PLACER  MINING  IN  ALASKA  IN  1903. 
By  Alfred  H.  Brooks. 
INTRODUCTION. 
Though  the  development  of  lode  mining  of  gold,  silver,  and  copper 
is  progressing  rapidly,  yet  over  six-sevenths  of  the  value  of  Alaska's 
mineral  output  comes  from  the  gold  placers.  No  great  increase  of 
production  can  be  expected  until  the  mining  plants  now  being  installed 
are  ready  to  begin  operations.  The  activities  of  the  past  year  have 
been  devoted  to  the  introduction  of  better  equipment  and  to  more 
energetic  development  in  the  larger  mining  camps.  While  no  new 
districts  have  been  discovered  within  the  calendar  year,  the  prospect- 
ing of  some  which  had  been  previously  only  very  superficially 
examined  has  placed  them  among  those  of  commercial  importance. 
In  this  category  belong  the  Fairbanks  district,  on  the  Tanana;  the 
Good  Hope  district  of  Seward  Peninsula;  and  possibly  also  the  Kowak 
placers,  as  they  may  eventually  prove  to  be  of  commercial  importance. 
Of  vital  interest  to  placer  mining,  as  well  as  to  other  Alaskan  indus- 
tries, are  the  improvements  made  in  the  means  of  communication. 
The  completion  of  the  military  telegraph  line,  which  now  extends  from 
Valdes  to  Eagle,  on  the  Yukon,  and  down  that  river  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Tanana,  from  which  point  one  line  connects  with  the  new  Fair- 
banks district  and  another  with  St.  Michael,  on  the  Bering  Sea,  is  of 
the  greatest  possible  importance.  It  is  hoped  that  the  installation  of 
the  wireless  system  will  connect  St.  Michael  with  Nome.  This,  by 
using  the  Canadian  line  from  Dawson  to  Skagway,  and  the  United 
States  military  cable  to  Seattle,  will  give  a  complete  s}^stem  from 
Nome  to  the  outside  world.  A  short  cable  connects  Juneau  with 
Skagway.  It  is  possible,  therefore,  to  telegraph  to  many  of  the 
important  mining  camps  in  Alaska.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  War 
Department  may  be  able  to  extend  this  system,  as  it  plans  to  do,  by  a 
cable  to  Valdez  and  another  to  Ketchikan. 
The  transportation  facilities  also  have  shown  some  improvement,  but 
ire  still  far  behind  the  requirements  of  the  miners.  The  ocean  steamers 
aow  sometimes  give  a  six-and-a-half-day  service  between  Seattle  and 
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