The Daily Alaska empire., 1941-01-01

the greater part of Alaska silver has l been recovered fr1n the copper ores, notably those in the Kennicott district, With the cessation of cop psr mining in that district in 1888 the output of silver from that source has stopped. It has been assumed that all of the silver recovered from Alaska ores in l940 qualified for purchase by the Government at the special price of I'll cents fine ounce, and the foregoing estimates of the value of the silver produced have been computed on that basis,
 Platinum Metals
 The production of platinum met als from Alaska deposits in l940 bowed a considerable increase, both in quantity and value, as compared with 1889. According to preliminary estimates, the Alaska production in l940 was 28,860 fine ounces having l value of approximately Sl,092,0 ,0o0. This large output places Alaska among the four or five largest plat mum producing countries of the world, By far the greater part of this production comes from mines in the Gcodnews district near the mouth of the Kuskokwim River, in south western Alaska. The deposits there ire mined by dredge and draglines in practically the same manner as are the more common gold placers. Some platinum metals, mainly palb adium, are recovered from Alaska ores carrying accessory values in gold and copper Ores of this compo- sition are being developed on Ka- saan Peninsula in the Ketchikan district of southeastern Alaska. Much smaller amounts of platinum metals were also recovered from placer-gold mining enterprises, es- pecially in the Koyuk district of Seward Peninsula.
 Coal
 The output of coal from Alaska
 
 mines in l940 is estimated to have been l70.000 tons. valued at S680.- 900. This is apparently the greatest amount of coal that has been min ed in the Territory during any one year. The total value Of the output, however, appears to have been ex- ceeded in 1923 when, although 50,- 900 tons less coal was produced, the unit price per ton was $230 higher. so that the total value of the pro- duction in that year was about $75,- 900 more than in 1940. By far the larger part of the coal now being produced from Alaska mines comes from the Healy River field, which lies on the northern slopes of the Alaska Range, in central Alaska.
 This coal is mined and sold by the Healy River Coal Corporation in the Fairbanks district, but it also finds a ready market for domestic use throughout the central part of Alaska, as well as at points on the coast even as far distant as Cordova, near the mouth of i,Ie Copper River, and at canneries on the Alaska Pen- insula.
 The rest of the coal produced from Alaska mines in 1940 come from deposits in the Matanuska field, near the head of Cook Inlet. The principal producing mine in this field is that of the Evan Jones Coal Co. This coal is of bituminous rank and is the principal source of supply for the fuel used on The AL aska Railroad, as well as for com mercial and domestic uses through out the Cook Inlet-Susitna areas adjacent to the railroad. A little coal mining was in progress at few other points in Alaska but afforded only meager amounts of coal, which were consumed locally.
 Other Minerals
 A number of other mineral pro- ducts came from Alaska mines in l940, which, together, added several hundred thousand dollars to the mineral output of the Territory in that year. Among these lead, tin, antimony, quicksilver, copper, and limerock were commercially the most valuable
 The lead that is derived from AL aska ores comes almost entirely as a by-product from ores that are mined principally for their gold. AL though the lead carried in each ton of these ores weighs only a few ounces, the very large tonnage that is treated yields lead that in l940 is estimated to have weighed 1,920,- GOO pounds and to have been worth $96, ,0O0. By far the larger part of the lead derived from Alaska gold ores came from the mines of the Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Co.,, near Ju- neau,
 Tin Mining
 Tin mining in Alaska in 1940 was confined mainly to placer deposits that have been developed in the western part of the Seward Penin- sula, but small amounts of stream tin were recovered in the course of placer-gold mining in the Ruby csld Hot Springs districts of the Yukon region. The output for the year showed an increase of approximate ly 25 percent as compared with 1899