Iditarod pioneer., 1915-02-13
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY REPORT
 ON MINING IN ALASKA

Advance sheets of the annual report on the mineral resources of Alaska and pro duction in 1914, now in preparation under the direction of Alfred H. Brooks of the United States Geological Survey give many interesting facts touching on this section of Alaska. Among the many interesting para graphs are the following:
 Mining began in Alaska in 1880, and since that time the territory has produced mineral wealth to the value of s268 O0O.. 900. Of this s244,300,0 900 has been in 2 Ii. $19,S00, 900 in copper, S2,251 ,00O in silver, S370, GOO in coal and the rest in tin, lead quicksilver, marble gypsum, petroleum, etc Copper mining in Alaska began in 1901, ana the total production is about 133, ,000,000 pounds.
 Tt is estimated that the value of the total mineral output of Alaska in 1914 is s19 PAS, 900, compared with Sl9,4l6,00 for 1913. The preliminary figures on gold out put for 1914 show a value of S15 100000 in 1913 the value was S15,626,S13 Silver to the value of s191, 900 was produced i'll 1914, compared with S218,9S5 in 1912 Though the low price of copper since mic summer greatly curtailed the output of that LItbdl, dDOul AU,OOU,UOU pDuHuS, tdlutu q about s2,872 900, was produced in 1914 against 21,659,958 pounds valued st s, 357 ,293 in 1913 The output of the other minerals, including tin, marble, gypsum, quicksilver, coal and petroleum, in 1914 had a value of about s2S5, ,000, compare 1 with s272, 2,242 for 1913"
 Ruby District
 Of the Ruby district the report says:
 "The Ruby placer gold district embraces an aurlferous zone stretching for aboul fifty miles south from the Yukon, and i.l- cluding part of the headwater basin of the Innoko river. Preliminary estimates inGi- cate that the gold output from this fec, in 1914 had a value of S1,000000, COL pared with about $S75,O00 for the outpHr of 1913
 "The most extensive mining in the Cli-- trict was done on Long creek and its tribI- taries, where about fifteen plants some 2f considerable size, were operated A new development is the finding of valuable Ga- posits on the bench claims of Long creek There was also considerable mining of the placers of Poorman creek and other streaI 5 in the vicinity The output from tti5 part of the field is estimated to have q value of S120,000, which was taken from about seventeen claims. About fifty placer claims were worked in the entire Rulyv district during 1914"
 nnoko-Iditarod Region
 Abundance of water favored placer min ing in the Iditsrod and Innoko districts dur ing 1914 and they yielded gold to the valre of about s2,200,000. Two dredges were operated, one on Flat creek and one on G. ter creek Most of the other operations consisted of open-cut work, with the u.a of steam scrapers or bucket hoists. As in 1913 the principal mining was done on Flat and Otter creeks. but plants were algo operated on Happy, Willow, Moore, Chicken, Black and other creeks of the district In the Innoko district minng was done on Little, Colorado, Yankee, Canes, Spaulding, Fox, Cripple and other creeks.
 Kuskokwim Basin
 According to the report of A. C. MaI- dren of the Geoloeical Survey, placer-gold mining and prospecting were conducted at widely-separated localities of more or less importance in the kuskokwim basin during 1914, marking a zone extending from tLe Takotna basin to Kuskokwim, a distance of about 400 miles. A little gold bearing beach sand has also been reported on he coast of Boring sea, about midway between Togiak bay and Cape Newenham.
 "The most important mining develop ments in this zone during 1914 were On Candle and Moore creeks, tributary to the upper Takotna river. On both these creeks systematic prospecting by drilling and sink ing of shafts was carried on, and satisfac-