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 23

taken place in the industry. Thus in no year from the beginning of 

the industry in 1880 to 1898 did the production of placer gold amount 

to as much as $1,000,000, and the average during that period was less 

than $280,000. In 1899 there was a sudden increase, marking the 

discoveries of Nome and some of the camps in the upper Yukon 

Valley, which were soon followed by the discovery of Fairbanks and 

many of the other camps of the interior. The resulting golden 

period lasted through 1916, during which the annual yield of placer 

gold averaged more than $10,000,000 and in 1906 reached the peak 

of nearly $19,000,000. In 1918, after the entry of the United States 

into the World War, placer production dropped to about $5,000,000 

and in the 14 years since that time it has fluctuated between that 

amount and $3,000,000.

The trend of placer mining in Alaska for the past few years has 

been toward the development of large enterprises requiring the installation of expensive equipment such as dredges or other mechanical 

devices and the mining of relatively low grade deposits through careful control of costs. With the unemployment situation in the States 

and with the financial stringency that has made it difficult to raise 

funds for undertaking new enterprises there has been some revival of 

prospecting and the development of small properties by outfits of 2 

or 3 men without much equipment. In fact, it appeared that more 

men were in the hills in 1932, looking for suitable places to put forth 

their efforts, than in any of the recently preceding years. With 

continued lack of employment in other fields it seems not at all improbable that an even larger number of men will turn to prospecting, 

as that occupation offers many attractions to a man who enjoys the 

simple life, working more or less as his own boss, when, where, and 

how he pleases, and with the allurement of possibly discovering a real 

prize as a result of his efforts. Such a career obviously should be 

undertaken only by the physically fit and those reasonably skilled in 

understanding nature's secrets and the ways of acquiring what she 

has to offer. The life of the prospector is hard, and success comes to 

few in any line of endeavor; but it is believed that Alaska still holds 

out opportunities for the capable placer prospector to find tracts that, 

while not bonanzas, will well repay his best endeavors. There also 

seems to be an increasing interest among capitalists and others in the 

mining development of the Territory, and doubtless, as they hold 

out incentives for finding workable properties, they will discover 

men ready and willing to undertake the quest. Anyone who remembers the difficulties of the early days and sees the present enormously better facilities and lower costs, however, has little sympathy 

with the laments that are often heard as to the difficulties of carrying 

on prospecting work. It sometimes seems as if we had become so 

tied to automobiles, railroads, and wagon roads that we forget that
24 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

the bulk of the placer gold of Alaska was produced practically without dependence on these facilities. It is believed that there are still 

large tracts of Alaska that have not yet been thoroughly prospected 

or adequately examined for large-scale placer operations. Most of 

these areas do not appear to give promise of holding bonanza deposits that can be won cheaply. There are, however, extensive areas 

in which, it is confidently believed, large, well-organized, and wellmanaged companies will find placers that can be mined profitably 

for many years.

PRODUCTION BY DISTRICTS

The description already given as to the methods used in collecting 

and interpreting the information that forms the basis of this report 

indicates that it is more difficult to obtain accurate facts regarding 

the production of placer gold than regarding any of the other items. 

This is due to the great number of small producers, who are widely 

scattered and many of whom are in the most remote parts of the 

Territory. The gold they produce frequently passes through many 

hands before it finally reaches a mint or assay office, so that a single 

lot is difficult to trace, for it may appear in the reports of the individual and then lose its identity by being lumped with other gold 

by the storekeeper who took it in exchange for supplies, and still 

further consolidated by the bank, perhaps in some distant district, 

to which it was sent by the merchant, and its course perhaps still 

further obscured by being shipped to another bank before being 

turned in to the mint. Every reasonable effort has been made to 

check the information from different sources and to adjust discrepancies so far as possible. As a result it is believed that the figures 

given for the total placer production are in accord with the actual 

facts. The distribution of this total among the different districts, 

however, is open to more serious errors, as gold produced in one 

district, unless reported to the Geological Survey by the original 

producer, may be credited to some other district through which it 

passed in the course of trade. In spite of the possibility of some 

error in the distribution of placer gold among the different districts, 

the following table has been prepared to show the comparative 

standing of the different districts as accurately as possible. The 

largest amount came from the Yukon Basin, and the next largest 

from Seward Peninsula. Placer mining in each of the main regions 

will be discussed in some detail in the following pages, and the more 

notable events of the year will be recorded for each region.
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 25 

Value of placer gold produced in Alaska in 1932 and 1931

Region 1932

$3, 000

68, 000

114, 000

3, 648, 000

153, 000

1, 533, 000

3,000

5, 522, 000

1931

$3, 000

88, 000

105, 000

3, 269, 000

158, 000

1, 215, 000

4,000

4, 842, 000

Decrease 

or increase, 

1932

-20, 000

+9, 000

+379, 000

-5, 000

+318,000

-1,000

+680, 000

SOUTHEASTEBN ALASKA

Although southeastern Alaska is rich in lodes of gold and other 

metals, its placers are of relatively small extent and yield only a little 

gold, because throughout most of the region the topography is mountainous, with precipitous slopes leading down from the crests of the 

ridges to the ocean waters or to the valley floors and affording little 

or no lodgment for detrital material. Furthermore, so much of the 

region was occupied in the relatively recent past by glaciers that there 

is an almost complete lack of deposits produced through the longcontinued sorting action that is so essential for the formation of rich 

placers. Even along the coast there are almost no beaches where 

concentration has long been effective. In the lowlands of the larger 

streams, in some of which great amounts of detrital material have 

been dumped by past geologic processes, sorting action' such as is 

conducive to the formation of rich placers has been relatively slight, 

and much of the material handled by the streams has not been subjected to weathering and similar processes, which unlock the mineral 

grains of different kinds and thus promote their separation through 

physical differences. There is, therefore, small likelihood that southeastern Alaska as a whole holds much promise as a placer region, 

though in a few places where special geologic conditions prevail there 

is a chance of finding placers of value.

As shown in the table above, the entire placer production 

from southeastern Alaska in 1932 is estimated to have been worth 

only $3,000, so that even the largest operations were small camps 

of two or three men each who took out only enough gold to make 

a very modest grubstake. There are three areas in southeastern 

Alaska in which, in the past, placer mining has been active; namely, 

near Juneau, in the valley of the Porcupine River, and in the beaches 

between Lituya and Yakataga Bays. No placer mining is reported 

to have been in progress in the Juneau district in 1931, and only a 

little gold was recovered from the placers in the Porcupine district, 

though there were a number of prospectors in it, and construction 

work was continued on the large group of claims that belonged to
26 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

one company which has been doing preparatory work there for several 

years. During the year half a dozen prospectors associated themselves together to examine reported placer deposits in part of the 

valley of the Endicott River south of Haines. The results apparently 

were not sufficiently encouraging to induce the party to continue its 

work in that area for more than a few weeks. In the Lituya-Yakataga region placer mining was continued on about the same scale asit has been for several years. The placers there are all of the beach 

type, exposed to the waves of the Pacific Ocean. This position in a 

measure is favorable for concentration of the beach material, but it 

is also disadvantageous, because except under suitable weather conditions the placers cannot be mined, and even then the use of extensive 

fixed mechanical appliances is precluded by the necessity of removing them during times of storm.

COPPER RIVER REGION

In the Copper River Valley there are two principal areas and one 

minor area that yield placer gold, though there are a few small camps 

widely scattered throughout the river basin. The principal areasr 

named in order of their production, are the Nizina and Chistochhm 

districts, and the minor area is the Nelchina district. As will be 

noted from the table on page 25, the value of the placer gold produced 

from the Copper River districts in 1932 was $68,000, or somewhat 

less than in 1931. In the Nizina district the bulk of the placer gold 

came from the properties of the Chititu Mines, on Chititu and Rex 

Creeks, and the Nicolai Placer Mines, on Dan Creek. About 55 

men were employed at these two properties, and a few others were 

engaged in prospecting on their own account elsewhere in the district. 

At the Chititu and Rex Creek properties the work was conducted 

along the same general lines as heretofore. At the Dan Creek property, steps for obtaining water at a higher elevation than heretofore 

were in progress, with a view to enabling the company to mine some 

of the bench deposits that have long been known to be auriferous. 

The principal new area near the Chitina Valley that is attractingprospectors is in the Bremner River region to the south, especially 

in the vicinity of Golconda and Monahan Creeks. Work there has 

been confined mainly to simple prospecting methods of testing the 

deposits and has yielded only small amounts of gold recovered in the 

course of development. Apparently the results so far obtained indicate that the tenor of much of the ground that has been tested is too 

low to repay mining on a small scale by simple hand methods.

In the Chistochina district, at the northern limits of the Copper 

River Valley, the principal placer production came from two camps,, 

one on Slate Creek and the other near the head of Middle Fork. The 

property on Slate Creek was worked under lay from the Slate Creek
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 27

Mining Co., and eight men were employed, using hydraulic methods. 

In addition, a camp employing four men was mining placers on Miller 

Gulch, a tributary of Slate Creek. Mining at the property at the 

head of the Middle Fork was carried on by the Alaska Middle Fork 

Mining Co., which employed five men throughout most of the open 

season.

In the Nelchina district, which is situated in the extreme western 

part of the Copper River region, all the mining was done by a few 

small camps consisting of only two or three men each, centering around 

Albert Creek, and the total production amounted to only a few 

thousand dollars.

COOK INLET-STJSITNA REGION

In the Cook Inlet-Susitna region, as the term is used in this report, 

are included the placer camps in Kenai Peninsula and adjacent country, the Yentna-Cache Creek district, and the Valdez Creek district, 

near the head of the Susitna River. In the past many of these districts have been highly productive, but their annual production has 

dwindled until now in most of them the annual output is only a fraction of what it was, and in some of them only a few score miners are 

now at work where formerly there were hundreds. However, in 1932 

the output of placer gold from this region showed an increase of about 

$10,000 over that reported in 1931 and is estimated to have been 

$114,000. In the relative order of their placer production in 1932 

these districts ranked as follows: Yentna-Cache Creek, Valdez Creek, 

Kenai Peninsula.

In the Yentna-Cache Creek district there were somewhat more than 

a dozen camps employing altogether between 50 and 60 men at which 

productive mining was in progress during 1932, and many other places 

where some prospecting work was done, though it amounted to little 

more than the annual required assessment work. By far the largest 

and most productive operations in the district were those carried on 

by the Peters Creek Placer Co., on Peters Creek, and by Murray & 

Harper, on a lease from J. C. Murray. In the drainage basin of 

Cache Creek there were in addition camps on Dollar, Falls, Thunder, 

and Nugget Creeks. In the Peters Creek Basin there were camps not 

only on the main stream but also on Bird and Willow Creeks. According to local reports a new company acquired much of the placer 

ground at the head of Peters Creek and all of Bird Creek and did a 

great deal of prospecting and preliminary work preparatory to engaging in active mining another season. The large operator near the 

eastern part of the Peters Creek Valley, in addition to mining, did a 

large amount of new construction work during the season, including 

the building of a long ditch from Martin Creek to bring additional 

water for hydraulicking. North of Peters Creek one small camp was 

mining on Long Creek, a tributary of the Tokichitna River, and pos-
28 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

sibly there were other prospecting parties in that region, though the 

Geological Survey has received no direct information as to the work 

accomplished or the specific places at which it was done. Southwest 

of Cache Creek, in the valley of the Kahiltna River and in the Fairview district, there were five small prospecting camps, three of which 

were on Lake Creek. None of these reported any new developments 

of note. On the whole the conditions hi the Yentna-Cache Creek 

district seemed to indicate a noteworthy increase in placer-mining 

activity and promise of a greater production from the district in the 

near future. In fact, as one person who is well acquainted with the 

district stated, "The country looks better than it has for many years 

past, and a little boom is on."

In the Valdez Creek region, which lies some 125 miles north of 

Anchorage, near the head of the Susitna River and about 40 miles in 

an air line east of the main line of the Alaska Railroad, prospecting for 

both lodes and placers has been going on for many years. Although 

no new finds were reported to have been made during 1932, the returns to the few placer operators who were in the district appear to 

have been especially satisfactory, as they were larger than they have 

been in any of the preceding 10 years. The largest amount of gold 

came from properties mined by John E. Carlson and associates, comprising both bench and creek claims. From 10 to 15 men were employed in mining on these claims, and the ground was worked principally by hydraulicking. Some placer gold was also recovered from 

placers on White Creek. The Valdez Creek district was one of the 

areas studied in considerable detail by a Geological Survey party in 

charge of C. P. Ross in 1931, and a report on the results of that work 

is now available. 15

The producing placer camps in the so-called Kenai Peninsula region 

are situated mainly in the vicinity of Hope, Sunrise, and Gird wood. 

All the camps in the Hope-Sunrise district are small, the largest of 

them yielding only a few thousand dollars and some of them only a few 

hundred dollars or a meager grubstake to the operators. In the vicinity of Hope and Sunrise placer mining was carried on at practically 

the same places as in the last few years, the largest operations being on 

Canyon and Lynx Creeks, south of Sunrise, and at the Resurrection 

River and Bear Creek, south of Hope. All the producing camps were 

visited in 1931 by Ralph Tuck, of the Geological Survey, and are 

described in a report prepared by him. 16

In the Girdwood district, which lies north of Turnagain Arm and 

includes the valleys of Glacier Creek and its tributary Crow Creek, 

the only placer property that reported any notable production of

» Ross, C. P., The Valdez Creek mining district, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 849-H, 1933. 

» Tuck, Ralph, The Moose Pass-Hope district, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 849-1, 

1933.
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 29

gold was that of Holmgren & Erickson, about 4 miles north of Girdwood. The placer that is being mined is bench ground on the north 

side of Crow Creek, where a face of gravel 25 to 30 feet high stands 

about 15 feet above the present stream. The deposit presents many 

puzzling geologic features, as well as obstacles to easy mining, because much of it is frozen and does not break down readily under 

the attack of the hydraulic giants, and the lower part is full of boulders that must be drilled and blasted before they can be got rid of 

through the sluice boxes. Neither at the old Girdwood property, 

upstream, nor at the property on California Creek, downstream from 

the Holmgren ground, was any placer mining in progress. A comprehensive examination of all the mineral deposits in this district was 

made in 1931 by C. F. Park, and his report on the different properties 

is now available.17

YUKON REGION

The Yukon Valley embraces a tremendous extent of territory, and 

scattered through it from one end to the other are many placer-gold 

camps. In the past gold has been reported from almost every 

stream in the entire basin, though the quantities in some have been 

so small as to be of no commercial significance. For convenience 

of description in this report all the producing placer camps in this 

vast area have been grouped into 17 more or less distinct tracts that 

are here called districts. It should be noted that the boundaries of 

these districts are by no means well defined and do not necessarily 

correspond with any of the legal subdivisions, such as the precincts 

or recording districts. In the main, the names here given to these 

districts have been chosen from some of the more prominent features 

occurring in them. The main purpose of this grouping is to combine 

areas having in general similar interests and similar conditions and 

to separate those that are dissimilar. This results in throwing some 

large tracts together and in splitting up some other parts of the 

Yukon Valley into several small districts. In some places the boundaries of the different districts almost overlap; in others the boundaries of one district lie far from those of its nearest neighbor.

The gross output of placer gold from all the camps in the Yukon 

Valley in 1932 was worth $3,648,000, which is considerably more than 

the corresponding figure for 1931. The increase is attributed mainly 

to the especially favorable supply of water available for sluicing at 

most of the camps and to the increased activity in placer mining 

generally throughout the region.

In the following table the districts are arranged in order of their 

placer production in 1932/ and for comparison the production from 

the same districts in 1931 is given. The total is believed to be correct

17 Park, C. F., The Girdwood district, Alaska: U.S. Qeol. Survey Bull. 849-G, 1933.
30 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

as stated, but the distribution of this total among the districts is 

open to some uncertainty, owing to the great number of small producers, their wide distribution, and the failure of some of them to 

supply the essential information. However, every reasonable precaution has been taken to guard against serious errors and to keep 

the estimates in accord with all the available facts, so that the figures 

stated are regarded for all practical purposes as accurate and comparable with similar figures for earlier years.

Value of placer gold produced in Yukon Basin, 1932 and 1931, by districts

District

Fairbanks and Richardson..

Ruby ~ 

Circle

Koyukuk and Chandalar...

1932

$2, 785, 000

364, 000

107, 000

72, 000

72,000

62,000

59 000

34,000

1931

$2, 486, 000

237, 000

96,000

59, 000

54, 000

138, 000

32, 000

District 1932

 $28,000

28,000

11,000

10,000

9,000

7,000

3,648,000

1931

$66, 000

16,000

10,000

8,000

9,000

3,000

3, 269, 000

In the foregoing table two small districts, the Richardson and 

Chandalar, have been grouped with the nearby larger districts, 

Fairbanks and Koyukuk, respectively, and two other small districts, 

the Kantishna and Bonnifield, have been combined. These combinations have been made to conform with earlier reports and to 

avoid disclosing confidential information regarding individual production from some of the small districts, where the bulk of the 

placer gold has come from only one or two mines. None of these 

small districts produced as much as $10,000, and some of them only 

a few thousand dollars.

The region adjacent to Fairbanks, here called the Fairbanks district, has long been and still is the main placer district in interior

Alaska. The greatest amount of gold from this district was produced 

by dredges of the Fairbanks Exploration Co. on the Chatanika River 

and Cleary, Pedro, and Goldstream Creeks; and by lessees of the property of the Fairbanks Gold Dredging Co. on Fairbanks Creek. Considerable placer gold was also recovered by hydraulic or open-cut 

methods, and a little by drift mining. Placer gold recovered by other 

methods than dredging came principally from Goldstream, Pedro, 

Sourdough, Ester, Vault, and Dome Creeks, and the Big Chena and 

some of the tributaries of the Chatanika River east of its junction 

with Cleary Creek. Several thousand dollars' worth of placer gold, in 

addition to that produced by the dredges, came from placers on Fairbanks Creek. There were also smaller camps in the valleys of several 

of the other streams, whose production, though individually only a 

few hundred or a few thousand dollars, in the aggregate swelled the 

total production for the district considerably.
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 31

The extensive mining project being carried on by the Fairbanks 

Exploration Co., embracing large tracts on Goldstream and Cleary 

Creeks and the Chatanika River, continued to be the outstanding 

placer-mining enterprise not only in the Fairbanks district but 

throughout the Territory. Although new problems are constantly 

arising and being solved in connection with the work on this project, 

the underlying plan and methods have been outlined so adequately 

and skillfully that the work is proceeding in systematic fashion and, 

except for details, in the same manner as heretofore. Because of 

especially favorable supplies of water necessary for the various stages 

of operation a considerably greater volume of material was handled 

in 1932, and consequently a considerably larger amount of gold was 

recovered. The facts relating to the general operations of this company, with special reference to the methods of thawing the frozen 

ground and dredging the gold-bearing gravel, are set forth in a recent 

article by a member of the company's staff. 18 Among the significant 

news items regarding the operations of this company may be noted 

its announcement that during the winter it acquired considerable 

placer ground in the vicinity of Ester Creek. This will result in either 

an enlargement of the company's activities or the assurance of a 

greatly prolonged life of its enterprises in the district, either of which 

will mean much in stabilizing all forms of business activity in the 

district as well as in central Alaska.

East of the main mining area adjacent to Fairbanks are a number 

of small camps at intervals all the way to Richardson and south of 

that old settlement, including parts of Jarvis Creek and other tributaries of the Big Delta, south of the Tanana River. In years gone 

by, the Richardson or Tenderfoot camp had a rather large placer production, but at present there are not half a dozen men mining in that 

district. Therefore the use of its name in combination with Fairbanks in this report is not so much to designate two separate camps 

as to indicate a single ill-defined area between Fairbanks on the west 

and Richardson on the east. Thus between what may be called the 

real Fairbanks district and the Richardson district considerable gold 

was taken out by fairly large camps on Big Chena, during at least 

part of the open season as well as by small camps on the Salcha River 

and its tributaries. No information has been furnished to the Geological Survey as to the placer mining south of Richardson in the valley 

of Big Delta and its tributaries. However, from current reports it 

appears probable that only a few prospectors were in that region and 

that such work as they did was mainly prospecting or preliminary 

development work.

is Ogburn, E. H., Thawing and dredging gold at Fairbanks, Alaska: Min. and Met., vol. 14, no. 317, pp. 

214-216,1933.

12466-33 3
32

Placer mining in the Iditarod district showed a notable increase in 

production in 1932 over 1931, due largely to exceptionally favorable 

supplies of water during the mining season and to the successful 

operation of some of the newly installed mechanical devices 

for handling large volumes of gravel at a low cost. As in the past 

the largest amount of gold recovered in the district was obtained by 

the two dredges, that of the North American Dredge Co., on Flat 

Creek, and that of the J. E. Biley Investment Co., on Otter Creek 

about 2 miles south of Flat, but there were in addition more than a 

dozen other properties each of which recovered at least several 

thousand dollars' worth of gold during the season. In all it is estimated that between 110 and 125 men were engaged in productive 

mining in the district during 1932, and there were a few others who 

probably accomplished little more than prospecting or development 

work. Next to the dredges the most effective method employed seems 

to have been the dragline scraper. Outfits of this sort were mining on 

Flat Creek and Happy Gulch, and while at the Flat Creek property 

much of the season was lost in installing the equipment and in dead 

work, the results on Happy Gulch were especially satisfactory. On 

Flat, Willow, Otter, and Chicken Creeks there were several camps 

mining by hydraulic methods and doing well. Among the larger 

hydraulic plants that were in operation were 1 leased from the 

Chicken Creek Mining Co., 2 on Flat Creek, under the direction 

of David Strandberg and Yost & Nash; 1 on Otter Creek, by Peter 

Miscovich; and 1 on Willow Creek, by LaChance & Thibault. The 

prospect of an even greater production from the Iditarod district next 

season seems not at all unlikely if the water supply and other factors 

that affect mining are essentially as favorable as they were in 1932.

The information reaching the Geological Survey regarding the recent 

mining developments in the Innoko district has not been as complete 

as desired or as that available for many of the other districts in the 

Yukon region. However, from such reports as are available it appears 

that the amount of placer gold mined in the district in 1932 was somewhat more than in 1931, though much less than during the earlier 

days of that camp. Here, as in many of the other districts, the largest 

output from a single property in the district was obtained by dredging. 

This property was on Little Creek, where a dredge operated under 

lease by Anderson, Pontella, Utilla & Larson was running the later 

part of the season. This enterprise was especially favored because 

considerable ground that had been artificially thawed by earlier operators was already available for mining, and thus the necessity for doing 

its own thawing was obviated'. The dredge on Yankee Creek under 

the management of Archie Higgins was started early in the season but 

after running a short time encountered conditions that caused it to 

cease for the rest of the year. In addition to the dredges there were
MINEKAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 33

several other placer camps on Little and Yankee Creeks and other 

camps on Ophir, Cripple, and Spruce Creeks and Victor Gulch, as well 

as a number of prospectors in other parts of the district. Most of 

these other plants were using hydraulic methods of mining, but at the 

property on Cripple Creek these methods were supplemented by the 

use of a slipline scraper.

