The Alaska daily empire., 1915-01-02
GOLD.

." "tSA are utiieNou 70 fAiy not over per cent from the actual figures.
 COLD.
 Placer Mines.-The data in hand indicate that the value Of the placer gold produced in 1914 was about S1O. 100000, or practically the same as that of 1918. which was S10.6SO. .0OO The distribution Of this output is. how. ever not the same in the two yeors. Some increases in the output of the Ruby Seward Peninsula. Iditarod, and Hot Springs districts were made. but on che other hand there was a mark. ed decline in the placergold output from the Fairbanks and lesser de. creases in some Of the smaller camps. The abundant rainfall which occurred ip most Of the Yukon and Seward Pen insula camps during the mining sea. son of 1914 greatly favored placer operations.
 "The chisana district is the only new placer camp developed in 1914. Promising discoveries are reported in the Healy river region Of the middle Tanana. and also a find of placer gold in the upper ToloYana basin between Fairbanks and Rampant
 About tf gold dredges were operat- ed in Alaska for the whole or part of the open season. of 1914 Preliminary estimates indicate that these dredges produced gold worth between s2,05O.. 900 and S2,30o000. In 1918. 39 dredges were operated in Alaska with an out put valued at S2.2OOOOO. The decreas ed output per dredge in 1914 is ac- counted for by the facts that in 1913 several Of the redges were working in very rich ground and that several of the new machines were not com pieted in time to operate for more than brief period in 1914. A further handicap to the dredges this year was the fact that the dreoging season at Nome opened later than usual. in addition to the A dredges operated there were about half q dozen under construction.
 Lode Mines.-About 26 gold.ode mines were operated in Alaska in 1914 and produced gold to the value oil about $5.iOOO00. In 1913. 30 lode mines produced S4,Si4S1S worth of gold. The decrease in the number Of mines is due to the fact that several which were operated in the Fairbanks dis. trict in 1913 were idle in 1914. Jul neau is and will continue to be by far the most important Alaska lode camp. Important progress was made during the year in Che Willow Creek district The Port Wells district was added to the gold lode producers.
 COPPER.
 The developments made rp to mid. !. summer save promise that 1914 would be the most profitable year in the hls- tory of Alaska copper mining. The hnconcial srlngency and collapse oil ,he copper market that followed the breaking out of the European war lot only closed down some of the pro- iucing mines but also put stop to some very important developments ! Up to about the first of August seven copper mines were in operation. but lt the close Of the year only three were still working Had it not been for the war at least nine copper mines would have been ready to ship ore before the end of the year. Probably he most important events of the year o the copper industry of Alaska were he reopening Of the Mamie mine. in he Ketchlkan district; the instaIa. ion of a shipping plant and the open. ng of the Midas mine. near Valdez md the completion of aerial trans it the Jumbo and Mother lode mines. n the Chitina district
 TIN.
 The total production of Alaskan tiu hines since the industry started in. 1902 is about $50 tons Of metallic tin. 'alued at $4S2.0O0 In 1914 one dredge sae operated on the Buck Creek placer tn deposits throughput the pen season. Two others were operat f d for 9 part of the season or Ami .ovik river, working on deposits carry ug both gold and tin. Operations 'ere also continued and some tIn was reduced at the Lost river lode tin nine. All these localities are in Sew