The exploration and development of Alaska's mineral resources have fluctuated greatly from "rushes" of activity to virtual extinction. The first attempt to mine gold in Alaska began in 1848, and by 1882 several lode mines were in production. By 1906 ten copper mines were operating in southeastern Alaska, and copper and gold have accounted for about 95 percent of all of Alaskan metallic mineral production.

During World War I, production of all metals began to decline and reached a low during the period of 1929-1933. The world-wide depression and the reevaluation to $35 per oz in 1934 heralded a new upswing in gold production which reached an all-time high in 1940. The depletion of copper reserves and again the exigencies of another war virtually closed down metal mining in Alaska by 1944. However, military construction during and after World War II, and the discovery of oil in Cook Inlet in 1957 brought two new leaders to the minerals industry--sand and gravel, and petroleum.

Of the approximately $85 million total mineral production in Alaska in 1966 petroleum accounts for more than $50 million, sand and gravel about $21 million, coal about $6 million, and gold slightly more than $1 million.

Now a new government activity, the Heavy Metals Program, aimed principally at stimulating the production of gold and certain other critical metals appears to be ushering in a new period of interest in metallic resources. This interest is influenced strongly by continuing prospecting and discovery in nearby parts of Canada and by the mineral requirements of Japanese industry.

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