The Cordova daily times., 1916-09-01
REVIEW M|N|N C INDUSTRY IN
 ALASKA


 U. s. geological survey in Alaska, has just issued his report for last year. which is a most interesting document In his review of the subject matter, he says:
 The Alaska mining industry as a whole was more prosperous in 1915 than in any previous year. This is indicated by the value of the total min eral output, which was $32.854,229, compared with $19,065,6 ,666 for 1914. The highest value for any previous year was in 1906, when Alaska pro- duced $23,37S.428 worth of minerals, but this was at a time when the bon anza placers of Fairbanks and Nome were welding their greatest returns. 1 Though the high value of the mineral production of 1915 was due for the most part to an enormous copper out put, which was more than four times that of the previous year, yet the mining Of gold, silver and other min eral products also increased. The gold output of the placer mines was less than in the previous year, but this decrease was more than made up by the increase in the output of the lode mines
 The enormous expansion of the cop per mining industry was directly due to the high price of copper, yet 1t should he noted that this expansion was possible only because of the large developments that have been under way for several years. It augurs well for the future of the industry that the Alaska copper mines are now suf- ficiently developed to take advantage of the market conditions of last year by producing so large a tonnage.
 There were also during 1915 marked advances in the Alaskan auriferOus lode mining industry. As in previous year, the gain was made principally in southeastern Alaska, and especially in the Juneau district, though pro gress was also made in some of the other fields. The inland gold lode camps are however, as yet too isolated to permit extensive lode development which must await the completion of railroads.
 Most of the important placer camps are also in the inland region, and these have not yet reached the stimulus of railroad construction. Some of the smaller placer camps made notable gains in output as compared with the previous year, yet these gains were more than offset by the decline in pro- duction from some of the more import ant Yukon districts. There are in the interior large areas of gold bearing gravel whose values are too low to per init profitable exploitation under the present high operating costs. Until cheaper transportation and fuel les sens these costs the placer output will probably continue to decline.
 The high price of tin, antimony, tungsten and other metals stimulated the search for and development of de- posits containing these minerals. Be- sides the tin production, which was about the same as in previous years, during 1915 considerable antimony ore was shipped from Fairbanks and Nome the first antimony to be produced in Alaska In the Fairbanks district the development of a vein carrying tungsten Cscheelite) was begun.
 Some investigations and prepara- tions were made for the mining of high grade Alaska coal under the new leasing law. A little lignitic coal was mined under the permit system pro vided by this law, but as yet no large coal mining enterprises have been be- gun. With the development of the coal fields which is now assured the metalliferous mining industry will re ceive a great stimulus.
 In addition to the minerals men toned above, marble. gypsum, barite, and petroleum were produced on about the same scale as in previous years. Some development work was done on deposits of molybdenite. chronic iron ore, and graphite, but so far as known these minerals were not produced on a commercial scale.
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