Mining
RSSMining in Alaska is the extraction of gold, zinc, coal, gravel and other minerals across the state. It includes major mines such as Pebble, Donlin Gold, Red Dog, Kensington and Fort Knox, plus placer and gravel operations, and the permits, land use and water quality reviews that govern them.
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Week of Sep 21
Federal environmental review begins for the Arctic copper mine near Kobuk
The Army Corps is starting its environmental review of the Arctic copper mine near Kobuk, with a final decision targeted for September 2028.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Week of Sep 14
BLM bought snowmobiles to get to Alaska's abandoned gold mines
BLM bought a UTV, an ATV and snowmobiles from a Delta Junction dealer this month to reach Alaska's abandoned gold mines. There are a lot of them.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Mat-Su asks AIDEA to build at Point MacKenzie, not on 20,000 acres near Houston
The state proposed giving AIDEA 885 acres at Port MacKenzie for free, one day after the borough voted to send AIDEA there instead of Houston.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min read
BBNC seeks permanent Bristol Bay protections as Alaska challenges EPA's Pebble restrictions
BBNC wants Congress to protect Bristol Bay permanently as Alaska challenges the EPA's narrower Pebble restrictions in a consolidated federal case.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
AIDEA will discuss the Ambler road in Kotzebue, with the public out
AIDEA's board will talk about the Ambler road in Kotzebue next week, behind closed doors. The public portion covers meeting dates and a conference.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read
The program mapping Alaska's subsurface runs out at the end of the year
The federal program that nearly doubled Alaska's public geologic data expires this year. The bill to extend it is one of 25 in a committee with no vote set.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Judge upholds federal permit for mining access inside Lake Clark National Park
A judge upheld the permit for a road, airstrip and tunnel inside Lake Clark park. The test was whether the Corps was arbitrary, not whether it was right.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
The federal stake in Trilogy Metals closes, terms made public
The federal government now owns about a tenth of Trilogy Metals, developer of Alaska's Ambler district, and the terms of the $35.6 million deal are now public.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom 
More from Mining
Week of Sep 7
Wasilla's parks commission backs a ball field expansion with no money behind it
Wasilla's parks commission endorsed a softball field expansion with no money behind it. The commissioner who moved to support it represents the softball league.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Comment closes Oct. 12 on a plan to dig antimony 80 miles from Trapper Creek and refine it at Port MacKenzie
Alaska is taking comment until Oct. 12 on permits for the Estelle gold and antimony project, whose applicant is a Nova Minerals subsidiary that won $43.4 million in federal defense funding to make military-grade antimony trisulfide.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
An antimony project's construction schedule began before comment opened
Construction schedules for an antimony mine and refinery began back in June. The state opened comment on whether to approve the work on Friday.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read
A Fox placer miner asked to move Treasure Creek. The state's public notice says equipment and an operator.
A miner near Fox wants to move part of Treasure Creek, but the state's public notice describes the request in eight words and never mentions the creek.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom 
Week of Aug 31
Antimony plant equipment lands at Port MacKenzie before its air permit clears
Nearly 500 tons of gear has landed at Port MacKenzie for a plant to produce antimony, a defense mineral the U.S. lacks — but its air permit isn't approved.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min readFrom 
Tunneling into an old Alaska gold mine turned up veins nobody had mapped
Crews tunneling into a historic gold mine north of Anchorage hit two veins that were not on the company's map. One sample ran 12 ounces to the tonne.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom 
Hilcorp says the North Slope is running short of gravel and wants a new mine
Hilcorp is seeking state approval for a 64-acre gravel mine seven miles northwest of Deadhorse, with public comment due Sept. 28, as the company's existing North Slope gravel sources run low.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom 
Graphite Creek permit decision pushed to September 2027
The Army Corps of Engineers delayed the Graphite Creek mine permit to September 2027 and upgraded the review to a full environmental impact statement.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Coming up
Interior Department and Marine Minerals Administration Meeting with Nome
Nome, Alaska
Meeting
Request for Reconsideration Deadline: Copper River Basin Area Plan Adoption
Public notice
Hearing Request Deadline for Two Bull Ridge Mine Permit S-0603 Renewal
Public notice
DNR Antimony Mining Permit Appeal Deadline
Public notice
Gold Run Pass Mine Permit Renewal – Public Comment Deadline
Public notice
About Mining
Mining in Alaska is the extraction of gold, zinc, copper, coal, gravel and other minerals across the state. It takes in large mines such as Red Dog, Fort Knox, Kensington and Pogo, deposits such as Pebble, Donlin Gold, Graphite Creek and the Arctic copper prospect near Kobuk, and small placer and gravel operations.
Mines need state and federal permits for wetland fill, water discharges, reclamation bonds and land use, and many of those permits open for public comment or court challenge. Recurring questions include the Ambler mining road, gravel sales along the Dalton Highway, critical minerals such as antimony and graphite, and the effect of mining on salmon rivers.
Tribes and local residents, from the Nome area to the Chilkat Valley near Haines, often weigh in on mining proposals. AIDEA, the Department of Natural Resources and the Army Corps of Engineers are among the public bodies whose decisions shape the industry.
