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APPENDIX F
ALASKAN MINERfti HBSOUICES
John C. Bsed 1 /
I r e g r e t t h a t Dr. Smithy the Chief Alaskan Geologist, was unable to be
p r e s e n t a t t h i s meeting as he would be f a r b e t t e r able to handle t h i s
subject than I am#
F i r s t l e t me assure you of the w i l l i n g n e s s of -the Alaskan Branch of
the Geological, Survey to cooperate with the J o i n t Economic Committees i n
any way t h a t i t can in the f a r t h e r i n g of i t s North P a c i f i c Planning P r o j e c t .
The Geological Survey has been i n v e s t i g a t i n g the mineral resources of
Alaska f o r more than 50 years and f o r more than 40 years t h i s woik has been
done by the Alaskan Branch. This woik has r e s u l t e d in a l a r g e mass of
information on minerals and r e l a t e d subjects* including hundreds of r e p o r t s
and maps. A l l of the infoimation in our maps and reports i s , of course,
a t the disposal of your group.
Alaska has produced n e a r l y nine hundred m i l l i o n d o l l a r s worth of
mineral commodities, mostly gold. The next most valuable production has
been of copper from the Kennecott area which, as you know, i s now for
the most p a r t worked o u t . S i g n i f i c a n t contributions have been made of
such other commodities as platinum m e t a l s , coal, tungsten, q u i c k s i l v e r ,
antimony, limestone and gypsum.
In recent years almost the e n t i r e e f f o r t of the Alaskan Branch i n i t s
minerals i n v e s t i g a t i o n s has been on deposits of the s o - c a l l e d s t r a t e g i c ,
c r i t i c a l , or war m i n e r a l s , In o t h e r words, our e f f o r t s r e c e n t l y have
l a r g e l y been turned away from gold* Most of the r e p o r t s on these i n v e s t i gations have been w r i t t e n for, and d i s t r i b u t e d to the various war agencies
concerned with mineral problems and have n o t y e t been made a v a i l a b l e to
the p u b l i c . Ihe Alaskan Branch hopes to s h o r t l y evolve a method whereby
as much as possible of the infoimation on these deposits of war minerals
be released to the p u b l i c , o r a t l e a s t t o those who have a l e g i t i m a t e need
for i t . During the winter of 1942~s43 about 40 such reports to the lmr
agencies were d i s t r i b u t e d . I f e e l sure t h a t , i f your group has need of
the infoimation i n these r e p o r t s , they could be obtained by request through
proper a d & i n i s t r a t i v e channels
In a l l of i t s woric i n Alaska the Alaskan Branch has r e a l i z e d a
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y beyond i t s p r i n c i p a l function of reporting on the mineral
deposits in the area being i n v e s t i g a t e d and consequently, through i t s
reports runs a thread of infoimation on such o t h e r r e l a t e d subjects a s
geography, climate, topography, frozen ground, a g r i c u l t u r e , and timber*
1/

Geologist of the Alaskan Branch of the United S t a t e s Geological Survey,
United S t a t e s Department of the I n t e r i o r




- 2 With the above very sketchy background let us consider what may be
expected in regard to the mineral industry of Alaska during and after the
war - what changes may be brought about by improved'or different means of
transportation such as the airplane or new highways, It seems to the
Alaskan Branch in this connection that we should consider mineral commodities
as to falling into two general types*—those which may enter the world
markets and those which may be produced and consumed locally* Concerning
the possible development of deposits of the first type* transportation, as
in any mining venture, is one of the important cost, factors# Any development
that will reduce this factor in regard to a commodity or a deposit will
mean that certain deposits previously unworkable will either come into the
market or will come closer to coming into the market, The present and
predicted greatly increased use of the airplane, for example, will have
an important bearing on the possible opening up of deposits of mineral
commodities# that have a high unit value such as gold, quicksilver, platinum
or tungsten, Conversely the airplane will be less important ip the opening
up of deposits of such materials as limestone or iron ore.
Always in the background is the possibility that certain deposits
which are now unknown, or deposits of which the possibilities are unknown*
may, on discovery or systematic examination, prove to be large enough and
rich enough to justiiy development in spite of relative inaccessibility.
Into this type might fall possible Alaskan oil fields or, because of the
possibility of the development of a ferrous industiy in the Puget Sound
area, the iron deposits of southeastern Alaska* These iron deposits, by
the way, might be a good subject for joint discussions between United States
and Canada in view of the fact that similar deposits are known in coastal
British Columbia,
In regard to deposits of the second class, any development of the
territory by such means as transpolar air linesj highways, railroads,
military or defense establishments or agricultural communities will create
local markets for certain mineral commodities tjiat cannot at present, or
in the predictable future, enter world trade, but, because of the high cost
of transportation to bring such materials in, may well be important for
local USG. An example of this sort of development might be the opening up
of a coal field near an air base.
The Alaskan Branch feels that, in view of the predicted development
of the North country, its work and its responsibilities are likely to bo
very greatly increased. During the war, of course, it will continue to give
first priority to the study of deposits of mineral commodities and other
duties that may have a bearing on the conduct of the war. The Branch
predicts that its coal work, which goes back over many years* must be
expanded and Intensified, The same is true of petroleum. The Branch intends,
to the best of its ability* to continue and enlarge its traditional plate
in guiding the destinies of the Territory in regard to mineral deposits*