LODE MINING IN SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA. 35 
by quartz stringers; Puzzler, a 14-foot lodeof quartz and schist carrying mineral; and Noon- 
day, a 6-foot quartz vein. The country rock is graphitic slate and schist, lying 1 mile cast 
of the Coast Range intrusive belt and striking approximately parallel with its lines of con- 
tact, or N. 50° W., with a dip to the northeast at steep angles into the mountain. 
At the time of visit developments were in progress on the various deposits, but no sys- 
tematic work was being done. A crosscut tunnel is proposed which will start below the 
Dividend lode and undercut all the exposed ore bodies and thus determine their character 
in depth if they are continuous to this level. 
The Rex claim, on which a rich stringer or pocket of ore, said to have yielded $3,000, was 
opened in 1903, has received no attention during the past two years. 
The property of the Bessie Gold Mining Company is located at 1,400 feet elevation, 2| 
miles by wagon road from Yankee Cove. The ore body is a well-defined quartz vein inclosed 
in the greenstone country rock and striking N . 75° E., with a steep southerly dip. The vein 
is apparently persistent for 1,600 feet in length and varies from 1 to 6 feet in width. Arsen- 
ical pyrite is the principal sulphide, though pyrite also occurs and specimens of free gold are 
not uncommon. Two tunnels 360 and 124 feet in length and a shaft 161 feet deep con- 
stitute the developments. Except a few tons for testing purposes no ore has been shipped 
and the property has been idle during the last two years. 
A group of claims southeast of the Bessie mine belongs to the Alaska-Washington Gold 
Mining Company. Two parallel veins, similar in their general features and separated by 600 
feet of slate and greenstone country rock, form the mineral deposits. Only one of these has 
been explored. It is exposed at various points for a distance of nearly 3,000 feet, with an 
average width of 3 feet. The mine workings, which were completed in 1902, consist of 500 
feet of tunneling, a 70-foot raise, and a 30-foot shaft. No important developments have 
been made since that time. 
The Aurora-Borealis group is situated adjacent and below the Bessie mine at 1,000 to 
1,400 feet elevation above sea level. The quartz ore body here parallels a contact between 
black slate and a wide belt of greenstone, which strikes northwest and dips steeply to the 
northeast. It has been opened by three drift tunnels, each a few hundred feet in length, at 
altitudes of 1,100 feet, 1,200 feet, and 1,350 feet above salt water. Below these a 5-stamp 
mill has been erected and connects with the workings by a cable tramway. A wagon road 
2\ miles in length runs from the mill to Yankee Cove. At the time it was closed down, sev- 
eral years ago, the mine was reported to have produced a total of ,$25,000 in gold. 
EAGLE RIVER. 
Of the many auriferous quartz ledges which have been discovered within the area about 
Eagle River only those belonging to the Eagle River Mining Company have been developed 
sufficiently to warrant description. The property lies on the north side of the river, 7 miles 
from a wharf at Eagle Cove. Geologically its position is within the belt of slates and green- 
stones and near their contact with the schists to the northeast, 1 mile southwest of I he ( Joasl 
Range intrusive. The ore body may be described as a connected chain of ore shoots, ellip- 
tical in cross section, striking N. 30° W., dipping 50° NE., and pitching northwest ward into 
the mountain at an angle of 30°. They are included in the bands of slate and greenstone 
country rock, which in places is much shattered, necessitating heavy timbering in both tun- 
nels and stopes. Three such ore shoots are being mined, and average from 5 to 15 feet in 
width and 25 to 100 feet in length. Though their persistence in depth has not yet been 
determined, they will probably continue to the limits within which mining will be carried 
on. Free gold, pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, and occasional specimens of native copper 
are present in the ore. The developments amount to about 3,000 h-vi of tunneling and 
drifting and nearly 1,000 feet of shafts and raises, besides much stoping. Nine hundred U^vi 
below the mine and connected with it by a cable tramway is a well-equipped 20-stamp mill. 
From the mill a horse tram 7 miles long leads to the wharf at Eagle Cove. An a verage of 50 
men were employed at the mine during 1905. Its total production, including that for 19Q5, is 
roughly estimated at $250,000. 
