Show COPPER DEPOSITS OF KETCHIKAN the copper deposits of the ketchikan district southeastern alaska were known to the russians before the acquisition ot the territory by the united states and there was a crude attempt to develop them as early as 1880 it was not until 1910 however that systematic mining was begun and not until 1905 that a large annual output was made up to the close of 1913 the copper mines of the ketchikan district had produced about pounds of copper valued at and worth of gold and silver most of the mines of the district lie at or near tidewater there is an abundance of timber and the relief favors the undercutting of the ore bodies while there are as yet only a few producing mines there are many undeveloped copper prospects which give promise of containing commercial ore bodies many of the copper deposits show an irregularity of occurrence that is unfavorable to cheap exploitation but otherwise the conditions are favorable to low mining costs A report on the mineral deposits of the ketchikan district was published by the geological survey in 1902 and a more complete account was issued in 1908 meanwhile in view of the important mining development a more detailed study was entered upon by C W wright of the survey the results of this work which covered the most productive part of the field have just been made public by the united states geological survey in a report by mr wright entitled geology and ore deposits of copper mountain and kasaan hasaan peninsula alaska professional paper 87 this report is accompanied by detailed geologic and topographic maps and includes descriptions of the copper deposits and their geologic occurrence it deals primarily with the copper ores which are at present the most important mineral deposits of the two areas examined however there is also bucl iron ore which is undeveloped except incidentally to copper mining this public publication atio n is the second of a series of detailed reports to be issued dealing with the most important copper camps in alaska the first entitled geology and mineral resources of the ni kizina zina district alaska published as bulletin includes the east end of the chitina chilina copper belt another entitled the ellamar district Distri cv of prince william sound is in press as bulletin A fourth entitled the katsina district is in preparation |