The Hot Springs district, as the term is here used, consists of two 

rather widely separated tracts one including the western part of the 

district from Tofty to Woodchopper Creek and even extending as 

far west as American Creek, the other including the eastern part, 

which centers around Eureka Creek and may be spoken of as the 

Eureka Creek section. The value of the placer gold produced in 

the entire district was somewhat more in 1932 than in 1931. More 

than two thirds of the gold from this district is recovered from dredges 

and hydraulic and other open-cut mines that are operated only during

the summer and the rest from underground or drift mines. Between 

50 and 60 men were engaged in the mines. Perhaps the most significant item of interest regarding the mining activities in the district was 

the resumption, in August, of productive mining by the dredge of the 

American Creek Dredging Co. on American Creek, after having been 

inactive for several years. Among the other larger producers in the 

region were Bock & Co. and Albrecht & Hanson, on Woodchopper 

Creek; Tilleson & L'Heureux, on Sullivan Creek; Johnson & Toftaker, 

on Glenn Creek; Farmer & Jones, on benches of Eureka Creek; J. R. 

Frank & Co., on benches of Pioneer Creek; and the estate of M. S. 

Gill, on Skookum Gulch. Smaller producing camps were situated on 

California, Boulder, Thanksgiving, and Omega Creeks, and a number 

of prospecting outfits were widely scattered at other points through the 

district. A comprehensive examination of practically all the mining 

operations in the Hot Springs district was made by J. B. Mertie, Jr., 

in 1931, and his report covering the results of that work is now 

available. 19

The Ruby district, as that term is used in this report, is applied 

to a rather ill-defined area extending from the settlement at Ruby, 

on the Yukon, southward for 60 to 75 miles, to and beyond the small 

settlement of Poorman. Placer mining in this district has been in 

progress for several years, and a few years ago a mild rush followed 

on the discovery of some new deposits. This excitement soon died 

down when it was found that the new finds required laborious efforts 

to win, and many of the seekers for easy money left the district. The 

finds, however, did stimulate prospecting, and the workers developed 

some worth-while deposits, so that for the last 2 years the output of 

the district has shown a gratifying increase. The increase in 1932

i> Mertie, J. B., Jr., The mineral deposits of the Eampart and Hot Springs districts, Alaska: U.S. Oeol. 

Survey Bull. 844-D, 1933.
34 MINEEAL BESOTJRCES OF ALASKA, 1932

over 1931 is estimated to have been $18,000. Nearly two thirds of 

the production from the Ruby district comes from mines that are 

developed by drifting methods, and practically all of the mines in 

the southern part of the area are of this type. The most productive 

streams in the Poorman area are Poorman Creek itself and its tributaries Moose and Beaver Creeks. About 30 men are engaged in productive mining in this area. The two largest plants on Moose Creek 

are .those of Shropshire, Gragan & Pedretti and Odergaard & Ross. 

On Poorman Creek the larger camps are those of Forno & Coyle and 

of Jensen and associates. On Timber Creek, a tributary of Poorman 

Creek, Monaghan, Stevens & Lohr carried on productive mining 

throughout the season. Several smaller camps were active on some 

of the smaller tributaries of these streams and in the more remote 

parts of the district. Nearer Ruby and in some of the longer-known 

creeks some placer gold continues to be mined each year. Of these 

creeks the most productive in 1932 were Long, Flat, Greenstone, and 

Meketchum Creeks and Bear Gulch.

The Tolovana district, as the term is used in this report, embraces 

a considerable tract of country lying north and northwest of Fairbanks. This is one of the few districts in the Yukon region whose 

output of placer gold showed a marked falling off in 1932 compared 

with its output in 1931. This decrease is almost entirely attributable 

to the destruction by fire of the only dredge in the region, which 

heretofore had been one of the largest producers. The lost dredge 

was the property of the Beaver Dredging Co., mining on Nome Creek. 

So far as learned no steps have been taken looking toward the building of a new dredge on this property. In the past the placer gold 

mined in the Tolovana district has been taken in about equal amounts 

from deep mines and hydraulic or open-cut mines. Lately, however,

the amount of deep mining has decreased so much that in 1932 only 

one large producer Silva & Co., near the head of Livengood Creek 

mined by this method. At this place the overburden, which is penetrated to reach the pay streak, is in places nearly 100 feet thick. 

Most of the larger producing mines are on tributaries of Livengood 

Creek Lillian, Ruth, Amy, and Gertrude Creeks and Glen Gulch. 

Some placer gold was also recovered from the Tolovana River and its 

tributaries east of Livengood Creek. Among these tributary streams 

the most productive were Olive Creek and Lucky Gulch, which join 

the Tolovana from the north, and Wilbur Creek, which enters it 

from the south. Late.in the fall, according to local reports, a new 

organization acquired a considerable tract of potential placer ground 

on Livengood Creek, with the intention of thoroughly testing it by 

means of drilling, with the expectation that if the tests justify such 

action a dredge will be built to mine it. The drilling was not to be 

started until the spring of 1933 and even if successful can hardly be
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 35

expected to be followed up by productive mining until 1934. Accessibility of the Tolovana district will be considerably improved when 

the road now under construction from Fairbanks is completed, for at 

present except for such transportation as can be effected by airplanes, 

the trip to the district involves long, circuitous travel attended by 

much rehandling of freight and labor.

Placer-gold production in the Circle district was slightly more in 

1932 than in 1931, though not nearly as large as the amount of mining activity in the district would at first sight promise. This condition was undoubtedly in large part attributable to that most uncomm'on complaint of placer miners too much water. The extremely 

heavy rains and the resulting floods in the streams did serious damage 

at many of the properties by washing away the equipment or burying 

it under heavy deposits of gravel and detritus swept down by the 

storm waters, necessitating much dead work to clear away the debria 

and reset the sluice boxes, ditches, and other necessary mining apparatus. Placer-mining activities in 1932, as in the past, centered mainly/ 

in the valleys of those streams heading in the vicinity of Mastodou 

Dome and in the highlands adjacent to it, especially those flowing 

northward. Or^ Miller Creek, the northernmost tributary of Mammoth Creek, there was one camp mining, and on Mastodon and 

Independence Creeks, which unite farther south to form Mammoth 

Creek, there were three camps each that were hydraulicking considerable areas. To the east, on Deadwood Creek and its principal 

tributary, Switch Creek, there were four mining camps working creek 

claims and two small camps searching for high-level old channels on 

the western flanks of the valley. Still farther east on Ketchum Creek 

and its tributary, Holdem Creek, there was a considerable flurry, 

owing to the discovery of some especially promising prospects, and 

several small outfits were actively prospecting. West of the Fairbanks-Circle trail, on Bonanza Creek, a tributary of Porcupine Creek, 

one camp was hydraulicking placers lying about a mile south of the 

mouth of the creek, near the junction of Yankee Creek and Porcupine 

Creek a small camp had been established, and farther east down 

Porcupine Creek some prospecting of the wide-floored valley was in 

progress. According to local reports some prospecting was in progress 

on Loper Creek, a tributary of Preacher Creek, with the aim of determining the practicability of installing a dredge there. No information 

has been made public as to the outcome of this search. South of 

Mastodon Dome practically the only productive mining that was done 

during the season was at the mouth of Eagle Creek, at its junction 

with Birch Creek, and a short distance southwest, near the junction 

of Butte and Birch Creeks. Prospecting was also in progress at several 

other points but so far as known did not swell the gold output of the 

district materially or disclose new deposits of note.
36 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

The Koyukuk district, as the term is here used, embraces a very 

large tract of country and consists of at least three rather widely 

separated areas in which placer gold has been mined. These subordinate areas are the Indian Creek-Hughes area, in the central 

part of the Koyukuk Valley; the Hogatza River area, somewhat 

north of Hughes and embracing country north of the Koyukuk 

River; and the upper Koyukuk area, which includes that part of 

the Koyukuk Valley lying north and northeast of Settles and the 

country near Wiseman. Mining in the two more southern placer 

areas was practically negligible, and the Geological Survey has 

received no specific information regarding work there. The production of gold from the northern area shows a slight increase in 1932 

over the amount produced in 1931, but the output is far below that of 

the earlier years of the camp. Much of the Koyukuk district lies 

in one of the more remote and inaccessible parts of Alaska, so that 

its development presents many obstacles, but the demonstrated 

extent and richness of its mineral deposits will inevitably lead to its 

further development. However, success in bringing this about will 

call not only for funds but also for the skill, persistence, and courage 

of the best miners and prospectors, and at presents there are but a 

few score men undertaking that task. All the camps are small; the 

largest that was operating in the district, so far as known, consisted 

of only half a dogen men. So far as reported, the largest placer production came from three camps on the Hammond 'River and Nolan 

Creek and four camps on the Wild River and its tributary, Lake 

Creek. In the valley of the Wild River and Lake Creek the miners 

were especially handicapped this year by the heavy .floods that 

occurred in midseason, which not only swept away the sluice boxes 

and other equipment but also swamped many of the pits and made 

prospecting especially difficult. Much of the Koyukuk district is so 

little known and so small a part of it has been accurately mapped, 

even on a reconnaissance scale, by the Geological Survey that a sketch 

map of the district showing all the available information regarding 

the position and names of the various creeks may be of interest. 

Such a sketch map, prepared by Robert Marshall, who spent several 

years in the district, has been published by the Geological Survey.20 

Those interested in a general description of the district, including 

some notes on the relation of its inhabitants to its mineral resources, 

will find much that is significant in a book by Mr. Marshall recently 

issued.21

In the table on page 30 the placer-gold production of the Chandalar district has been combined with that from the Koyukuk. The

80 Marshall, Robert, Reconnaissance of northern Koyukuk Valley, Alaska: U.S. Oeol. Survey Bull. 

844-E, 1934. 

« Marshall, Robert, Arctic village, 382 pp., New York, Harrison Smith & Robert Haas, Inc., 1933.
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 37

amount of gold that conies from the Chandalar is much less than that 

from the camps in the Koyukuk Valley. So far as reported, practically all the placer gold recovered from the Chandalar district in 

1932 came from the properties on Big Creek. A small amount of 

gold was also taken from a claim on Little Squaw Creek, but most of 

the work at this claim was of a prospecting character. Much of the 

Chandalar district is so remote that, except for indirect reports, little 

information is available as to mining activities in it. It is probable, 

however, that there are not more than half a dozen active propsectors 

in the thousands of square miles embraced in the drainage basin of 

the Chandalar River. According to a recent news item hi one of the 

technical journals, an arrangement was made late in 1932 whereby 

the Idaho-Alaska Corporation took over the leases and options 

formerly held by the Engineers' Exploration Syndicate on various 

gold properties in the Chandalar district. 22 While the principal 

deposits on the tract thus acquired are lodes, some of the prospective 

placer areas are also included, so that it is by no means improbable 

that the explorations by the company may result in both lode and 

placer developments.

The output of placer gold from the Fortymile district in 1932 was 

very much less than in 1931. The decrease is largely attributable to 

the fact that the property of the company that usually is the heaviest 

producer in the district was not being mined but instead was being 

put into condition for the installation of a dredge next season. This 

called for considerable dead work not only on the ground proper but 

also in extending the ditch line so as to make an adequate supply of 

water available. When the installation is completed the property 

will be equipped not only with its present dragline scraper but also 

with a modern dredge. Another though somewhat less significant 

reason for the decline in placer production from the Fortymile district 

in 1932 was that the exceptionally rainy season kept the larger rivers 

at so high a stage that the smaller outfits, which usually recover 

considerable placer gold from the bars, were able to do little of that 

sort of mining this year. In the Fortymile district both drift mining 

and open-cut work is done, but by far the larger amount of gold is 

recovered from the open cuts. According to the available records 

25 to 30 men were engaged in drift mining and from 40 to 50 in the 

open-cut work. The most productive area in the district was the 

valley of Chicken Creek and its tributary Jack Wade Creek. Smaller 

amounts of placer gold were recovered from Eagle, Napoleon, Davis, 

Squaw, Poker, and Smith Creeks, Franklin Gulch, and the bars 

of the Fortymile River and the South Fork. Rumors are current 

that the holders of a considerable tract of unmined ground along the 

South Fork of the Fortymile River have under consideration a plan

« Eng. and Min. Jour., vol. 134, no. 1, p. 41,1933.
38 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

for putting in a dredge in the near future to mine this ground. So far 

as known, however, no definite steps have been taken to acquire such 

a dredge.

In the Eagle district the production of placer gold in 1932 was 

nearly twice as great as in 1931, owing to the plentiful supply of water 

and the coming of a score or°more of prospectors and miners to the 

district from Fairbanks during the open season. Among the largest 

producing mines in the district may be mentioned those of the July 

Creek Placer Co., on Fourth of July Creek; of Froelich, Kummer, 

Ott & Scheele, on Crooked Creek; of Wm. Fritsch, on American 

Creek; and of Axel Johnson, on Seventymile River. Smaller camps 

were at work at other places on many of the same streams and elsewhere in the district, and prospecting throughout the district was 

being done much more extensively than in any of the immediately 

preceding years.

The Marshall district, as the name is used in this report, includes 

practically all of the western part of the Yukon Valley below Holy 

Cross and is somewhat more inclusive than the so-called Wade 

Hampton recording precinct. In this large area there is but very 

little placer mining or prospecting, and what there is is more or less 

localized at two points one near Marshall and the other in the 

Stuyahok or Bonasila Valley. A few miles upstream from Marshall 

(Fortuna Ledge post office), Willow Creek, the source of most of the 

placer gold that in earlier years was mined in the Marshall district, 

joins the Yukon. This stream heads in hills composed principally 

of Upper Cretaceous sediments and Paleozoic greenstones and related rocks. Within the hills the creek flows in a narrow-floored valley whose deposits contain many large boulders that interfere seriously with mining. In 1932 it is reported that only two prospectors 

were working in the area. On Montezuma Creek two men were mining the creek gravel and reported a fair return for their season's work. 

About 50 miles northeast of Marshall, in the valley of the Stuyahok 

River, a tributary of the Bonasila River, a party of four men were 

mining with a hydraulic lift and plant. No details have been learned 

by the Geological Survey as to the progress of the work at this place, 

but the amount of gold recovered indicates that the season was reasonably successful, and that success suggests that further exploration 

in the region might lead to the discovery of other favorable places to 

search for productive placer deposits.

Placer mining in the Bonnifield district was carried on by a few 

small camps, the largest of which employed not more than 4 or 5 men, 

and none of them yielded gold worth more than a few thousand 

dollars. Among those reporting some production of gold during 1932 

may be mentioned operators on Gold King, Marguerite, Moose, and 

Platte Creeks. The production from this district has been combined
MINEKAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 39

in the table on page 30 with that from the Kantishna district, but it may 

be stated that the placer gold from this district was somewhat more 

than half of the combined total. In the Kantishna district there 

were altogether less than a dozen men engaged in placer mining or 

prospecting, and they were distributed through small camps on several 

of the creeks, notably Eureka, Little Moose, Glen, and Yellow Creeks. 

None of these camps, however, recovered gold worth more than a 

few hundred dollars. All the ground is shallow and is mined by 

simple methods. An examination of all the mineral deposits in the 

vicinity of Eureka was made by F. G. Wells, and the results of that 

work have been published by the Geological Survey.23

Records received by the Geological Survey regarding placer mining 

in the Rampart district indicate that eight camps, the largest consisting of only two men, were active during 1932. Several of these

operations recovered only a few hundred dollars* worth of gold. The 

greatest amount of gold seems to have come from two properties on 

Hunter and Little Minook Creeks. Some gold was produced at 

smaller camps in the valleys of Big Minook, Slate, and Hoosier Creeks. 

Some prospecting was also done on the high gravel deposits of Idaho 

Bar. A more detailed investigation of the mineral deposits and the 

progress of mining in the Rampart district was made by J. B. Mertie, 

Jr., in 1931, and his report is now available.24 In the Gold Hill district, which lies west of the town of Tanana and in this report has for 

convenience been grouped with the Rampart district, a little prospecting was done in 1932 on Mason Creek. Only a little gold was recovered in this work, but it is significant as indicating the continuation of 

mining interest in this district, and on at least one of the properties 

the showings already found are said to be sufficiently good to convince the owner that they warrant the installation of a hydraulic 

plant.

Reports from the Chisana district (locally called Shushanna) indicate that an increase was shown in its mining activities, about 20 

prospectors and miners having done some work in various parts of 

the district, and the plentiful supply of water made it possible to carry 

on more work than during the recently preceding years. The largest 

output from the district is reported to have come from the property 

on Little Eldorado Creek, owned by Carl Whitham and operated 

under a lay by B. J. Davis. Among the new developments in the 

district may be mentioned the construction of two new dams, one 

near the mouth of Gold Run and the other on Bonanza Creek.

23 Wells, F. G., Lode deposits of Eureka and vicinity, Kantishna district, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey 

Bull. 849-F, 1933.

" Mertle, J. B., Jr., Mineral deposits of the Rampart and Hot Springs districts, Alaska: U.S. Geol. 

Survey Bull. 844-D, 1934.
40

KUSKOKWIM REGION

Included in the Kuskokwim region are four principal districts 

where gold placers were mined in 1932. For convenience of description they may be called the Mount McKinley, Georgetown, TuluksakAniak, and Goodnews Bay districts. The Mount McKinley district 

embraces all the eastern part of the Kuskokwim Valley, but the 

placer mining in it is more or less localized around McGrath, Takotna, 

and Medfra. The Georgetown district is in the central part of the 

Kuskokwim Valley, and work there centers more or less closely 

around the settlement of Georgetown, on the Kuskokwim, about 45 

miles in an air line south of Iditarod. The Tuluksak-Aniak district 

is named from two rivers that traverse parts of it; the Tuluksak 

enters the Kuskokwim from the south some distance east of the settlement of Bethel, and the Aniak enters the Kuskokwim about 50 miles 

still farther upstream, to the east. Goodnews Bay is a small indentation of the coast on the east side of Kuskokwim Bay, about 125 

miles in an air line south of Bethel.

The production of placer gold in the Kuskokwim region in 1932 is 

estimated at $153,000, or essentially the same as in 1931, when 

$158,000 was produced. Considering the enormous area of the 

Kuskokwim region this amount is small, but when it is remembered 

that there are probably less than a hundred white miners in the whole 

region, that their activities are much handicapped by their remoteness 

from supplies, and that their expenses are consequently large and 

their funds small, the wonder is that the production is as large as it is. 

From such geologic information as is available regarding the Kuskokwim region, it seems certain that there are areas in it that well deserve 

more intensive investigation and that in the vast totally unexplored

areas that fall within its confines there is a fair probability that

examination and intelligent prospecting might disclose not only 

workable gold placers but also other mineral deposits.

Reports regarding placer mining in the Mount McKinley district 

are extremely meager, and so far as could be learned most of the 

work was done by several camps of 1 or 2 men at widely separated 

points, most of which, however, are adjacent to McGrath or in the 

hills north of the Kuskokwim River farther upstream, near Medfra. 

Less than a score of men were employed in this work, and no notable 

new finds appear to have been made. Mining is carried on only 

during the summer, and most of it is done.by ordinary open-cut or 

simple hydraulic methods. Among the more productive operations 

in the district were those carried on by a camp of 6 to 8 men on 

Moore Creek, a tributary of the Takotna River, about 50 miles in 

an air line southwest of McGrath, and by a smaller camp on Candle 

Creek, a tributary of the Tatalina River, 8 or 10 miles southwest of 

McGrath. The work on Candle Creek appears to have been done
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 41

principally on tracts that had been missed or were inaccessible when 

the area was dredged some years ago.

Placer mining in the Georgetown district appears to have been 

restricted to the placers of Donlin and Julian Creeks. The mineralized areas on these streams lie only about 25 miles south of the town 

of Flat, in the Iditarod district, and as they are reached most easily 

from that district they might really be considered as outliers of the 

deposits of that district. The property on Julian Creek proved especially productive, and 7 or 8 men were employed throughout the 

season in mining there. The demonstration that conditions comparable with those in favorable parts of the Iditarod region occur in 

adjacent parts of the Kuskokwim region is having a stimulating effect 

in broadening the area in which search for productive placers is warranted. During the past year this has led several small parties of

prospectors to visit parts of the Georgetown area, and though so far 

as learned none of these have yet reported any finds of moment, 

their activity is regarded as a distinctly promising move for the 

district as a whole.

In the Tuluksak-Aniak district the bulk of the placer gold production in 1932 came from the property on Bear Creek that is being 

mined by the New York Alaska Dredging Co. The dredge has been 

modernized in its power plant and has thus been enabled to increase 

its capacity. The company has undertaken to widen out the tract 

dredged by including more of the placer ground on both sides of the 

main channel and has thus been able to increase the reserves on its 

property that can be mined by the dredge. About 20 men were 

employed, and work was carried on continuously until stopped early 

in November by the shutting in of winter. Next to the dredge production the largest placer production in the Tuluksak-Aniak district 

and, in fact, the largest in the whole Kuskokwim region came from 

the property of Luther C. Hess, on Marvel Creek, which was operated under lay by Dahl & Wilson. Marvel Creek is a tributary of 

the Salmon River, which in turn flows into the Aniak River. Six 

men were employed at this camp, and all reports indicate that it 

experienced an especially good season. Several other small camps of 

a few prospectors each are reported to have been carrying on a search 

for placers on some of the streams that head in the general vicinity 

of Marvel Dome, and there is said to be a revival of interest in prospecting throughout the area, but returns from this work have not 

yet indidated any notable increase in the output of placer gold.

In the Goodnews Bay region the prospectors lately have been so 

much more interested in the search for platinum placers and their 

efforts have been so much better repaid that the search for gold 

placers and their development have been more or less abandoned. 

However, during 1932 there was some evidence of a return of interest
42 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

in prospecting for gold, and three small camps are reported to have 

recovered a total of a few thousand dollars from placers in the district. 

The largest amount of placer gold is reported to have come from 

claims on Wattamuse Creek and the Arolic River, but the total from 

the whole district was worth only a few thousand dollars. There 

are only about a dozen prospectors in the entire region, and by far 

the greater number of these are most active in the search and development of the platinum placers that lie in the southern part of the 

district. According to local reports steps are in progress for the 

examination by engineers in 1933 of a considerable tract of ground 

in the vicinity of Wattamuse Creek, with a view to determining 

whether or not its character and tenor are such as to justify the installation of a dredge on it. Probably the accessible richer deposits 

have largely been mined out by the hand methods that have been 

used in the past, and the hope of material future production must 

rest largely on being able to work extensive low-grade deposits profitably. No recent information has been received by the Geological 

Survey as to the progress of testing the extensive low-grade deposits 

in the Arolic River Valley, and the absence of such reports suggests 

that results of significance have not yet been obtained.

