The Alaska citizen., 1912-01-22


 the United States Geological Survey. which gives the more important fea- lures ,t the report issued by Al fred II. Brooks. on the work done in Alaska and the progress made in the rprrtury's dcyel pment of it's mines Extracts from this report are given herewith:
 Value of Mineral Output Over
 Twenty Million Dollars.
 The value of the total mineral output of Alaska in 1911 is esti. mated al <2o57o.ouo. compared with $16.sS3.67> Ill 1910. The gold out put in 1911 k estimated to have d value of $17l5o.ooo. that of 1910 was $lG1Z6.14a IL Is estimates the Alaska mines produced 22.900.- e9o pounds of copper in 1911. val ued al about $2.S3o,ouU; in 1910 their output was 4.24t.6S9 pounds. valued al $35S, S,691. The silver production in 1911 Is estimated to have value of $22o.oOo, compared with sS5.236 for la1o The value of all other mineral products in 1911. including tin, marble. gypsum. and coal. Was about $l7o.ooo an increase over that of 1910.
 By using the above estimate for the output of 1911. the total value ot Alaska's mineral production since lSSo. when mining first began, is found To be, ill round numbers. $2ot,6oo,ooo, of which s195 ,95O 900 is represented by the value of the gold output The total production Of copper in Alaska since 1901. when systematic mining of this metal be gan, is about 56.7UO.oOo pounds. val. ued at about $Sl7o.000.
 General Conditions Favorable.
 he favorable showing made by the Alaska mining industry during the year k due. first. 10 the very large output of copper and, second. To the greater production. compared with 1910, of the gold placer mines ih the Inn kolditarod region. Aside From the increased production, the most important event of the year Was the opening of the Copper River region by the completion of the railway into it. The industries already stimulated by this line strikingly illustrate the importance of railway communication to Alaska As no progress was made in the opening of the coal fields. the needs far cheap fuel in Alaska are be- Ing met by the substitution of oil. burning for coal-burning engines The importance of California crude oil Is rapidly increasing. with q corresponding decrease ill the use ot coal. Some new drilling was car rIed on in the Katalla cil field dur ing 1911, one or two old wells being reopened and a small production made. The oil was refined and the gasoline sold in the local mar. ket
 Although most of the gold still comes from the placers, much prog fess was made during 1911 in pay ing the way for an increased output rom auriferous lodes. This work was carried on in most of the gold bearing areas of Alaska, but he most notable advances were in the Juneau, Valdez. kenai Peninsula Willow Creek and Fairbanks dis ulcts. Aside from the increase Tn copper mining the advances made Tn developing gold lode mines is the most encouraging feature of the year operations. Dredge mining also made great progress, notably in the Nome region. It is estimated that, in the entire territory, 22 dredges were operated for the whole or part of the open season of 1911. In addition to those operat- ed, at least a dozen were in pro- cess of construction.
 Transportation Facilities Increasing.
 As improvement in transportation IS the most important element in the advancement of the mining in dustry the progress Cf the year in this respect will be briefly summar- ized. The Copper River & North western Railway was completed to Kennicott in April, 1911. There was no other railway construction in Alaska during the year, though some railway surveys were made. At the close of 1911 there are 465 miles of railway in the Territory compared with 371 miles in 1910. This mileage is distributed among nine different railways from to l96 miles in length. The existing railways emphasize the need of ad- ditional transportation facilities. The most urgent need is for a railway to connect an open port on the Pacific with the Yukon basin. Until such line is built only the richest placers of the interior and only the most favorably located lodes can be profitably exploited