Palmer Project companies ask the state to extend their exploration approval to 2033

Two companies have asked the state for five more years to carry out exploration work it approved last year at the Palmer Project, a copper and zinc prospect near Haines. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is taking public comment until Nov. 6.

Constantine Mining and Constantine North, the companies named on the approval, want it to run through 2033 instead of expiring at the end of 2028, according to DNR's public notice. The extension covers work on 16 state mining claims near Glacier Creek. "Constantine is not pursuing any additional authorization of activities as part of this request, simply an extension of the time allowed," the companies' request says. DNR says its review is limited to whether to grant the extension and doesn't cover the Palmer Project as a whole.

The work DNR approved in January 2025 includes drilling, groundwater monitoring, test pits and seismic studies on state mining claims in the Haines State Forest. It's meant to study ground and groundwater conditions at two sites "for potential future mine infrastructure," and the companies proposed a footprint of about 6 acres.

Palmer has been a flashpoint in the Chilkat Valley for years, Alaska News reported in July. Vizsla Copper, which took over the project in 2025, is advancing it as a domestic source of critical minerals, and Gov. Mike Dunleavy called it a strategically important exploration asset in a January letter of support. Many people who live in the valley worry a future mine could harm the Chilkat River's salmon, and the Tlingit village of Klukwan is among the project's most vocal opponents. Separately, the Alaska Mental Health Trust Land Office extended Vizsla's Palmer lease through 2033 in February.

The original application drew 158 comment letters totaling more than 2,100 pages. Klukwan's tribal government, the Chilkat Indian Village, asked DNR to schedule "at least one Tribal consultation on a Government-to-Government basis" before approving any of the work. DNR replied that the permitting process doesn't provide for separate government-to-government consultation beyond the public comment period and that no law requires it.