GOLD REGIONS OF STRAIT OF MAGELLAN 697 



might at first be supposed. General supplies can be obtained at 

 Punta Arenas at reasonable prices, for it is a seaport and supplies 

 are brought there by ocean steamers at fairly cheap rates. The most 

 expensive item is coal, and this is brought mostly from foreign coun- 

 tries. There is a small deposit of lignitic coal worked at what is 

 known as the Loreto mine, a short distance from Punta Arenas, but 

 the production is very limited and does not go far toward supplying 

 the needs. There is also coal near Coronel and Lota on the Chilean 

 coast, south of Valparaiso, but this is mostly used locally and by 

 ocean steamers. In some parts of Tierra del Fuego there is a good 

 deal of timber of the magnolia, beech, and other varieties, which can 

 be used as fuel, but in other localities it is scarce. All over the region 

 there is a great deal of peat, and efforts are now being made to use 

 this as fuel. 



The season during which mining can profitably be carried on is 

 about eight or nine months, from August to May, while during the 

 rest of the year frost and snow hinder operations. The capital at 

 present invested in the industry is mostly Chilean and Argentine, but it 

 seems probable that, as the region becomes better known, other capital 

 may be attracted to the gold deposits of this far-south country. No 

 very definite statistics of the production of gold in the early days in 

 the region are obtainable, but until recently it has been small, and 

 probably not very many hundreds of thousands of dollars had been 

 produced up to the time of the introduction of the steam dredges. 

 With these, however, the production will probably be greatly increased. 



