NONMETALLIC DEPOSITS OF SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA. 
By C. W. Wright. 
INTRODUCTION. 
In southeastern Alaska, as in all new mining regions, prospecting has favored the metallic 
and neglected the nonmetallic deposits. The commercial value of large bodies of gypsum, 
marble, granite, and cement materials, all of which are in great demand for building pur- 
poses, is rarely known to the average miner, and only during recent years has the presence 
of such deposits in this region been recognized. Developments on certain properties have 
already reached the producing stage, and it is probable that in 1906 large shipments of both 
marble and gypsum will be made. 
Coal has been discovered at several localities, principally on Admiralty and Kupreanof 
islands, and attempts have been made to find workable seams, but with little success. 
Mineral water in commercial quantities has been discovered at several places and is being 
placed on the local market. 
MARBLE. 
Areas of limestone metamorphosed to marble are of frequent occurrence on the many 
islands and along the mainland of southeastern Alaska. (See map, PI. XL) Marble depos- 
its of commercial importance, however, are relatively few. Those at present under develop- 
ment are in the proximity of granite masses and have resulted from the metamorphic action 
of the intrusion. The principal factors affecting the value of marble deposits are extent, 
position relative to transportation and market, absence of fractures or joints, facility of 
extraction, fineness of grain, color, and lack of objectionable impurities, such as vein pyrite, 
bitumen, etc. The most valuable marble found in this field has a fine granular texture and 
pure white color. 
The market for this stone will be in the cities along the Pacific coast, and it will therefore 
compete with the marble quarried in the three most western States. The following table 
shows the production of the west-coast marble in 1904, with the average value at quarries 
per cubic foot: 
Production and value of marble in 1904 for California, Washington, and Oregon.a 
Total production 
Average value at quarry per 
cubic foot 
Sold rough, for- 
Monumen- Other 
Buildmg. tal purposes. 
$9,810.00 
1.10 
2.25 
$1,100.00 
Sold dressed, for— 
Building. 
Monumen- 
tal. 
Interior 
decoration. 
$11,800.00 
1.60 
$7,854.00 
3.20 
$71,120.00 
5.00 
Compiled from Mineral Resources U. S. for 1904, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1905, p. 833. 
Bull. 284—06- 
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