SEWABD PENINSULA

The production of gold from Seward Peninsula in 1932 was considerably more than in 1931, amounting to $1,533,000. As was the 

case in other parts of Alaska, the open season in Seward Peninsula 

was marked by unusually heavy rainfall, so that supplies of water 

for the various mining operations were greater than normal, and the 

other natural conditions which affect mining were favorable. A very

large part of the gold recovered from Seward Peninsula placers is

mined by dredges. In 1932 gold worth $1,315,000, or over 85 percent of the placer output of the peninsula, was mined by 13 dredges, 

one or more of which were active* in practically every one of the 

larger districts of the peninsula. Additional data regarding dredge 

mining on Seward Peninsula, as well as in other parts of Alaska, are 

given on pages 49-53.

In the relative order of their output of placer gold in 1932 the 

mining districts of Seward Peninsula stood as follows: Nome, Fairhaven (including the Candle and Inmachuk districts), Solomon (including the Casadepaga River region), Council, Kougarok, Bluff, the 

Koyuk River region, and Port Clarence. , So much of the placer gold 

from some of these districts came from only one or two mines that 

it has not seemed advisable to publish the production of the separate 

districts, as it might disclose the output of the individual mines.

The outstanding mining enterprise in the Nome region, as well as in 

the whole of Seward Peninsula, continues to be that of the Hammon
MINERAL INDUSTRY.IN 1932 43

Consolidated Gold Fields, with its three dredges between Little and 

Dry Creeks, its scores of claims, and its extensive ditches and other 

equipment for properly conducting its work. Work at this property 

was conducted on the same general lines as heretofore, two of the 

dredges mining near the site of the ancient beaches some distance 

inland from the shore and the other about half a mile inland from the 

present beach. A considerable force of men was also employed by the 

company at the hydraulic pit near Center Creek and in cleaning the 

rough bedrock exposed there to recover the gold that has penetrated 

far down along the cracks and crevices in the limy schist bedrock on 

which the old beach concentration took place. For a while it seemed 

that this large enterprise was nearing its conclusion, as the work was 

fast being carried to the property limits and negotiations had failed to. 

acquire additional ground in the neighborhood at satisfactory terms, 

Early in the spring of 1933, however, according to newspaper reports, 

it was learned that suitable arrangements had finally been made for 

the company to obtain additional ground, so that its work will not be 

interrupted. This outcome is of great significance not only to the 

district but to the whole mining development of Alaska. On Newton 

Gulch, near Nome, the Dry Creek Dredging Co. was mining throughout the summer and apparently had a successful season. On the old 

second beach, a short distance east of Nome, a small dredge known 

locally as the McCarthy & Panos dredge worked part of the season. 

There were also a number of open-cut mines on many of the creeks 

in the vicinity of Nome. Most of these mines were small and 

employed only a few men; the largest appears to have been that of the 

Monument Creek Mining Co., on Monument Creek, a tributary of 

the Nome Biver, where seven to nine men were employed throughout 

most of the open season. The manager of this company was also 

carrying on development work in the coastal-plain deposits south of 

Sunset Creek with a view not only of testing out the gold contents of 

these deposits but also of determining an efficient way of mining those 

whose contents proved high enough. For this work a gasoline engine 

was used to elevate and stack tailings and to recirculate the water 

needed in sluicing.

The greatest amount of placer gold mined in the Fairhaven district came from three main tracts Candle Creek, the Inmachuk 

River, and Bear Creek. Altogether somewhat more than 100 men 

were employed on different mining properties in this district in 1932, 

Candle Creek is a large tributary of the Kiwalik River from the west, 

close to the town of Candle. On Candle Creek and its tributaries, 

Patterson and Jump Creeks, the greatest amount of placer gold was 

recovered by the dredge of the Keewalik Mining Co. Production con~ 

tinued at essentially the same rate as heretofore, and no new develop^ 

ments of significance were reported. Altogether about six camps,
44

employing a total of about 50 men, were mining on this creek and its 

" tributaries. Farther up the Kiwalik River, on Quartz Creek, which 

"enters from the east, a little productive placer mining was done, 

and on Gold Run, which enters the Kiwalik River from the west a 

few miles below Quartz Creek, some prospecting was in progress.

In the Inmachuk Valley the principal producer was the- hydraulic 

mine of A. V. Cordovado, on the Pinnell River a short distance 

upstream from its junction with the Inmachuk. Work at this place 

has been in progress for several years, but much ground still remains 

to be mined, and according to the records of production the tenor 

seems to show no marked change. Several small hydraulic-mining 

camps were established on nearby creeks. The largest of these was 

on Humboldt Creek, where four men had a fairly successful season. On the Inmachuk River a small dredge that was formerly 

known as the Fries dredge was reconditioned by the Forsgren & 

Vollmer Dredging Co. and was in operation at intervals throughout 

the season. Altogether between 35 and 40 men were engaged in 

mining in the Inmachuk area in 1932. Some prospecting is reported to 

have been continued during the year in searching for the old stream 

courses that were buried under the great outpourings of Tertiary and 

later lavas which cover a tract of more than 1,000 square miles in 

the central part of Seward Peninsula. This is a difficult and timeconsuming quest and so far as learned has not yet disclosed workable placer deposits.

The third tract in which placers were mined in the Fairhaven 

district lies on Bear Creek east of the hills that form the divide 

between the Buckland and Kiwalik Rivers. No specific reports have 

been received as to the individual mining operations in that tract

and the absence of news indicates that there have not been any

notable developments during the year. However, the production 

seems to have been maintained at approximately the same rate as in 

preceding years, and apparently 8 to 10 men were engaged in mining 

there.

In the Solomon district by far the larger part of the placer production was obtained by the dredge of the Spruce Creek Dredging Co., 

though there were two other dredges in the district and a number of 

small camps using hydraulic or open-cut methods situated on the 

streams, especially in the southern and central parts of the district. 

The success of the dredging at Spruce Creek is of special significance 

not only as a contributor to the output of the district but also in encouraging further search in the coastal-plain deposits of the district for 

old placer concentrations, comparable in origin with those at Nome and 

likely to be of economic value where they were adjacent to mineralized 

bedrock.
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 45

The other dredges were the Goldsmith or Coal Creek dredge, near 

the head of the Solomon Kiver, and the dredge on Ruby Creek, in the 

Casadepaga Valley, just north of the Solomon River divide. The 

principal open-cut mines were on West, Big Hurrah, Jerome, and 

Rock Creeks, Moran Gulch, and the Solomon River. Few of these 

smaller camps had an output of as much as several thousand dollars, 

and many of them yielded only a very modest grubstake.

In the Council district, as in the other larger producing districts of 

.Seward Peninsula, most of the placer gold produced in 1932 came from 

dredges. Two dredges were operated on Ophir Creek one belonging 

to the Ophir Gold Dredging Co. and the other to the Northern Star 

Dredging Co. The last named was in the lower part of the valley, 

where the stream traverses the lowland of the Niukluk. The recovery 

of gold by the dredges in 1932 is said to have been somewhat greater 

than in the immediately preceding years. The largest open-cut mine 

in the district is on Aggie Creek, a tributary of the Fish River. At 

that place a crew of seven men was engaged in hydraulicking throughout the open season. Two small open-cut mines were also in operation 

on Ophir and Crooked Creeks, and one small camp was reported to 

have been mining on Benson Gulch, a tributary of Melsing Creek. 

Although there were doubtless a few other small camps scattered 

through the district, no direct reports have been received from them, 

and nothing is known about the progress of their work, though to 

judge from the total amount of gold received from this district by the 

banks, most of them made at best only a modest grubstake.

According to available reports the return from placer-mining operations in the Kougarok district was somewhat larger than it has been 

of late years. The bulk of this output came from the operations of 

the Henry Creek Gold Dredging Co. on claims near the junction of 

Henry Creek and the Kougarok River. Some difficulties in starting 

work in the spring were encountered, owing to low water, which 

required raising the dams so as to gain adequate flotation for the 

dredge, and some financial complications caused early cessation of 

work in the fall. Elsewhere in the Kougarok district the mining was 

carried on by small camps consisting usually of only 1 or 2 men each. 

In the vicinity of Coffee Dome, in the southern part of the district, 

the Coffee Creek Mining Co. continued its explorations and is reported 

to have found encouraging prospects. Small hydraulic plants were 

in operation on Eagle and Wonder Gulches, tributary to Coffee Creek. 

Dahl Creek yielded the most gold of all the creeks in the southern part 

of the district, and more than 10 men were mining at different points 

along its course. Near the head of the Kougarok several claims 

were being developed, especially on Macklin and nearby creeks. All 

these claims are being developed by open-cut methods and shoveling 

in, few of them being equipped with mechanical labor-saving devices.
46 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

Some mining is also reported to have been done at small camps on 

Dick Creek and some of the other valleys that head against the 

northern divide of the Kougarok River. During the year the 

property on Merritt Gulch and adjacent parts of the Henry Creek 

Valley, long held by the Wells brothers, was purchased by the Continental Gold Mining Co. This company shipped in a large amount 

of supplies and equipment, established a good camp, and repaired 

and extended the old ditch and otherwise did preparatory work to 

put the property into shape to be actively mined next year.

South of the Kougarok district, in the vicinity of Iron Creek, six 

men are reported to have done some hydraulic mining during the 

year. On American Creek, about 8 miles east of Iron Creek, one 

camp employing several men was said to have been engaged in constructing a ditch to lead water for use in hydraulicking placer ground 

on that stream. The entire production of gold from the Iron Creek 

area, however, was so small that it amounted to little more than wages 

for the men concerned.

In the vicinity of Bluff the principal placer mining in 1932 was done 

on claims lying along the lower course of Daniels Creek, by the 

Topkok Chief Mines Co. Mining at this place is carried on by a crew 

of 18 to 20 men, using a dragline scraper which excavates the decomposed limestone bedrock and overlying unconsolidated deposits. 

Much of the ground is quite deep, and the gold penetrates far into the 

bedrock. Some small amounts of placer gold were also produced 

from one property farther north up Daniels Creek and from claims on 

Swede Creek. The mining on Swede Creek at first sight resembles 

lode mining more than normal placer mining, for the sediment-filled 

cracks and openings in the bedrock have been followed down by the 

miners in places more than 20 feet without reaching the limits to 

which the placer gold has traveled. North of Bluff, in the valley of 

the Klokerblok, a flurry of excitement was caused during the year by 

the reported discovery of prospects that appeared encouraging. No 

details regarding this find have been received by the Geological Survey.

The Koyuk district, as the term is used in this report, includes 

most of southeastern Seward Peninsula and is so named from the 

principal stream that traverses it. Most of the placer deposits that 

are mined are on Dime Creek and a few of the other streams in the 

vicinity of Haycock. Although in the past one small dredge has been 

active in the district, in 1932 it did not operate, and all the placer 

gold came from bench and creek placers mined by hydraulic or opencut methods. Five camps employed a total of 10 to 12 men during 

the summer. All these camps were on Dime Creek except two on 

Sweepstake Creek. The water supply in this district is reported to 

have been unusually deficient in 1932, so that mining operations were 

badly hampered.
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 47

The Port Clarence district, in western Seward Peninsula, is the 

only one of the large sections of the peninsula in which no dredge is 

in operation. The production from the district in 1932 was valued 

at only a few thousand dollars, and probably there are not more than 

15 to 20 men in it that are doing any mining. So far as learned from 

local reports, the greatest amount of gold was recovered by one camp 

of four men on Coyote Creek and from smaller camps on Gold Run, 

Offield Creek, and the American River. In the valley of Burke 

Creek, which is a tributary of the Agiapuk River, 4 or 5 men were 

prospecting during the summer and report that they feel sufficiently 

encouraged by the outcome of their work to go ahead with further 

exploration and the extension of their ditches to furnish a more adequate supply of water.

Lying east of Seward Peninsula but more or less closely related

to it is the Bonanza district, so named from a small stream which 

has long been known to carry some placer gold. Prospecting has 

been carried on at several places in this general area in the past and 

for the last 2 or 3 years has been localized in the narrow coastal 

plain that lies between the waters of Norton Bay and the hills to 

the east. The bedrock in this part of the area consists mostly of 

dark slate and sandstone and thus differs markedly 'from the schist 

bedrock that occurs in most of the other placer camps in Seward 

Peninsula. The history of the coastal plain at this place in the main 

seems to have been comparable to that of the coastal plain at Nome 

and elsewhere in Seward Peninsula, so that prospecting for ancient 

beaches in this district is well justified. Whether the ancient beaches 

will prove to be gold bearing, however, depends on the occurrence 

of mineralization in the material that formed this coastal plain and, 

if it occurred, on the effectiveness of any subsequent concentration. 

The present production from this entire tract amounts at most to 

only a few hundred dollars a year.

NORTHWESTERN ALASKA

The Kobuk River Valley is the only one in northwestern Alaska 

that is reported to have been the scene of any placer mining in 1932. 

In this valley there are two principal areas where placer mining is 

being done. The western area is near Kiana, and the principal 

placer tract is in the valley of the Squirrel River and especially in 

the valley of its tributary Klery Creek. The eastern area is in the 

vicinity of Shungnak, a small settlement about midway between the 

head and mouth of the Kobuk River. Kiana is about 50 miles in 

an air line above the mouth of the Kobuk, and Shungnak is about 

90 to 100 miles in an air line east of Kiana. Both of these tracts are 

so remote and so poorly served by any means of regular transporta12466-83 i
48 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

tion or communication that their development is much retarded and 

hampered by high costs, unavoidable delays, and short working 

season.

The Geological Survey has received no recent information regarding 

placer-mining activities in the area near Kiana, but it is assumed that 

work was carried on there during 1932 at about the same places and 

on the same scale as in recent years that is, probably there were 

not over half a dozen small outfits who were testing ground principally 

in the valley of Klery Creek, and the output from it amounted to not 

much more than a thousand dollars. It was reported in 1931 that a 

new drill was being shipped into the region for the purpose of testing 

some of the deeper bench gravel which could not be advantageously 

explored by other methods. It was expected that the drilling would 

be done during the winter of 1931-32, but if this was done the results 

obtained have not been made public.

In the tract near Shungnak the placer deposits occur in the lowland 

adjacent to the Kobuk, close to the places where the small streams 

that come down from the hills to the north traverse that lowland, or 

in the valleys of the streams within this belt of hills. The source of 

the placer gold found in these deposits appears to be local, as in general 

it is rough and shows little evidence of having been transported far. 

This conclusion is further supported by many quartz veins carrying 

free gold in the metamorphic rocks that form the hills in which these 

streams rise or which they traverse. In 1932, 7 small camps, 

employing a total of 15 men, were established on streams in the 

vicinity of Shungnak 3 on Dahl Creek, 2 on the Shungnak River, 

and 1 each on Lynx Creek and California Creek. Lynx and California 

Creeks are tributaries of the Kogoluktuk River, which joins the Kobuk 

some 3 or 4 miles east of Shungnak, and the Shungnak River enters 

the Kobuk about 15 miles west of Shungnak. The largest of these 

camps were those of the Kobuk Alaska Mines, on the Shungnak 

River, and Ferguson & Son, on California Creek. Mining at the 

camp on the Shungnak River was done by hydraulic methods, but 

it was reported that the season of 1932 was so dry that the supply 

of water was inadequate and little productive work was accomplished. 

It is understood that the company is proposing to extend its ditch 

lines so as to tap supplementary water supplies. The property on 

California Creek was mined by hydraulic methods and on about the 

same scale as during the preceding year. The remoteness of the 

district makes mining there expensive, as transportation facilities 

for moving heavy supplies and equipment are meager. For the 

transportation of persons or small or light commodities airplanes 

make the district relatively accessible, and already some of the 

prospectors are using this means of travel.
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 49

In addition to the productive mining noted, it is stated that some 

prospecting was in progress in the more remote parts of northwestern 

Alaska. According to reports prospectors were investigating possible 

placer ground on the Mauneluk River east of Shungnak, on tributaries 

of the Kobuk near the head of its valley, and in the eastern part of 

the Noatak Valley. The indications found were said to have been 

sufficiently good to warrant further prospecting in these areas another 

season.

DREDGING

Nearly 78 percent of all the placer gold produced in Alaska in 1932 

was mined by dredges. The total gold thus recovered was $4,293,000, 

of which the greater part came from 11 dredges in the Yukon region 

and the rest from 13 dredges in Seward Peninsula and 1 in the Kuskokwim region. This total is considerably larger than the amount

recovered by dredges in 1931, and the increase is very largely to be 

attributed to increased output from the larger dredges in the Fairbanks 

and Nome districts. The accompanying table gives the output of 

gold by Alaska dredges, beginning in 1903, the earliest year for which 

records are available.

Gold produced by dredge mining in Alaska, 1903-S2

Year

1903-15.............. ............. ................ ..

1916...^. ...........................................

1917-.......... ... .. _ - 

1918 ............................... __ .........

1919 ....... ...................... __ ...........

1920 ...... ...... : . . .. ..-

1921... ....... ..... . 

1922................................. __ . __ ......

1923 .............. ... . . ..

1924...................... ............... ...... ..

1925....-............... ........................

1926...... ............ ................. .....

1927--..-..-....-........-.... .................

1928 .............. ........... __ ..............

1929. _ ............................... __ ........

1930................... ......_. .........

1931 ................... .. .. .. -

1932 ............... ...... ........ ....... .

Number 

of dredges 

operated

34

36

28

28

22

24

23

25

27

27

32

28

27

30

27

28

25

Value of gold 

output

$12,431,000

2,679,000

2,500,000

1,425,000

1,360,000

1,129,932

1, 582, 520

1,767,753

1, 848, 596

1, 663, 361

1, 572, 312

2,291,000

1,740,000

2,185,000

2,932,000

3, 912, 600

3,749,000

4, 293, 000

60, 962, 000

Gravel handled

Cubic yards

3,900,000

3,700,000

2,490,000

1,760,000

1, 633, 861

2, 799, 519

3, 186, 343

4, 645, 053

4, 342, 667

3, 144, 624

5,730,000

6,084,000

6,371,000

8, 709, 600

9,906,000

10,214,000

10, 310, 700

Value of 

gold recovered per 

cubic yard

$0.69

.68

.67

.77

.69

.57

.55

.40

.36

.50

.40

.29

.34

.336

395

.367

.416

The total value of the gold produced by dredges since 1903 is 18.9 

percent of the total value of gold produced from all kinds of placer 

mining since 1880, and lately there has been a general tendency each 

year for a greater and greater percentage of the placer output to be 

mined by dredges. During 1932 the ratio of dredge production to 

the output from all other kinds of placer mining was nearly 78 to 22, 

and there are no signs of a diminution in dredge mining in the near 

future in fact, an even higher ratio seems not unlikely.
50 MINEEAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

In the foregoing table the figures given for yardage mined and 

value of the gold recovered per cubic yard are subject to some inaccuracy because several of the dredge operators have not furnished 

specific information on those subjects for their individual properties, 

and the figures for these properties have therefore had to be estimated. In making these estimates the following procedure has been 

adopted to determine the unknown factors: Operators of dredges 

that produced approximately $4,008,654 in gold, or a little more than 

93% percent of the total mined by dredges, report' that that amount 

came from 9,627,797 yards of gravel. The average yield thus shown 

is about 41.64 cents in gold to the cubic yard. Applying this average 

to determine the unreported yardage gives a total of 10,310,700 cubic 

yards, and this is the figure that has been used in the table. This 

procedure is obviously open to criticism, because the companies that 

reported fully the amount of gravel mined were the larger ones, and 

doubtless they worked ground of a lower tenor than that mined by 

some of the smaller companies. As a result, the average value adopted 

may be too low and consequently may indicate a larger volume of 

gravel than was actually handled. This method, however, has been 

followed for the last 8 years, so that the quantities and values given 

for 1932 are comparable with those reported for the preceding 8 

years. If this value as stated is correct, it will be evident from the 

table that the average tenor of the ground dredged in 1932 was considerably higher than the average for 1927 to 1929, though considerably lower than the average for most of the preceding years.

The length of tune that the different dredges were operated varied 

widely. The longest season reported was 247 days for one of the 

dredges of the Fairbanks Exploration Co., which was operating in 

the Fairbanks district of the Yukon-Tanana region. The longest

season reported for any of the Seward Peninsula dredges was for 

one of the dredges of the Hammon Consolidated Gold Fields, at 

Nome, which mined for 185 days. The earliest date for beginning 

work in the spring and the latest date for ending work in the fall 

were reported by the Fairbanks Exploration Co., which began mining April 2 and did not stop its last dredge until December 5. The 

earliest and latest dates on Seward Peninsula were May 13 and 

November 14, both reported by the Hammon Consolidated Gold 

Fields. The average length of working season in 1932 of the 10 

companies for which information is available, as determined from 

the beginning and ending dates reported by each company, irrespective of how many dredges it operated, was 122 days. Obviously, 

the shortness of the average season as compared with the record of 

247 days for the longest working season was due not to climatic conditions, but to breakage or some other purely local cause at the different dredges. The lesson that is demonstrated by this dredging
MINEKAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 51

record is that throughout most of interior Alaska a moderate-sized 

dredge reasonably well handled may be expected to have at least 

an average working season of 4}_ months, and that with skill and 

special provisions against unfavorable climatic conditions the dredging season may be extended for an additional period of 2 to 3 months 

in practically any of the placer camps south of the Arctic Circle. The 

longest dredging season yet recorded is that of one of the dredges of 

the Fairbanks Exploration Co. in 1930, which was in operation for 

:269 days. This unusually long season, however, was found to be 

undesirable, as the difficulties experienced outweighted the advantages 

.gained:

The following is a list of the dredges that did some productive 

mining during 1932:

Yukon Basin:

Fairbanks district:

Fairbanks Exploration Co. (5).___.__-.___---_ Goldstream and

Cleary Creek. 

J. R. Murphy, lessee from Fairbanks Gold

Dredging Co., Ltd. (2)__.__.__.____ Fairbanks Creek. 

Hot Springs district: American Creek Dredging Co. American Creek. 

Iditarod district:

North American Dredge Co______.--_-.-_-_._ Flat Creek.

J. E. Riley Investment Co______-__---___-_-_ Otter Creek.

Innoko district: Anderson, Pontella, Utilla & Larson, 

lessees-_-_--___---__.______-_--___--______--_ Little Creek.

Kuskokwim region, Tuluksak-Aniak district: New York 

Alaska Gold Dredging Corporation._________________ Bear Creek.

Seward Peninsula: 

Council district:

Northern Star Dredging Co___._-_----.__.___ Ophir Creek.

Ophir Gold Dredging Co--.----...-.-.---.... Do.

Fairhaven district:

Keewalik Mining Co_---_----_--_----------_ Candle Creek.

Forsgren & Vollmer Dredging Co_____________ Inmachuk River.

Kougarok district: Henry Creek Gold Dredging Co_ Kougarok River. 

Nome district:

Dry Creek Dredging Co-___------_---.______ Newton Gulch.

Hammon Consolidated Gold Fields (3)________ Old beach line.

McCarthy & Panos.____--_-__----_---_-_-_ Second beach line.

