Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1901-08-02
WEALTH IN COPPER.
OUR NORTHWESTERN COPPER
OUTRANKS OUR GOLD.
Some Description Of the Deposits on Prince Of
Wales lsland-There are Mountains Of Il and
Of High Grade Ore-Senator Jones. Of Ne
vada. Is Acquiring foothoId-NibIock will
in Ten Years Rival Butte-Etc,
NIBLoCK ANCHORAGE,
PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND, ALASKA,
July, %, 1901.

NIBLoCK ANCHORAGE,
PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND, ALASKA,
July, %, 1901. }
ED. STANDARDS:
DEAR SIR: Having promised many
readers OF your paper an an account of
my trip to Southeastern Alaska, 1 ven.
ture to submit to you description of
what l have seen in the way of miner
ais and mining.
1t would take more than one sum.
mer Of steady running around in a
launch, with lots of foot.work besides,
to see all the promising projects there
are on this island, and then, several
volumes would not contain all that
could be written about them. Hav-
ing bought, "sight unseeu," an inter.
est in group of claims at Niblock,
naturally Niblock was the place
struck out for, because "where the
treasure is, there the heart lieth." Ny
only disappointment on arriving was
that the hills are so high. l felt this
more keenly when we began to pack
up to our property. Some of our
claims are over 1000 feet above sea
level, and the slope from the anchor
age is for a considerable part of the
way about like steep fight of stairs.
But We finally got our stuff up to the
"Gaddy group" as it is called here
abouts. and went to work with drills
and powder.
Then began 10 fiud out that cop.
per" is expressed in q number of diff.
ferent ways, all of which were at first
Greek to me. For instance, we have
copper in "chalcopyrite," bornite,"
" tetrahedrite," carbonate" "oxide"
aud "native." Then we have enor-
nous quantities OF sulphide of iron,
which constitutes the " Gaping" for
these immense lodes and which carries
good values in gold.
To those whose ideal OF mine is a
one or two foot ledge, the Niblock
country would be disappointment.
The mineral belt here is about three
miles long, and in its widest place
5000 feet wide. II embraces three
hills, the highest about $500 feet and
two saddles-low places between ridges
about 500 feet high, and two valleys
terminating at the water level. This
belt runs parallel with Niblock anchor.
age as do the claims. so that tunnel
starting from the water will cross. cut
the formstion.
There are two ways OF describing
the veins: LIST, By saying that the
whole belt ia one huge vein traversing
lepgthwise by dykes of porphyry and
diorite; or, ID, By saying that the
belt consists of parallel veins, ranging
in width from six or eight feet to two
and three hundred.
The whole belt is located and con.
s,itutes about so claims. OF these the
Petersen group of five claims, and
three claims belonging to McWilliams,
were sold nearly year ago to reputed
Milwaukee millionsires. A few thou
sand dollars worth OF work was done
and. such fine showing made that
the owners seemed to have abandoned
their idea of driving a tunnel, which
would have benefited all claim owners,
and they are now reported as trying
to sell this undeveloped property for
some such terrible figure as IS, 00O, 900.
As the Petersen group adjoins the
Gaddy group on the northwest, and
the same veins run through both
groups. we would indirectly profit by
a tunnel such ~ is spoken OF. All
we have to do is play along at our as.
sessment work while the property ap.
preciates in value. This may happen
quickly, when some master mind
comes along who has brains to plan
big works and the money to carry
them out.
Such a man may be here now, in the
person of Senator Jones, of Nevada,
who is reported to have secured the
Vigelius group OF about six claims and
the Westcott group of nine claims,
paying therefor $4,000. These prop
critics are just to the southeast of ours
and while not occupying as high
ground as the Gaddy group by several
hundred feet, have an equally good
showing.
i am convinced from what have
seen and learned from men who un.
derstand the matter that Niblock will,
inside OF ten years, be as large and ss
productive rs Butte. The ore is here
in immense quantities beyond doubt,
but it takes big money to tap the
bowels of the mountains and put up
the works necessary and money starts
in cautiously.
But many things are in favor OF Nib
lock. The transportation problem is
already settled, for the anchorage is a
charted harbor for seagoing vessels
and the tunnel mouth and works