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MINING IN ALASKA IN 1913.
The annual report on the mineral resources and
production in Alaska for 1913 is now in prepara­
tion under the direction of Alfred H. Brooks,
of the United States geological survey. Some of
the important features of this report relating to
mining development during the years are ab­
stracted in the following statement.
It is estimated that the total value of the mineral
output of Alaska in 1913 is $18,900,out), com­
pared with $22,537,831 for 1912. The value of
the gold output is estimated at $15,450,000; that
of 1912 was $17,145,951. There was also very
marked decrease in copper production, that of
1913 being estimated to have been 19.700,000
pounds, valued at about $3,014,000, while that of
1912 was 29,230,491 pounds, valued at $4,823,031.
As the Alaska silver output is largely a by­
product of gold and copper mining, this also
showed a decrease in value from $316,839 in 1912
to about $220,000 in 1913. Other minerals, includ­
ing marble, gypsum, tin, etc., are estimated to
have been produced to the value of about $220,000
in 1913, or about the same as the value of the
production in 1912.
There was no railway construction in Alaska
during 1913. Of the 466 miles of track previously
built only about 260 miles were operated in 1913.
This is largely due to the high cost of fuel and
to the tax of $100 a mile on all operating lines.
These conditions have tended to discourage the
railways, especially those which are but par­
tially completed. In 1913 the White Pass &
Yukon, the Copper River & Northwestern, and
the Tanana Valley railroads are the only lines
which have been continuously operated.
Some excitement was caused by the discovery
of a feasible railway route from Portage or
Passage Bay. on the west side of Prince William
Sound, to Turnagain Arm. Here a route was
found which, by use of a tunnel about two miles
in length, will avoid the glaciers and yield low-
grades for both in and outbound traffic. The
distance from tidewater on Prince William
Sound to tidewater on Turnagain Arm is about
twelve miles, and the proposed line will join the
Alaska Northern railroad at about mile 63. Official
information regarding the availability of
Portage Bay as a terminal is still lacking, but
private advices are favorable. By use of this
route the distance from tidewater to the Mata­
nuska coal field is reduced to about 136 miles,
with only one adverse grade and that a low one.
The information at hand indicates that this route
is certainly worthy of careful consideration.
The coal situation in Alaska remained the
same as in previous years. Alaskans are still
using British Columbia coal and California oil as
fuel and that at heavy cost. A mine was oper­
THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN. 39
ated at Port Graham, producing lignitic coal for
local use. A little lignite was also mined at
several other places, to the advantage of local
communities.
The 800 tons of coal mined in the Bering river
field in 1912 was recently tested by the Navy de­
partment, but the report on this test has not yet
been made public. In co-operation with the U. S.
Bureau of Mines, some 900 tons of coal were
mined by the Navy department at Chickaloon, in
the Matanuska field. This will be sledded to the
coast during the winter and given a similar test
to that from the Bering river field.
The Katalla oil field continues to be the only
scene of any development of the petroleum indus­
try in Alaska. Here another well was drilled in
1913 to a depth of about 800 feet. This and some
of the old wells furnished by pumping, petroleum
for a small refinery. The gasoline, which is of
a high grade, finds a ready market at the settle­
ments on Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet.
The Wharf coal mine at Port Graham, in the
Kenia peninsula district, was imt on a shipping
basis during 1913. This property, which yields
a good grade of lignite, holds the unique position
of being the only regularly operated mine in all
the great coal fields of Alaska. The coal is sold
on Cook Inlet, and some has been shipped to
Seward.
RULING IS MADE ON ANTHRACITE
TAX EXEMPTIONS.
Anthracite coal niining comiianies have been
declared not liable to the state tax on hard coal
that is used in the operation of their collieries and
their offices, but if the coal is used for operating
electric or heating plants for the sale of current
or steam to the public they must pay the state
tax on such coal. Coal that is taken from rivers
also is subject to the state tax.
These are the first rulings in the anthracite coal
tax collection under the act of 1913 and were an­
nounced Dec. 24, by Auditor General A. W. Powell,
whose department is charged with the collection
of the tax of 2 1 ,_ per cent, ad valorem on all an­
thracite coal prepared for market. The depart­
ment has been issuing blanks for the reports of
coal operators who are required by law to report
their output under oath. Half the tax goes to
the municipal division where the coal is mined.
Numerous questions have been raised and these
decisions are the first given out.
The department made a sharp distinction in the
classification of the coal used. A number of col­
leries operate large electric plants at their works,
the fuel being supplied by the mine and what
current is not needed to light and heat mines,
buildings and offices or to run fans and other ma-