Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-05-21

V~elopn.cnt. and some OF them will soon
he producing. If the region could have
cheap transportation and IL coal were
available for the reduction OF the ores
At cordovn there would be II largely
increased output in tho near future.
From what you say. Mr.. Birch. IT
would seem thu the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
helm syndicate does not own all tho
copper of Alaska"
1T certainly does not" replied MIR.
Birch. Its Alaska holdings are prac-
tically confined To those a Eennccott
ann ON the island Of Latouchc. AS I
have told yea. IL has cost In the neigh
horhood OF $@a.ocs.000 to buy and do
vnlop the krunecot properties. The
I.atoUchc properties are being handled
In the most modern way. The policy
which the government has pursued has
retarded tho development OF the cop
per in this section by the prevention
of the opening of the coal fields and the
failure to furnish the transportation
SO much needed"
"what is the future OF Alaska as re-
CARDS copper
at bids fair Ia bc one of the largest,
coppcr-producinG countries Of the
WIt.'. t!t' IEtlutl Is now ticSc 10
100. 400. 900 pounds per nnuum and this
is almost onc-twelfth of the total pro-
iuctiou Of the United States. Never
lhclrss. - IL Only five years since cop
per has been turned out here IN any
auprc,iahic quantity
Further on in our conversations I
askcd MIR. Birch TO tell me about the
copper deposits on the Island OF La
;ouchc. in Prince William Sound. This
island is not Gar from seward. 1t has
rich copper iodes, but the ore is OF an
entirety different character from that
IF the Bonanza and umb The latter
mines have Il chalcocite ore which car
ri.S from IL I" ~ per cent of pure cop
per. Thc orc is 50 rich in compare
son with that of ordinary mines that
$40 tons Of II will yscld more OF the
pure metal than 3o,00O tons Of copper
orc mined on our Western highlands.
The i.atouche mines are l~ow-rrade
producers. Their ore is = c~halcopvrite
which averages about z per cent COP
per. II is quarrIed from the hillsidcs
overlooking the water, and is treated
hy tho Rotation process. The Bca,son
mine on Latouche Island. Mr. Birch
tells me Is now producing from 1o,0Oo,-
- - A-HNNNfN'N Ni' VI 'tIlitE per
annum and its output will be in
creased w!tlsn the near future.
TORY OF DISCOVERY OF
LATouCHE MINE INTERESTING
The story Of the discovery Of tho
LatouChe copper mine is quite as in
'c-cstinC rs that of the Bonanza The
tale was told me hy an old nrosncctor
at Seward Said he:
The I.atouche mine was the result
az a mess Of bad CLAIMS. 4 number
ri miners were sailing along the
shores Of Latouchc Island when they
found a clam bed and stopped and dug
up enough for a meal. They cooked
The CLAIMS. but before eating them
found hat they were deadly poisonous
on account OF the copperas in them.
one OF the men suggested that the
CopDeras must come from copper de-
rosits nearby, and that they had bot
ter stop and prospect tho rocks. They
did so. and the result was the dis
covcry Of these great deposits Of low
grad" copper ore. which lie almost on
the edge OF the-sea. The miners de
cided TO develop <hc property for
themselves. but the orc contained such
a small percentage Of copper that they
could not make Il pay. They kept on
mining, however, with the idea that
the deposits were so large that they
ought 20 sell the property at a big
price.
In the meantime one Of the miners,
named Hcatson, announced that he WAS
~diSeustcd and was going outside for
the winter. He took some Of the ore
with him and went to New York,
where he induced a rich relative 10
advance him 10000 to purchase the
mine, with the understanding that he,
Beatson, was to retain his own share"
"Beatson then came back To La
continued the prospcctor. but
before he did so nc changed his money
into thirty yellow bank notes of $1,000
each and sewcd them inside the lining
Of his mackinaw. When he came to
the mine il was with n sad face. He
said that capital was tight and The
public not prone 20 invest. He kept
on preaching hard times, and 1T last
cast such a gloom over the camp that
the others of tho party decided to sell