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A Racial Test for Mining?

A Racial Test for Mining?

Here’s a fun thought on the heels of news that CIRI is dusting off a gold claim in Lake Clark National Park and thinking about mining it.  Have we established a racial test for new mines here in Alaska?

First example.  ADN ran an article on an agreement between CIRI and Constantine Metal Resources to lease a gold prospect across Cook Inlet from Ninilchik.  Gold was first discovered there in 1982 with perhaps 90 holes drilled as part of the exploration.  There has been no activity there since the late 1990s.  The prospect is on native land in Lake Clark National Park and its watershed empties into salmon-rich Cook Inlet.  https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2018/06/22/in-deal-with-ciri-company-plans-to-pursue-mineral-exploration-in-lake-clark-national-park/

A Racial Test for Mining?

Green response was to promise to watch the project closely.

Second example.  Donlin Creek is a gold mine the next watershed to the west from Pebble.  It is sailing through permitting with little green or native opposition.  A pair of native corporations own and will operate the mine.  It is on native land.  http://kyuk.org/post/donlin-gold-advances-permit-process

There has been little Green opposition to Donlin Creek.  Crickets.

Final example is Pebble.  Like the other two, this is a gold mine, thought a large one on state land owned and to be operated by a private corporation, though the Pebble Partnership did break the code and sign an agreement with an Arctic Slope subsidiary to develop it.

Green opposition along with regional native corporation opposition to Pebble has been little short of nuclear winter.  Local village corporations have been supportive due to the new jobs Pebble will bring to the region.  BBNC has been strongly in opposition, likely due to Pebble competing with BBNC mining activity on the Alaska Peninsula.

Similarities to these mines?

All are targeting essentially the same stuff:  gold.  Pebble will also go after copper and other rare earth metals that may be available in small quantities.

All mines are connected at some level to salmon supporting watersheds.  Y-K for Donlin Creek, Bristol Bay for Pebble, and Cook Inlet for CIRI.  Yet the only organized opposition has been aimed at Pebble.

We are at the point where both democrat candidates for governor this time around, Mark Begich and Bill Walker (yeah I know Walker is not running as a democrat, but is has surrounded himself with democrats, making him a DINO) are in strong opposition to Pebble.  Begich echoed the sadly departed Ted Stevens from over a decade ago, skeptical about Pebble.  Walker most recently called for a halt to Army Corps of Engineer environmental impact statement and related permitting work on Pebble with the excuse that we simply didn’t know enough yet to proceed.

Note to Bill:  We do permitting to answer all those questions.

Differences between the mines?

Pebble is an order of magnitude larger than Donlin and CIRI’s proposed mine, though that size shrunk with the latest iteration of its mining plan.

Pebble is the only one of the three on state land.  Kuskokwim and Calista own the land on and under Donlin Creek.  CIRI owns the land for their proposed gold mine in Lake Clark National Park.

Native regional corporations are the owners (at some level) of Donlin and CIRI gold mine.  Pebble is privately held.

Finally, greens and the local regional native corporation (Bristol Bay Native Corporation – BBNC) have vociferously opposed Pebble.  They have been all but silent on Donlin and CIRI.

Conclusion?  Perhaps we have (inadvertently or intentionally) established a racial test for mining here in Alaska, with mines on native lands owned and operated by native corporations triggering little if any green or democrat opposition.  I may be confused, but this sure does look like a racial test to me, and I thought those sorts of things were supposed to be Bad Things.

Now, I wish all three mines well.  I hope they are successful, make a lot of money, and employ a lot of Alaskans.  And I expect they all figure out how to live with and grow local salmon runs.

Final wish is that we get out of the race business, as it is bad for business, bad for the body politic, and absolutely poisonous to our ability as Alaskans to get along with and support our neighbors in different parts of the state.  We would do well to get rid of this particular test before it does real damage.

 

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He is a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

 

A Racial Test for Mining?

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