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120
MINERAL RESOURCES.
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Alaska.—Alaska
expanded its gold production in 1906 to $22,036,-794, an increase of
$6,406,794 over 1905. The placers in the Yukon Basin (principally near
Fairbanks) yielded 3,850,000 ounces more than in 1905, and those of the
Seward Peninsula increased 2,700,000 ounces. The quartz mines of
southeastern Alaska produced about the same amount of gold as usual,
namely, $3,500,000. The copper mines of Ketchikan added a relatively
small amount. An increase corresponding to that of 1906 is not to be
looked for during 1907, but rather a decrease, owing to labor troubles
at Fairbanks, Nome, and Juneau.
The
silver output is nominal and remains about constant, most of it being
derived from the small percentage of this metal which is contained in
placer gold.
Arizona.—The
gold production of Arizona amounted to $2,964,683, an increase of
$165,469. Somewhat less than one-half of this came from Yavapai County,
which includes the Prescott mining region. Mohave, Cochise, and Yuma
counties come next, none of the remaining counties reaching the
$100,000 mark. In Mohave and Yuma counties the larger part of the gold
was derived from siliceous ores, while in Cochise five-sixths of the
gold was derived from copper and also lead ores. In Yavapai County
somewhat more than one-fourth was derived from siliceous ores, the
remainder from copper ore. For the State as a whole approximately the
same amounts of gold are derived from siliceous ores and from copper
ores. The placer production approximates $40,000, partly from dry
washings. On the whole the mining industry experienced a successful
year. The mining of siliceous ores yielded less than in 1905, but there
was an increase from copper ores and also from lead ores. Unless
siliceous ores greatly increase there is reason to anticipate a small
decline of the gold production in 1907.
Silver
was produced in Arizona to the amount of 3,026,438 fine ounces, an
increase of 420,726 ounces. Cochise County leads, closely followed by
Yavapai, both with approximately 700,000 ounces. Next follows Gila with
110,098 ounces, and Graham with 107,045 ounces. The great copper mines
at Clifton and Globe are, chiefly responsible for the large silver
production in Graham and Gila counties. The Cochise County silver
product is about evenly distributed between the copper ores of Bisbee
and the lead ores of Tombstone and other camps. Siliceous ores
contribute also a large amount to the silver recovered in Yavapai
County. As the silver of Arizona is predominantly derived from copper
ores, it is likely that a reduction of the copper output for 1907 wall
adversely affect the output of silver.
California.—There
is little change in the gold output of California. The production in
1906 was $18,732,452, a decrease of $166,093 from 1905. For the first
time in many 3rears a placer mining county leads, Butte
having produced over $3,000,000; Nevada County comes next with about
$2,600,000, closely followed by Amador: Calaveras, Tuolumne, and Yuba
also exceed the $1,000,000 mark. The rearrangement is due to a decrease
in the production of siliceous ores and to a great increase in placer
gold from dredging operations. Increases are shown only by Butte,
Sacramento, Shasta, and Yuba. California produced $7,375,925 of placer
gold, of which $5,098,359 is due to dredging. Yuba for the first time
appears as a
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