OCR Text |
Show f COUNTRY RICH IN METALS Silver, Copper and Coal as Well as Gold Plentiful In Alnt'j.i. Alaska tho golden also la rich In considerable quantities of silver, copper cop-per and coal, and promises to do something with tin nnd petroleum, which recently hnvo been discovered. The annunl bold production repro-sonts repro-sonts a value of some $7,000,000. The mining of placer gold Is cnrrled on In Juno, July, August anj September. Mining operations aro rendered difficult diffi-cult not only by the short nvallabto season, but also by the lack of fall In the streams, tho poor supply of water and timber, the halfifrozen condition con-dition of tho gravel, and the high cost of labor nnd transport. Desplto thoso obstacles tho wldo and uniform distributing dis-tributing of alluvial gold, tho healthy climates, and the proximity of tho pheuomlnally rich gold fields of tho British Yukon region Justify prospecting prospect-ing and mining over largo nrcas. Stream tin. discovered In tho Onlknvlk river In 1900, has been folind over an area of 450 square miles. Promising surface Indications of petroleum havo been found in tho Controller bay, Cook inlet, and Cold "iy fields. Though only n few wells havo beon bored there seems to be amplo Justification Justi-fication for further prospecting and for believing that tho Pacific coast region of Alaskn may provo nn important im-portant Bourco of Illuminating oil. Coal, mostly of a llgnltlc character, also widely Is distributed In southwestern south-western Alaska, whilst tho coals of tho Cape Llsburno region nro of two distinct classes, low grndo bituminous coal of the mesozole ago and high grade bituminous coal of paleozoic age. |