Resources tagged with "Alaska"
Issues tagged Alaska
AJ Gold Mine: SummaryThe Alaska Juneau (AJ) mine operated from 1917 to 1944, producing 90 million tons of gold-bearing ore, and was one of the largest mines in the world at the time. Currently, the City and Borough of Juneau controls the land, ... [read-more]
Alaska Coal History: Coal was first discovered in Alaska by an English trader in 1786. The deposit was located at Coal Cove, near Port Graham Bay on the Kenai Peninsula. The Russian-American Company began mining at this site almost 70 years later in ... [read-more]
Alaska Coal Proposals Overview: Regions Arctic Cook Inlet Central Alaska Matanuska Susitna Valley Other Regions Abandoned Projects (This is a summary of all coal-related projects and proposals in Alaska, kept up to date as possible. For references and more detail, check out the individual ... [read-more]
Beatson Copper Mine: Beatson Mine Mine debris at Beatson Mine GET PHOTO SummaryThe Beatson copper mine in Prince William Sound produced over 182 million pounds of copper from 1904-1930. The mine site has an ongoing problem with acid mine drainage and is responsible ... [read-more]
Beluga Coal-to-Liquids (CTL): PacRim Coal is pursuing a possible coal mine in large deposits on the Chuitna River near Cook Inlet and this could supply coal to a coal-to-liquids (CTL) facility in nearby Beluga. This facility has been suggested as an 80,000 barrels ... [read-more]
Bering River Coal Field: Background Kushtaka Lake An aerial view of Kushtaka Lake, looking out over the Bering River Delta GET PHOTO The Bering River Coal Field is a bituminous coal field, located near Bering Glacier, between Icy Bay and the mouth of the ... [read-more]
Bethel Coal Plant: The 100-MW Bethel Power Plant was proposed as a collaboration between the Calista, an Alaska Native Corporation, and the gold-mining company NovaGold Resources Inc. The plant was to have powered the proposed Donlin Creek Gold Mine, as well as Bethel ... [read-more]
Bokan Mountain Uranium and Rare Earth Deposits: SummaryThe Ross Adams mine is a historical uranium mine in southeast Alaska, currently being investigated for reclamation by its most recent operator, Newmont Mining Corporation. The site has problems with high levels of radiation from uranium and radon gas present ... [read-more]
Bristol Bay Fisheries: SummaryBristol Bay hosts the largest sockeye salmon fishery in the world, as well as several other important commercial fisheries, sport fishing, and subsistence harvesting. The quality of life in the region is closely tied to the health of the fisheries, ... [read-more]
Chickaloon Coal Leases: Plans for developing the Chickaloon Coal Field in the Matanuska Valley were previously abandoned in 2007, but were resurrected in 2011 when the Alaskan Mental Health Trust Authority (AMHTA) offered up 10,000 acres of coal leases. The Matanuska Valley has ... [read-more]
Chuitna Coal Mine Prospect: A journey to Chuitna ...We began with a mission to look for coal. And we found a little. But as soon as we stepped away from the scattered coal boulders in the Chuitna River, it disappeared – hidden deep beneath ... [read-more]
Chukchi Sea Oil and Gas Development: SummaryOffshore drilling for oil and gas in Alaska's Chukchi Sea has both great economic potential and a significant risk of adverse environmental impact. Storm battered Chukchi coast Hard wind drives waves against cliffs on the Chukchi Sea. GET PHOTO The ... [read-more]
Coal Fires: Coal Seam Fires: Coal can burn unchecked, while still in the ground. FULL FIGURE Because coal is so readily combustible, it is possible for coal deposits to catch fire while still in the ground. These coal seam fires are a ... [read-more]
Coal Power in Alaska: Your browser does not support iframes. Coal Power in Alaska Existing and proposed coal-fired power plants in Alaska. Less than 10% of Alaska's electricity comes from coal. Most is from gas, hydro, and oil. There are six small coal-fired power ... [read-more]
Coalbed Methane: SummaryCoalbed methane (also called coal mine methane) refers to methane gas that is trapped within minuscule fractures in coal seams. Once viewed solely as a hazard of coal mining, this gas has received recent attention for its use as an ... [read-more]
Council Gold Prospect: BackgroundThe Council Gold Prospect is an early-stage exploration project located on the Seward Peninsula within the Council Mining District, an area that historically produced a significant amount of placer gold. Exploration in the area is focused on located the bedrock ... [read-more]
Donlin Gold Project: SummaryThe Donlin Gold project is a proposed gold mine located in southwest Alaska. This prospect is expected to produce around 1.5 million ounces of gold per year, and has an estimated resource base of around 34 million ounces (almost $58 ... [read-more]
