The Alaska daily empire., 1923-01-01
M|NES' OUTPUT FOR LAST YEAR
 SHOW INCREASE
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the future. Those who have seen miners without capital grow sudden ly wealthy from placer gold dug out with their own hands and who have beheld prosperous communities spring up almost over night are often impatient with mining projects that can succeed only by large invest ments and after years of preparation.
 Revival of Mining
 Some crroneously assume that the revival of mining in Alaska can be assured only iby the discovery of a great mineral deposit, such as a large oil pool or rich placer field, and no ddAbt only such discovery could revive quickly the former pros perity of the Territory. Alaska mines have produced nearly half a billion dollars worth of minerals, and 97 per cent of this amount has come from her deposits of gold, silver and copper. The estimated known re- serves of these metals alone, without regard to future discoveries or other minerals, such as oil and coal, are sufficient to assure a prosperous fu- tlre for the mining industry. Many appear to believe that the building of the Alaska Railroad should have immediately produced marked boom. Now that year has passed since the railroad began to furnish transportation and cheaper fuel with out causing an immediate increase of mineral output they are loud in condemning the entire project. The government railroad, as well as the increase in the building of wagon roads has already stimulated mining, but 1t will be some time before the results of this work will be expressed in notable increase in mineral pro- duction.
 In spite of all despair or doubt the Alaska mining industry is ad- vancing, not retrograding. In fact, though the value of it's present prod ucts is small compared with that of the past. the industry is now on more substantial basis than ever be- fore. In 1922 CD preparations for drilling were sufficiently advanced to assure the beginning of under. ground testing in 1923 of at least one of the Alaska petroleum fields; CD the installation of large placer-mining plants has continued, and the work on some is so well advanced as to assure their operation in 1923; (S) the activity in gold lode development already noted for 1921 was continued in 1922; lD the copper production was aboutl20 per cent larger than in 1921, and herk was revival in the prospecting of copper deposits. AL aska's mining needs capital for it's further development, and during the year there were encouraging signs that large mining companies were turning their attention to Alaska as a prospective field for investment.
 Value of Output
 The value of the mineral output of Alaska in 1922 was about $1,25O ,O00 more than in 1921. Though this jn- crease is due entirely to the larger output of copper, yet it reflects in some measure the improvement Of the entire industry Alaska's min. eral output reached it's maximum in 1916, when 1t had a value of more than $4S,00OO OOO This peat of pro duction was due almost solely to the enormous coppep output caused by the war demand. Obviously a proper comparison of the mineral output of the present with the past must ig- nore the war period. when industrial conditions were exceptional. The average annual value of Alaska's mineral prohibition for the five years ending in 1914 was SIS, 9,700, ,0OO; the value in 1922 was about $1S,25O, 900. Therefore, measured by output, the Alaska mineral industry is in a fair way toward restoration of it's pre-