ALASKAN MINERAL RESOURCES IN 1906. 
being earnestly considered. The railway situation, as regards inland 
extensions, leaves much to be desired, as the various interests are in 
many cases antagonistic. Current reports indicate that two impor- 
tant projects for a railway to the copper fields of the Chitina and the 
Controller Bay coal field are to be merged, which will assure early con- 
nection with these important mineral districts. Year by year the 
demand for railway connection of the inland region with open water on 
the Pacific becomes more imperative. Until such lines of communi- 
cation are established, the development, if any, attainable by the inte- 
rior districts will be very slight. 
The Alaskan road commission, under the direction of Maj. W. P,. 
Richardson, is doing much to help the mining interests in various < 
parts of the Territory by highway and trail construction. As there' 
is no form of local government outside of incorporated towns, thai 
miner is entirely dependent on the Federal Government for the 
advancement of road construction, and it is to be hoped that the roadl 
commission may have sufficient funds to meet the many worthy 
demands for highways. 
DISTP.IIU TIOX OF PRECIOUS MF/TALS. 
It is the ultimate purpose of the geologic investigations carried on ini 
Alaska to determine the laws governing the occurrence and distributiorn 
of the precious metals. Such a determination, however, must await t 
far more detailed and comprehensive studies than have yet beer: 
accomplished. Meanwhile, with the progress of this work, there is ami 
accumulation of evidence which suggests certain conclusions not yell 
susceptible of proof. As these may serve as a guide to the prospector, 
it will be desirable to set them forth briefly. 
It has long been demonstrated that ore bodies, as a rule, occur ir i 
rocks which have been subjected to more^or less alteration, or meta- 
morphism, as it is usually called. Such metamorphism may be 
regional — that is, it may have been brought about by stresses in the* 
earth's crust which have affected large areas — or it may be due tc 
local disturbances, many of which are caused by intrusive masses. It 
is also possible that both regional and local metamorphism have' 
affected the same formation. It should be noted that where there is 
any considerable metamorphism, both chemical and physical changes 
usually take place, as for example in the alteration of shale to schist of 
of granite to schist. These rock changes are important to the minei 
because, by increasing permeability, etc., they affect the occurrence ol 
ore bodies, and necessarily the derived placers. 
On the accompanying map (PI. I) the distribution of the metamor- 
phic rocks is indicated so far as they are known. These areas indi- 
cated as met amorphic have thus far been the wealth producers, as 
