Show MINING ALONG ALASKA RAILROAD the alaska railroad traverses a region rich in mineral wealth whose resources have been disclosed by investigations of the department of the interior m made ade by the geological sur vey during the last 25 years the new railroad directly serves the mining interests of kenai peninsula the susitna susitina and matakuska Ma valley and the central part of the yukon basin and will improve the accessibility of the entire yukon basin the mines of the vast inland region of alaska that is now directly or indirectly served by the railroad have under the primitive conditions of transportation that have existed in the past produced minerals worth in 1922 the territory immediately tributary to the railroad produced worth of gold silver coal and a little lead copper and tin indirectly the railroad serves a much larger mining region which in 1922 produced over worth of minerals on leaving the coast the railroad traverses kenai peninsula where gold b old mining has been going on in a small way for 28 years at anchorage it is only a short distance from the willow creek lode district which in the last decade has produced over worth of gold A branch line provides transportation por tation for the high hi h grade ra de coals of the matakuska Ma field the production of coal in this field has already had a stimulating effect on the development of other mining districts the yentha placer district which produced by hydraulic hy and dredge mining 6 worth of gold 1 in 1922 is accessible by a 60 mile wagon road from talkeetna etna station between anchorage and broad pass there are undeveloped copper deposits within 20 to 30 miles to the railroad rall road the railroad also traverses the western margin of the large nenana benana lignite fiem field whose coal reserves are estimated at over CCO tons this field is the chief source of fuel for the great inland region of alaska and its development because of the railroad construction has already stimulated placer mining b in the nearby districts about 60 miles west of the lies the district where placer mining in a small way has long iona t been going on here some promising gold and silver lodes have been found and only the completion of a wagon road is needed to to assure their development the district around fairbanks the railroad terminus has since the discovery of gold there in 1903 produced worth of minerals chiefly from the bracer mines lode mining in a small way has been going on since 1910 but has been hampered by the high cost of transportation and the lack of coal this situation has been changed by the building of the railroad in 1922 the fairbanks district produced worth of minerals and mining is now on the increase tungsten antimony and silver lead lodes as well as gold have been mined in in this district there are also a number of small placer districts tributary to the railroad including the valdez creek district east of broad pass the bonnifield district traversed by the railroad a and the hot springs and tolovana To lovana districts accessible by boat and wagon road from fairbanks the hot springs district contains tin deposits of promise the mineral output of the region tributary tributa rf to the railroad in 1922 is to be credited as follows fifteen auriferous lode mines produced in gold and in silver and placer mines produced in gold and in silver incidentally to the mining 3 of the gold and silver 1680 worth of lead tin and copper was produced seven small coal mines were operated and produced tons of coall coal valued at the stimulus of mini mining ng was already felt in 1922 even though the railroad was not then finished when the mina millina developments now under way are completed a much larger annual a mineral output is assured the data here given are extracted from the annual report on the mineral resources of alaska a for 1922 by alfreda alfre Alfred d 1 brooks chief alaskan geologist which is now in preparation pre caration pa ration |