Emma Creek Coal Energy: Coal along Emma Creek Soft sandstone bluffs striped with jet-black coal alongside Emma Creek GET PHOTO The Emma Creek Energy Project was a proposal for a large coal-fired power plant that still remains in the conception process. This 200 megawatt ... [read-more]
Eva Creek Wind: SummaryThe Eva Creek Wind Project is a 24 MW (megawatt) wind farm to be constructed near Healy AK by Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA). Construction is expected to begin in May 2012, with startup of commercial operations planned for Fall ... [read-more]
Exporting Alaska's Coal: Currently over a million tons of coal is exported from Alaska to the Pacific Rim by Usibelli Coal Mine Inc. This accounts for around half of the coal mined by Usibelli, with the rest being consumed in the state. While ... [read-more]
Fairbanks Coal-to-Liquids (CTL): BackgroundThe Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation (FEDC) has recently proposed a 20,000-40,000 barrels per day combined biomass and coal-to-liquids (CTL) plant to provide jet fuel to nearby military bases (primarily Eielson Air Force Base). The FEDC has commissioned a $550,000 study ... [read-more]
Fire Island Wind: SummaryThe first phase of the Fire Island Wind project, which might start operating in 2012, would provide up to 17.6 MW of electricity to the Chugach Electric utility in Anchorage. The cost of this project is expected to be partially ... [read-more]
Fort Knox Gold Mine: SummaryThe Fort Knox Mine, a large gold mine in Interior Alaska, produces around 370,000 ounces of gold per year. This mine is a significant producer of mining waste in Alaska, but has had fewer environmental problems than many other large ... [read-more]
Glacier Retreat in Alaska: Glacier Retreat in Alaska The Dead and the Dying - through the glaciers of Tutka Valley READ ARTICLE Last winter's meager snowfall was followed by volcanic ash, then a warm sunny spring, melting the mountains back to bare ice and ... [read-more]
Gold Mining Methods: There are strange things done in the midnight sun By the men who moil for gold... -Robert Service (1907) SummaryHistorically, the majority of gold was mined from "placer deposits", where gold has settled out of an existing or ancient waterway ... [read-more]
Goodnews Bay Platinum: SummaryPlacer mining for platinum has taken place intermittently in the area near Goodnews Bay in southwest Alaska since 1927. Today, a company called XS Platinum Limited is re-processing the tailings left behind by past operations, using earthmoving equipment and modern ... [read-more]
Greens Creek Silver Mine: SummaryGreens Creek is a large, underground silver mine located in Southeast Alaska, which also produces smaller amounts of gold, lead, and zinc. The mine is the 5th largest silver producer in the world, and the largest in the US. The ... [read-more]
Healy Coal-to-Liquids (CTL): Energy frontier The site of the proposed Emma Creek Power Energy Project and Healy CTL project. GET PHOTO In 2007 a feasibility study(3.6 Mb) was completed regarding a proposed 14,600 barrel (around 7300 tons of coal) per day coal-to-liquids (CTL) ... [read-more]
Herring Fishery in Alaska: SummaryHerring have been historically harvested in Alaska for food, oil, bait and now sac roe (eggs). In addition to their commercial importance, herring act as a critical bridge between primary producers and the larger animals in the food web. Herring ... [read-more]
Illinois Creek Gold Mine: SummaryThe Illinois Creek Mine gold and silver mine in west central Alaska operated briefly in 1997, but the mining company went bankrupt in 1998. The state of Alaska took control of the mine in 1999 and soon after initiated a ... [read-more]
Johnson River Prospect: Summary High Camp Camping in Lake Clark National Park GET PHOTO The Johnson River Prospect is a high grade copper-silver-lead-zinc-gold deposit within Lake Clark National Park, in southwestern Alaska. The Cook Inlet Regional Corporation (CIRI), an Alaska Native-owned for-profit company ... [read-more]
Jonesville Coal Mine: Background Mine-water settling pond Two ponds alternate in the role of settling sediment carried by a stream coming out of the old Evan Jones coal mine. GET PHOTO The Evans Jones Coal Mine operated between 1920 and 1968 in Sutton, ... [read-more]
Kenai Blue Sky Coal Power: The Kenai Blue Sky Coal Plant was a proposed $1.5-2 billion integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) plant proposed by Agrium Inc. to be located near their existing Kenai fertilizer plant in Cook Inlet, AK. The plant was to provide both power ... [read-more]
