The Cordova daily times., 1920-01-02

Fortymile - 75,000 10000 All others ..... 129,OOO 140,OOO
 Total .$4 ,264,OO0 S2,S3O,OO
 The placer gold output of the Fair banks district was produced by about thirtv-six summer mines, employing 360 men, and about twenty winter mines, employing eighty men. Drift mining is on the Wane at Fairbanks, for in 1918 there were over forty deep mines and in 1919 there were only twenty eight As only the deep mines can operate in winter, this has resulted in a great curtailment of win ter operation, and has made the labor problem more serious, for it is i'm possible to have a permanent mining population where employment is as- larger part of the known deep depos- it's of rich ground at Fairbanks has
 
 be impossible, under the present cost of operation, to revive this form of mining on a large scale. The condi- tions here, however, are improved now that the camp can be assured of fuel at reasonable cost from the Nenana coal field The best immediate pros pect for the revival of placer mining at Fairbanks is that of exploiting the large reserves of auriferOus gravel that can be mined by dredges and steam scrapers This gravel will be mined by the use of Nenana coal after the general conditions are improved by the establishment of direct rail connection with the coast.
 In the ldtarod
 Mining in the IditarOd district, ex cept that done by the dredges, is de- creasing year by year. Much of the rich placer ground has been worked out, and the isolation of the district, with the consequent difficulty of ob- taining labor and the high freight rates, has not encouraged the exploita- tion of the placers of lower tenor. The same is true to a great extent of the Tolovana district, where most of the mining has been done by underground methods. but some shallow placers in this district can be developed when operating costs are reduced. Nothing of importance was done in the Hot Springs district. l
 Other Interior Camps
 Except for the discovery of another navstreak on Poorman creek there i was no important advance in the Ruby district during 1919. Placers were discovered on the Hogatza river, in the Koyukuk district, in 1919, but they have not yet been sufficiently devel- oped to determine their value. Placers are also reported to have been discov- cred in the Birch creek basin, tribu- tary to Wild river, and also ln the Koyukuk district, though these reports have not been verified. These placers are in inaccessible regions and would have to be very rich to justify thelr development under present conditions. These reports, however, indicate that not all the Alaska prospectors have be- come discouraged The gold produc- tion from the Marshall district has been maintained by the output of a few mines working on comparatively rich placers.
 Placer mining in the Fortymile dis 4rict and in the smaller Yukon dis tricts is being, and under present eco- homie conditions will be, continued principally by men who have oper ated in these regions for long time, vet no doubt a large percentage or such mining is being done at loss II inc owner charged his own services at nresent high wages against the cost. The same is true of the kobuk, the most inaccessible placer camp or Alaska Such mining will, however, he continued by many who prefer the independence of working their own
 III ;,oc +o tha more substantial reward that they might gain by work ing for others. At least half of the placer mines operated in 1919 were