THE COAL-FIELDS OF ALASKA 



85 



in two inland belts which are undevel- 

 oped because they are not yet accessible 

 by rail, and copper prospects have been 

 found elsewhere in the Territory. 



Tin, marble, gypsum, and petroleum 

 have been produced from Alaskan de- 

 posits ; iron and other minerals probably 

 have future commercial value. 



Mining began about 1880 and pro- 

 gressed slowly for nearly two decades, 

 since which advancement has been very 

 rapid. Much of the Pacific seaboard, 

 with its cheap transportation, strong re- 

 lief, abundant water-power and timber, 

 and ecfuable climate, is most favorable 

 to low costs of mining. These conditions 

 have resulted in the development of one 

 of the largest low-grade gold-mining 

 enterprises in the world, as well as some 

 others of considerable magnitude. They 

 have also favored the successful exploita- 

 tion of comparatively low-grade copper 

 ores, even at the low market value of the 

 metal during the past year. 



Though placer mining has been carried 

 on in Alaska for nearly thirty years, it 

 has been chiefly by the crude methods of 

 the pioneer that more than $100,000,000 

 worth of gold has been won from the 

 auriferous gravels. The modern epoch 

 of placer mining, with labor-saving ma- 

 chinery, has only just begun, and the field 

 in which such methods are used is capable 

 of much expansion. Though the future 

 discovery of bonanzas, such as have made 

 Alaska famous in the past, cannot be 

 predicted, it is certain that the possibili- 

 ties of new finds are far from being 

 exhausted, and that there are hundreds 

 of creeks known to be auriferous which 

 may yield gold in commercial quantities 

 when means are found to reduce the 

 present cost of operation. 



The inland copper districts await the 

 railway transportation, which will not 

 only lead to the development of known 

 deposits, but also stimulate further 

 search for ore bodies. Such develop- 

 ments of a lode-mining industry will give 

 a larger permanent population — at pres- 

 ent Alaska's greatest need. 



A full development of the mining in- 

 dustry of Alaska is possible only by the 



improvement of the transportation facili- 

 ties. At least one railway must be built 

 to the Yukon gold-fields, and the inland 

 copper-lode districts and coal-fields must 

 be connected with Pacific ports that are 

 open throughout the year. Then, and 

 not until then, can Alaska's mining indus- 

 try be developed to the extent warranted 

 by her known mineral wealth. 



IMMENSE MINERAL OUTPUT 



The total value of the mineral produc- 

 tion of the Territory since productive 

 mining began, in 1880, exceeds $147,000,- 

 000. In the following table the pro- 

 duction by years and by substances is 

 presented. This table is based on the 

 best available information, but accurate 

 statistics of the annual mineral output 

 have been collected only since 1905: 



Value of Total Mineral Production of Alaska^ 

 1880-1908 



BY YEARS 



880-1890 $4,686,714 



891 916,920 



892 1,096,000' 



893 1,048,570 



894 1,305,257 



895 2,386,722^ 



896 2,980,087 



897 2,538,241 



898 2,585,575 



899 5,703,076 



900 8,238,294 



901 7,007,398- 



902 8,400,693 



903 8,941,614 



904 9,567,535 



905 16,478,142 



906 23,375,008 



907 20,887,055 



908 19,929,800 



$147,972,701 



BY SUBSTANCES 



Gold $142,030,637 



Silver (commercial value) 1,120,562 



Copper 4,265,136 



Tin 92,640- 



Coal 315,079- 



Marble and gypsum 148,647 



$147,972,701 



The known mineral wealth of inland 

 Alaska is embraced in the two copper- 

 bearing belts of Copper River, lying lOO' 