Kennecott Copper Mine: SummaryThe Kennecott Copper Mine, for a time the largest copper mine in the world, operated from 1911 to 1938 in what is now Wrangell St. Elias National Park. The mine produced a total of around 4.6 million tons of ore, ... [read-more]
Kensington Gold Mine: SummaryThe Kensington Gold Mine, a mid-sized underground mining project in southeast Alaska began production during the summer of 2010. The mining prospect had been under study for many years, but fluctuations in gold prices and litigation questioning the disposal of ... [read-more]
Keystone Center Dialogue on Pebble Mine: (Author's Note: Because relatively little information about the Keystone Center dialogue is available online, parts of this article are based on our interviews with people involved, including the Keystone Center itself and an independent science panel expert) Pebble Prospect Drilling ... [read-more]
Lik Zinc Prospect: Summary Lik Prospect Aerial photo of the Lik Prospect GET PHOTO The Lik prospect, in northwest Alaska, is under exploration as a possible zinc/lead/silver mine by a small Canadian company called Zazu Metals Corporation, in collaboration with Teck Resources Limited. ... [read-more]
Livengood Gold Prospect: SummaryThe Livengood Project is located on a large gold resource located along the Trans Alaska Pipeline, about 70 miles north of Fairbanks. Talon Gold Alaska Inc. (a subsidiary of Canadian-based International Tower Hill Mines) is exploring the deposit, focusing on ... [read-more]
Matanuska Coal Plant: Matanuska Electric Association (MEA) began working on a proposal for a 100-megawatt circulating fluid bed coal plant to be located south of Palmer, AK and supplied with coal from Usibelli Coal Mine Inc. From the start, this was strongly opposed ... [read-more]
Mine Tailings: Basic Mining Terminology: An overview of basic mining terms and where various components of a mineral deposit end up. FULL FIGURE TerminologyMine tailings are materials left over after extraction of valuable minerals from ore. They are distinct from “waste rock” ... [read-more]
Mining Claims Near Pebble: Open tundra Vast plains of tundra with scattered trees and bushes dominate the area surrounding the Pebble Prospect. GET PHOTO BackgroundThe controversial Pebble Mine prospect has provoked a large amount of press within Alaska due to its size, profit ... [read-more]
Mining Taxes and Revenue in Alaska: SummaryAlaska's mineral industry was worth almost $3 billion in 2009, but paid less than 2% to state and local governments, counting all forms of taxes, fees, and royalties. Taxes on other industries are much higher: the oil and gas industry ... [read-more]
Mt. Spurr Geothermal: SummaryThe proposed Mt. Spurr geothermal project, located about 75 miles west of Anchorage, has the potential to produce 50-100 MW of electricity annually. Exploration is currently underway to determine if the resource is commercially viable. If indications prove favorable, the ... [read-more]
Nanushuk Coal Prospect: Nanushuk coal Coal seams outcrop on the Kukpowruk River GET PHOTO SummaryIn 2010, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) began working on approval for preliminary coal prospecting permits within the Nanushuk Group north of the Brooks Range. Covering 116,000 ... [read-more]
Natural Gas in Cook Inlet: datamooseCallbacks_oggz1qekhQb7.push(function(datamooseIframe){ $("#DatamooseDescriptionWrapper-data-output-embed-131-oggz1qekhQb7").css('display','block') $("#DatamooseDescriptionWrapper-data-output-embed-131-oggz1qekhQb7").width(datamooseIframe.style.width) }); Cook Inlet Natural Gas Production and Export: Production and Exports of Natural Gas in Cook Inlet (1958-2010) FULL FIGURE SummaryThe natural gas produced in Cook Inlet is the primary source of energy and heat for the ... [read-more]
Niblack Gold Prospect: SummaryThe Niblack Project is a copper-zinc-gold-silver deposit located on Prince of Wales Island, about 30 miles southwest of Ketchikan. The current "indicated resource" consists of 2.6 million tons of ore, composed of 1.18% copper, 2.19% zinc 2.33 g/t gold, and ... [read-more]
Nixon Fork Gold Mine: SummaryNixon Fork is a small, previously developed, gold and copper mine in Interior Alaska, which re-opened in July 2011. Operators hope to produce another 100,000-150,000 ounces of gold over the course of 3-5 years, and have also begun exploration that ... [read-more]
Non-Renewable Energy in Alaska: Alaska is famous for oil, which funds much of the state government. Natural gas powers most of the state. Less well known are Alaska's vast coal reserves - largely undeveloped. Other potential non-renewable sources include methane gas hydrates and nuclear ... [read-more]
