Valdez daily prospector., 1912-03-27
ALASKA COPPER MINES.


 Mines company, which owns the Bonanza copper mine in Alaska, has attracted much attention. It Is less than d year since ship
 ments from this property began, and in tonnage the output has sr far been small. The orc is, jl"wLNer, unusually rich. Cargo shipments have aSsaycd 1l per cent in copper, and there is a content of tO 20 ounces of Sil- yer as well. This is more like matte than ordinary copper ore, and quick and large returns are to be expected. How many such dividends can be paid is less ccr- lain. The KcnnicotL Mines com nany is controlled by thr Alas ka Syndicate, and We believe no onicIal estimates of the ore re- serve have been published. Mr. l.. w. storm is quoted in the Copper Hand Book" as cSlimat- ing S0,O00 Ions of ore containing 50 per cent of copper in the main nrcbOdy, and 5O.000 tons of l2 per cent ore in the large ialuS spread on the face of the noun tain below the Outcrop. Tn ad- ditiOn, there is an unestimatcd amount of ore containing 3 to 20 per cent copper and lying in and around the high-gradc ore. An other estimate Jumps the whole mass at equal to 100000 tons containing 65 per cent. copper Our own visit to the property was entirely too brief to permit of making even an approximate rs- timate. The total amount of copper present is evidently large, though not unlimited. When the concentrating plant now being built is completed. much of the lOw-gradc ore can br treated at a profit, and as the urrbody is essentially a replacement Of the ChitistOnn limestone by chalco- cite. il may hr expected iu prove extremely irregular. Contrary t0 the opinion held by many groln- GiSts. w" believe inc Bonanza nrrbody to br the result of the ordinary prurrSS"S of secondary enrichment. and find explanation or it's preservation in the fact ihai II occurs in q high ridge which rises abnv" The upper Iim- IL or gIarialiun. Other veins in tn" sam" region do nui show ih" same secondary chalcnciir be cause ih" glarirrS have cut deep into inc nrrbndy and rrndrd the Srcnndarily enriched cap. Under thls hypothesis the primary orc bodies are mol likely in br of val ue comparable lO that of the orc body now worked in inc Bonanza mine.
 Tn" KrnnicOIt Mines cumpany is capitalized al S3.OOO, ,OOO. and IL is said that the final profit on the Bonanza mine was consider cd likely tO bc about double the capitalization. To get at the real profit on the transaction, inter- est and deferred charges would need to Do taken into account. The mine has been ryrcllrntlv handled, and every effort has been made iO assure a quick re- turn on the investments: the soundcsi of policies where a rich orc is available. As a mining vcn- lure inc Bonanza minc shows cv- cry promise of brilliant success.
 To render available the copper in the Bonanza orcbndy, il was necessary to build the Conner River and Northwestern railroad, and this was accordingly done, the line being opened for traffic last spring. This road is i95 miles long and cost. according to figures from Inc engineers hooks, Si6,5O0, ,000 in round numbers. including equipment. The Cop per River and Northwestern rail- way is capitalized al S5,OOO. .OOO and has bonded debt of $5O,- OO0,OO0, secured by a first mort paFc on inc property and calling Ter per ccnf. interest. The bonds arc dated February |, 1909. and TUT ;'ll i050. This capitalization of s55, ,O0O,000, it. will bc rcmcm- bcrcd, has nothing tO do with the mine and is based on q road cost ing less than onc-ihird of that amount. In addition, Inc Alaska Syndicate owns the Alaska Steam 1.lhiIa .,I lao. 4