The Kusko times., 1927-01-22

or cap1Cal also grows more pressing as more extensive equipment becomes. essential, but capital will not be at tracted to Alaska unless. the returns on the investment are likely to be higher than in the States, for the greater distance of many parts of Alaska makes investments there less alluring.
 Gold Palcers.
 |s In spite of the fact that in many parts of Alaska placer mining was badly hampered by the shortage of rain during the first half of the open season of 1926, the. production of
 placcr gold showed marked increase. The most noteworthy increases were reported from Seward Peninsula, the Fairbanks district, and theadistrcts n the upper part, of: the Yukon basin. The increase in placer production s attributable principally to the in creased production by the dredges, and about 60 per cent of the placer gold produced: in 1926, was won by this
 method of mining. According to pre- liminary estimates, the 26 dredges that were in operation in 1926 pro- duced gold valued at about $2;2OO, 600, which'is somewhat more than $500, ,OOO in excess of. the amount that was re- covered by this means in 1925. Among the new dredges built and opll erated during the year, the NomeI Creek dredge, in the Fairbanks dis trict, wassthe argest. Several dredges, completed; late in the preceding year, did not begin to be, really productive until 1926. Few projects for building new dredges took definite shape dur, ing the year, though is understood that plans are we'll under way for the installation of dredge on American creek, in the Hot Springs district, and that considerable prospecting was done for this enterprise, during the. seasona The Fairbanks Exploration. Company continued to develop it's ex-, tensivet properties on Goldstream creek an din other parts of the Fair banks dstrct. Work on this property was caKried onk throughout the season and consisted mainly in building part: of the. long. ditch from Chatanika. river,, near the mouth of Fairbanks creek It is understood that about IT miles of this ditch is now completed, together with some of the necessaryi 'siphons. Though much other work was i'll progress by this company, the property will probably not beginTpro- ductive mining on a. large scale beforei 1928..
 Although placer mining by other methods than dredging was hamperedi in some .of:S the districts by lack. of water until after the middle of the summer, the camps in the Fortymilerl Circle, and Eagle districts, in the up per part of the Yukon basin, report that on the whole ~thay had more and DCLlCI OlSLIiOuNSu WALCA CIlAA Oo0UAs This condition is reflected by the in- crease in the amount of gold they-pro- dueed.11 There is still a dearth of active, and intelligent prospecting in many faxors able placer localities. This is due in part to the large amount of money re- quired for an adequate outfit, because many of the remaining paces worth Investigating present increasingly diff ficult mining problems, but it is sun- doubtedly- also due to the fact that alrge quick returns no longer afford .an incentive to the. prpspector. On the other hand, the same intensive type of prospecting now done by the larger companies and the consolida-. tion and operation of larger units !, make for. more intelligent manage ment and lowering of costs and are int themselves ao guaranty of continueds