collier.] COAL IN CANADIAN TERRITORY. 23 
A lignite horizon, with one or more seams, occurs in this formation at a number 
of widely separated points, and apparently accompanies it throughout its whole 
extent. Lignite seams outcrop on Rock Creek and its tributary Coal Creek, at the 
northern end of the area, on Cliff Creek at the southern end, and on Twelvemile 
Creek, Fifteenmile Creek and Coal Creek at intermediate points, and are reported 
.from a number of other localities. The total area underlain by lignite is estimated to 
considerably exceed 200 square miles. 
The Alaska Exploration Company has taken up a block of coal lands on Coal 
Creek, and has commenced mining operations at a point a little over 7 miles from 
Klondike River, following Coal Creek and Rock Creek valleys, and about 20 miles 
from Dawson. * * * The workings of the mine consist of an incline about 400 
feet in length, descending in a southeasterly direction at an average angle of about 
25° for the first 200 feet, beyond which the angle gradually decreases to about 4°. 
A short drift has been driven in a northeasterly direction, following the seam, at 
a point 225 feet from the mouth of the incline. The seam dips to the northeast 
in a drift at angles of from 3° to 10°. 
The strata in the upper part of the incline have been disturbed and faulted to 
some extent, and the lignite beds occur in a broken condition. In the lower part 
of the incline and in the drifts the beds are continuous, although the dips are still 
irregular. * * * Two seams of lignite are present in the lower part of the incline 
and in the drifts. The upper seam shows 3 feet of hard lignite and the lower from 
2 to 3 feet. The two seams are separated by a clay parting about a foot thick and 
are roofed and floored with clay. The lignite is hard and compact and shows no 
traces of the woody fiber so common in lignites. * * * It is of good quality, 
burns freely, and can be used both for heating and steam purposes. 
The following analyses of the two seams have been furnished by Dr. Hoffmann: 
Lignite from upper seam, Coal Creek mine. Pc , r cent 
Hygroscopic water 18. 31 
Volatile combustible matter 34. 96 
Fixed carbon 40. 88 
Ash 5. 85 
100. 00 
Coke, percentage (noncoherent) _ 46. 73 
Lignite from lower seam, Coal Creek mine. Percent 
Hygroscopic water 19. 37 
Volatile combustible matter 33. 85 
Fixed carbon 37. 45 
Ash 9.33 
100. 00 
Coke, percentage (noncoherent) 46. 78 
■X- * -x * * -x- 
The North American Trading and Transportation Company has opened up a group 
of lignite seams at Cliff Creek, a small stream which enters the Yukon from the 
right 55 miles below Dawson. The workings are situated about a mile and three- 
quarters from the mouth of the creek and consist of two long tunnels with a number 
of drifts and upraises. The lower tunnel is on the right side of the creek and the 
upper a short distance farther up the creek on the left side. The distance along the 
zone from the mouth of the first tunnel to the end of the second is 2,800 feet, and the 
seams appear to be continuous for this distance and probably extend much farther. 
The tunnel at the upper workings has been driven mostly along the lignite zone 
for a distance of 800 feet. At one point, 225 feet from the mouth of the tunnel, the 
