The Daily Alaska empire., 1930-01-04

for the extensions of the known ore bodies has been continued at all the producing mines, and de- velcpment work has been carried on at several stages of the other properties that have not yet reach- cd a producing stage. Among the places where the most active pros Iecting for copper ore has been carried on during the year may be mentioned the Nelson property, on Glacier Greek, a tributary of Chitistone River, in the Nixina Val ley, where a force Of men have driven several hundred feet Of tun- mel to prospect the outcroppings of high-grade copper ore that have been fund there. This work is be- ing done by the Kennecott Copper Corporation under option from the owner, and doubtless if the re- suits of the exploration are satis- factory at least 25 miles of new railroad will be required for ship ping the ore. On Knight Island copper prospects that have long been known but have laid dormant for several years were under in- vestigation by Canadian mining company, which plans to drill the area thoroughly so as to determine the practicability of developing them. That there are in Alaska copper deposits which are not now producing but which hold promise of profitable developmut s m S practically certain, but the success full development of large copper mine is an expensive and time consuming task, so that it is still too early to predict with certain ty the future worth of any specific property that is now being ex- plotted. The present indications seem to be favorable for some of them to become productive.
 Silver
 Most of the silver produced in Alaska during recent years has been recovered from the copper ores-in fact during 1928, the latest year for which complete reports are available, over three quarters Of the silver came from that source. With the reduction in the output Of copper ore in 1929 the quantity of silver naturally shows a cor responding decrease. Furthermore, the average selling price of silver was only 53.4 cents an ounce, against 58.5 cents in 1928. Owing to the greater output of gold from both lodes and placers there was some increase in the output of sil- yer associated with the gold. The quantity of silver contained in ordinary lode or placer gold is. however, relatively so small, and silver is so low in price, that the increase of nearly a million dollars in the output of gold means an in crease of only a few thousand dol lars in the value of the silver re- covered from those sources. Some silver was also recovered from ores that are principally valuable for the lead and silver they contain Most of the ore of this sort is mined in the Hyder district, in Southeast Alaska, and is shipped to smelters in the States for treat ment. Silver-lead ores are, how ever, known in widely separated parts of the Territory, and some prospecting is in progress at several places for ores of this type. The high cost Of transportation and treatment discourages development .of or search for these ores except in the more accessible parts of Alaaka.
 Coal
 The production of coal from AL asl.a mines is estimated to have been somewhat less in 1929 than in 1928. As usual, the greater part of the output came from the Mat a.4uSha and Healy River fields. The principal producing mines were those Of the Evan Jones Coal Com pany and the Alaska Matanuska Ccal Company, in the Matanuska field and the Sdntrana mine Of the Healy River Coal Corporation, in the Realy River field. No not able new developments were re- ported during the year at either of these fields. The interruption of railroad transportation on the Suntrana spur, cau1ed by the de- struction of part of 'the bridge over the Nenana River during the spring high water, resulted in lessened production from the Healy River field. In the Matanuska field the Evan Jones Coal Company com pieted it's contract for railroad coal by the end of May, and its mine remained closed during the rest of the year. The Alaska Mat anuska Coal Company started ship ping coal in July and continued active production at an increasing rate throughout the rest of the year. Development work that yield ed a small amount of coal was also carried on at the Pioneer mine, on Moose Creek, and at the Heckev prCuertv on Coal Creek