Solomon district:

Ruby Dredging Co.------------------------- Ruby Creek.

Goldsmith Dredging Co___---__-__--_______ Solomon River.

Spruce Creek Dredging Co-_----_-----_--_-._ Spruce Creek.

During 1932 four dredges that had been active in 1931 were idle, 

but mining was done by one dredge that had not been in operation in 

1931. The net result of these changes was that the total number of 

active dredges in 1932 was 25. The dredges that were active in 1931 

but idle in 1932 were the dredge of the Chatham Gold Dredging Co., 

-on Chatham Creek, a tributary of Cleary Creek, in the Fairbanks
52 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

district; one of the small dredges on Ganes Creek, in the Innoko 

district; the dredge of the Beaver Dredging Co., on Nome Creek, in 

the Tolovana district; and that of the Dime Creek Dredging Co., on 

Dime Creek, in the Koyuk district, of Seward Peninsula. The dredge 

that was in operation in 1932 and not in 1931 was that of the American 

Creek Dredging Co., on American Creek, in the Hot Springs district, 

of the Yukon region. This dredge had been in operation before and 

had only been laid up temporarily in 1931 while certain details of 

management and finance were being worked out.

Much of the placer ground at practically all the places where 

dredges are now working in Alaska is frozen, so that extensive plants 

for thawing it must be available. This adds heavily to the cost of 

the work, and unless the thawing has been done adequately it slows 

up or actually checks mining. Most of the dredge camps are now 

using cold water for thawing, though in the past steam or hot 

water was thought to be necessary. At any large dredging operation, 

such as at Nome or Fairbanks, miles of pipe are used for the thawing 

process, and a larger force of workmen is required in the various 

tasks connected with the thawing than in actual mining. In addition 

to the labor costs for thawing operations, there is need for large 

quantities of water, both for thawing and for sluicing. Adequate 

supplies of water for most of the dredging camps in interior Alaska 

and Seward Peninsula are difficult to find and costly to develop. In 

places it has been necessary to go scores of miles to get water under 

sufficient head and then lead it by means of long ditches and siphons 

to the mining ground. The regulation of this water and the maintenance of the ditches require the constant attention of a considerable 

force of men throughout the working season, especially if the construction is new and the ground has not settled.

The success of most of the good dredges already built has induced 

many individuals and companies to reexamine formerly known extensive deposits that were too low in tenor to be worked by any of the 

methods that require less capital. As a result rumors are heard 

regarding dredging projects to be undertaken on placer ground from 

one end of interior Alaska to the other. Unquestionably these 

projects deserve most careful consideration, and some of them will 

doubtless be successfully carried through, but there is a tendency to 

regard the dredge as a magic method by which even worthless deposits 

may be mined at a profit, so that a'word of caution may not be amiss 

to those who are considering investment in some of the projects. 

The amount of money needed to finance the building of a dredge 

and furnish the necessary equipment is so great that the cost of a 

report by a competent engineer is relatively insignificant, and such 

a report should be obtained as almost the first step\in any welladvised project. Furthermore, adequate prospecting hi advance,
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 53

although apparently costly, well repays the outlay, as it prevents 

unwise commitments and enables the competent manager to effect 

savings through constructive planning.

Rumors are so numerous of places where prospecting is said to be 

contemplated or in progress, with a view to determining their suitability for dredging operations, that it is difficult to distinguish those 

that are merely forlorn hopes from those that are being seriously 

considered by persons or companies who would be able to carry 

through any enterprise they might undertake. It has therefore 

seemed inexpedient to attempt to list here all the places that have 

been mentioned as being under consideration. However, in earlier 

parts of this report describing the different placer districts mention 

has been made of some of the enterprises that have been most extensively discussed. It should be realized, however, that although some

of them may be regarded as approaching a real prospective stage 

others will inevitably be dropped, and that in all probability there 

are many others that, though they have not yet advanced so far 

as to be extensively discussed, may be even more meritorious and 

may be developed first.

COPPER

Deposits containing some copper minerals are found throughout 

most of the length and breadth of Alaska. During 1932, however, 

nearly all of the Alaska copper came from two mines in the Copper 

River region that are operated practically as a unit, though owned 

by different companies. Besides the copper recovered from these 

mines, a few thousand pounds of copper was reported to have been 

recovered in 1932 at smelters in the States from ores and concentrates 

shipped principally from southeastern Alaska. The total amount of 

copper recovered from Alaska ores in 1932 has been computed as 

8,738,500 pounds, valued at $550,500. The bare statement of the 

quantity of copper produced is more or less meaningless, however, 

unless the basis on which it is computed is stated, because in all the 

processes that the ore undergoes, from the time it is broken out of 

the vein in the mines until all of the metallic copper that can be 

recovered from it is finally placed on sale, there are inevitable losses, 

so that at no two stages is the amount of copper exactly the same. 

Even though the losses incurred in these different stages are small 

compared with the amount recovered, the quantities involved are so 

large that even a small percentage of loss is equivalent to many 

thousands of pounds. For instance, with a production hi the neighborhood of 9,000,000 pounds, a loss of only 1 percent is equivalent to 

90,000 pounds.

Furthermore, owing to various causes, the amount of ore mined 

may bear only a remote relation to the amount of ore shipped from 

the same property, so that the content of copper in the ore mined
54 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

may be greater or less than the amount in the ore shipped, either 

because more or less ore was shipped or because of the inevitable 

losses in the various steps through which the material passed. As 

illustrating this condition it may be stated that according to the 

reports of one of the mining companies it mined 31,154 tons of ore 

which had an estimated copper content of about 6,119,000 pounds. 

When, however, this crude ore was processed for shipment the bulk 

was reduced to 5,842 tons and its content of copper to about 5,319,000 

pounds. The difference between these two figures for copper is 

800,000 pounds, or 13 percent, a difference that is partly to be 

attributed to loss in handling and partly to the fact that not all ore 

mined was shipped at once. Under any circumstances there k is 

always a considerable lag between the time when the ore starts on 

its progress from the mine and the time when it reaches the market. 

It is therefore apparent why authoritative statements as to mineral 

output taken from different sources may appear to differ widely 

and why it is essential in comparing statistics that the basis on 

which they are computed be clearly stated, so that it may be evident 

whether or not they are in terms that permit direct comparison. 

For the purpose of the present report the quantity of copper in the 

ore and concentrates that were shipped is adopted as the amount of

 copper yielded by Alaska mines during 1932. The total ore mined 

in Alaska in 1932 primarily for its copper content is estimated to 

have been 56,900 tons. This ore as concentrated or otherwise prepared and ready for shipment to the smelter amounted to about 

9,700 tons, which together with the small amounts of copper recovered 

as a minor byproduct from other ores had a copper content of 

8,738,500 pounds. 

In attempting to set a value for this copper many methods may

be employed, and the results will vary widely. Obviously it would 

be inaccurate to value .all the copper in the ore as it comes from the 

mine at the current market price for the metal as it comes from 

the smelter, because not all of it is recovered, and most of it is not 

in the form of metal and so is not worth the full price of metallic

 copper. Although the same conditions are also in a measure true 

of the ore and concentrates that are shipped to the smelter, the 

losses that they undergo in the smelting process are generally much 

less. As a consequence it has been the practice of the Geological 

Survey to compute the value of the Alaska output on the assumption that the copper in the ore and concentrates, as shipped to the 

smelter, is worth the average price at which metallic copper sold 

during the year. The average price of all copper sold in the United 

States in 1932, according to computations by the Bureau of Mines, 

was 6.3 cents a pound. The total value of the copper in the ore and 

concentrates shipped from Alaska mines during the year is there-
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 55

fore regarded as $550,500. It is recognized that this method of 

calculating the value does not take into account the fact that an 

efficient and fortunate selling agent would take advantage of fluctuations in the price of copper and thus dispose of as much as possible during periods of high prices and hold as much as possible during 

periods of low prices. The figures given for the value of the Alaska 

output of copper cannot, therefore, be regarded as representing the 

amounts received by the different companies for their copper. They 

do, however, serve to indicate within close limits the magnitude of 

the industry and are comparable with the figures for earlier years 

as stated in these reports.

In the following table are shown the amount and value of the 

copper produced in Alaska since the earliest recorded mining of 

copper. For the last few years there has been a great decrease in

the output, and the output in 1932 marks a lower point than had 

been touched in any year since 1910. Between the production of 

1931 and that of 1932 there was a decrease of 13,875,000 pounds in 

quantity and of over $1,326,000 in value.

Copper and silver produced at Alaska copper mines, 1880, 1900-1982

Year

1880....... ...................

1900-1916.. ...................

1916. ....... ..................

1917 _.--.....-.-....._.....

1918............. ................

1919 __..-.- .__...-.--

1920.. ........ .......... .........

1921.............................

1922.............................

1923..... - ... ..........

1924 __ .. .. 

1925...1 

1926 .................. ..... ...

1927-- 

1928.. ...........................

1929. ..................... ...

1930.. ...........................

1931- 

1932.............................

Ore mined 

(tons)

1, 232, 396 

617,264 

659, 957 

722, 047 

492, 644 

766, 095 

477, 121 

581, 384 

731, 168 

761, 779 

860, 023 

670, 000 

645,000 

579, 500 

590,400 

531, 000 

88,000 

56,900

11, 062, 900

Copper

Pounds

3,933 

220, 773, 969 

119, 654, 839 

88,793,400 

69, 224, 951 

47, 220, 771 

70, 435, 363 

57, Oil, 597 

77, 967, 819 

85, 920, 645 

74, 074, 207 

73, 855, 298 

67, 778, 000 

55, 343, 000 

41, 421, 000 

40, 510, 000 

32, 651, 000 

22, 614, 000 

8, 738, 500

1, 253, 992, 500

Value

$826 

35, 031, 225 

29, 484, 291 

24, 240, 598 

17, 098, 563 

8,783,063 

12, 960, 106 

7, 354, 496 

10, 525, 655 

12, 630, 335 

9,703,721 

10, 361, 336 

9, 489, 000 

7, 250, 000 

.5, 965, 000 

7, 130, 000 

4, 244, 600 

1, 877, 000 

550, 500

214, 680, 000

Silver

Fine ounces

2, 351, 726 

1, 207, 121 

1,041,153 

719, 391 

488,034 

682, 033 

544, 311 

623, 518 

715, 040 

572,078 

596, 607 

605, 190 

525, 100 

350..430 

351, 730 

279, 990 

193, 850 

81, 150

11, 928, 150

Value

$1, 297, 75& 

794, 286. 

857,911 

719, 391 

546, 598. 

743, 416- 

544, 311 

623, 518 

586, 333. 

383, 292 

412, 131 

377, 600 

297,800' 

205,000. 

187, 400 

107, 800 

56, 200 

22, 900

8,763,900

The general trend of the copper-mining industry in Alaska is 

graphically indicated by one of the curves in figure 3, which shows 

the output of copper in pounds for each year from 1900 to 1932. 

On the same diagram has also been plotted the average price of 

copper for each year. It is significant to note the very close relation 

that has been maintained between the price of copper and the Alaska 

output. In other words, when the price of copper was° high there 

was a corresponding stimulation in output, and when the price was 

lower the output fell off. The foregoing statement applies only
MINEEAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

to trends and does not at all mean that a certain price for copper 

will bring out a certain tonnage. The extraordinary decline in the 

price of copper during the last 3 years and its effect in discouraging 

the mining of copper in Alaska is clearly indicated by the diagram. 

This condition, of course, affects not only the production of copper 

from Alaska mines but was of world-wide significance. Obviously 

until the market improves there is little incentive for the mining of 

copper anywhere, and revival of the Alaska copper-mining industry 

must await an even greater improvement in prices than in many 

other districts to be on a competitive basis with them.

100,000,000

75,000,000

>- 50,000,000

25,000,000

3. Copper produced from Alaska mines, 1900-1932, and fluctuations in the price of copper during

that period.

No new developments of note were reported at the productive 

mines of the Kennecott Copper Corporation at Kennecott, in the 

Copper River region, during 1932. The ore from this property, as in 

the past, was largely high-grade copper sulphide and carbonate containing considerable silver but no gold. The highest-grade ore is 

sacked and shipped directly to the smelters, but the lower-grade ores 

are concentrated before shipment. According to the published 

statements of this company,25 31,154 tons of ore was mined during 

the year, which was estimated to have an average content of 9.82 

percent of copper and 1.73 ounces of silver to the ton. At the mine

a Kennecott Copper Corporation 18th Ann. Kept., for 1932, p. 6, 1933.
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 57

of the Mother Lode Coalition Mines Co., which is contiguous to the 

properties of the Kennecott Copper Corporation and is operated by 

that corporation, although the accounting and bookkeeping are 

conducted separately, the ore is essentially the same, being a highgrade copper sulphide and carbonate containing considerable silver. 

The report of this company 26 shows that during the year 25,710 tons 

of ore was mined, which had an estimated content of 8.07 percent of 

copper and 1.24 ounces of silver to the ton.

That there are other places in Alaska where copper minerals occur 

is well known. That some of these deposits contained enough copper 

to enable them to be worked at a profit under past conditions is a 

matter of history. For instance, the old Beatson mine, on Latouche 

Island, during its period of activity yielded copper ore worth millions 

of dollars, and some of the old mines in southeastern Alaska, notably 

in the Ketchikan district, contributed ore worth a few million dollars. 

It is extremely doubtful whether any of the known copper deposits 

that are not now being mined can be worked at a profit under present 

conditions. As a consequence, practically all field investigation of 

these properties has been discontinued and doubtless will not be 

resumed until the price of copper has materially advanced. That 

there may be deposits, as yet unknown, which might repay development is possible, but the incentive to search for them is so small and 

the probability of failure so great that prospectors are not willing to 

take the gamble. At present, therefore, search for new copper 

deposits or development of those already known has practically 

ceased. Even at the operating mines retrenchment of activities has 

been the guiding policy, and all of them are operating far under their 

capacity and curtailing output or unnecessary outlays. Obviously, 

no forecast can be made as to when these conditions are likely to 

change. Various remedial or palliative measures have been proposed 

which might encourage the copper-mining industry, but it seems 

doubtful whether much improvement can be looked for in the near 

future. Probably, the thing that may bring about any notable 

increase in the production of copper from Alaska ores will be the 

mining of ores in which the copper is a by-product and gold or some 

other metal more sought after is the principal object. In recent 

years ore of this type has not attracted much favorable attention in 

Alaska, and it is by no means certain that there are any such bodies 

that can be mined on a larger scale profitably, but with the revival of 

interest in lode-gold mining the possibility of defraying some of the 

costs of development by means of by-products must be given serious 

consideration.

a Mother Lode Coalition Mines Co. 14th Ann. Kept., for 1932, p. 3,1933.
58 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

SILVER

None of the ores that are mined in Alaska are valuable solely for 

the silver they contain, and by far the greater part of the silver that 

is produced occurs as a relatively minor constituent in ores whose 

principal value lies in some other metal. Thus, as shown by the 

table below, more than a third of the silver recovered was received 

in 1932 from ores that are valuable principally for copper, and 

nearly one half came from the ores that are valuable principally for 

their gold, the rest being intimately associated with the gold recovered 

from the placers. The amount of silver in these ores, however, is 

actually very small, as the average silver content of all the copper ore 

that was reported amounted to only a little more than 1.5 ounces to 

the ton, and the ore from the mine that reported the highest average 

silver content contained only 1.73 ounces to the ton.

All the gold-lode mines yield some silver in addition to their gold. 

Thus the mine of the Alaska-Juneau Gold Mining Co., though 

worked principally for gold, yielded 94,519 ounces of silver in 1932, 

according to the company's published report.27 The silver from all 

the gold-lode mines amounted to 115,300 ounces and was worth 

$32,500. Some silver is also contained in all the gold that is recovered 

from Alaska placer mines. This silver is not recognizable, as it is. 

intimately alloyed with the gold and is recovered only after the gold 

is treated chemically or refined. The total silver from this source was 

37,600 ounces, worth $10,600.

Data regarding the production of silver have been referred to in 

several places in the preceding pages and included in some of the 

tables that cover the production of other metals. For convenience 

the sources and quantity, and value of the production from each 

source in 1932 and 1931 are set forth in the following table:

Silver produced in Alaska in 19S2 and 19S1

Gold lodes.. .............. . ... . ..... .......

19

Ounces

115, 300

37,600

81, 150

234,050

32

Value

$32, 500

10, 600

22, 900

66, 000

19

Ounces

129,800

28, 350

193,850

352, 000

31

Value

$37, 60&

8,200

56, 200-

102, 000

Perhaps the most striking fact brought out by the foregoing table 

is the very great decrease in both the quantity and value of the silver 

produced in 1932. The greatest decrease in quantity was in the silver 

recovered from the copper ores, and this reflects in large measure the

" Alaska-Juneau Gold Mining Co. 18fch Ann. Kept., for 1932, p. 13,1933.
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 59

fact already stated elsewhere in this report that the decrease in production of copper ore was very large, as the output in 1932 was only 

about 64 percent of that of 1931. In addition to this condition, the 

average silver content of the copper ores in 1932 was also somewhat 

less than in 1931. These two conditions combined to make the quantity of silver recovered from the copper ores in 1932 only about 41 

percent of that from the same source in 1931. Increased production 

of gold from the lodes and placers affected the output of silver from 

those sources as well. As a result, for the first time in many years 

the gold lodes became the principal source of the Alaska silver. However, marked as was the decrease in quantity of silver the decrease in 

value was even greater, owing to the fact that, according to the computations of the Bureau of Mines, the average market price of silver 

in 1932 was 28.2 cents an ounce or nearly a cent an ounce lower than

in 1931.

The development in Alaska of ores that are valuable principally 

for, their silver content is necessarily attended by many more difficulties and expenses than are likely to be met in developing gold 

mines. Among the most obvious reasons for this difference are the 

much lower value per unit of weight of the silver and the fact that 

more elaborate and expensive processes are usually required to recover 

silver in a readily salable metallic state than to recover gold. As a 

result, it is more or less unwarranted at this time to attempt to develop 

or even to search for silver lodes in remote parts of Alaska unless the 

ore has an especially high tenor. Therefore, although silver-lead 

lodes have been reported at many places in interior Alaska, none of 

them have been very thoroughly examined or seriously considered 

by capitalists. It is true that some shipments of silver-lead ores 

have been made from interior Alaska, especially from the Kantishna 

district, north of the Alaska Range, but although the ore was of 

high grade and the price of silver more than three times as much 

as at present, the expense of transporting it to smelters in the States 

and having it smelted consumed practically all the profits. In 

southeastern Alaska, however, where the region is much more accessible to deep-water transportation and all operating costs are lower, 

there have been many attempts to find and develop silver-lead deposits. 

The greatest amount of work of this kind has been done in the region 

at the head of Portland Canal, near the international boundary. The 

richest deposits that have been found lie on the Canadian side of the 

boundary, and it is there that the famous Premier silver and gold mine 

is situated. The geologic conditions on the Alaska side of the boundary, in the Hyder district, as it is locally called, in places seem to be 

comparable to those on the Canadian side and this similarity has 

sustained interest in the search for profitable silver and gold deposits
60 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

there. Several claims have been taken up and more or less prospecting and development work done. The much greater unit price of 

golcl and its more ready recovery have focused the search on gold lodes 

rather than on silver lodes, so that some of the claims that in the early 

days of the camp showed indications of prospective value mainly in 

silver and lead have been neglected. This does not mean, of course, 

that rich showings would necessarily be overlooked, but simply that 

work has not been pressed on deposits that appeared only moderately 

promising. In the past mines in the Hyder district have made shipments of silver ore or concentrates to smelters in the States, but in 

1932, so far as has been reported to the Geological Survey, no such 

shipments were made. Undoubtedly some ore carrying more or less 

silver was excavated in the course of the prospecting and development 

work, but this does not appear in the estimates of 1932, as its quantity 

and value are not known.

A little development and prospecting work on silver-lead ores is 

reported to have been done during the year on claims lying a short 

distance north of the settlement of Wrangell. North of Skagway the 

Inspiration Point Mining Co. is reported to have continued work on 

its property, where indications of silver-lead lodes that are said to 

appear promising have been found. The cost of development, however, has proved to be greater than the present owners care to incur 

under existing conditions, so that further development will be slow or 

will await suitable arrangements with a larger mining company. In 

the Susitna Valley of west-central Alaska, about 9 miles east of 

Chulitna station on the Alaska Railroad, where a unique deposit containing ruby silver was found some 3 or 4 years ago, no active work 

was in progress, and the property lay practically idle throughout the 

season of 1932.

LEAD

The lead produced from Alaska ores in 1932 amounted to 2,521,300 

pounds, a decrease of about 800,000 pounds under the production of 

1931. In partial explanation of this great decrease in quantity it 

should be remembered that the output in 1931 was abnormally large 

and, in fact, was the greatest quantity of lead that Alaska had ever 

produced in a single year. The value of the output at 3 cents a 

pound, the average market price at which, according to the Bureau of 

Mines, lead sold in the States in 1932, was $75,600. This marks a 

considerable falling off in value, owing both to the lesser quantity 

produced and to the lower average price that prevailed.
MINEKAL INDUSTKY IN 1932 

Lead -produced in Alaska, 1892-19S2

61

Year

1892...........

1893.. .........

1894.. ........ .

1895--- 

1896.. 

1897-. 

1898.. 

1899.. ...

1900.. 

1901-.. 

1902..... 

IQftQ

1904.. 

1905... 

1906-..- 

Tons

30

40

35

20

30

30

30

35

40

40

30

on

30

30

30

Value

$2, 400

3,040

2,310

1,320

1,800

2,160

2,240

3,150

3,440

3,440

2,460

2 Kon

2,580

2,620

3,420

Year

1907. 

1908 

1909--- 

1910__ 

1911. 

1912.- 

1913. 

1914. 

1915. 

1916.. 

1917.. .. 

1918.. 

1919-. 

1920. 

1921. 

Tons

30

40

69

75

51

45

6

28

437

820

852

564

687

875

759

Value

$3,180

3,360

5,934

6,600

4,590

4,050

528

1,344

41,118

113, 160

146, 584

on AQQ

72, 822

140, 000

68, 279

Year

1922.- 

1923.- 

1924- 

1925.- 

1926. 

1927... .....

1928-- 

1929- 

1930.. 

1931.- 

1932.. 

