The Daily Alaska empire., 1928-01-04


 in quantity. The decrease in gold production is therefore to be at tributed to lesser production from the placers, which is explained as due mainly to the extreme. dry ness that prevailed throughout al most the entire western and in terior regions until August. The drought was so severe that even dredging, which requires less wa ter proportionally than most oth. CT types of placer mining, was handicapped, SO that several of the dredges did not operate until late in the summer. The shortage of water appears to have been most seriously felt in the placer camps on Seward Peninsula, so that the total gold production from that region is estimated to have been nearly $500,000 less than in. 1926. Obviously this de- crease is merely an unfortunate temporary incident. The propor- tion between placer gold won by dredging and that won by other methods of mining appears to have been about in the ratio 61 to 39. The only new dredge put into operation in 1927 was that of the American Creek Dredging Co.,, in the Hot Springs district, Yukon-Tanana region.
 Big Interior Project
 Several new placer-mining en- terprises that will become produc- tive during 1928 were in progress during the year. The largest and most significant of these projects is that of the Fairbanks Explofa- tion Co.,, in the Fairbanks region. which has been busy for several years in an extensive preparation for dredging operations in the valleys of Goldstream and Chat anika rivers and their tributaries. Although it will still be several years before this project is in full operation, parts of it have now progressed to such stage that pits in which to construct the first two of the dredges have been prepared, and the materials for these two boats will have been landed in Alaska before the end of 1927 and will be assembled during the winter. The long dttches and siphons which are be ing built to bring water to the ground have been nearly com pIeted, and large areas have been tARwed so as to be in condition for dredging.
 Local Mine Leads
 Among the Alaska gold lode mines the Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Company's property, in the Juneau region of southeastern Alaska, continued to be by far the largest producer. This com pany mined and milled ore on an even larger scale than heretofore, maintaining throughout the year an average daily output of ore mined and trammed to the mill of nearly 12,000 tons and for .some months an average daily output of close to s13,000 tons. This high rate of mining was due to ex- tremely efficient operation and resulted in handling nearly 5OO,- 900 tons of ore more than in 1927. No noteworthy change in the ten. or of the ore was reported.
 Elsewhere in Alaska gold lode mining continued at about the same rate as in the preceding year. The three mines on Chi chAgof Island continued to yield s.considerable amount of gold, and several smaller mines in oth- CT parts of southeastern Alaska produced some gold. In the Will low Creek region, north of Cook Inlet, lode gold mining was car ried on at somewhat reduced rate, and the production appears to- have been considerably less than in 1926. In the Fairbanks district the principal new lode de- velOpment was at the Elmes mine, on Happy Creek, in the vicinity of Ester Dome. The Mohawk mine, also on Ester Dome, the Crttes and Feldmann property, on a tributary of Fairbanks Creek, and the Wyoming and old Rhoads and Hall mines. on Bedrock Creek a tributary of Fairbanks Creek, were in operation. Several other properties were being prospected, and it was reported that strong syndicate had acquired title to the 1 Ryan lode on Ester Dome and pfoposed to develop 1t actively in tho near future.
 Reports from the Nuka Bay re- Ei6n still continue to be encourag. tng, and number of other lode properties in Kenai Peninsula and adjacent regions produced some goli.
 Copper nrlcss Fall
 The value of the copper produc- ed from Alaskan mines is esti- naqted to have been about s2.- 2oe,0OO less in 1927 than in 1926. Thas decrease has been explained as due to the low price of copper in ~ls17. which not only gave a