More from Mining
Red Dog is one approval away from a new corporate owner
Teck Resources, owner of the Red Dog zinc mine near Kivalina, awaits one final regulatory approval before its merger with Anglo American closes, likely between September 2026 and March 2027.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Washington bought into Ambler. The payoff depends on the road being built
The federal government will own about 10 percent of Trilogy Metals, but cannot cash in most of its stake until the Ambler road is built.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago4 min readFrom 
A barge of secondhand equipment is bringing a military antimony refinery to Port MacKenzie
A barge of secondhand refining gear is headed for Port MacKenzie to start a $43.4 million military project for a metal the US stopped mining in the 1990s.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago3 min read
Week of Aug 24
AIDEA commits $25 million to drill under the West Susitna road
AIDEA committed up to $25 million to drill under a road with no buildable design yet, and its resolution names the three resource projects it would serve.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A placer mine near Ruby would work 35 acres of creek for a decade
A placer gold mine near Ruby would work about 35 acres of creek bottom for a decade. Comment on the water quality certification closes Sept. 24.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
State moves to sell a second contractor gravel from one Dalton Highway pit
Alaska is preparing to sell Cruz Construction 7,500 cubic yards of gravel from a Dalton Highway pit it offered another company in July.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Week of Aug 17
NovaGold moves to consolidate the Donlin gold project, a potential next Red Dog for Alaska Native corporations
NovaGold has agreed to consolidate Donlin, a potential next Red Dog for Alaska Native corporations, though tribes oppose it and financing remains unresolved.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago4 min read
Alaska's development authority again takes ANWR and Ambler to closed session
Alaska's development authority will again discuss two divisive projects — ANWR oil drilling and the Ambler mining road — in closed session this week.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read
A cable across the Koyukuk, a camp for a mining crew, and no named mine
A Wasilla man wants to hang a 25,000-pound cable across the Koyukuk and camp a mining crew beside it. The state's form never asks which mine.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A company wants to rework historic Interior goldfields, mining two creeks for a decade
A company wants to mine gold for a decade from two creeks in Alaska's historic Ruby goldfields, first struck in 1911, disturbing about 35 acres of streambed.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Auke Bay quarry wins bigger blasts and Saturday hours through 2036
An Auke Bay rock quarry can now blast 60 percent bigger, start earlier and work Saturdays, through 2036. No residents showed up to the hearing.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Ambler district copper mine nears its first public comment period
A copper mine proposed 22 miles from Kobuk is moving through federal permitting. Residents could get their first chance to comment as soon as September.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago3 min read
The fate of the EPA veto blocking Pebble Mine is now in a federal judge's hands
A federal judge is deciding whether the EPA veto blocking Pebble Mine survives, a fight over Bristol Bay salmon with Alaska Native parties on both sides.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
The state gave Red Dog another decade of eased water limits as the mine looks to run longer
Alaska extended Red Dog's wastewater permit 10 years, to 2036, past the mine's own expected ore life, citing thawing permafrost with no available remedy.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
A family gold operation wants four more seasons on Cache Creek, mined since the early 1900s
A family gold operation wants to work Cache Creek near Petersville for four more seasons, on ground mined by family outfits since the early 1900s.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Federal charter keeps water sampling going on the Unuk, downstream of three British Columbia mines
A $15,510 charter keeps USGS crews sampling the Unuk River this fall. Three large British Columbia mine projects sit in development upstream.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
An Iñupiaq village corporation from Wainwright is plugging orphaned wells in Wyoming
Olgoonik, an Iñupiaq village corporation from Wainwright now grown into a global federal contractor, won a $210K contract to plug abandoned wells in Wyoming.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Usibelli seeks five more years at Two Bull Ridge near Healy, and the state is revising the cleanup bond
Usibelli's Two Bull Ridge mine near Healy is nearing the end of its pits, and as it seeks a five-year renewal, the state is revising its $5.4M cleanup bond.
by Alaska Newsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Week of Aug 10
A suction dredge permit off Nome is open for public comment through Aug. 18
A suction dredging permit for a small operation off Nome is open for public comment through Aug. 18, in waters where gold dredging has long been established.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min readFrom 
The state plans to sell Granite Construction gravel near Chickaloon, without competitive bidding
The state plans to sell Granite Construction 40,000 cubic yards of gravel near Chickaloon with no competitive bidding, on a Glenn Highway stretch it's repaving.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A new gold claim would push mining into a creek the government has spent a decade repairing for fish
A two-person gold operation wants to mine farther down a Fortymile creek the BLM has spent a decade repairing for fish — a decision that's Alaska's to make, in a Wild and Scenic River corridor.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago3 min read
Week of Aug 3
A company is drilling near Cantwell for the source of half a million ounces of gold
A company wants to drill near Cantwell for the lost source of 500,000+ ounces of gold pulled from the Valdez Creek district's creeks.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A new Nome dredge application enters the pipeline that just rejected a fiercely fought gold mine
A new suction-dredge application near Nome enters the same regulatory pipeline that just rejected IPOP's massive Bonanza Channel gold mine
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Gold-exploration filings cluster in a historic Interior district
Three gold-exploration applications landed within six days in the historic Valdez Creek district, a small rush in an area that's produced gold since 1903.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read