Tons

377

410

631

789

778

1,008

1,019

1,315

1,365

1,660

1,261

16,431

Value

$41,477

57,400

100, 899

140, 571

124, 400

127,000

118,000

166, 000

136,500

126, 000

75,600

1,944,000

In Alaska no ores are mined solely for their lead content. Practically all the lead produced is recovered as a byproduct in the course

of gold or silver mining, the concentrates containing lead being 

shipped to smelters in the States for treatment to recover the different 

metals they contain. Practically all of the lead that is reported in 

the foregoing table as produced in 1932 was recovered in the course 

of treatment of the gold ores of the Alaska Juneau Co.'s mines in 

southeastern Alaska. According to the published reports of this 

company, it recovered about five eighths of a pound of lead from each 

ton of ore that is mined and trammed to the mill, or a little more than 

1 pound of lead from each ton of ore that is fine milled. Lead ores 

are widely known throughout the Territory, and in the past shipments 

valuable at least in part for their lead content have been made from 

many areas in southeastern Alaska, especially the Hyder district; 

from the Yukon-Tanana region, especially the Kantishna district^ and 

even from far-away Seward Peninsula, at the Omalik mine; and from 

the Kobuk district in the vicinity of Shungnak. Lead is, however, a 

heavy, low-priced commodity which requires rather elaborate treatment to produce in readily salable metallic form, and these drawbacks, 

coupled with the extremely low current price for the metal, act as 

deterrents to the development of lead deposits in remote regions. 

The outlook for any notable increase in the production of this metal, 

therefore, seems to depend on the stimulation of the mining of other 

metals and the consequent increase in their production. That this 

increase in mining lodes of mixed metallic content is likely to take place 

is regarded as a certainty, and that some of the silver-lead deposits 

which are now lying idle will be opened up again seems almost equally 

certain. As general business conditions throughout the world improve an jncrease in the output of lead from Alaska ores is looked for 

with considerable assurance.
62 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

PLATINUM METALS

Platinum is one of the group of several metals which, because they 

are closely related in physical and chemical character, are often not 

differentiated by name or are not even identified specifically in the 

usual forms of assay or analysis but are spoken of as the platinum 

metals, or, even more loosely, as platinum. Platinum, palladium, 

osmium, and iridium are some of the individual members of this 

group. Some of these metals have been found in lodes and in placers 

in Alaska. The total quantity of platinum metals produced in 

Alaska in 1932 is estimated to have been approximately 720 crude 

ounces or 540 fine ounces, which at $36.45, the average market price 

for platinum as computed by the Engineering and Mining Journal. 

was worth about $19,700.

By far the greater part of the platinum metals produced in Alaska 

in 1932 was recovered from placers in the Goodnews Bay district, 

south of the mouth of the Kuskokwim River. From 12 to 15 men 

were engaged in mining in this district in 1932. The occurrence of 

platinum in the Goodnews Bay region has been known for several 

years, but interest has recently been revived in the district because 

of its greatly increased production, though with the tremendous 

drop in the price of platinum metals in the last year or so that interest 

has waned. In spite of exaggerated statements regarding the richness 

of these deposits that have been made from time to time in the press, 

it is true that placer deposits containing platinum, worth continued 

careful prospecting, occur in this district, and that the search for 

places where concentration has been great enough to form deposits 

that can be worked at a profit is well justified. The most extensive 

work is reported to have been done on streams tributary to Salmon 

Creek south of Goodnews Bay, especially those that head in the general vicinity of Red Mountain. The greatest amount of platinum 

recovered in 1932 is reported to have come from Clara Creek, and 

smaller quantities were recovered from Squirrel, Platinum, and Dry 

Creeks and Fox Gulch.

In the open season of 1931 Irving Reed, an engineer in the employ 

of the Territory, spent a week in the Goodnews Bay district, and a 

report of recent developments in the district based largely on his 

observations and accompanied by a sketch map has been published.28 

Practically all the producing properties were visited, and much specific information as to the developments on each is given in this report. 

The conclusion is expressed that not only the district justifies more 

thorough search for placers but that the possibilities of occurrences 

of lode platinum in it should not be overlooked. Although the Goodnews Bay district has yielded considerable platinum metals and ap-

» Reed, Irving, in Stewart, B. D., Mining investigations and mine inspection in Alaska, biennium end* 

ing Mar. 31, 1033, pp. 103-128, 1933.
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 63

pears to well warrant further prospecting, the finds :so far made do 

not justify any rush of prospectors into the region in the hope of finding easily won riches. The recovery of so much platinum by so small 

a force of men as is now mining in the region certainly warrants a 

complete survey and examination to determine its mineral possibilities but will call for much hard labor and prospecting ability in a remote 

.and difficult area.

Some difficulty has been experienced by the platinum miners in 

disposing of their product at satisfactory prices. This condition was 

especially marked during the period from 1929 to 1930, when the 

prices paid for platinum fluctuated widely but on the whole showed 

a marked decline. As may not be generally known, none of the Government mints or assay offices pay for platinum sent to them, so that 

the producer must sell to private purchasers, and the transaction 

becomes one of bargaining, which at the distance that separates the

Alaska producer from the purchaser in the eastern United States is 

time consuming to conduct and rather difficult for either party to 

manage satisfactorily.

The only other region in Alaska where some platinum metals are 

.reported to have been recovered in 1932 is Seward Peninsula. In 

that region a few ounces of platinum metals were recovered from gold 

placers on Dime Creek, in the Koyuk district, in the extreme eastern 

part of the peninsula. This place has long been a small though consistent producer of platinum as a byproduct. A new locality at 

"\vhich some placer platinum was reported to have been recovered in 

1932 in the course of gold mining was on Quartz Creek, a tributary of 

the Kiwalik River, in the Fairhayen district, just north of the Koyuk

 district. Many of the geologic features of the area are comparable 

with those in the Koyuk district, and it seems probable that the platinum metals in the two areas may have a more or less common source. 

Although no other places in Alaska are known to have produced 

platinum metals in 1932, it is not at all unlikely that small amounts 

may have been produced elsewhere and held by their producers. 

Places where platinum has been recognized are widespread through 

other parts of Alaska, and some of them in other years have produced 

platinum that has been sold. Among these places may be mentioned 

the Chistochina district of the Copper River region; Metal Creek, in 

the Kenai district; some of the beach placers of Kodiak Island, in 

southwestern Alaska; the Kahiltna River and nearby streams, in the 

Yentna district of the Susitna region; Boob Creek, in the Tolstoi area

 of the Innoko district; Granite Creek, in the Ruby district of the 

Yukon region; and some streams in the Marshall district, in the 

western part of the Yukon region. In the past a considerable production of platinum metals came from lodes in southeastern Alaska

 operated by the Alaska Palladium Co., on Kasaan Peninsula, Prince

12466 33 5
64 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

of Wales Island, about 30 miles west of Ketchikan. This mine has 

not been in operation since 1926, but during the time it was running 

it produced several hundred thousand dollars' worth of platinum 

metals, mainly palladium, as well as a good deal of gold and some 

copper. The platinum metals formed only a small part of the total 

metallic content of the ore so small a part, indeed, that they could 

not be identified in the ore by the unaided eye.

TIN

For a number of years Alaska has been a small but consistent producer of tin, and in the course of the 30 years since tin minerals were 

discovered in Seward Peninsula it has shipped tin worth more than a 

million dollars. In 1932, however, according to such records as have 

been received by the Geological Survey, no tin ore was mined in 

Alaska. This cessation by no means indicates that the known tin 

deposits have been exhausted but is believed to have been caused by 

the extremely low price offered for tin about 22 cents a pound and 

the fact that some of the former Alaska shippers of tin ore had not 

sold all the ore that they had produced and shipped in earlier years. 

As is probably well known, the Alaska ore requires smelting to yield 

its tin in a metallic form, and as there are no smelters in Alaska or 

even in the States that make a practice of treating ore of this sort, 

most of it is shipped to Singapore for reduction. Resumption of tin 

mining in Alaska when conditions of world business improve can be 

predicted with assurance, but until the price paid for tin is considerably higher than at present there is little hope that the mining operations will be conducted on more than a small scale. Tin lodes that 

have been mined have long been known in the western part of Seward 

Peninsula near York and Tin City, but the bulk of the past production

has come from placers in which the tin minerals, because of their 

weight, have been concentrated. Most of the placer tin that has been 

mined in the past has come from the York district in western Seward 

Peninsula and from the Hot Springs district in the Yukon region. 

Recent information regarding the occurrence of tin in the Hot Springs 

district are given in a report by Mertie,29 based on field investigations 

made by him in 1931, and some notes on the occurrence of tin minerals 

in the concentrates derived from some of the streams in that same 

general region are given in a report by Waters. 30

The complete record of tin production from Alaska is given in the 

accompanying table.

2» Mertie, J. B., Jr., Mineral deposits of the Rampart and Hot Springs districts, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 844-D, pp. 205-213, 1934.

o

»o Waters, A. E., Jr., Placer concentrates in the Rampart and Hot Springs districts, Alaska: Idem, 

pp. 242-246, 1934.
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 

Tin produced in Alaska, 1902-82

65

Year

1902.. ..............

1903................

1904. .

1906.. .......... ....

1907................

1908... .............

1909................

1910 

1911...... .....

1912 . .

1913 

1914... .... ...... ...

1915 

1916 

1917 

1918 

Ore

Tons 

25

42

23

10

57

37.5

42.5

19

16.5

92.5

194

98

157.5

167

OQO

171

104.5

Metal

Tons 

15

25

14

6

34

22

25

11

10

61

130

50

104

102

139 '

100

68

Value

$8,000

14,000

8,000

4,000

38, 640

16, 752

15, 180

7,638

8,335

52, 798

119, 600

44,103

66, 560

78,846 i 01 nnn

123, 300

118,000

Year

1919 

1920 

1921 

1922 

1923 

1924. 

1925 

1926 

1927 

1928 

1929 

1930 

1931 

1QOO

Ore

Tons 

86

26

7

9 t

3

11

22.2

12.85

37.5

58.6

51.6

21

5.6

1, 834

Metal

Tons 

56

16

4

1.4

1 Q

7

13.8

8

26.7

41

38.6

14.7

4.1

1,149

Value

$73, 400

16, 112

2,400

912;

1, 623.

7, 028:

15, 980'

10, 400'

34,000

41,000'

35,000>

9,300'

2,000'

1, 094, OOOi

COAL

The coal produced from Alaska fields in 1932 is estimated to have 

been 102,700 tons. This marks a decrease of about 3,000 tons from 

the amount produced in 1931, so that no notable change in the rate 

of production occurred, and the decline is to be regarded simply as a 

minor fluctuation. In addition to the coal mined in Alaska, some 

42,000 tons of coal was imported from fields outside Alaska, and no 

Alaska coal was exported. The consumption of coal in Alaska in 

1932 was thus 145,000 tons, or about 16,000 tons less than the average 

for the preceding 10 years. A comparison of coal production and 

consumption in Alaska for the entire period for which records are 

available is afforded by the following table:

Coal produced and consumed in Alaska, 1880-1932

Year

1880-1915...... .........................

1916.. ................. ....................

1917. ..................................... .

1918.. .....................................

1919.. ............................... ......

1920.......................................

1921.......................................

1922.......................................

1923.. ............................... ......

1924.......................................

1925... ........ ............................

1926.. ............................... ......

1927.. ..................... ................

1928.............-........ .............

1929.............. .......... ...... ......

1930.. ................................. ....

1931.......... ....... ................

1932........................................

Produced in Alaska, 

chiefly subbituminous and lignite

Short tons

71, 633 

12, 676 

54, 275 

75, 816 

60,894 

61, 111 

76, 817 

79, 275 

119,826 

99, 663 

82, 868 

87, 300 

104, 300 

126, 100 

100, 600 

120, 100 

105, 900 

 102, 700

1,541,854

Value

$456, 993 

57, 412 

268, 438 

413, 870 

345, 617 

355, 668 

496, 394 

430, 639 

755, 469 

559, 980 

404, 617 

459, 000 

548,000 

662, 000 

528,000 

631, 000 

556, 000 

513, 500

8, 443, 000

Imported 

from States, 

chiefly bituminous 

coal from 

Washington

Short tons 

679, 844 

44, 934 

58, 116 

51, 520 

57, 166 

38, 128 

24,278 

28,457 

34, 082 

40, 161 

37, 324 

35, 620 

35, 212 

39, 184 

32, 762 

37,128 

30, 772 

28, 422

1,333,110

Imported 

from foreign 

countries, 

chiefly bituminous 

coal from 

British 

Columbia °

Short tons 

1, 079, 735 

53, 672 

56, 589 

37, 986 

48, 708 

45,264 

33, 776 

34, 251 

43,205 

41, 980 

57, 230 

34, 254 

27, 225 

32, 521 

24,172 

23, 892 

17, 796 

13, 959

1,706,215

Total coal 

consumed

Short tons 

1..831..212 

111, 282 

168,980 

165,322 

166, 768 

144,. 503 

134,871 

141, 983 

197, 113 

181,804 

177, 422 

157,. 174 

166, 737 

W7.805 

157, 5341 

I81U20 

154,468 

145, 081

4, 581, 179

0 Compiled from reports from Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, 

before 1899 are available.

No figures on. imports.
66 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

In the table the total value of the coal produced in Alaska in 1932 

is stated to have been $513,500. This value can be regarded only as 

a fair .approximation, because the records are not available for precise determination of the actual selling price of the coal. Much of 

the coal is purchased by the Alaska Railroad on contract for large

 quantities, so that the price paid by the railroad is not an accurate

 basis on which to compute the price paid for the lots sold to the 

smaller consumers, who in the aggregate buy a large part of the output and pay much higher prices. From all the available information, and by weighting the resulting estimate as closely as practicable, it appears that the average price of all the coal mined in 

Alaska in 1932 was about $5 a ton, which is 25 cents a ton less than 

in 1931 and is considerably less than the average for the entire period 

shown in the table.

The Alaska coal came principally from 3 mines 2 in the Matanuska field and 1 in the Nenana or Healy River field. The two 

mines in the Matanuska field were those of the Evan Jones Coal 

Co., at Jonesville, and of the Alaska-Matanuska Coal Co., later the 

Alaska Premier Coal Corporation, in the valley of Moose Creek. 

Mining at the Evan Jones mine was maintained at an average rate 

of more than 100 tons a day throughout the year, and in addition to 

supplying such coal as the railroad required, the company filled many 

domestic orders and was active in trying to build up an even more 

extensive market for its coal, furnishing some to canneries in the 

Alaska Peninsula and other parts of south-central Alaska. During 

the summer steps were taken to improve the operating conditions at 

the mine by the installation of new equipment and by replacing the 

old haulage and conveyor systems. Through September and October 

active mining was entirely suspended while this work was being done. 

During the months in which productive mining was in progress from 

30 to 50 men were employed in underground and surface work on the 

property.

At the Premier mine of the Alaska-Matanuska Coal Co. the arrangement entered into in 1931 whereby the Government, for the purpose 

of protecting its general interest in the public coal lands in the Moose 

Creek area, should keep the mine free of water, was continued until 

September. According to this plan the coal company executed a 

sublease to the Alaska Railroad whereby the railroad agreed to keep 

the mine pumped out and in return was permitted to mine enough 

coal for its own use to defray the expenses incurred. This was a 

mutually advantageous plan, as the private interest of the company 

in the property was protected and the Government's interest in the 

whole area was safeguarded. Through an arrangement between the 

Alaska Railroad and the Geological Survey, J. J. Corey, of the 

Geological Survey, directed the technical work and served throughout
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 67

as an adviser to the railroad.in the mining problems involved. While 

this work was in progress the company was active in trying to make 

plans whereby it should either resume operations itself or should 

induce some one else to take over its lease. These negotiations finally 

resulted in the formation of a new company, the Alaska Premier Coal 

Corporation, which took over the property late in September. During 

October this company was engaged in getting the mine into operating 

condition, but by the end of the month it had completed that work 

and throughout the rest of the year produced considerable coal.

Two miles east of the Premier mine the Wishbone Hill Coal Co. 

started opening up one of the old properties, leased the use of the 

narrow-gage railroad that connects with the standard-gage track at 

Premier, and produced a small amount of coal. No mining was in 

progress during the year at the Pioneer coal mine, on Moose Creek 

about a mile above its mouth, nor at the Ross Heckey property, on 

Coal Creek south of Chickaloon. The old Government-owned mine 

at Eska was idle throughout the year, but it was maintained in a more 

or less stand-by condition, so that if anything should happen which 

might endanger the supply of coal needed to run the railroad it could 

be reopened quickly and mining resumed. Railroad facilities on the 

Chickaloon branch above Sutton and on the Moose Creek spur were 

badly disorganized during the middle of the summer by the high water 

and floods, which swept out long stretches of track and put many of 

the bridges out of commission.

In the Nenana coal field the only producing property was the 

Suntrana mine of the Healy River Coal Corporation, on the Healy 

River, about 4 miles east of the" junction of that stream and the 

Nenana River. The plant of this mine has been well laid out and is 

now equipped with the necessary modern machinery to handle at 

least 200 tons of coal a day. The largest single user of coal from 

this property is the Fairbanks Exploration Co. for furnishing power 

to its dredges and in its large placer-mining operations in the vicinity of Fairbanks. The coal has a somewhat lower heating value 

than that from the Matanuska and nearby fields and, as a consequence, is not used in the railroad locomotives. This mine was in 

continuous operation throughout 1932 and yielded considerably more 

than halfo of all the coal mined in Alaska during that year. A 

specially well-designed bunker was built by the company at Fairbanks to provide for storage and for the economical handling of the 

distribution of its coal locally.

Small amounts of coal are reported to have been mined during the 

year at the old Chicago Creek mine, in the valley of the Kugruk 

River, in northern Seward Peninsula; at a recently opened deposit 

near Unalakleet, east of Norton Sound; and at several points along 

Kuk Lagoon, south of Wainwright, in northern Alaska. The coal
68 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

'from these different properties was used only locally and had no 

significant effect on the general Alaska coal situation, except to 

confirm the statement, often made before, that throughout the Territory there are many areas containing coal adequate for local use. 

So far as the Geological Survey is informed, no production was made 

during the year from the known coal deposits on Admiralty Island, in 

the Juneau district, where some activity had lately been shown. In 

the Bering River field, where extensive deposits ranging in composition 

from bituminous coal to anthracite have long been known, prospecting 

or other development work relating to the coal resources was apparently at a standstill in 1932. Rumors of renewed activity in this 

field were heard from time to time, and requests for extensions of 

some of the Government permits for coal prospecting there were 

received. It is evident that this field has much potential value, but 

it is also evident that the present coal consumption of Alaska is not 

such as to stimulate large companies to undertake extensive projects 

and that until there is a greater demand for their product or until 

they are prepared to invade a more distant market, where competition 

will be more severe, they will not enter this field. Furthermore, 

the development work already done in this field indicates that some 

 complex geologic conditions will be encountered, so that desultory 

prospecting by small, poorly financed, or technically unskilled opera tors 

holds little promise of success, and full development must await a 

company that is able to go into the matter in a large way and to bear 

the necessary expense of exploring a new field.

In addition to those private enterprises which are developing or 

attempting to develop certain of the Alaska fields, the Government 

itself was active during 1932 in trying to determine the character and

extent of certain of the coal lands in its own possession. The initiation

of this effort may be traced directly to the investigations made in 

1930 by a special committee of the Senate as to what could be done to 

reduce the operating deficit of the Alaska Railroad. One of the conclusions reached was that mineral tonnage must be sought for supplying much of the business to the road, and to make it possible to search 

for that tonnage the committee recommended and Congress granted 

funds for the work. As a result of that grant a reexamination of the 

surface indications of coal in the Anthracite Ridge field, about 10 to 

15 miles east of Chickaloon, in the Matanuska district, was made in 

1931. The general conclusion reached from that work was that further 

tests of the region should be made by putting down diamond-drill 

holes so as to recover samples of the formations penetrated for examination in detail and tests of any coals found. This advice was adopted, 

and in 1932 contracts were entered into for drilling some 8,000 feet of 

holes at localities selected by the Geological Survey and supervised 

by technical members of its staff. This work was carried on through-
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 69

out the greater part of 1932, and the results are in preparation for 

publication.31 However, as some time will lapse before the report can 

be issued, a summary of the more important conclusions reached is 

given here. High on the slopes of the ridge there is about 750,000 

tons of semianthracite in an area that has been intruded by thick 

masses of igneous rock and is intensely folded and faulted. In the 

area low on the flanks of the ridge, where the structure is less complex, 

drill tests showed that, although the formation that carried this highrank coal was penetrated, the coal beds themselves pinched out so 

that only thin stringers of coal were encountered. Furthermore, the 

high-rank coal on the ridge gives place in the lower area to coals of 

only bituminous grade and consequently of less value. The coals of 

that region are therefore not regarded as sufficiently extensive or of 

high enough quality to warrant their development in competition

with more accessible beds of similar coal in the western part of the

Matanuska Valley.

The western part of the Matanuska coal region was also the site of 

diamond-drilling tests by the Government in 1932 to determine the 

coal resources of that part of the field and to find out whether they 

might be successfully developed in the near future. The locality 

selected for these tests was about 2 miles west of the Premier mine, 

on Moose Creek, and a total of 3,700 feet of core drilling was done at 

five sites. The results demonstrated that although coal-bearing 

formations extend into that area the coal seams are not continuous. 

No beds of commercial thickness were encountered in fact, only 

thin stringers were penetrated. The quality of the coal, however, 

was the same as in the beds now being developed in the mines on 

Moose Creek. Although it is probable that elsewhere in the area west 

of Moose Creek there are thicker beds than those disclosed by this 

drilling, their discovery would call for extensive and costly drilling 

tests, and such an outlay does not seem warranted in view of the 

fact that the existing mines in the general region can easily supply far 

more than the demands of the existing markets. A report covering 

these investigations in the area west of Moose Creek has been prepared by G. A. Waring, who supervised the field operations and gives 

in detail many of the facts learned.32

The whole problem of the development of Alaska's coal resources is 

exceedingly complex, for while there are in the Territory large areas 

occupied by coal-bearing rocks, the local demands are fairly well 

supplied by existing mines, and to attempt to enter a larger field 

requires large outlays for developing mines and the market. Obviously many consumers are unwilling to commit themselves to any

 i Waring, G. A., Geology of the Anthracite Ridge coal district, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 861 

(in preparation).

"Waring, G. A., Core drilling for coal in the Moose Creek area, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 

857-E (in preparation).
70 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

specific agreements to purchase until they are sure that the coal 

offered them is available at a satisfactory price, and the mining operator, of course, in the initial stages can offer little definite assuranceas to costs and availability of his product until he has some certainty 

as to his market. Certainly many of the steps that must be taken 

if any extensive use of Alaska coal is to be made require that theenterprise must be undertaken on such a scale as will justify theoutlay for the essential facilities. This means that a considerable 

tonnage must be marketed, but the attempt to dispose of a large tonnage of Alaska coal will bring it into competition with coals from 

other areas and in places where the competitive conditions appear 

to be almost insuperable for the Alaska product. Many of the competitive conditions are changing, however, so that the situation 

must be subjected to constant review. Of course, as Alaska develops 

and becomes more settled its people and industries will call for more 

and more coal, and in meeting this demand Alaska coals will have great 

competitive advantage over those from outside sources. That growth, 

however, probably will be relatively slow but none the less sure.

