The mill constructed at the Alaska-Juneau Gold Mine on Mt. Roberts from 1915-1917 was similar the 50-stamp mill constructed on Gastineau Channel in 1913-14. The A-J mill used ball mills to grind the ore, rather than the tube mills. The ball mills, designed for processing softer ore, resulted in a reduced capacity for the A-J mill, from a projected 8,000 tons/day to 1200. Even though the mill was remodeled, capacity remained below expectations and operated fourteen years without profit (except for a small one in 1924) until recovering in 1928. At its peak in the late 1930's, the mill operated 363 days per year and employed 1,000 men. The Alaska Juneau Mine closed in 1944 in support of the war effort and was sold to Alaska Electric Light & Power. [From: Hard Rock Gold, David and Brenda Stone, 1980.]

Richard Walter Roell was born in Everson, Washington, on May 27, 1890. He arrived in the Idaho Inlet, Alaska, area in 1913. Mr. Roell moved to Juneau, Alaska, around 1915. He worked at the Alaska-Juneau Gold Mine as an electrician. Richard later moved to Kennicott and then to Nome in 1926. While in Nome he worked as a master mechanic for the U.S. Smelting Co. In 1955 Mr. Roell retired from the U.S. Smelting Co. after 30 years of service. He then moved back to the states with his wife, Grace. On February 19, 1980, Richard Roell passed away in Seattle.