Hyder weekly miner., 1923-12-24
s~i 1s- SaItChuck Mine Great StOrehOuse of Palladium Ore

VIII DOOlI UC dO0G0 lO IlIC Il0I Ol Alaska's rich properties that pay handsome dividends to in- vestors. Reference is made to the Saltchuck mine, near Ketchikan, says the Alaska Weekly in it's issue of Decem- Iber IA. The property was
 worked on a small scale many years ago, the article continues. It was supposed to be gold Icopper-lead propositlon-and it is, because it produces values in those minerals and metals but it is much more than that it is mine that will produce, as it's chief mineral product, the valuable palladium ore. Palladium is an element of the platinum family.
 When first located and mined, the property was not known
 to be out of the ordinary. It was considered a good showing
 that merited development for
 it. values in gold, silver and lead. Eventually the property passed to the hands of J. E. Chilberg and associates. Un-
 der this new control it was fund that the ore contained palladium. Palladium ore re- q;;ire: special treatment and this has now been all worked out without noise or buster. Tine concentrated ore will be Isecked and shipped to New Jersey, where the palladium w:ll be extracted by special processes.
 J. R. Hickman, of Ketchikan, gently visited the mine and
 in an interview in the Ketch-
 ikan Chronicle, expressed the opinion that it will prove one of
 the world wonders for rich ness.
 He says: After a most care ful inspection, it is my opinion that the Saltchuck mine will
 prove one of the world wonders 1. fer richness, entitled to be classed with the Chichagof and Premier. Under the new mill ing plan, aided by new tunnels which have blocked out addit- lional ore, the cost of mining will not exceed 65 cents a ton.
 I am confident that fully $80,
 0G0 per month gross will be milled by the new manage mant Recent work on the 300 foot level resulted in the pick ing up the downward extension Of the ore body which crops out on the surface and which has been mined by a glory hole { to the depth of approximately 100 feet. The additional or new lore proved by this work amounts to about 150,000 tons,
 having gross value of more than $3,000,000. Ore hereto 1 fore developed and ready for
 mining has a gross value of about $1,000,000. Total ore now available is about $4,000, 900.
 The ore thus far developed on 1 the 300 foot level will average 1 between $20 and $30 per ton, about three quarters of this value being in palladium, the rest being in copper, gold and
 silver. MT. Heckman said the ore will be put through a mill
 and concentrate plant and the concentrates will then be ship ped in sacks to Irvington, New
 Jersey, for refining. Power for the mill, which willhave a da- lily capacity of 125 to150 tons, l will be provided by two Fair
 banks Morse semi-Disel en- Igines, delivering 175 horse power and an additional 165 horse power will be provided by three water wheels.
 ] The Saltchuck mine already
 has produced values amount ing to more than $400,000 by the cruder methods of mining. Originally the palladium val lues were wasted and several hundred thousand dollars thus escaped until the discovery was made that the mineral was carried in the ore.