GOLD-DREDGING IN ALASKA.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 201, 3 December 1910, Page 9

GOLD-DREDGING IN ALASKA.

SUCCESS OF AX OTAfiO BOY. There is news of gold dredging becom- J ing one of Alaska's great industries, and 1 not the least factor in connection with c the commencement of the work is a onetime Otago High School boy, Gerald Hutton. The Seattle Times of Septem- 1 ber 4 describes him as "the dredge genius of the Far North." Mr. Hutton, who has charge of the installation and operation of three great Risdon gold dredges in the Xome (Alaska) district, has won the reputation of being the most capable mas- - ter of "gold ships" in the newly invaded field. Successful dredging in the Nome district involves a conquest of frost, operation of the great machines in dirt and gravel frozen into a solid mass, and other obstacles never encountered in mining of this character in other parts of the world. Mr. Hutton has succeeded in over-riding every obstacle that has come in hia path, and now his machines are working steadily chewing lip thousands of feet of gravel every few hours, taking therefrom their precious content of glittering ' treasure. Mr. Hutton has'installed a new device on the machines, by which the fuel consumption is cut down bv 50 per cent., and another contrivance by which- the gold can be taken from the ripples without stopping the buckets from operating. . Tn a country where, owing to the conservation craze, foreign coal must be 1 handled at a,cost of lfidol. per ton landed on the beach, fuel is an important factor in making a success or failure of a dredging enterprise. So much for Mr. Mutton's success. Now for the field itself. Sixteen new dredges have been taken into the district. Tt. is expected that these -'gold ships" will add more than fS.OllO.OilOdol. to the Alaskan output of gold by next summer (.Tilly). The first new dredge to commence operations this year is that, owned by the Sioux Alaska Mining Company, and* is located at Otter Creek. some eight miles from Nome. Yi liile dredges are being installed in various places. Solomon river. 40 miles to the east of Xome, is attracting most attention. Along this river three large dredges are already in operation, audit is expected that three move will be in operation before the open season is ended. Solomon is a proved field so far as ils availability for dredging is concerned. The three machines, notv opera tin? have paid largo dividends on the. investment, i The Silverton-.Tohnson dredge is a small two-font bucket line affair operated by easolene engines. It is said that the owners bought it secondhand and instal- , led new engines and a bu.-ket lino at a | of 9WO.W. The last vear it oper- . ated it. cleared 12.01111d01. ' a'love run- . nin-.' expenses. List year ils owners _ I'-id the advantage of a full season, and . tliev took out Mifficient nionev to l.uv j a liu'in 1 number of minim;- claims and a _ new Risdon dredge, which cost M.'jJKMMoi. ( Hiree dredge- are being installed in (lie _ * onncil district, and one is being taken . to the Casn-de-IVo. where .it will be j placed in operation -liorilv. Two big ~ '-.--dges are grinding away at Xome. and I although some difficulty has been encountered because of the presence of h frost in the ground, the clean-up has s been as good as could be expected under e the circumstances. All things considered, n lo °ks as though a new era of mining s has arrived in Seware Peninsula, The . heavy - muscular miner, with pick e and .shovej, is gradually being relegated e to the unexplored places,,'and the days