Iditarod pioneer., 1916-08-12
DEMAND FOR QUICKSILVER
 CAUSES INTEREST IN ALASKA

The great demand crested by the Euro pean war for many kinds of metals has had a stimulating effect upon the production of American mines and Alaska has benefited greatly by an increase in mineral produc ton. There has been much inquiry re gently for cinnabar propositions, and the known deposits in the kuskokwim country have recently come i'll for their share of attention There are several known properties of promise in the neighborhood of Aaska's second largest river, and it is possible that in the Iditarod district good deposits of this valuable mineral may be found. At the placer workings at the head of Flat creek there are strong evidences of the existence of this mineral and at the Summit mine much ore has been found in the form of float Some of it has been re torted and the quicksilver saved. But a, yet, so far as known, the ore has not been found in place, The increased price of quick silver will stimulate the search for cinnabar ore
 The following information with reference to this mineral, taken from the Juneau Dis patch, will be of interest in this connection:
 "The big prices for quicksilver have led to renewed activity in prospecting, Early in 1915 domestic stocks began to be drawn upon and production became more active, but as foreign embargos left the field clear and the domestic output was unable to meet the ra?idly-Increasing call for the metal prices continued to rise throughout the year, and into the early months of 1916. the high mark of $500 a flask being passed in February. Naturally, every mine and prospect became of interest. The re- action set in, however, as the high prices drew out quicksilver supplies in Mexico and elsewhere that had been originally pur- chased for amalgamation of gold and silver ores, and finally, as the British government permitted exports to America under certain Conditions the average monthly domestic price in San Francisco, which had climbed from $51 90 in January, 1915, to $295 in February, 1916, dropped to S219 in March, S14160 in April, 800 in May and about SIP in June The market remains steady and in general highly profitable, and as domestic prices have dropped below London quotations, exports rather than imports of the metal may be expected. There is prob ably no great quantity of metal stored, and consumption is undoubtedly abnormally large
 Favorable markets have brought out great activity in search of new prospects, and discoveries near Morton, Wash, and Beagle, Ore, in 1916, have led to some development and construction of reduction plants Also in the Skull valley deposits Activity reported. Many old furnaces have been repaired or enlarged in California, Ne vada and Texas, old workings have been reopened, and new discoveries have been developed.
 "Very likely the exceptionally high prices of the last few months have led to gouglng and robbing many mines of their best ore, and the average tenor of the ore worked by the larger mines during the first half of 1916 may prove considerably below that of previous years Moreover, some mines have undoubtedly passed their maximum produc- tivitv. These conditions are probably off set to some extent by the fact that more furnace capacity is now working on quick silver ores than at any previous tune Tn the history of the industry On the whole, the mid year outlook is for an output Tn 1916 fully equal to that of 1915.