The Kusko times., 1933-01-28


 have assured added ore reserves that can be developed as mining pro- gresses. The second largest center of lode gold mining in southeastern Alaska is on Chicagof Island, west of Juneau. where properties of the gold. The most productive of these We're the Sonny Fox m.ne, in the NuAa Bay district; the Lucky. Strike niine. on Palmer creek, in the Hope uistrlct; and the old Pearson & Strand mine. in the Nixon Fork district of the kuskokwim valley. Prospecting. was a4so active at other po.nls, and some of the properties have reached stage where they may enter. the list of producers shortlY..
 The value of the gold recovered from Alaska p.acers in 1882 is esti- mated to have been $5,312,000, or about $47O,OO0 more than was recov- cred from mines of this type in 1881. Thus great increase app S.Ss to have been brought about by the especially favorable weather conditions, which afforded an unusually abundant water supply at most of the camps, and by the stimulation f development of gold placers because of curtailment in other industries and the high price received for the gold in relation to other commodities By far the largest amount of placer gold came from the Yukon region. with ,the Seward 1Pe-, ninsul2 region. second. The ~ other placer mining regions. together, con-. trihuted- about 20. per cent, of the en- tire placer gold output of the Terriz, torx and the. erder of tha4 placer. pro duction stood as follows: Kusko- :kwim. Cook InleteSusitna, v Copper River. nnarthMestern Alaska. and southeastern Alaska. . The :. largest. producer in thel Yukon region was the Fairbanks Expl9ration Company.. and the largest one. in the Seward Pennin-. sula region was the Hammon Con- solidated- Gold Fields. at Nome.
 't Most of the. placer gold is now .re-. Covered by dredging, the more. primi. 'tives hand. methods and the4ssimpler, mechanical methads having largely disappeared, except. in the. more re- mote districts. It appears that, about 8l per cent of the. ..placerl gold that was. recovered in ] 19R2- was produced by dredges, or essentially the same as ia 193l. So far as reported "A dredgestwere n-soperation in :. l9a2-. which is three less than were in op. eration in. l9A. One of the dredges that was not in operation in 1882. was destroyed by fire. All three dredges4 that were discontinued were. small, SO, that their lack of production did not have noticeable effect on the total output. All the larger dredges were active. and the returns from most of them Indicate an especially successful season. In fact, the increase of more than half a million dollars in gold from this type of mining clearly re- fleets their success. The greater part of the gold produced by dredges comes from the Fairbanks district and from the Seward Peninsula region. but some golw was recovered by dredges in the Iditarod and Hot Springs district of the Yukon region and from Bear creek and Candle creek in nthe Kuskokwim region. Rumors are current of many enterprises con- templatin the building of new dredges in nvarious other parts of Alaska. but the only one of these schemes that appears likely to be car ried through in the near future pro- poses to dredge placers in the Walker Fork camp of the Fortymile district.
 No notable new finds of placer ground were made during the year. but prospecting was especially active