The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1937-10-16
over MILLION
EXPECTED FROM
COODNEWS AREA
Engineer Roehm FieldRe-
port Gives Insight of
Conditions in Interior
Notes furnished by Territori-
al Department Of Mines on itin-
erary covered and observations
made by J. C. Roehm. Associate
Mining Engineer, from July
to October IL, 1887.

The mining districts that were
covered by him included the follow
ing: Goodnews Bay area and the
region to the south of it as far as
Cape PIERCE, the Eek River area
and Tuluksak River, all of which
are in the Lower Kuskokwim re-
gion; the Iditarod, Flat and Inno-
ko districts in the Upper Kuskok-
vim basin; the Yentna or Cache
Creek placer district; the Willow
Greek lode mining district; and the
Moose Pass-Hope and Girdwood
districts in the Alaska Railroad
belt.
The two major productive placer
platinum enterprises in the vicinity
of Red Mountain, Immediately south
of Goodnews Bay, are on a sound
basis and are being well managed
and profitably operated. Extensive
drilling within the areas controlled
by these two companies has dem
onstrated the existence of minable
deposits that will eventually yield
metals of the platinum group to
the value of many million dollars.
1t is probable that operation of
the large new dredge, which is
scheduled to be working next year,
will result in an annual production
of platinum metals from the dis
trict that will exceed one million
dollars in value.
The placer platinum deposits &C.
curr within an area characterized by
ultra-basic igneous rocks the ero-
sion of which has undoubtedly yield
ed the platinum metals found in
the placers. This area is of limited
extent and, so far as has been DEM
onstrated, is confined to the valley
of Salmon River and it's several
small tributaries that have their
sources on the southerly slopes of
Red Mountain. Substantial portions
of pre-existing placer deposits with
in the area have probably been re-
moved by glaciation, evidences of
which are locally observable, but
the remaining deposits are of con-
siderable magnitude. Although scat
tered occurrences of platinum min
erals have been reported in neigh
boring localities, no new placer pla-
tinum deposits of demonstrated i'm
portance have been found in the
area since the original discoveries
were made within the Swear period
prior to 1882.
Placer Gold Deposits
Although the Lower Kuskokwim
region has recently come into prom
inence, principally because of ex-
pansion of operations in the plati-
mum field, placer gold deposits of
great potential Importance also ex-
ist This region embraces not only
Goodnews Bay and the valley of
Goodnews River and its tributaries,
but also the large basins of the
Togiak River to the south and those
VI blic hIOllC, ICh diAA NAATAA,cTA
rivers to the north. The existence
of placer gold deposits within the
Goodnews Bay area and within the
drainage basins of these other rivers
has been known for many years
and a relatively small production
of gold. mined, mostly by crude me-
thods, has been made from many
streams tributary to them. The pro-
bable extent and potential impor-
lance of the gold placers of the re-
gion as whole, however, have only
recently been recognized.
To large extent the gravels of
the region are thawed and the
ground is wet. Prospectors of the
past, who employed hand methods,
have not been able to reach bed
rock. They lacked pumping. and
other mechanical equipment that is
necessary in prospecting this type
of ground. The pronounced success
of productive dredging opera
Continued on Page Eight