PETROLEUM

The only petroleum produced in Alaska comes from the wells of 

the Chilkat Oil Co., in the Katalla field, near the coast of southcentral Alaska. This company obtains oil from several relatively 

shallow wells, few of which are more than 1,000 feet deep and none' 

more than 2,000 feet. The wells penetrate beds that are identified 

as of Tertiary age. A small refinery is operated at Katalla by the 

company, and the products gasoline and distillate, which are of 

especially high quality find a ready market near at hand, especially 

for use by the fishing fleet near Cordova. So far as learned by the

Geological Survey no new developments of note took place at this 

property in 1932, and production was continued on essentially the 

same scale as in recent years.

The small domestic production of petroleum from the Katalla 

field is not adequate to supply even local needs, and the demand for 

large quantities of petroleum products throughout the Territory is 

met principally by imports from the States. The most notable feature shown by the subjoined table is that up to 1930 there has been 

a constant increase since the war in the amount of gasoline and related 

lighter products of distillation imported. This increase was called 

for by the growing use of power in fishing boats and other water 

craft, in the canneries, in many mining developments, and in the 

operation of means of transportation, such as automobiles and gas 

cars or engines on practically all the railroads. Beginning with 1930, 

however, there has been a decided drop in the quantity of petroleum 

products shipped into Alaska. The decrease in the last 3 years
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 71

is interpreted as only a temporary drop in the consumption, brought 

about by the general decline in all business activities.

Petroleum products shipped to Alaska from other parts of the United States,

1905-82, in gallons "

Year

1905.......................................... .

1906.. ............................................

1907..............................................

1908-............................................

1909.............................................

1910. 

1911... ................ ................. ..........

1912..............................................

1913... ......... ..................................

1914................... ...........................

1915.......................... ......... ....

1916... ......... .. . 

1917... . . .......

1918 ................ ............. ... .... 

1919.... ..........................................

1920.... ........................................ ..

1921... ........................ ......... ..........

1922 ..j... ....................................

1923... ........ ...................................

1924.... ..........................................

1925.................................. ............

1926. ............................ ............

1927....... ....... ................................

1928L.....;............. ..........................

1929... .... ..... .. 

1930... ............... .........................

1931... ...... ...... ................ ....... ........

1932.............. ................................

Heavy oils, 

including 

crude oil, gas 

oil, residuum, 

etc.

2, 715, 974

2, 688, 940

9, 104, 300

11, 891, 375

14, 119, 102

19, 143, 091

20,878,843

15, 523, 555

15, 682, 412

18,601,384

16,910,012

23, 555, 811

24, 379, 566

18, 784, 013

21, 981, 569

9, 209, 102

15, 441, 542

12, 285, 808

14, 412, 120

16, 270, 746

14, 000, 664

17,628,744

13, 000, 176

17, 347, 344

13,801,746

12, 282, 480

14, 167, 104

429, 778, 637

Gasoline, 

including all 

lighter 

products of 

distillation

713, 496

580, 978

636)881

939, 424

746, 930

788, 154

1, 238, 865

2, 736, 739

1,735,658

2,878,723

o 41 Q Ofio

2, 844, 801

3, 256, 870

1,086,852

' 1,007,073

1, 764, 302

1, 403, 683

1,436,050

4,882,015

5, 554, 859

6, 993, 560

5, 069, 584

8, 141, 574

8,025,402

6, 847, 050

6, 317, 934

5, 532, 912

4, 755, 660

90, 329, 991

Illuminating 

oil

627, 391

568,033

510, 145

566, 598

531, 727

620, 972

423, 750

672, 176

661, 656

731, 146

513,075

732, 369

750, 238

382, 186

3, 515, 746

887, 942

2, 021, 033

2, 095, 675

473, 826

566,431

562, 844

328, 615

516, 306

463, 134

589,340

401, 646

338, 310

297, 780

21,350,090

Lubricating oil

83, 319

83, 992

100, 145

94, 542

85, 687

104, 512

100, 141

154, 565

150, 918

191,876

971 081

373, 046

465, 693

362, 413

977, 703

412, 107

232, 784

345, 400

454, 090

506, 364

580, 321

730, 924

620,450

715, 082

878, 094

701, 946

450, 870

338, 310

10, 567, 275

a Compiled from reports from Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce.

Search for new oil fields in Alaska has practically been discontinued during the last few years, and in 1932 drilling was done at 

only one place, in addition to the property of the producing company 

already mentioned. Hundreds of permits for prospecting for oil 

that have been issued by the Government and cover tracts in all 

parts of Alaska are outstanding in the hands of individuals or companies, but most of them were evidently taken up solely for speculative purposes and will lapse if no active work is done under them. 

As prospecting permits for oil are issued on application, without 

regard to the merits of the land involved as a favorable place in 

which to search for oil, the investing public should be warned that a 

permit from the Government is only what it purports to be permission to search for oil and it in no way implies that the search has 

even a remote chance of being successful. Furthermore, the public 

should realize that prospecting permits if within the law are readily 

granted by the Government at a nominal charge and so should be 

warned against unscrupulous companies that offer their services in 

obtaining permits for their clients at a charge far in excess of any
72 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

reasonable fee for the services they render and for any payments they 

make to the Government.

Drilling for oil was in progress in 1932 in the Matanuska Valley, 

a few miles west of Chickaloon, on the property of the Peterson Oil 

Association. Drilling at this place started in 1926, and when work 

was suspended for the winter of 1931 the hole had reached a depth of 

about 1,465 feet. During 1932 the work was at a standstill, and 

although the manager was on the property for a few months during 

the open season, it is understood that no drilling was accomplished. 

The geologic conditions in the vicinity of the well, so far as known, 

are not those usually found in the areas in the States where the 

larger commercial pools of oil occur, and a geologist cannot but entertain grave doubts as to the occurrence of oil in that locality. However, the rinding of a commercial accumulation of oil would be of so 

much benefit to the region as a whole, as well as to the operators, and 

so much time and money have already been spent in the enterprise 

that if any doubt remains as to the probability of finding oil there it 

would be too bad to stop drilling before that question is definitely 

settled, either by striking oil or by demonstrating that further search 

would be fruitless. It is to be regretted that the same amount of tune 

and money was not invested at places that seemed to show more 

promise of containing oil.

MISCELLANEOUS MINERAL PRODUCTS

The list of minerals of value that have been found in Alaska is 

long. In addition to those described in the preceding sections of 

this report others which have at one time or another been produced 

in quantities large enough to have more than local significance and

some of which have been and still are the basis of profitable mining

industries include, among metallic products, antimony, arsenic, bismuth, chromium, iron, manganese, mercury or quicksilver, molybdenum, nickel, tungsten, and zinc; and among nonmetallic products, 

asbestos, barite, building stone, clay, garnet, graphite, gypsum, jade, 

limestone, marble, and sulphur. Without doubt small quantities of 

practically all these materials were "produced" in 1932 in the broadest sense of that word, but with the exception of stone and marble none 

of them were reported to have been produced and sold in quantities 

that represent a value of more than a few thousand dollars at most, and 

for any single commodity rarely more than a few hundred dollars.

In the following table, as well as in certain of the other tables in 

this report, all these minerals that were produced only by a single 

operator or in quantities so small that to list them separately would 

disclose the production of individual operators have been grouped 

together under the collective term "miscellaneous mineral products." 

Among the mineral products included in the table of miscellaneous
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932

mineral products that have also been described in this report are 

platinum metals and petroleum. The inclusion of petroleum in this 

list is due to the fact that at present there is only one producer 

in the Territory, and therefore it has not been permissible to disclose 

the quantity or value of the product. The inclusion of platinum 

metals is a relic of the period when practically the entire production 

of platinum metals in Alaska came from one mine and so could 

not be disclosed. Now that there are many producers it is appT0>- 

priate to state their combined production, and this has been done-, 

but in order that there may be a fair comparison of the production 

of the minerals grouped together as miscellaneous products in earlier 

years with those same products in 1932, it has been necessary to 

include the value of the platinum metals in this table.

Value of output of miscellaneous mineral products of Alaska, including platinum r 

petroleum, quicksilver, stone, antimony, gypsum, marble, and other products, 

1901-32 «

Year

1901 

1902...................

1903..................

IQftd

1905...... .......... ...

1906 

1907 

1908 ..... ..........

1909 

1910 

1911 

1912...... .............

Value

$500

255

389

2,710

710

19, 965

54, 512

81,305

86, 027

Qft '4flft

141, 739

165, 342

Year

1913 

1914...................

1915 

1916......... ...... ....

1917............ .......

1918 

1919....... ........

1920 ....... .......

1921...................

1922........ ...........

1923 

Value

$286, 277

199, 767

205, 061

326, 737

203, 971

171, 452

214, 040

372, 599

235, 438

266, 296

229, 486

Year

1924... ....

1925.. 

1926 

1927 

1928......... ..........

1929. 

1930 

1931.... . ......... 

1932........ ...........

Value

$348, 728

454, 207

444, 500

162, 000

164, 000

194, 000

157, 300

108, 000

223, 400

5, 972, 000

« $117,000 of placer platinum metals mined prior to 1926 and $238,000 of antimony mined prior to 1927 

not distributed by years but carried in total.

The largest single enterprise that is included under this section 

is the quarrying of marble by the Vermont Marble Co. from its 

properties in southeastern Alaska. For many years this company 

was a large and consistent producer, but latej its output decreased, 

and in 1931 its quarries were idle throughout the year. Resumption 

of work is therefore regarded as a very favorable indication that the 

industry will continue to be significant in the general mineral activity 

of the Territory. The quarries owned by this company are near 

Tokeen and Calder, on the west coast of Prince of Wales Island, but 

the finishing plants to which the rough stone is sent are in Tacoma, 

Wash., and San Francisco, Calif. The stone has been in great demand 

throughout the west coast and has been used in many of the most 

imposing buildings, principally for interior trim and decoration. 

According to the reports of the company only about two thirds of the 

marble quarried during the year was shipped to its finishing plants, 

the rest being held at the mine. Limestone and marble are widely 

distributed throughout southeastern Alaska, and, according to
74 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

Burchard,33 many different grades, some even approaching statuary 

quality, are found in the region. It therefore seems strange that 

more of these limestone and marble deposits, many of which are 

favorably situated with respect to deep-water transportation, have not 

been profitably developed.

The other large enterprise included in this section is the quarrying 

of great quantities of high-grade limestone rock which is transported to 

the States and used in the manufacture of cement. This work is conducted by Superior Portland Cement, Inc., under a lease from the 

Pacific Coast Cement Co. The quarry from which the rock is taken 

is in southeastern Alaska on Dall Island,- between Baldy Bay and 

Tlevak Strait, about 40 miles west of Ketchikan, and in 1932 was in 

operation only from May to August. The general practice at this 

place is to drill the limestone in the quarry, blast it down, and haul it 

to the crushing plant, where it is broken down to suitable size and 

stored near the wharf, ready for loading on the steamer for Seattle. 

The round trip, including loading and unloading, takes less than 10 

days. Owing to the fact that the producer, transporter, and consumer 

are all one and the same, it is impossible to arrive at a true market 

price for the limestone produced by this company. In the table given 

above it has been necessary to adopt a more or less arbitrary price for 

the limestone, as a means of including this product with the other 

mineral resources. The price adopted, however, is believed to be 

extremely conservative, so that the total value of the output as given 

probably is not more than the actual cost of mining and transportation, without any charge for the basic raw material, the limestone.

Little detailed information has been received by the Geological 

Survey regarding the developments during the year at the quicksilver 

deposits in the Kuskokwim Valley. At the E. W. Parks property, a 

short distance west of Sleitmut, at the mouth of the Holitna River, 

about 35 tons of ore was mined, practically all of which was treated 

in a small furnace and*the quicksilver extracted. None of the other 

quicksilver deposits in the Kuskokwim Valley are reported to have 

made any production during the year, and it is believed that no work 

other than the assessment work required by law was done at any of 

them. In the vicinity of Bluff, in the Seward Peninsula region, development work was continued by the Alaska Mercury Corporation on 

lodes carrying quicksilver minerals that appear in the sea-cut limestone cliffs at the mouth of Swede Creek. Throughout much of the 

limestone there are indications of quicksilver mineralization, but 

most of the metal is so diffused that it could not be profitably mined. 

The character and extent of the mineralization, however, are such as 

to justify continuation of the search for places where it may have 

been more restricted, so that it produced a commercial deposit. In

33 .Burchard, E. F., Marble resources of southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 682, pp. 29-39, 

1920.
MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 1932 75

this search special attention should be paid to any exposures or indications of relatively recent igneous intrusions, particularly if those' 

intrusions were of acidic types of rock. Only two persons have been 

attempting the development on this property, and their other duties 

have diverted much of their activity from the quicksilver prospects. 

Quicksilver has been recognized in the placer concentrates from 

streams in many parts of the Territory, but the lodes from which if; 

came were apparently small stringers and, except in the places already 

mentioned and the Hot Springs district of the Yukon region, none 

of them appear to be likely to afford ore that can be mined under 

present conditions.

In 1931 it was reported that renewed interest had been shown in the 

'development of the chrome ores that have long been known in the 

southern part of Kenai Peninsula and that a test shipment had been 

made of ore from the Lass & Whitney properties near Red Mountain, 

south of Seldovia. No news has been received of the continuation of 

that activity in 1932, and it is probable that while some work was 

done there it did not result in making further shipments. That there 

are large bodies of chrome ore in tin's region has been known for some 

time, but what average chrome content can be maintained under 

commercial conditions, what will be the cost of mining it and transporting it to market, and what profit will be left after it is sold are 

matters that still require investigation.

Molybdenum, one of the elements used in making certain special 

steels, is found in a number of mineralized areas throughout Alaska. 

The principal source of this metal is the mineral molybdenite, in 

which it is combined with sulphur as a sulphide. During 1931 interest 

was revived in the deposits containing molybdenite that occur on 

Baker Island, about 80 miles due west of Ketchikan, and the San 

Antonio Metals Co. was formed to promote their development. 

The mineralization occurred near the contact of a series of slates and 

limestones with a granite mass and appears to have been brought 

about by the intrusion of the granite. In addition to the molybdenite 

the ore contains gold worth several dollars a ton. No details are 

known as to the actual work on this enterprise accomplished during 

1932, but from informal reports it was learned that exploration by a 

small crew was continued for several months during the summer.

Antimony ores are widely distributed throughout Alaska, and in 

the past considerable quantities were produced and shipped from the 

Territory. In 1932, however, so far as reported to the Geological 

Survey, no antimony ores were sold, and no prospecting is known to 

have been done on lodes solely valuable for the antimony they contain. 

However, according to reports received from the owner, the1 annual 

assessment work required by law was kept up on the property near 

Point Ca.amano, about 20 miles north of Ketchikan,, at, which pros-
76 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

pecting has been in progress for several years. Many of the lodes of 

the other minerals, notably gold, contain considerable stibnite, the 

;sulphide of antimony, and in the course of mining them some antiimony is necessarily taken out, though most of it is lost in the tailings. 

.At a few places some of the larger masses of stibnite are laid aside 

until enough has accumulated to be worth shipping. The present 

low price of antimony of less than 6 cents a pound and the remoteness 

 of most of these deposits in interior Alaska do not encourage their 

development at this time. Prospecting is said to have been continued 

On the known nickeliferous sulphides of the Chichagof district, in 

southeastern Alaska, but no ore is reported to have been produced 

for sale during the year.

The ore from the Eva Quartz Mining Co.'s property near Ferry, * 

in the Bonnifield district, which is mined principally for the gold it 

contains, also carries considerable bismuthinite, a sulphide of bismuth, 

from which bismuth might be obtained if desired. This element, 

however, is a detriment in the ordinary smelter treatment, so that 

its presence instead of being a source of revenue is usually penalized 

bv the smelters.

Little new development took place during 1932 on the many kinds 

of nonmetallic mineral products that occur in Alaska. Early in 

February the so-called Akun Island sulphur mine, about 9 miles from 

Akutan post office, was reported to have been sold to the Pacific 

Sulphur Corporation. The purchaser, however, does not appear to 

have completed all the arrangements for taking over the property 

and so far as learned did no actual work on the ground and has not 

announced any definite plans for future development.

Although the various mineral commodities here grouped under the 

Leading "miscellaneous mineral products" yield small monetary 

returns about $223,000 in 1932 yet their diversity, their wide 

(distribution, and the interest that is being displayed in the search for 

them indicate that they already play an important part in the mineral '.eoonomics of the Territory and are destined to become even more 

.as .the development of Alaska proceeds.
- SELECTED LIST OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

PUBLICATIONS ON ALASKA

[Arranged geographically]

All these publications can be obtained or consulted in the following ways:

1. The reports are sold, at the prices indicated, by the Superintendent of 

Documents, Washington, B.C., to whom remittances should be sent by money 

order. No copies are available of those marked with an asterisk (*); they may 

be consulted at many public libraries.

2. The maps whose prices are stated are sold by the Geological Survey and not 

by the Superintendent of Documents. On an order for maps amounting to $5

or more at the retail price a discount of 40 percent is allowed.

3. Copies of all Government publications are furnished to the principal public 

libraries throughout the United States, where they can be consulted by those 

interested.

GENERAL

REPORTS

* The geography and geology of Alaska, by A. H. Brooks. Professional Paper 

45, 1906, 327 pp.

The Alaskan mining industry in 1932, by Philip S. Smith. Bulletin 857-A, 1934, 

10 cents. The preceding volumes in this series and years covered are Bulletins 259, 1904, 15 cents; 284, 1905, 25 cents; 314, 1906, 30 cents; 345, 1907, 

45 cents; 379, 1908, 50 cents; 442, 1909, 40 cents; 480, 1910, 40 cents; 520, 

1911, 50 cents; 542, 1912, 25 cents; * 592, 1913 (592-A, 15 cents); 622, 1914, 

30 cents; 642, 1915, 35 cents; 662, 1916, 75 cents; * 692, 1917 (692-A, 5 cents); 

* 712, 1918; * 714, 1919 (714-A, 25 cents); 722, 1920, 25 cents; 739, 1921, 25 

cents; 755, 1922, 40 cents; 773, 1923, 40 cents; 783, 1924, 40 cents; 792, 1925, 

25 cents; 797, 1926, 80 cents; 810, 1927, 50 cents; 813, 1928, 40 cents; 824, 

1929, 20 cents; 836, 1930, 20 cents; 844-A, 1931, 10 cents.

Railway routes from the Pacific seaboard to Fairbanks, by A. H. Brooks. In 

Bulletin 520, 1912, pp. 45-88. 50 cents.

Geologic features of Alaskan metalliferous lodes, by A. H. Brooks. In Bulletin 

480, 1911, pp. 43-93. 40 cents.

Alaska coal and its utilization, by A. H. Brooks. Bulletin 442-J, reprinted 1914, 

pp. 47-100. 10 cents.

The preparation and use of peat as a fuel, by C. A. Davis. In Bulletin 442, 

1910, pp. 101-132. 40 cents.

* Methods and costs of gravel and placer mining in Alaska, by C. W. Purington. 

Bulletin 263, 1905, 273 pp.

* Geographic dictionary of Alaska, by Marcus Baker (second edition, prepared

by James McCormick), Bulletin 299, 1906, 690 pp. 

Tin mining in Alaska, by H. M. Eakin. In Bulletin 622, 1915, pp. 81-94. 30

cents. 

Antimony deposits of Alaska, by A. H. Brooks. Bulletin 649, 1916, 67 pp. 15

cents. 

The use of the panoramic camera in topographic surveying, by J. W. Bagley.

Bulletin 657, 1917, 88 pp. 25 cents.

77
78 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

Mineral springs of Alaska, by G. A. Waring. Water-Supply Paper 418, 1917,

114 pp. 25 cents. 

Chromite deposits in Alaska, by J. B. Mertie, Jr. In Bulletin 692-D, 1919, pp.

265-267. 15 cents. 

The future of Alaska mining, by A. H. Brooks. Bulletin 714-A, 1921, pp. 5-57.

25 cents. 

Preliminary report on petroleum in Alaska, by G. C. Martin. Bulletin 719, 1921,

83 pp. 50 cents. 

The Mesozoic stratigraphy of Alaska, by G. C. Martin. Bulletin 776, 1926, 493

pp. 75 cents. 

The Upper Cretaceous flora of Alaska, by Arthur Hollick, with a description of

the Upper Cretaceous plant-bearing beds, by G. C. Martin. Professional

Paper 159, 1930, 123 pp., 87 pis. 80 cents. 

Glaciation in Alaska, by S. R. Capps. In Professional Paper 170, 1932, pp. 1-8.

15 cents.

In preparation

Past placer gold production from Alaska, by Philip S. Smith. 

The Tertiary flora of Alaska, by Arthur Hollick, with a chapter on .the geology 

of the Tertiary deposits, by Philip S. Smith.

TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS

Map of Alaska (A); scale, 1:5,000,000; 1931. 10 cents retail or 6 cents wholesale.

Map of Alaska (C); scale, 1:12,000,000; 1929. 1 cent retail or five for 3 cents 

wholesale.

Index map of Alaska, including list of publications; scale, 1:5,000,000; 1929. 

Free on application.

Relief map of Alaska (D); scale, 1:2,500,000; 1923. 50 cents retail or 30 cents 

wholesale.

Map of Alaska (E); scale, 1:2,500,000; 1931. 25 cents retail or 15 cents wholesale.

SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA

BEPORTS

The Juneau gold belt, by A. C. Spencer, pp. 1-137, and A reconnaissance of 

Admiralty Island, by C. W. Wright, pp. 138-154. Bulletin 287, 1906, 161 pp. 

75 cents.

Reconnaissance on the Pacific Coast from Yakutat to Alsek River, by Eliot 

Blackwelder. In Bulletin 314, 1907, pp. 82-88. 30 cents.

The Ketchikan and Wrangell mining districts, by F. E. and C. W. Wright. 

Bulletin 347, 1908, 210 pp. 60 cents.

The Yakutat Bay region, by R. S. Tarr and B. S. Butler. Professional Paper 

64, 1909, 183 pp. 50 cents.

Occurrence of iron ore near Haines, by Adolph Knopf. In Bulletin 442, 1910, 

pp. 144-146. 40 cents.

Geology of the Berners Bay region, by Adolph Knopf. Bulletin 446, 1911, 58 

pp. 20 cents.

The Eagle River region, southeastern Alaska, by Adolph Knopf. Bulletin 502, 

1912, 61 pp. 25 cents.

The Sitka mining district, by Adolph Knopf. Bulletin 504, 1912, 32 pp. 5 cents.

The earthquakes at Yakutat Bay, in September 1899, by R. S. Tarr and Lawrence Martin. Professional Paper 69, 1912, 135 pp. 60 cents.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PUBLICATIONS ON ALASKA 79

*A barite deposit near Wrangell, by E. F. Burchard. In Bulletin 592, 1914, 

pp. 109-117.

* Mineral deposits of the Yakataga district, by A. G. Maddren. In Bulletin 592,

1914, pp. 119-153. 

Geology and ore deposits of Copper Mountain and Kasaan Peninsula, by C. W.

Wright. Professional Paper 87, 1915, 110 pp. 40 cents.

