The Alaska daily empire., 1923-01-01

lode mining industry was based all most entirely on the Treadwell prop critics, in the Juneau district. The profitable exploitation of the large Treadwell ore body. containing not more than $2.50 worth of gold to the ton. long ago proved that the cost of mining in Tidewater Alaska was not necessarily excessive. This very profitable venture led to the development of two other large ore bodies of the district-the Alaska Juneau and the Perseverance, The content of gold in these ores is much lower than that in the Treadwell ore, but this handicap, it was be- lieved, could be offset by the use of cheaper methods of mining and mill ing. The Perseverance (AIaska Gas tineau) plant was completed in 1916, and the Alaska-Jumeau plant in 1917 and therefore, at the very outset had to contend with the adverse indus trial conditions caused by the war In addition, they encountered other difficulties, due to irregularty in the distribution of the gold in the ore body, as well as to handicaps in min ing and milling. As a consequence, the Perseverance mine was finally closed in 1921. though the Alaska Juneau increased it's output in 1922 over that of 1921. In 1917 the dis aster at the Treadwell properties the caving and flooding of two of the three large mnes-caused the abandonment of three of the five large mines in the Juneau district, and reduced the value of the annual output of gold from s4,570,000 in 1916 to $1 ,6OO000 in 1922. The most encouraging fact about the Alaska lode-mining industry is that the loss of output from the large Juneau gold mines has already been made up in part by the output of smaller mines in other districts. This fact is shown by he total output of lode gold in Alaska. which in 1916 had a value of $5,900,000 and in 1922 a value of about S3,600.000 The reduction of output in 1922 in all Alaska was therefore only 40 per cent, whereas the reduction in the Juneau district was 65 per cent.
 The above facts are cited because many believe that the closing of some of the Juneau mines means the end of any considerable quartz min. ing in Alaska, but in 1922 develop ment and prospecting of hard rock gold deposits were active in every Alaska lode district accessible from railroad or tidewater,
 in Juneau District
 Though the gold-silver deposits of the Salmon River district are stii the outlook for profit in the Juneau district are beng more actively developed now than they have been for several years O. Chichagof Island. in the SitSa dis trict, one additional mine-tle First Chichagof-began producing in 1922 ing developed. The small gold mines on Prince William Sound will prob ably soon profit by the cheap coal The Willow Creek district, now ac- furnished from the Matanuska field. cessible by railroad and by good in lode mining In 1922 the value of the output from the seven small mines of the district was about $275,0 900; in 1921 it was $11S,000, but more important is the fact that at last systematic underground ex- banks district the completion of the Alaska Railroad and the assurance of comparatively cheap fuel from Ne mana coal field has stimulated lode development Five mines and pros poets produced gold to the value of about $5O,OO0 in 1922, as compared with $3S,OOO in 1921. In the Fair banks district there are at least a score of lode properties which under present conditions are worthy of further exploration. The facts stated show clearly that gold quartz mining III AidShd ID intiCaSAnSs ilS development will be slow, for in all the districts much systematic under ground work must be done before reduction plants can be profitably installed, and then only in districts that are accessible at least by wagon roads.
 SiIver-lead Deposits
 No marked advances were made in 1922 in the development of de posits of galena, The Moonshine property, in the Ketchikan district. long idle, was again opened up. Work on the lodes of the Salmon River district (Portland CanaD. which carry high content of silver, has ai- ready been noted. In the Kantishna ores continued with encouraging re- district the prospecting of galena suits, but systematic underground exploration must await the construc- tien. already begun. of wagon roads to the Alaska Railroad So far as now known. no galena deposits were mined in 1922 except at the Persever.