The Ketchikan miner., 1908-05-02
THE MINES
No Cause For Encouragement Change For the Better is
 Not Far Off
lFrom Thursdays Daily)

Indications continue to Increase an( multiply with more and more encour' aging promise for an early renewal O. active mining operations in the ketch. ikan district. Representatives of 2 large mining corporation, owning its own shelter and having it's headquart. CTS at Victoria, B. C., are now in the district examining properties with q view to purchase or lease, and there is every reason to believe that they will conclude deal for taking over one or more of our partially develop ed mines. This company is desirous of securing supply of ere for it's own shelter and has abundant means to carry out any arrangement it may make for the development and opera ton of one or more such mines, and which may give promise of produc- tive capacity sufficient to the end it has in view.
 In addition to this, several proms- ing properties have lately been taken in hand by reliable and responsible parties, under bond or option, and up- on which considerable development work has already been done, or is about to commence. Among these last is what is locally known as the ''It'' copper mining location, on the north ,ide of Kasaan bay, a few miles be- yond Kasaan village, now held under bond from w. E. Taylor, the original locator, to H. C. Strong, c. H. Black. ]. k. Hickman, J. C. Barber and others, by whom it has been turned over to a company to be known as the "It' Copper Mining Co.,, and hy whom the bond was taken up to- day. The "It" is regarded as a most promising proposition. upon which sufficient work has been done to warrant positive belief in the development of a very lucrative mine. On this property a crosscut has been run diagonaly across the formation a length of 1l5 feet to where it encount- CTS an ore body at a point sixty feet below the surface outcrop, showing II feet of solid ore, the assays ot which average l3 per cent copper, and from $6 10 SS in gold. This ore body has not yet been gone through conse- quently it's iuil width has not yOs 5Scn definitely ascertained, though the out crop, the ores of which correspond with it in value, has been exposed for a length of over 100 feet. The ore lies in diorite and limestone torma- tion, and the surface of the ground rises gradually back from the wa CT for distance of about three-quarters of mile, and is thus especially well ation of a surface tram for the con- yeyance of product 10 the water side. It is the purpose to begin at once the construction of such a tram, with a view to making ready for the ship ment of ore. to begin not later than the 18th of July.
 One of the parties above named, for and in behalf presumably, of the pro- posed Ut" Company, has taken an option for a bond on group of eight ocations-five belonging to David Nicol and three to Fred Koenig- upon which there is a large show of ore very similar in character to that of the "It" and upon which work will be commenced without delay. Devel- opment on this last mentioned proper ty consists of shaft down 45 feet, a drift of 70 feet, with number of open pits and crosscuts, in all of which good ore is shown. The exposures of ore, which are found over length of mile and half, seem to lie along the contact between the diorite and limestone, and the ore body or bodies are believed to be separate and dis tnct from that of the "It. " There is good reason to believe that these properties, taken as whole, may speedily he developed into mine oi unusually large and lucrative produc- tive capacity. At all events, the party having them in hand " ill not be chary in the expenditure of the money nec- essary to demonstrate, within the life of the existing option, whether or not they are possessed of sufficient value to justify the inauguration of a regu- lar and systematic plan of mining op- erations.
 Adjoining the "It' on the southeast are two locations known as the Flor ence Mo- 1 and ?, owned by James Nesbit and Wm. Reed, upon which Mr. A. A. Wakefield, the mining engineer, has taken an option for g bond, and upon which he will com. mence the work of exploration an6 development, not later than nexl Monday. Altogether this particular locality bids fair to become, ere long, the scene of large mining activity. |
 Ketchikan is to have a new confec tionery, fruit and curio store which will start with the best of chances fol