*The structure and stratigraphy of Gravina and Revillagigedo Islands, by 

Theodore Chapin. In Professional Paper 120, 1918, pp. 83-110.

* Geology and mineral resources of the west coast of Chichagof Island, by R. M.

Overbeck. In Bulletin 692, 1919, pp. 91-136. 

The Porcupine gold placer district, by H. M. Eakin.; Bulletin 699, 1919, 29 pp.

20 cents. 

Notes on the Salmon-Unuk River region, by J. B. Mertie, Jr. Bulletin 714-B,

1921, pp. 129-142. 10 cents. 

Marble resources of southeastern Alaska, by E. F. Burchard. Bulletin 682,

1920, 118 pp. 30 cents. 

Water-power investigations in southeastern Alaska, by G. H. Canfield. In

Bulletin 722, 1922. 25 cents. Similar previous reports in Bulletins 642,

1916, 35 cents; 662, 1918, 75 cents; *692, 1919; *712, 1920; 714-B, 1921. 10

cents. 

Ore deposits of the Salmon River district, Portland Canal region, by L. G.

Westgage. In Bulletin 722, 1922, pp. 117-140. 25 cents. 

Mineral deposits of the Wrangell district, by A. F. Buddington. In Bulletin

739, 1923, pp. 51-75. 25 cents. 

Mineral investigations in southeastern Alaska in 1924, by A. F. Buddington.

In Bulletin 783, 1927, pp. 41-62. 40 cents. Similar report for 1923 in Bulletin

773, 1925, pp. 71-139. 40 cents. 

Aerial photographic surveys in southeastern Alaska, by F. H. Moffit and R. H.

Sargent. In Bulletin 797, 1929, pp. 143-160. 80 cents. 

Geology of Hyder and vicinity, with a reconnaissance of Chickamin River,

southeastern Alaska, by A. F. Buddington. Bulletin 807, 1929, 124 pp. 35

cents. 

Geology and mineral deposits of southeastern Alaska, by A. F. Buddington and

Theodore Chapin. Bulletin 800, 1929, 398 pp. 85 cents. 

The occurrence of gypsum at lyoukeen Cove, Chichagof Island, by B. D. Stewart.

In Bulletin 824, 1932, pp. 173-177. 20 cents. 

Notes on the geography and geology of Lituya Bay, by J. B. Mertie, Jr. In

Bulletin 836, 1933, pp. 117-135. 75 cents. 

Surface water supply of southeastern Alaska, 1909-1930, by F. F. Henshaw.

In Bulletin 836, 1933, pp. 137-218. 75 cents.

In preparation

Glacier Bay and vicinity, by F. E. and C. W. Wright. 

Mineral resources of Taku River region, by B. D. Stewart.

TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS

Juneau gold belt, Alaska; scale, 1:250,000; compiled. In Bulletin 287, 1906,

75 cents. Not issued separately. 

Juneau special (No. 581A); scale, 1:62,500; 1904, by W. J. Peters. 10 cents

retail or 6 cents wholesale. 

Berners Bay special (No. 581B); scale, 1:62,500; 1908, by R. B. Oliver. 10

* cents retail or 6 cents wholesale. Also contained in Bulletin 446, 1911. 

20 cents.

 1246(5 33 6
80 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

Kasaan Peninsula, Prince of Wales Island (No. 540A); scale 1:62,500; by 

D. C. Witherspoon, R. H. Sargent, and J. W. Bagley. 10 cents retail or 6 

cents wholesale. Also contained in Professional Paper 87, 1915, 40 cents.

Copper Mountain and vicinity, Prince of Wales Island (No. 540B); scale, 

1:62,500; by R. H. Sargent. 10 cents retailor 6 cents wholesale. Also contained in Professional Paper 87, 1915, 40 cents.

Eagle River region; scale, 1:62,500; by J. W. Bagley, C. E. Giffin, and R. E. 

Johnson. In Bulletin 502, 1912, 25 cents. Not issued separately.

Juneau and vicinity (No. 581D); scale 1:24,000; 1918, by D. C. Witherspoon. 

20 cents retail or 12 cents wholesale.

Hyder and vicinity (No. 540C); scale, 1:62,500; 1927, by R. M. Wilson. 10 

cents retail or 6 cents wholesale. Also published in Bulletin 807, 1929, 35 

cents.

Revillagigedo Island; scale, 1:250,000; 1931, by R.. H. Sargent (preliminary 

edition). Free on application.

Wrangell district; scale, 1:250,000; 1932, by R. H. Sargent and V. S. Seward 

(preliminary edition). Free on application.

Sumner Straits and vicinity; scale, 1:250,000; 1933, by R. H. Sargent and V. S. 

Seward (preliminary edition). Free on application.

Taku district. Compiled principally from aerial photographs taken by the 

Alaska aerial survey expeditions of the Navy Department, 1926 and 1929.

CONTROLLER BAY, PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND, AND COPPER RIVER

REGIONS

REPORTS

Mineral resources of the Mount Wrangell district, by W. C. Mendenhall and F. C.

Schrader. Professional Paper 15, 1903, 71 pp. 30 cents. 

Geology of the central Copper River region, by W. C. Mendenhall. Profess'onal

Paper 41, 1905, 133 pp. 50 cents. 

Geology and mineral resources of the Controller Bay region, by G. C. Martin.

Bulletin 335, 1908, 141 pp. 70 cents. 

Mineral resources of the Kotsina-Chitina region, by F. H. Moffit and A. G.

Maddren. Bulletin 374, 1909, 103 pp. 40 cents. 

Mineral resources of the Nabesna-White River district, by F. H. Moffit and

Adolph Knopf, with a section on the Quaternary, by S. R. Capps. Bulletin

417, 1910, 64 pp. 25 cents. 

Reconnaissance of the geology and mineral resources of Prince William Sound,

by U. S. Grant and D. F. Higgins. Bulletin 443, 1910, 89 pp. 45 cents. 

Geology and mineral resources of the Nizina district, by F. H. Moffit and S. R.

Capps. Bulletin 448, 1911, 111 pp. 40 cents. 

Headwater regions of Gulkana and Susitna Rivers, with accounts of the Valdez

Creek and Chistochina placer districts, by F. H. Moffit. Bulletin 498, 1912,

82'pp. 35 cents. 

Coastal glaciers of Prince William Sound and Kenai Peninsula, by U. S. Grant

and D. F. Higgins. Bulletin 526, 1913, 75 pp. 30 cents. 

The McKinley Lake district, by Theodore Chapin. In Bulletin 542, 1913, pp.

78-80. 25 cents. 

Geology of the Hanagita-Bremner region, by F. H. Moffit. Bulletin 576, 1914,

56 pp. 30 cents.

* Mineral deposits of the Yakataga district by A. G. Maddren. In Bulletin 592, 

1914, pp. 119-153.

* The Port Wells gold-lode district, by B. L. Johnson. In Bulletin 592, 1914, 

pp. 195-236.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PUBLICATIONS ON ALASKA 81

The gold and copper deposits of the Port Valdez district, by B. L. Johnson. In

Bulletin 622, 1915, pp. 140-188. 30 cents. 

The Ellamar district, by S. R. Capps and B. L. Johnson. Bulletin 605, 1915,

125 pp. 25 cents. 

' * A water-power reconnaissance in south-central Alaska, by C. E. Ellsworth and

R. W. Davenport. Water-Supply Paper 372, 1915, 173 pp. 

'Copper deposits of the Latouche and Knight Island districts, Prince William

Sound, by B. L. Johnson. In Bulletin 662, 1917, pp. 193-220. 75 cents. 

The Nelchina-Susitna region, by Theodore Chapin. Bulletin 668, 1918, 67 pp.

25 cents. 

The upper Chitina Valley, by F. H. Moffit, with a description of the igneous

rocks, by R. M. Overbeck. Bulletin 675, 1918, 82 pp. 25 cents. 

:* Platinum-bearing auriferous gravel of Chlstochina River, by Theodore Chapin.

In Bulletin 692, 1919, pp. 137-141. 

 '* Mining on Prince William Sound, by B. L. Johnson. In Bulletin 692, 1919.

Similar previous reports in Bulletins * 592, 1914; 622, 1915, 30 cents; 642,

1916, 35 cents; 662, 1918,.75 cents. 

:* Mineral resources of Jack Bay district and vicinity, by B. L. Johnson. In

Bulletin 692, 1919, pp. 153-173. 

r* Nickel deposits in the lower Copper River Valley, by R. M. Overbeck. In

Bulletin 712, 1919, pp. 91-98. 

'The Kotsina-Kuskulana district, by F. H. Moffit and J. B. Mertie, Jr. Bulletin

745, 1923, 149 pp. 40 cents. 

The "metalliferous deposits of Chitina Valley, by F. H. Moffit. In Bulletin 755,

1924, pp. 57-72. 40 cents.

The occurrence of copper on Prince William Sound, by F. H. Moffit. In Bulletin 773, 1925, pp. 141-158. 40 cents. 

Notes on the geology of the upper Nizina River, by F. H. Moffit. In Bulletin

813, 1930, pp. 143-163. 40 cents. 

The Slana district, upper Copper River region, by F. H. Moffit. In Bulletin

824, 1931, pp. 111-124. 20 cents. 

The Suslota Pass district, upper Copper River region, by F. H. Moffit. Bulletin

844-C. 1933, pp. 137-162. 15 cents.

\

In preparation

The Tonsina district, by F. H. Moffit.

The geology and mineral resources of the Chitina Valley and some adjacent 

areas, by F. H. Moffit.

TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS

Central Copper River region; scale, 1:250,000; by T. G. Gerdine. In Professional Paper 41, 1905, 50 cents. Not issued separately. Reprint in Bulletin 

498, 1912, 35 cents.

Headwater regions of Copper, Nabesna, and Chisana Rivers; scale, 1:250,000; 

by D. C. Witherspoon, T. G. Gerdine, and W. J. Peters. In Professional 

Paper 41, 1905, 50 cents. Not issued separately.

Controller Bay region (No. 601 A); scale, 1:62,500; 1907, by E. G. Hamilton 

and W. R. Hill. 35 cents retail or 21 cents wholesale. Also published in 

Bulletin 335, 1908, 70 cents.

Headwater regions of Nabesna and White Rivers; scale,. 1:250,000; by D. C. 

Witherspoon, T. G. Gerdine, and S. R. Capps. In Bulletin 417, 1910, 25 

cents. Not issued separately.

Latouche Island, part of; scale, 1:21,120; by D. F. Higgins. In Bulletin 443, 

1910, 45 cents. Not issued separately.
82 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

Chitina quadrangle (No. 601); scale, 1:250,000; 1914, by T. G. Gerdine, D. CWitherspoon, and others. Sale edition exhausted. Also published in Bulletin*

576, 1914, 30 cents. 

Nizina district (No. 601B); scale, 1:62,500; by D. C. Witherspoon and R.. M_

La Follette. In Bulletin 448, 1911, 40 cents. Not issued separately. 

Headwater regions of Gulkana and Susitna Rivers; scale, 1:250,000; by D. <X

Witherspoon, J. W. Bagley, and C. E. Giffin. In Bulletin 498, 1912, 35 cents.

Not issued separately. 

Prince William Sound; scale, 1:500,000; compiled. In Bulletin 526, 1913,. 30'

cents. Not issued separately. 

The Bering River'coal field; scale, 1:62,500; 1915, by G. C. Martin. 25 cents

retail or 15 cents wholesale. 

The Ellamar district (No. 602D); scale, 1:62,500; by R. H. Sargent and C. E.

GifEn. In Bulletin 605, 1915, 25 cents. Not issued separately. 

Nelchina-Susitna region; scale, 1:250,000; by J. W. Bagley, T. G. Gerdine, and'.

others. In Bulletin 668, 1918, 25 cents. Not issued separately. 

Upper Chitina Valley; scale, 1:250,000; by International Boundary Commission, F. H. Moffit, D. C. Witherspoon, and T. G. Gerdine. In Bulletin 675,.

1918, 25 cents. Not issued separately. 

The Kotsina-Kuskulana district (No. 601C); scale, 1:62,500; 1922, by D. C,

Witherspoon. 10 cents retail or 6 cents wholesale. Also published in Bulletin.

745, 1923, 40 cents. 

Valdez and vicinity (No. 602B); scale, 1:62,500; 1929, by J. W. Bagley, C. E.

Giffin, and R. H. Sargent. 10 cents retail or 6 cents wholesale. ° 

Tonsina district; scale, 1:250,000; 1932, by C. F. Fuechsel and J. W. Bagley

(preliminary edition). Free on application.

In preparation

Prince William Sound region; scale, 1:250,000; by J. W. Bagley, D. C. Witherspoon, and others.

COOK INXiBT AND SUSITNA REGION

REPORTS

Geologic reconnaissance in the Matanuska and Talkeetna basins, by Sidney

Paige and Adolph Knopf. Bulletin 327, 1907, 71 pp. 25 cents.

* The Mount McKinley region, by AP H. Brooks. Professional Paper 70, 1911,

234 pp. 

A geologic reconnaissance of the Iliamna region, by G. C. Martin and F. J.

Katz. Bulletin 485, 1912, 138 pp. 35 cents. 

Geology and coal fields of the lower Matanuska Valley, by G. C. Martin and

F. J. Katz. Bulletin 500, 1912, 98 pp. 30 cents. 

The Yentna district, by S. R. Capps. Bulletin 534, 1913, 75 pp. 20 cents.

* Geology and mineral resources of Kenai Peninsula, by G. C. Martin, B. L. 

Johnson, and U. S. Grant. Bulletin 587, 1915, 243 pp.

The Willow Creek district, by S. R. Capps. Bulletin 607, 1915, 86 pp. 25 

cents.

The Broad Pass region, by F. H. Moffit and J. E. Pogue. Bulletin 608, 1915, SO 

pp. 25 cents.

The Nelchina-Susitna region, by Theodore Chapiii. Bulletin 668, 1918, 67 pp. 

25 cents.

Platinum-bearing gold placers of Kahiltna Valley, by J. B. Mertie, Jr. In Bulletin 692-D, 1919, pp. 233-264. 15 cents.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PUBLICATIONS ON ALASKA 83

^Mining developments in the Matanuska coal fields, by Theodore Chapin. In 

Bulletin 714, 1921. (See also Bulletin 692-D, 1919, 15 cents; and Bulletin'. 

*712, 1920.)

 "*Lode developments in the Willow Creek district, by Theodore Chapin. In 

Bulletin 714, 1921. (See also Bulletin 642, 1916, 35 cents; Bulletin 692-D, 

.1919, 15 cents; and Bulletin *712, 1920.)

'Geology of the vicinity of Tuxedni Bay, Cook Inlet, by F. H. Moffit. In Bulletin 722, 1922, pp. 141-147. 25 cents.

The Iniskin Bay district, by F. H. Moffit. In Bulletin 739, 1922, pp. 117-132. 

25 cents.

(Chromite of Kenai Peninsula, by A. C. Gill. Bulletin 742, 1922, 52 pp. 15 

cents.

 Geology and mineral resources of the region traversed by the Alaska Railroad,

by S. R. Capps. In Bulletin 755, 1924, pp. 73-150. 40 cents. 

An early Tertiary placer deposit in the Yentna district, by S. R. Capps. In

Bulletin 773, 1925, pp. 53-61. 40 cents. 

.Mineral resources of the Kamishak Bay region, by K. F. Mather. In Bulletin

773, 1925, pp. 159-181. 40 cents. 

.A ruby-silver prospect in Alaska, by S. R. Capps and M. N. Short. In Bulletin

783, 1927, pp. 89-95. 40 cents. 

'The Iniskin-Chinitna Peninsula and the Snug Harbor district, by F. H. Moffit.

Bulletin 789, 1927, 71 pp. 50 cents. 

(Geology of the upper Matanuska Valley, by S. R. Capps, with a section on the

igneous rocks, by J. B. Mertie, Jr. Bulletin 791, 1927, 92 pp. 30 cents. 

(Geology of the Knik-Matanuska district, by K. K. Landes. In Bulletin 792,

1927, pp. 51-72. 25 cents. 

'The Skwentna region, by S. R. Capps. In Bulletin 797, 1929, pp. 67-98. 80

cents. 

The Mount Spnrr region, by S. R. Capps. In Bulletin 810, 1930, pp. 141-172.

50 cents. 

The Chakachamna-Stony region, by S. R. Capps. In Bulletin 813, 1930, pp.

97-123. 40 cents. 

The Lake Clark-Mulehatna region, by S. R. Capps. In Bulletin 824, 1931,

pp. 125-154. 20 cents. 

The eastern portion of Mount McKinley Park, by S. R. Capps. In Bulletin 836,

1933, pp. 219-300. 75 cents.

.Mineral investigations in the Alaska Railroad belt, 1931, by S. R. Capps. Bulletin 844-B, 1.933, pp. 119-135. 5 cents. 

"Progress of surveys in the Anthracite Ridge district, by R. W. Richards and

G. A. Waring. Bulletin 849-A, 1933, pp. 5-27. 5 cents. 

The Willow Creek gold lode district, by J. C. Ray. Bulletin 849-C, 1933, pp.

165-229. 20 cents.

.Mineral deposits near the West Fork of the Chulitna River, by C. P. Ross. Bulletin 849-E, 1933, pp. 289-333. 15 cents. 

The Girdwood district, by C. F. Park, Jr. Bulletin 849-G, 1933, pp. 381-424.

15 cents. 

The Valdez Creek mining district, by C. P. Ross. Bulletin 849-H, 1933, pp. 425-

468. 15 cents. 

The Moose Pass-Hope district, Kenai Peninsula, by Ralph Tuck. Bulletin

849-1, 1933, pp. 469-530. 15 cents.
84 MINEKAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

In preparation

The Curry district, by Ralph Tuck.

Core drilling for coal in Moose Creek area, by G. A. Waring.

The Alaska Railroad route, by S. R. Capps.

The southern Alaska Range, by S. R. Capps.

Geology of the Anthracite Ridge coal district, by G. A. Waring.

TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS

Matanuska and Talkeetna region; scale, 1:250,000; by T. G. Gerdine and R. H... 

Sargent. In Bulletin 327, 1907, 25 cents. Not issued separately.

Yentna district; scale, 1:250,000; by R. W. Porter. Revised edition. In Bulletin 534, 1913, 20 cents. Not issued separately.

*Mount McKinley region; scale, 1:625,000; by D. L. Reaburn. In Professional! 

Paper 70, 1911. Not issued separately.

*Kenai Peninsula; scale, 1:250,000; by R. H. Sargent, J. W. Bagley, and others.. 

In Bulletin 587, 1915. Not issued separately.

*Moose Pass and vicinity; scale, 1:62,500; by J. W. Bagley. In Bulletin 587,, 

1915. Not issued separately.

The Willow Creek district; scale, 1:62,500; by C. E. Giffin. In Bulletin 607,., 

1915, 25 cents. Not issued separately.

Lower Matanuska Valley (No. 602A); scale> 1:62,500; 1931, by R. H. Sargent.- 

10 cents retail or 6 cents wholesale.

Nelchina-Susitna region; scale, 1:250,000; by J. W. Bagley. In Bulletin 668,. 

1918, 25 cents. Not issued separately.

Iniskin-Chinitna Peninsula, Cook Inlet region; scale, 1:62,500; 1922, by C. P. 

McKinley, D. C. Witherspoon, and Gerald FitzGerald (preliminary edition).. 

Free on application. Also published in Bulletin 789, 1927. 50 cents.

Iniskin Bay-Snug Harbor district, Cook Inlet region, Alaska; scale, 1:250,000;: 

1924, by C. P. McKinley and Gerald FitzGerald (preliminary edition). Freeon application. Also published in Bulletin 789,1927. 50 cents.

The Alaska Railroad route: Seward to Matanuska coal field; scale, 1:250,000;:. 

1924, by J. W. Bagley, T. G. Gerdine, R. H. Sargent, and others. 50 centsretail or 30 cents wholesale.

The Alaska Railroad route: Matanuska coal field to Yanert Fork; scale, 1:250,000;: 

1924, by J. W. Bagley, T. G. Gerdine, R. H. Sargent, and others. 50 centsretail or 30 cents wholesale.

The Alaska Railroad route: Yanert Fork to Fairbanks; scale, 1:250,000; 1924,. 

by J. W. Bagley, T. G. Gerdine, R. H. Sargent, and others. 50 cents retail! 

or 30 cents wholesale.

Upper Matanuska Valley; scale, 1:62,500; by R. H. Sargent. In Bulletin 791,. 

1927, 30 cents. Not issued separately.

Girdwood district; scale, 1:62,500; 1932; by W. G. Carson (preliminary edition).. 

Free on application.

Anthracite Ridge; scale, 1:12,000; 1932, by L. 0. Newsome (preliminary edition). 

Free on application.

Lake Clark-Mulchatna River region; scale, 1:250,000; 1933, by Gerald FitzGerald, C. E. Giffin, R. H. Sargent, and D. C. Witherspoon. 50 cents.

Mount Spurr region; scale, 1:250,000; 1933, by Gerald FitzGerald, E. C. Hamilton, W. S. Post, D. L. Reaburn, R. H. Sargent, and K. W. Trimble. 50 centsCurry and vicinity; scale, 1:250,000; 1933, by C. P. McKinley andi others (preliminary edition). Free on application.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PUBLICATIONS ON ALASKA 85

SOUTHWESTERN ALASKA

REPORTS

A reconnaissance in southwestern Alaska in 1898, by J. E. Spurr. In Twentieth 

Ann. Kept., pt. 7 (Explorations in Alaska in 1898), 1900, pp. 31-264. $1.80.

*Geology and mineral resources of parts of Alaska Peninsula, by W. W. Atwood.

Bulletin 467, 1911, 137 pp. 

A geologic reconnaissance of the Iliamna region, by G. C. Martin and F. J. Katz.

Bulletin 485, 1912, 138 pp. 35 cents. 

Mineral deposits of Kodiak and the neighboring islands, by G. C. Martin. In

Bulletin 542, 1913, pp. 125-136. 25 cents. 

The Lake Clark-central Kuskokwim region, by P. S. Smith. Bulletin 655, 1917,

162 pp. 30 cents. 

Beach placers of the west coast of Kodiak Island, by A. G. Maddren. In

Bulletin 692-E, 1919, pp. 299-319. 5 cents. 

Sulphur on Unalaska and Akun Islands and near Stepovak Bay, by A. G. Maddren.

In Bulletin 692-E, 1919, pp. 283-298. 5 cents.

The Cold Bay district, by S. R. Capps. In Bulletin 739, 1923, pp. 77-116. 25

cents. 

The Cold Bay-Chignik district, by W. R. Smith and A. A. Baker. In Bulletin

755, 1924, pp. 151-218. 40 cents. 

The Cold Bay-Katmai district, by W. R. Smith. In Bulletin 773, 1925, pp.

183-207. 40 cents. 

The outlook for petroleum near Chignik, by G. C. Martin. In Bulletin 773,

1925, pp. 209-213. 40 cents. 

