aj collier.] COAL RESOUKCES OF THE YUKON BASIN. 281 
urinous, having a fuel ratio of 2.38 and a water content of 1.03 per 
li e cent. In the laboratory it makes a compact coke. 
Mining was begun at this place in 1898- by the Pickart Brothers. 
About two years ago the mine passed into the hands of the Alaska 
Commercial Company, and in the summer of 1902 it was abandoned on 
account of some " rolls" in the floor of the bed which cut off the coal. 
The development consists of a drift tunnel about 600 feet long, above 
which all the available coal has been mined. No bunkers were used. 
The coal was piled on the river beach at the mouth of the mine and 
loaded on steamers by means of wheelbarrows. 
Nulato coal bed. — About 1 mile above Nulato, a prospect hole shows 
2^ feet of bony coal, with several bands of clay, in the Nulato sand- 
stone. This seam contains 6 inches of clean coal, which is used to a 
limited extent for blacksmithing at Nulato. 
Bush mine. — This mine is located on the right bank of the 
Yukon, 4 miles below Nulato. The inclosing rock is Nulato sand- 
stone. The development is not far enough advanced to show the 
nature of the coal bed. In the tunnel, which extends about 40 feet, 
large bodies of crushed coal 4 or 5 feet in thickness are exposed. 
The coal is regarded as bituminous, having a fuel ratio of 1.76 and a 
water content of 11.17 per cent. The high percentage of water is 
probably due to decomposition of the coal in the croppings. No coal 
has been produced, but the owners have contracted to deliver 400 
tons before next summer. 
Blatchford a mine. — This mine is located 9 miles below Nulato. 
The coal bed occurs in sandstone, probably of Upper Cretaceous age, 
which has been correlated with the Nulato sandstone. One workable 
coal bed has been opened at this place. This bed has been crushed 
and sheared by the movements of the inclosing strata, making it very 
irregular. Large masses, 8 feet in diameter, have been found and 
mined out, showing that before it was disturbed the coal bed probably 
had considerable thickness. The coal has a tendency to break up 
into fine pieces, though it is a bituminous coal, having a fuel ratio of 
3.30, the highest of any coal on the Yukon, and a water content of 
1.36 per cent. The ash is only 2.22 per cent, making it by proximate 
analysis the best coal seen by the writer on the Yukon River. This 
mine has no visible development or permanent equipment. The 
workings lie below the level of the river, and the entrance is covered 
with water during the summer months, so that it can be worked only 
in winter after the freezing up of the river, when the ice filling the 
upper workings must be mined out before the coal can be reached. 
The mine has probably produced about 300 tons of coal. 
Williams mine. — This mine is located on the right bank of the 
"This name is also written Blatsford. The correct spelling is in <!<>ul>t . 