Peak Coal: Closely tied to the issue of coal resources and reserves is the idea of "peak coal" which is the analog to the well-studied and often debated "peak oil" concept. Peak coal is the point at which coal production reaches a ... [read-more]
Pebble Mine (Copper/Gold Prospect): Outline Summary Location Preliminary Mine Plans Environmental Concerns Mining Waste Storage Possible Cyanide Use Impact on Fisheries Footprint of the Mine Opposition How Much Metal? Employment and Economics Latest News Further Reading Summary If built, the proposed Pebble Mine would ... [read-more]
Pogo Gold Mine: Pogo Mine aerial view Aerial view of the Pogo Mine source: Northern Alaska Environmental Center (2004). Copyright held by photographer. SummaryThe Pogo Mine is a large gold mine located in Interior Alaska, which produces around 400,000 ounces of gold per year. ... [read-more]
Powering Large Mines in Alaska: Power in AK Electrical intertie near Healy, AK GET PHOTO BackgroundMines are both large consumers of power, and a driving force for new capacity, generated from fossil fuels, as well as potentially from renewable resources. Metal mines often need an extraordinary ... [read-more]
Project Chariot: No harbor here Project Charriot would have created an industrial harbor here by detonating underground nuclear bombs. GET PHOTO In the late 1950s, the US Atomic Energy Commission initiated a plan called "Operation Plowshare", which sought to find peaceful uses ... [read-more]
Queen Chrome/Red Mountain Mine: Summary Mine shaft Until prices tanked in the 1950s, Chrome was mined here. GET PHOTO The Queen Chrome Mine (often called "Red Mountain Mine") operated on Red Mountain near the town of Seldovia from 1942-1944 and again from 1952-1957. The ... [read-more]
Red Devil Mercury Mine: BackgroundThe Red Devil Mine extracted cinnabar that was processed into mercury on-site sporadically from 1933 to 1971. It was located in southwestern Alaska near the site of the proposed Donlin Creek Mine. It produced a total of 2.7 million pounds ... [read-more]
Red Dog Mine: Outline Summary History and Geology Mining Techniques and Waste Disposal Aqqaluk Project Employment and Revenue Sharing Environmental Concerns Latest News Summary The Red Dog Mine is a zinc and lead mine in northern Alaska, located about 80 miles north of ... [read-more]
Rock Creek Gold Mine: SummaryThe Rock Creek Gold mine operated near Nome in Western Alaska for only two months in 2008 before shutting down due to a combination of mechanical, environmental, and financing issues. Your browser does not support iframes. Rock Creek Gold Mine ... [read-more]
Salmon: (Author's Note: This article was written in 2007 by Erin McKittrick as part of our preparation for the Journey on the Wild Coast. For up to date and more neutral articles on a variety of natural resource issues in Alaska ... [read-more]
Salt Chuck Mine: SummaryThe Salt Chuck Mine operated as copper-palladium-gold-silver mine from around 1916 to 1941. Located on Prince of Wales Island in southeast Alaska, the site has a significant problem with acid mine drainage and is on the EPA National Superfund priority ... [read-more]
Seward Coal Terminal: The Seward Coal Loading Facility, referred to as the Seward Coal Terminal, was built in 1984 to provide for the export of coal from Usibelli Coal Mine Inc. The facility consists of a railroad spur, a variety of coal storage ... [read-more]
Subsistence: SummaryThe subsistence harvest of wild resources is important to the livelihood and culture of many Alaskans, both Native and non-Native. Subsistence harvests of fish and game represent a significant portion of the diet in rural Alaska, and are managed with ... [read-more]
Susitna Hydro: SummaryThe proposed Susitna hydro project is a 600 MW facility to be constructed about halfway between Fairbanks and Anchorage on the Susitna River. The total cost of the project is currently estimated at $4.5 billion, not including an additional $900 ... [read-more]
Tangle Lakes/MAN Prospect: Summary Tangle Lakes Area A river in the Tangle Lakes Area source: Northern Alaska Environmental Center (2007). Copyright held by photographer. The MAN project (also known as the Tangle Lakes project) is a large collection of nickel-copper-platinum mining leases spread over ... [read-more]
Upper Kobuk Mineral Project (formerly "Ambler Prospect"): SummaryThe Upper Kobuk Mineral Project seeks to develop a large and remote copper/zinc/gold/silver deposits in the northwestern Arctic. The project is focused on two areas, the Bornite deposit and the Arctic deposit. The Arctic metal sulfide deposit includes an estimated ... [read-more]
