The weekly Alaska citizen., 1920-01-19


 hearty support of the Alaska Chapter and the cooperation of mining men and operators in the interior of Alaska. The findings and recommen- dations of the committee have been incorporated in a report by the super l intendent of the Alaska station, which is now in process of publication by the bureau of mines and of which the following Is a brief summary:
 The remedy for the fuel shortage in the interior of Alaska lies in the 1 untilization of the Ignite deposits Of the Nenana field. Here there are available some nine billion tons Of fuel; but the problem is not as simple as it would apear. This fuel is Ignite and possesses all the disadvantages germane to lignites the world over. It contain nearly 30 per cent of mois- ture, which becomes a serious con sideration when transporting to the mining district not only over the railroad, but by the necessary wagon haul as well over roads that are prac tically impossible a good part of the time. And a ton of Ignite does not represent a ton of fuel, but only 1,400 to 1,500 pounds. The moisture causes stacking. disintegration and ten dency to spontaneous combustion which result in loss and waste in handling and prevent the accumula- tion of stock piles or storage, The moisture a high volatile content. and lack of coking properties contribute to make It's use almost hopelessly inefficient at the small and more or less makeshift plants in the mining districts. so that even if the govern ment railroad were to carry the Ignite free over it's lines. the cost of pro- ducing power at the individual mines would not be sufficiently less than at present to afford any appreciable re- lief to the industry. But if this fuel is utilized in a central power plant located in the heart of the Ignite fields to avoid all transportatfon charges. and employing the modern equipment properly designed to burn Ignite to it's best advantage such as would be warranted in an installa- ton of this kind, power could be at one-fourth to one-sixth of the pres ent cost of generating it at the in dividual mines. And herein lies the solution of the problem
 At a price even approximating these figures there is present and imme- diate demand for approximately 900 horsepower A central plant of thie capacity, including the necessary transmission lines and other acces sories, can be built for s4 750 000 The installation of such a plant will create an ever growing market for power because of the development of min, eral resources the district is known to possess. so that provision must be made for enlargement as needed To capacity of at least 10000 horse power. The ultimate cost of a plant this size is $9000,O0O. With the ini- tial installation power can be fur nished in the mining districts at 25s cents per XVII. But the greater output and consequent reduction of fixed charges and operating expenses of the ultimate installation will make it possible to reduce the cost of pow CT to at least 2-5 cents per kilowatt hour. This is equivalent to less than $95 per horsepower year; as com pared with $500 and even $700 per horsepower year, the cost of pow CT for mining under present fuel con ditions.
 Power at this price will be the sal vation of the interior of Alaska It will make it possible to mine placer ground that cannot even be thot of at present It will insure the in | stallation of large dredges, thus estab- fishing business which will be op- erated on principles just as sound and conservative as those of any man. ufacturing concern. It will revolu- tionize the lode mining industry by removing it's present restrictions to the more richly endowed spots and by enabling the mining of lower grade ore; and it will also encourage the development of prospects and stimu- late the search for new deposits. With 1 the future of the mining industry as- sured. the outlook for agriculture is roseate one, because the farmer will have a dependable and ever in- creasing market for his products And an increase of population will fol- low that will insure the success of the government railroad beyond even the dreams, possibly, of its most ar dent advocates. The power plant should be built ] by the government of the United