Mineral resources of the Kamishak Bay region, by K. F. Mather. In Bulletin

773, 1925, pp. 159-181. 40 cents.

*Aniakchak Crater, Alaska Peninsula, by W. R. Smith. In Professional Paper

132, 1925, pp. 139-149. 

Geology and oil developments of the Cold Bay district, by W. R. Smith. In

Bulletin 783, 1927, pp. 63-88. 40 cents.. 

Geology and mineral resources of the Aniakchak district, by R. S. Knappen. In

Bulletin 797, 1929, pp. 161-223. 80 cents.

In preparation

Notes on the geology of the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands, by S. R.

Capps. 

The Nushagak district, by P. A. Davison.

TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS

*Herendeen Bay and Unga Island region; scale, 1:250,000; by H. M. Eakin. 

In Bulletin 467, 1911. Not issued separately.

*Chignik Bay region; scale, 1:250,000; by H. M. Eakin. In Bulletin 467, 1911.

Not issued separately. 

Iliamna region; scale, 1:250,000; by D. C. Witherspoon and C. E. Giffin. In

Bulletin 485, 1912. 35 cents. Not issued separately. 

Kuskokwim River and Bristol Bay region; scale, 1:625,000; by W. S. Post. In

Twentieth Annual Report, pt. 7, 1900. $1.80. Not issued separately. 

Lake Clark-central Kuskokwim region; scale, 1:250,000; by R. H. Sargent,

D. C. Witherspoon, and C. E. Giffin. In Bulletin 655, 1917. 30 cents. Not

issued separately.

*Cold Bay-Chignik region, Alaska Peninsula; scale, 1:250,000; 1924, by R. K. 

Lynt and R. H. Sargent (preliminary edition).
86 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

Kamishak Bay-Katmai region, Alaska Peninsula; scale, 1:250,000; 1927, by

R. H. Sargent and R. K. Lynt (preliminary edition). Free on application. 

Aniakchak district, Alaska Peninsula; scale, 1:250,000; 1927, by R. H. Sargent

(preliminary edition). Free on application. 

Pavlof region, Alaska Peninsula; scale, 1:250,000; 1929, by C. P. McKinley

(Nat. Geog. Soc. Expedition) (preliminary edition). Free on application. 

Goodnews Bay district; scale, 1:250,000; 1930, by R. H. Sargent and W. S. Post

(preliminary edition). Free on application. 

Kodiak and vicinity; scale, 1:250,000; 1933, by Gerald FitzGerald (preliminary

edition). Free on application. 

Nushagak district; scale, 1:250,000; 1933, by Gerald FitzGerald (preliminary

edition). Free on application.

In preparation 

Kanatak district; scale, 1:250,000; by R. H. Sargent and others.

YUKON AND KUSKOKWIM BASINS

REPORTS

The Fortymile quadrangle, Yukon-Tanana region, by L. M. Prindle. Bulletin 

375, 1909, 52 pp. 30 cents.

Water-supply investigations in the Yukon-Tanana region, 1907 and 1908 (Fairbanks, Circle, and Rampart districts), by C. C. Covert and C. E. Ellsworth. 

Water-Supply Paper 228, 1909, 108 pp. 20 cents.

Mineral resources of the Nabesna-White River district, by F. H. Moffit, Adolph 

Knopf, and S. R. Capps. Bulletin 417, 1910, 64 pp. 25 cents.

*Mount McKinley region, by A. H. Brooks, with descriptions of the igneous rocks

and of the Bonnifield and Kantishna districts, by L. M. Prindle. Professional

Paper 70, 1911, 234pp.

The Bonnifield region, by S. R. Capps. Bulletin 501, 1912, 64 pp. 20 cents. 

A geologic reconnaissance of a part of the Rampart quadrangle, by H. M. Eakin.

Bulletin 535, 1913, 38 pp. 20 cents. 

A geologic reconnaissance of the Fairbanks quadrangle, by L. M. Prindle, F. J.

Katz, and P. S. Smith. Bulletin 525, 1913, 220 pp. 55 cents. 

The Koyukuk-Chandalar region, by A. G. Maddren. Bulletin 532,1913,119 pp.

25 cents. 

A geologic reconnaissance of the Circle quadrangle, by L. M. Prindle. Bulletin

538, 1913, 82 pp. 30 cents. 

Surface water supply of the Yukon-Tanana region, by C. E. Ellsworth and

R. W. Davenport. Water-Supply Paper 342, 1915, 343 pp. 45 cents. 

The discharge of Yukon River at Eagle, by E. A. Porter and R. W. Davenport.

Water-Supply Paper 345-F, 1915, pp. 67-77. 5 cents. 

Gold placers of the lower Kuskokwim, with a note on copper in the Russian

Mountains, by A. G. Maddren. In Bulletin 622, 1915, pp. 292-360. 30 cents.

 Quicksilver deposits of the Kuskokwim region, by P. S. Smith and A. G. Maddren. 

In Bulletin 622, 1915, pp. 272-291. 30 cents.

The Chisana-White River district, by S. R. Capps. Bulletin 630, 1916, 130 pp. 

20 cents.

An ancient volcanic eruption in the upper Yukon basin, by S. R. Capps. Professional Paper 95-D, 1916, pp. 59-64. 5 cents.

The Yukon-Koyukuk region, by H. M. Eakin. Bulletin 631, 1916, 88 pp. 20 

cents.

The gold placers of the Tolovana district, by J. B. Mertie, Jr. In Bulletin 662, 

1918, pp. 221-277. 75 cents.

Lode mining in the Fairbanks district, by J. B. Mertie, Jr. In Bulletin 662, 

1918, pp. 403-424. 75 cents.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PUBLICATIONS ON ALASKA 87

Lode deposits near the Nenana coal field, by R. M. Overbeck. In Bulletin 662,

1918, pp. 351-362. 75 cents. 

The Lake Clark-central Kuskokwiin region, by P. S. Smith. Bulletin 655, 1918,

162 pp. 30 cents. 

The Cosna-Nowitna region, by H. M. Eakin. Bulletin 667, 1918, 54 pp. 25

cents. 

The Anvik-Andreafski region, by G. L. Harrington. Bulletin 683, 1918, 70 pp.

30 cents.

The Kantishna district, by S. R. Capps. Bulletin 687, 1919, 118 pp. 25 cents. 

The Nenana coal field, Alaska, by G. C. Martin. Bulletin 664, 1919, 54 pp.

$1.10.

*The gold and platinum placers of the Tolstoi district, by G. L. Harrington. In 

Bulletin 692, 1919, pp. 339-351.

*Mineral resources of the Goodnews Bay region, by G. L. Harrington. In

Bulletin 714, 1921, pp. 207-228. 

Gold lodes in the upper Kuskokwim region, by G. C. Martin. In Bulletin 722,

1922, pp. 149-161. 25 cents. 

The occurrence of metalliferous deposits in the Yukon and Kuskokwim regions,

by J. B. Mertie, Jr. In Bulletin 739, 1922, pp. 149-165. 25 cents. 

The Ruby-Kuskokwim region, by J. B. Mertie, Jr., and G. L. Harrington. Bulletin 754, 1924, 129 pp. 50 cents. 

Geology and gold placers of the Chandalar district, by J. B. Mertie, Jr. In

Bulletin 773, 1925, pp. 215-263. 40 cents. 

The Nixon Fork country, by J. S. Brown. In Bulletin 783, 1927, pp. 97-144.

40 cents. 

Silver-lead prospects near Ruby, by J. S. Brown. In Bulletin 783, 1927, pp.

145-150. 40 cents. 

The Toklat-Tonzona River region, by S. R. Capps. In Bulletin 792, 1927, pp.

73-110. 25 cents. , a 

Preliminary report on the Sheenjek River district, by J. B. Mertie, Jr. In

Bulletin 797, 1929, pp. 99-123. 80 cents. 

The Chandalar-Sheenjek district, by J. B. Mertie, Jr. In Bulletin 810, 1930,

pp. 87-139. 50 cents. 

Mining in the Fortymile district, by J. B. Mertie, Jr. In Bulletin 813, 1930,

pp. 125-142. 40 cents. 

Geology of the Eagle-Circle district, by J. B. Mertie, Jr. Bulletin 816, 1930,

168 pp. 50 cents. 

Mining in the Circle district, by J. B. Mertie, Jr. In Bulletin 824, 1931, pp.

155-172. 20 cents. 

Geologic reconnaissance of the Dennison Fork district, by J. B. Mertie, Jr.

Bulletin 827, 1932, 44 pp. 45 cents. 

The Tatonduk-Nation district, by J. B. Mertie, Jr. In Bulletin 836, 1933, pp.

347-443. 75 cents. 

The eastern portion of Mount McKinley National Park, by S. R. Capps. In

Bulletin 836, 1933, pp. 219-300. 75 cents. 

The Kantishna district, by F. H. Moffit. In Bulletin 836, 1933, pp. 301-338,

75 cents. Mining.development in the Tatlanika and Totatlanika Basins, by F. H. Moffit.

In BuUetin 836, 1933, pp. 339-345. 75 cents. 

Mineral deposits of Rampart and Hot Springs districts, by J. B. Mertie, Jr. In*

Bulletin 844-D, 1934, pp. 163-226. 10 cents. 

Placer concentrates of Rampart and Hot Springs districts, by A. E. Waters, Jr.

In Bulletin 844-D, 1934, pp. 227-246. 10 cents.
88 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

Reconnaissance of northern Koyukuk Valley, by Robert Marshall. Bulletin 

844-E, 1933, pp. cents.

Lode deposits of the Fairbanks district, by J. M. Hill. Bulletin 849-B, 1933, 

pp. 29-163. 35 cents. -

The Mount Eielson district, by J. C. Reed. Bulletin 849-D, 193-, pp. 231- 

287. 25 cents.

Lode deposits of Eureka and vicinity, Kantishna district, by F. G. Wells. Bulletin 849-F, 1933, pp. 335-379. 20 cents.

In preparation 

Geology of the Yukon-Tanana region, by J. B. Mertie, Jr.

TOPOGBAPHIC MAPS

Headwater regions of Nabesna and White Rivers; scale, 1:250,000; by D. C.

Witherspoon, T. G. Gerdine, and S. R. Capps. In Bulletin 417, 1910, 25

cents. Not issued separately. 

Circle quadrangle (No. 641); scale, 1:250,000; 1911, by T. G. Gerdine, D. C.

Witherspoon, and others. 50 cents retail or 30 cents wholesale. Also in

Bulletin 538, 1913, 20 cents. 

Koyukuk and Chandalar region, reconnaissance map; scale, 1:500,000; by

T. G. Gerdine, D. L. Reaburn, D. C. Witherspoon, and A. G. Maddren. In

Bulletin 532, 1913, 25 cents. Not issued separately. 

Fairbanks quadrangle (No. 642); scale, 1:250,000; 1911, by T. G. Gerdine,

D. C. Witherspoon, R. B. Oliver, and J. W. Bagley. 50 cents retail or 30

cents wholesale. Also in Bulletin 337, 1908, 25 cents, and Bulletin 525, 1913,

55 cents. 

Fortymile quadrangle (No. 640); scale, 1:250,000; 1902, by E. C. Barnard.

10 cents retail or 6 cents wholesale. Also in Bulletin 375, 1909, 30 cents. 

Rampart quadrangle (No. 643); scale, 1:250,000; 1913, by D. C. Witherspoon

and R. B. Oliver. 20 cents retail or 12 cents wholesale. Also in Bulletin

337, 1908, 25 cents, and part in Bulletin 535, 1913, 20 cents. 

Fairbanks special (No. 642A); scale, 1:62,500; 1908, by T. G. Gerdine and

R. H. Sargent. 20 cents retail or 12 cents wholesale. Also in Bulletin 525,

1913, 55 cents.

Bonnifield region; scale, 1:250,000; by J. W. Bagley, D. C. Witherspoon, and 

C. E. Giffin. In Bulletin 501, 1912, 20 cents. Not issued separately.

Iditarod-Ruby region; scale, 1:250,000; by C. G. Anderson, W. S. Post, and 

others. In Bulletin 578, 1914, 35 cents. Not issued separately.

Middle Kuskokwim and lower Yukon region; scale, 1:500,000; by C. G. Anderson, W. S. Post, and others. In Bulletin 578, 1914, 35 cents. Not issued 

separately.

 Chisana-White River region; scale, 1:250,000; by C. E. Giffin and D. C. Witherspoon. In Bulletin 630, 1916, 20 cents. Not issued separately.

Yukon-Koyukuk region; scale, 1:500,000; by H. M. Eakin. In Bulletin 631, 

1916, 20 cents. Not issued separately.

 Cosna-Nowitna region; scale, 1:250,000; by H. M. Eakin, C. E. Giffin, and

R. B. Oliver. In Bulletin 667, 1917, 25 cents. Not issued separately. 

Lake Clark-central Kuskokwim region; scale, 1:250,000; by R. H. Sargent,

D. C. Witherspoon, and C. E. Giffin. In Bulletin 655, 1917, 30 cents. Not

issued separately. 

Anvik-Andreafski region; scale, 1:250,000; by R. H. Sargent. In Bulletin 683,

1918, 30 cents. Not issued separately.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PUBLICATIONS ON ALASKA 89

Marshall district; scale, 1:125,000; by R. H. Sargent. In Bulletin 683, 1918,

30 cents. Not issued separately. 

*Upper Tanana Valley region; scale, 1:250,000; 1922, by D. C. Witherspoon

and J. W. Bagley (preliminary edition). 

:*Lower Kuskokwim region; scale, 1:500,000; 1921, by A. G. Maddren and

R. H. Sargent (preliminary edition).

Ruby district; scale, 1:250,000; 1921, by C. E. Giffin and R. H. Sargent (preliminary edition). Free on application. Also in Bulletin 754, 1924, 50 cents. 

Jnnoko-Iditarod region; scale, 1:250,000; 1921, by R. H. Sargent and C. G.

Anderson (preliminary edition). Free on application. Also in Bulletin 754,

1924, 50 cents. 

.Nixon Fork region; scale, 1:250,000; 1926, by R. H. Sargent (preliminary

edition). Free on application. 

'Chandalar-Sheenjek district; scale, 1:500,000; by Gerald FitzGerald and J. 0.

Kilmartin. In Bulletin 810, 1930, 50 cents. Not issued separately. 

'Goodnews Bay district; scale, 1:250,000; 1930, by R. H. Sargent and W. S.

Post (preliminary edition). Free on application. 

IMount Eielson district; scale, 1:62,500; 1932, by S. N. Stoner (preliminary

edition). Free on application. Also in Bulletin 849-D, 193-. 

IDennison Fork district; scale, 1:250,000; 1932, by J. W. Bagley and D. C.

Witherspoon. In Bulletin 827, 1932, 45 cents. Not issued separately. 

JEureka and vicinity; scale, 1:62,500; 1933; by S. C. Kain (preliminary edition).

Free on application. Also in Bulletin 849-F, 1933, pp. 335-379. 20 cents.

In preparation

"Yukon-Tanana region; scale, 1:500,000; by T. G. Gerdine, D. C. Witherspoon, 

and others.

SBWABD PENINSULA -

REPORTS

'The Fairhaven gold placers, Seward Peninsula, by F. H. Moffit. Bulletin 247,

1905, 85 pp. 40 cents. 

'The gold placers of parts of Seward Peninsula, including the Nome, Council,

Kougarok, Port Clarence, and Goodhope precincts, by A. J. Collier, F. L. Hess,

P. S. Smith, and A. H. Brooks. Bulletin 328, 1908, 343 pp. 70 cents. 

'Geology of the Seward Peninsula tin deposits, by Adolph Knopf. Bulletin 358,

1908, 71 pp. 15 cents. 

(Geology and mineral resources of the Solomon and Casadepaga quadrangles,

Seward Peninsula, by P. S. Smith. Bulletin 433, 1910, 234 pp. 40 cents. 

.A geologic reconnaissance in southeastern Seward Peninsula and the Norton

Bay-Nulato region, by P. S. Smith and H. M. Eakin. Bulletin 449, 1911,

146 pp. 30 cents.

(Geology of the Nome and Grand Central quadrangles, by F. H. Mpffit. Bulletin 533, 1913, 140 pp. 60 cents. 

;Surface water supply of Seward Peninsula, by F. F. Henshaw and G. L. Parker,

with a sketch of the geography and geology, by P. S. Smith, and a description

of methods of placer mining, by A. H. Brooks. Water-Supply Paper 314, 1913,

317 pp. 45 cents. 

r*The gold 'and platinum placers of the Kiwalik-Koyuk region, by G. L. Harrington. In Bulletin 692, 1919, pp. 368-400. 

^Metalliferous lodes <of southern Seward Peninsula, by S. H. Cathcart. In Buliletin .722,1922, pp. 163-261. 25 cents.
90 MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, 1932

The geology of the York tin deposits, by Edward Steidtmann and S. H. Cathcart. Bulletin 733, 1922, 130 pp. 30 cents. 

Pliocene and Pleistocene fossils from the Arctic coast of Alaska and the auriferous

beaches of Nome, Norton Sound, by W. H. Dall. Professional Paper 125-C,.

1921, 15 pp. 10 cents.

TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS

Seward Peninsula; scale 1:500,000; compiled from work of D. C. Witherspoon,.

T. G. Gerdine, and others, of the Geological Survey, and all other availablesources. In Water-Supply Paper 314, 1913, 45 cents. Not issued separately. 

Seward Peninsula, northeastern portion, reconnaissance map (No. 655); scale,

1:250,000; 1905, by D. C. Witherspoon and C. E. Hill. 50 cents retail or 30'

cents wholesale. Also in Bulletin 247, 1905, 40 cents. 

Seward Peninsula, northwestern portion, reconnaissance map (No. 657); scale,

1:250,000; 1907, by T. G. Gerdine and D. C. Witherspoon. 50 cents retail!

or 30 cents wholesale. Also in Bulletin 328, 1908, 70 cents. 

Seward Peninsula, southern portion, reconnaissance map (No. 656); scale,

1:250,000; 1907, by E. C. Barnard, T. G. Gerdine, and others. 50 cents

retail or 30 cents wholesale. Also in Bulletin 328, 1908, 70 cents. 

Seward Peninsula, southeastern portion, reconnaissance map; scale, 1:250,000;

by D. C. Witherspoon, D. L. Reaburn, H. M. Eakin, and others. In Bulletin

449, 1911, 30^ cents. Not issued separately. 

Nulato-Norton Bay region; scale 1:500,000; by P. S. Smith, H. M. Eakin, and!

others. In Bulletin 449, 1911, 30 cents. Not issued separately. 

Grand Central quadrangle (No. 646A); scale, 1:62,500; 1906, by T. G. Gerdine,.

R. B. Oliver, and W. R. Hill. 10 cents retail or 6 cents wholesale. Also in

Bulletin 533, 1913, 60 cents. 

Nome quadrangle (No. 646B); scale, 1:62,500; 1906, by T. G. Gerdine, R. B..

Oliver, and W. R. Hill. 10 cents retail or 6 cents wholesale. Also in Bulletin1

533, 1913, 60 cents. 

Casadepaga quadrangle (No. 646C); scale, 1:62,500; 1907, by T. G. Gerdine,.

W. B. Corse, and B. A. Yoder. 10 cents retail or 6 cents wholesale. Also iii<

Bulletin 433, 1910, 40 cents. 

Solomon quadrangle (No. 646D); scale, 1:62,500; 1907, by T. G. Gerdine, W. B.

Corse, and B. A. Yoder. 10 cents retail or 6 cents wholesale. Also in Bulletin 433, 1910, 40 cents.

NORTHERN ALASKA

REPORTS

A reconnaissance in northern Alaska across the Rocky Mountains, along Koyukuk,. 

John, Anaktuvuk, and Colville Rivers and the Arctic coast to Cape Lisburne, 

in 1901, by F. C. Schrader, with notes by W. J. Peters. Professional Paper20, 1904, 139 pp. 40 cents.

Geology and coal resources of the Cape Lisburne region, by A. J. Collier. Bulletin 278, 1906, 54 pp. 15 cents.

Geologic investigations along the Canada-Alaska boundary, by A. G. Maddren. 

In Bulletin 520, 1912, pp. 297-314. 50 cents.

The Noatak-Kobuk region, by P. S. Smith. Bulletin 536, 1913, 160 pp. 40' 

cents.

The Koyukuk-Chandalar region, by A. G. Maddren. Bulletin 532, 1913, 119 pp.. 

25 cents.

The Canning River region of northern Alaska, by E. de K. Leffmgwell. Professional Paper 109, 1919, 251 pp. 75 cents.
SURVEY PUBLICATIONS ON ALASKA 91

."Pliocene .a-md Pleistocene fossils from the Arctic coast of Alaska and the auriferous

beaches of Npme, Norton Sound, by W. H. Dall. Professional Paper 125-C,

1921., 15 pp. 10 cents. 

:*A reconnaissance of the Point Barrow region, by Sidney Paige and others.

Bulletin 772, 1925, 33 pp. 

^preliminary report on the Sheenjek River district, by J. B. Mertie, Jr. In

'Bulletin 797, 1928, pp. 99-123. 80 cents. 

'The Chandalar-Sheenjek district, by J. B. Mertie, Jr. In Bulletin 810, 1930,

pp. 87-139. 50 cents. 

iGeology and mineral resources of northwestern Alaska, by Philip S. Smith and.

,J. B. Mertie, Jr. Bulletin 8.15, 1930, 351 pp. $1.

TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS

;Koyukuk River to mouth of Colville River, including John River; scale,

1:1,250,000; by W. J. Peters. In Professional Paper 20, 1904, 40 cents. Not

issued separately. 

;Koyukuk and Chandalar region, reconnaissance map; scale, 1:500,000; by T. G.

Gerdine, D. L. Reaburn, D. C. Witherspoon, and A. G. Maddren. In Bulletin

532, 1913, 25 cents. Not issued separately. 

.Noatak-Kobuk region; scale, 1:500,000; by C. E. Giffin, D. L. Reaburn, H. M.

Eakin, and others. In Bulletin 536, 1913, 40 cents. Not issued separately. 

.Canning River region; scale, 1:250,000; by E. de K. Leffingwell. In Professional Paper 109, 1919, 75 cents. Not issued separately. 

;North Arctic co.ast; scale, 1:1,000,000; by E. de K. Leffingwell. In Professional

Paper 109, 191.9, 75 cents. Not issued separately. 

;Martin Point to Thetis Island; scale, 1:125,000; by E. de K. Leffingwell. In

Professional P;aper 109, 1919, 75 cents. Not issued separately. 

'Chandalar-Sheenjek district; scale, 1:500,000; by Gerald FitzGerald and J. 0.

Kilmartin. In Bulletin 810, 1930, 50 cents. Not issued separately. 

^Northwestern Alaska; scale, 1:500,000; by Gerald FitzGerald, E. C. Guerin,

JR. K. Lynt, and 0. kee Wix. In Bulletin 815,1930, $1. Not issued separately.

o