LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 
Department of the Interior, 
United States Geological Survey, 
Washington, D. C, February 15, 1905. 
Sir: I transmit herewith a report by Mr. C. W. Purington on 
Methods and Costs of Gravel and Placer Mining- in Alaska, and rec- 
ommend its publication as a bulletin. 
Placer mining 1 in Alaska is affected by conditions which are not 
combined in any other field familiar to American miners. Hence new 
methods of operating must be substituted for those which are employed 
in other regions if the greatest success is to be obtained. In too many 
cases this fact has not been sufficiently recognized and many enter- 
prises have therefore failed when they should have succeeded. These 
failures have tended to deter capital from entering a field which still 
presents many opportunities for profitable investment. Some of the 
factors which increase the cost of production of placer gold in Alaska, 
such as high rates for transportation, are changing for the better; 
others, such as the inadequate water supply and low-stream gradients 
which prevail in many localities, are permanent and must be met by 
properly applied methods of exploitation. It is these facts which led 
to the investigation so successfully carried out by Mr. Purington, the 
results of which are here presented. 
It is believed that this report will stimulate the mining industry by 
making available, in compact form, the accumulated results of the 
experience of mining men in this field and by directing attention to 
those mining methods developed in older districts which appear to be 
adapted to the conditions prevailing in Alaska. While many of the 
figures presented, showing cost of labor, transportation, and fuel, are 
subject to fluctuation, with a general tendency to decrease, yet, as a 
comparative study of mining methods, this report will form a valuable 
permanent contribution to mining literature. 
Very respectfully, 
Alfred H. Brooks, 
Geologist in Charge Division of Alaskan Mineral Resources. 
Hon. Charles D. Walcott, 
Director United States Geological Survey. 
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