Valdez daily prospector., 1912-08-30
GOVT. SURVEY "
 sus|7NA PLACER
Report Issued on the Headwater Regions of 0uikana and Su-
 sttna Rivers


 Survey has just issued Bulletin 498, "lleadwater Regions of Gull kama and Susitna Rivers, Alaska" by Fred II. Moffit, a report which deals primarily with the district including the Valdez creek gold iplacers but also gives an account !of mining developments during he last few years in the Slate creek district, aL the head of Chis- tOchina river. Slate creek and it's gold placers were visited by w. C. Mcndcnhall in 1902 and were de- scribrd by him in the Surveys Professional Paper if. Mr. Mcn- denhall also visited Delta river in 1898, but inc region west of Del Ia river including the head of iSuSiina river has never been de- ! scrihrd groln1ically before the field work of 1910, on which Bull 1rIin i93 is based was umdrrtak- zen. During the summer of 1910 ' D. C.. Withrrspoon, assisted by C. F.. Griffin, made surveys for d , topographic reconnaissance map i iO hr published on a scale of lO 25n.00O, or about four miles io ih' inch. This map iI Ihr base of IlIr geologic map arr"uipamN- ing Inc rrp"r!.
 i Gold has l.r"n found in it,, Led irnrk SurIrr" in inc slate area south of Valdez creek and iS present in some of the sIrcam-Gravrl drpus- it's within that area. Most of the iplacer gold from lhiS district, however, has come from an old 1 Iiilled-in channel OF canyon once 'nccupied by Valdez creek and from the stream gravcls of that part of the present channel of the creek which lies below the point where the old and new channels inter- sect. The gold in the new chan- mel iS in large part r"cnnccmlra- .tiOn from the rich aurifrrous flI- ing of the old canyon. This old channel represents all "arlicr stage of tn" topography on which inc present stage is sup"rpnS"d. the whole process hcin" closely connected with the intense Glacia- ton which this region has under gone and which is not yet coln- ipletcd. The old channel and the three or four creek claims below it on the present stream c"nsii- ttuc an excellent example of the : importance of rocOnrentraiin ion in the production of rich gold plar- CTS.
 l Luck Gulch, a small branch of Valdez creek. contributed an i'm ,pOrtant amount to the gold pro ductiOn of the district and Rusty creek promises 10 become pro- ducing stream also. Mining on Valdez creek has been carried on under difficulties arising from the high cost of transportation and labor, shOrtncss of working sea- son. and other troubles such that ] it. could moi have been profliabl" if the gravel had not been remark ably rich. The gold production nt Valdez crock. including that of 1910, is probably not far from s275,OOO.
 SlaIr creek is 15 miles east of Valdez creek. II is the site of an older camp than Valdez creek and with its tributary, Miller eulch, has been the greatest producer of placer gold within the Copper riv- or basin, having yielded more than :onc and half millions of dol lars. Us gold is derived from a imincralizcd area in Slate. Dior itc intrusive rocks are present and in these respects the deposits re- somblc thosc of. Valdez creek. II is br]icvcd, however, that tho Slate of Valdez crock is younger. al- though inc dioriic intrusive are .pr"bably of thc sanlc oTncaTly lhc same agc. The richest gold Ic-. poaiis cf Slalc creek and Miller gulch. arc approaching exhaustion and :tlc camp has reached that sLagc where iIs future will depend or thci introduction of 16crc eco-,, nnmicnl means nf mining Ihan hnrf hcrr uscd in ilic past
 cGrv or Inc report may ho obtained free on applicationin thrt Directprrof inc Geoln9ical Survey. !