El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-05-06

peninsula As much $4,000 In gold were
, taken out Of the peninsula IN 1914.
i Going north Of Anchorage at Mile 1856
| from Seward is Willow Creek. This is 40
| miles north OF Anchorage, and II should be
! reached by the railroad this year. Willow
! Creek has three quartz mines with ten
! stamp mill. 1t produced gold last summer
| TO the amount OF $4,000. The mill IS
I about 20 miles from the end OF the tracks
! now being laid.
! river where there is good farming land
! That part OF the country is open Il is
! made up Of plains and valleys spotted with
| groves and covered with grass. A short dis
lance to the west Of it are the Yetna and
Skwetna mining districts, whore many pros
pectors are working. They are taking out,
placer gold. Some Of the men are grub
stalking the outsiders who furnish the money
getting half Of the findings.
In the Broad Pass District.
One Of the most promising mining districts
along the new railroad is near Broad pass.
where the road crosses the mountains al
an altitude Of 2400 feet above the sea. Tho
pass Is about five miles in width, and there
are mountains on each side OF Il eight or
nine thousand feet high. OFF to the west
can be seen Mount Mckinley. which is 65
miles away. and on the east are the Cathe--
drai mountains and Mount Hayes. The lat
ter Is almost as high as Fuiiyama or Pixies
peak. Mount Mckinley is over 90 600 feet
high. it is higher than any peak on the
North American continent, having its equal
only in the Himalayas and the Andes
To the west Of Broad pass discoveries OF
large low grade quartz gold arc reported.
The gold is Of a refractory charac ter, run
ming from 81 TO IS per ton It viii prob
ably develop considerable traffic. Further
oyer in the foothills OF Mount Mckinley Is
the Kantishna mining district, which has
gold anthony and other metals. There are
so odd miners and trappers there now, and
some OF them are doing quite we'll. One
company has taken out 1000 tons OF anti
mony, which will be sent out soon as
navigation is opened The has made
that metal exceedingly valuable.
Another mineral which is now being
mined in Alaska may be found in that same
region, Il is known TO exist near Fairbanks. /
where they are mining Il and shipping the
concentrates by parcel post. This mineral
is sheelite, high grade tungsten. used FOR
making ammunition. The concentrates sell |
ToIovana Coal Fields Valuable.
Going further along the railroad you reach |
the Nenana coal fields and then come TO |
the Tolovana gold region, which lies not far 1
from the route between Nenana and Fair /
banks This is a new district, where some
thing like 800 men are now prospecting.
They took out $4,000 worth Of gold last 1
summer and the possibilities are promising.
But most important Of all the mining re-
gions so far discovered is that Of Fairbanks /
itself The whole country about that city /
carries gold. As much as 80 million dollars
worth has already been washed out OF the /
creeks and valleys nearby and the produc-
ton last year was three and One-half mil
lion dollars. The most Of this comes from
new industry and IL has produced only
about $500. 600.
The Alaskan mining regions will profit
exceedingly by the cheap fuel that will come
from the railroads. Those Of the Kenai
peninsula, the Matanuska valley and all
south OF Broad pass, will have cheap coal
from the Chckaloon coal fields. whereas
those on the northern side Of the pass and in
the Tanana valley will be supplied by the
great coal deposits Of the Nenana region.
The Chickaloon coal IS from the Matanuska
fields It is said to DC equal to the Poes,
hontas- The government has mined and
tested 500 tons Of It on the vessels Of the
navy and Il is found to be excellent Il
an be used for coking and Il will be the
irst Alaskan coal Of commerce.
The Nenana fields are Of vast extent. The
abroad passes through them, and It IS
Fairbanks. The coal deposits run from the
abroad eastward for a distance OF perhaps |
90 miles. The black strata can be seen
landing out In the cliffs and in places the
ems are 40 feet thick. The coal is a high |
-rade Ignite. suitable for all local CONNER
ial purposes. II has ash which is 46
er cent fixed carbon, and its heat value Is
quail to about 1900 British thermol units
I is not good enough to bear expectation,
ut II will be OF enormous value to the
inning regions Of the interior.
Gold Is in Frozen Ground.
In order to appreciate what this coal /
Means TO the mining regions, 1t must be re-
Rendered that most OF the gold deposits
re in frozen ground. The frost and ice 90
own to bed rock The earth has been
Y fire or steam single mine will often /
Onsume from ten to u cords Of wood
ay, ana so Tar nothlnB out WOOD couiu DC
sed. Something like 100, 900 cords Of wood
re now annually sold in the region about
arbanks. This wood costs from $40 to SIS
cord. and the average in Fairbanks is be-
veeu 81 and S12 a cord At SIS cord
line viii use as much $50 worth OF
lel day. and without the gravel or quartz
Of comparatively high grade II will not
ay TO work It. Moreover, the wood here is
ut. and it has no great heating value
The Nenana coal when the railroad u
1mplete, will probably be worth at the
ines about 50 per ton. and az one ton Of
BAL is equal to two cords OF wood, five tons
III thaw out much earth as ten cords OF
God. In other words. the difference in cost
III be the difference between SIS and $3.50
dav in working the mines This alone
I'll mean a great profit aud II will result in
iormous areas Of low grade. gold bearing
gions being worked. It means the open
g OF many. new quartz properties, and a
reat increase in the valleys and benches
here the gravel can be washed over by
-edging and hydraulic sluiclug.