The weekly Alaska citizen., 1918-12-23
CHEAP POWER FOR THE MINER

One of the chief factors in the proh1D1t1Ve cost of mining operations has been the ques- ton of power. Wood has been the fuel used, but as the trees are cut down, and the miners have to go farther and farther for their wood, the cost of this fuel mounts higher and higher. The number of workmen required to supply the boilers with wood, as well as to run the engines themselves also helps to send the costs of the operation skyward. Wood at best cannot be more than temporary fuel, and to make mining possible for those who have low grade ground cheap and permanent power must be furnished.
 It is becoming more and more evident that Nenana coal, of which there has been such high expectations, will not be possible as a cheap fuel for the interior This is because of the quality of the coal, which makes it of no use in its raw state They have brot quan- titles of it to Nenana and have been experi- menting with it to determine whether its duality is such as to make it usable, and have found that it is SO poor that it is almost i'm possible to get up steam with it in a boiler.
 This brings up the question, all import ant, as to how and where can the miner get cheap fuel and from it cheap power? It is question that has perplexed the people of the interior from the start and one that they thot would be solved by Nenana coal.
 The cost of power at present mounts well towards one-half of the operating costs and it is running higher as the wood is used At present there are two possibilities with :ilird that is remotely possible The first two loom up big on the miners horizon, with the first well in the lead
 This first and most feasible possibility is that of building huge hyrdo-electric power station ir the gorge of the Nenana river that would easily De capable of furnishing power to district within hundred mile radius This is perfectly possible twelve months in the year, because there are places where the river never freezes to amount to anything, at the most not more than a foot thick. The power from this plant could be transmitted at high voltage with slight loss. The pow CT line would be expensive, but the cost should not be prohibitive. The power would be available all the year round, and would solve the problem of cheap power for the miner The operating force at the time could be cut down to a minimum, and the lighting problem would be solved. There would be so many ad- vantages that it would seem that they would outweigh the consideration of the initial cost which is practically the only stumbling block in the way of such a project. Every effort should be put forth to get the government to build such plant.
 The second possibility is that of using the Nenana coal in some other form than its na tural state, such as gas. Altho the coal as it is mined is of poor fuel value it is believed that 1t could be made into very satisfactory gas that could be used in gas engines. It is prob able that such fuel could be used very ex- tensively for power, and that it would be cheap. However, there are number of draw backs to this plan In the first place, after it was found by experimentation that the coal was fit for this use, either the coal or the gas would have to be transported to the places where it was to be used. If it were to be taken in the coal form, that would necessi- tate the establishment of number of stations for the making of gas, or there would have 10 be an extensive pipe system for the piping of the gas to the regions where it would be used. That would be expensive, and would necessarily limit the size of the region to which it could be sent Then, too, the work ing force at the mines would have to be larger than for electric power, because of the fact that the engines would have to be operated, and there could be no great advantage over the present with wood as fuel
 The third possibility is so remote as to be impracticable at the best. This is that the coal will be used directly either by perfecting some improved method of burning the Nenana1 coal in its natural state, or by bringing coal over the pass from the Matanuska fields. This is possible, but-the stumbling blocks in the way Of this are so great that it would be most improbable To burn Nenana coal, a vast amount of expensive experimenting would have to be carried on to get the required improved method, and the expense involved in bringing any available coal oyer from Matanuska would put that out of the cheaD DOwer class