Show alaska mining may be resumed on large scale say experts wining mining Is one industry in contrast to all the others in southeast alaska alas ka which Is so quiet u that a person could hi h ar a pak pick d drop r say george sandberg in a recent article in an area of a dozen former in major ajor producers where a single mine the alaska juneau employed 1000 men t there here is not riot now a single active mining n lulng op operation ra tion employing as many as halt half a dozen men inen yet the stirrings of mineral scouts throughout southeast alaska ar arc 0 so insistent the interest of large o ma n u companies in search of raw materials is so pronounced noun ced the p of future production is so bright that mining takes its place alongside power and the forest industries as a corner stene of torn tom arow arrows s industrial economy in the area instead of gold the minerals being brought ander the spotlight for future de development are iron nickel and copper though none are being produced today all are being intensively exa by representatives of the largest state side ide when gold was mas king in the region the AJ worth of the precious metal from 1893 2893 to 1944 A group of five mines at treadwell earlier had accounted for in production between 1885 ind nd 1922 the chicago 0 area had contributed more than 12 20 0 million in production other mines of significance included the alaska empire at hawk inlet and the salt chuck on kansman peninsula an era came to an end when the last wheel at the alaska juneau stopped turning in 1941 the abife mine on the hillside above the amine capital c tal did d d not run out of gold it Is estimated to have hane reserves which would permit another 15 years of activity on the scale which existed throughout the 1930 Is the AJ ai and all the other low grade lode geld mines ran into a high wage and cost disintegrating situation the other gold operations erat ions in southeast have simply closed when they operate again and the long view of history indicates that gold will again be worth the seeking southwest alanskas lode gold mines will probably mine se selectively r reducing educing the unit cost of operation rati n a and nd the life of the mines by h handling only the higher grade ores with not a real mine arg southeast east alanskas mining industry today a s all potential but the potential Is great the difference now over the past Is that some of the nations nation ss largest mining interests are out in the field examining prospects in the light of present prices much grou ground n Is being prospected and some Is being taked the mining industry in t the h e states has not been in very healthy condition recently either what it wil take to put southeast alaska and mineralized areas elsewhere back in production will be a sustained favorable market continued prospecting and nd either either a reduction in labor and materials or a federal tax incentive plan favoring Ini mineral production when economic conditions in the minin ruining industry improve southeast alaska alaska has the stuff to support substantial production |