Usibelli Coal Mines: Circling Usibelli On a map of Alaska, my eyes are drawn to the glaciers and fjords, coastlines, and dramatic topography. The only thing that stood out about Usibelli was the coal mines. Coal mines? This was a trek to look ... [read-more]
Water Management at Pebble Mine: (Author's Note: Much of the information about hydrology and water quality at the Pebble Mine site is based on publicly available data, released by PLP. In deference to their "do not cite or quote" policy, we have simply listed the ... [read-more]
Whistler Gold/Silver/Copper Prospect: SummaryThe Whistler gold/silver/copper prospect is located on the Skwentna River, about 100 miles northwest of Anchorage. The current official resource estimate (a sum of the indicated plus inferred resource) is around 3 million ounces of gold, 13 million ounces of ... [read-more]
Wishbone Hill Coal Mine: BackgroundThe Wishbone Hill Mine is a proposed mine site in the Matanuska Valley approximately 5 miles west of downtown Sutton, AK. The site is on the border of the Sutton/Alpine and Buffalo/Soapstone Community Council boundaries and is less than a ... [read-more]
Yakutat Forelands Prospects: (In early 2011 these claims were all forfeited and the land is once again owned by the BLM. No further exploration is taking place at either of these prospects)SummarySoutheast of Yakutat, AK, two adjacent blocks of mining claims were under ... [read-more]
Alaska Fisheries: Fisheries Articles Bristol Bay Fisheries Herring Fishery in Alaska Salmon in the Pacific Northwest (Under Development... Check back later for more articles) Subsistence, commercial, and sport fishing are integral to life in Alaska. Fishing brings tourists and visitors to Alaska, ... [read-more]
Alaska Metals Mining: Background on Mining Acid Mine Drainage Gold Cyanidation Gold Mining Methods Mine Tailings Mining Taxes and Revenue in AK Perpetual Waste Storage Powering Large Mines in AK Rare Earth Elements (REEs) Active Mines in Alaska Fort Knox Gold Mine Greens ... [read-more]
Alaska Oil and Gas: Oil and Gas Articles Chukchi Sea Oil and Gas Development Coalbed Methane Exxon Valdez Oil SpillNatural Gas in Cook Inlet Northern Gateway Pipeline Project (Canada) Oil Degradation in the Sea (Under Development... Check back later for more articles) The ... [read-more]
Climate Change in Alaska: ArticlesClimate Change on the Northern Pacific CoastGlacier Retreat in AlaskaOcean AcidificationThe History and Fate of Fountain StreamEssaysAs the Beaches Wash Away - Global Warming and Coastal ErosionRelated JourneysLife on IceChukchi Sea at Toddler SpeedThe Dead and the Dying Since the ... [read-more]
Forestry: Forestry Articles Temperate Rainforests of the Northern Pacific Coast (Under Development... Check back later for more articles) Journey on the Wild Coast Looking up into the trees GET PHOTO Alaska includes over 126 million acres of forests. Fire-dependant sub-arctic ... [read-more]
Other Issues: The primary goal of our Alaska's Wild Resource Web is to provide accurate, up-to-date information on natural resource issues, with a particular focus on Alaska. Currently we have sections with detailed articles on Coal and Metals Mining. We are currently ... [read-more]
Journeys tagged Alaska
Planned Alaska route: Author's Note (2010): This article was researched and written in 2007 as part of the preparation for our year-long Journey on the Wild Coast. This map outlines a portion of our proposed route (which we more-or-less followed) and the text ... [read-more]
Alaska Coal Country: 2010 has been our year of coal. Through winter and spring, we wrote articles full of esoteric details on all the coal projects and prospects in Alaska. Alaska might have as much as 10% of the world's coal - most ... [read-more]
Circling the Sound: This essay was written by Bjorn Olson and Kim McNett describing their circumnavigation of Prince William Sound in the summer of 2010Background In the summer of 2010, Kim and I attempted a circumnavigation of Prince William Sound in our ... [read-more]
Close Encounter with a Grizzly Bear: An essay by Mike Borden “What followed was utter disbelief. We stood there wide eyed as we each processed what had just happened.” Exhausted and relieved, we pulled our kayaks ashore. Over the better part of the last two days, ... [read-more]
Life On Ice: Sept. 15 2011 to Nov. 15 2011 - The edge of Malaspina Glacier Pull a load over the gravel-strewn ice in a packraft-unicycle-cart. Sing the 700th verse of Old MacDonald to the toddler on my back. Photograph the sunrise on ... [read-more]
Where the heck is Donlin?: (This journey was undertaken by Bjorn Olson and Kim McNett, with the support of Ground Truth Trekking in Winter and Spring 2011. See the movie page for the status of the documentary)StatusCompleted in June 2011, with a documentary still to ... [read-more]
Photos tagged Alaska
