A drilling rig operator works at the Iskut project in west-central British Columbia. The Iskut is one of about a dozen exploration or mining projects near rivers that run through or near Southeast Alaska. (Photo courtesy Seabridge Gold)

The Golden Triangle describes a mineral-rich region of northwest British Columbia. Its mines and exploration projects are in the watersheds of salmon-rich rivers that enter the ocean in or near southern Southeast Alaska.

Exploration companies say they’re finding more and higher-grade ore that could lead to new gold mines. But more drilling doesn’t necessarily mean more development.

“In the northwest corner of British Columbia lies a geologic formation known as the Stikine Terrain, which holds some of the richest gold ore bodies in the world,” begins a YouTube video by iResource Media, which covers the mining industry. “This area is so rich, in fact, that they call it the Golden Triangle.”

It and similar reports describe two active mines and close to a dozen exploration projects in the area. They’re upstream from the Stikine or Unuk Rivers, which flow through southern Southeast Alaska. Or they’re in the headwaters of the Naas River, which empties into the ocean just south of the Alaska border.

One of the newer drill projects is the Iskut, owned by Seabridge Gold. Spokesman Brent Murphy said the company is in its second year of exploration.

“We had some success last year where we found some evidence of gold mineralization, and now we want to go out and see if we can find the origin and source of that gold so that we can develop a potential resource,” he said.

The project includes the closed Johnny Mountain Mine. Seabridge has removed and cleaned up abandoned fuel tanks and other contamination that project left behind.

Murphy said it looks promising. But that doesn’t mean it will become a mine.

“It’s way too early to even speculate. We are just in the very early stages of exploration,” he said.

Seabridge also owns the Kerr Sulphurets Mitchell project, which it’s been pursuing since the early 2000s. In recent years it’s been granted key permits needed for construction. The company is actively seeking investors.

KSM, as it’s known, is the largest project in B.C.’s Golden Triangle. Murphy said the company has located new deposits of valuable minerals.

“What we’ve found over the last three to four years is we’re definitely hitting higher copper grades and gold grades,” he said.

About a dozen mines or exploration projects are in what’s called the Golden Triangle in west-central British Columbia. Some are new, while others are old mines under exploration as the price of gold rises. (Map courtesy Aben Resources and its Forrest Kerr project)

Iskut and KSM are but two of the exploration projects claiming to have found valuable metals in the Golden Triangle. Calls to other companies were not returned. But all are clearly taking advantage of regional upgrades and the lucrative trend in the industry.

A key factor is the rising price of gold, which has been hovering around $1,300 per ounce. That’s more than twice the value of a dozen years ago.

Another factor is infrastructure. New pavement, hydroprojects and power lines have been developed with support from the British Columbia government. And a deep-water port has been developed at Stewart, the anchorage nearest to the Golden Triangle mines.

“There’s a lot of exploration work taking place and that kind of waxes and wanes,” said Kyle Moselle, large mine project manager for Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources.

He and a state biologist toured some of the Golden Triangle sites last fall and saw evidence of increased activity. The improved business climate is leading to more drilling, but that’s it.

“Does that mean that there’s a flood of mine projects coming? I don’t think so. I’ve never seen exploration work be an indication of actual mines being developed or proposed,” he said.

The number of projects makes it difficult for environmental, fisheries, tribal and government mine critics.

They say pollution from digging and milling could end up in transboundary rivers, threatening salmon and other fisheries.

“It’s hard to really prioritize which are the most important ones, which are the ones that might go ahead and which are the ones that could have effects down here in Alaska,” said Chris Zimmer, Alaska campaign director for Rivers Without Borders.

He’s tracked transboundary mines and exploration projects for years.

He’s encouraged by political changes in the federal and provincial governments. They continue to support development, but appear to be putting more emphasis on environmental protections. But he said those are long overdue.

“As I look at that, all that does is put us back to where we basically should have been 10 years ago. Fix the flaws in the B.C. assessment process over there. It’s definitely not a magic bullet and not the best way to address our concerns downstream,” he said.

Climate change is also making it easier to explore for gold and other rare minerals.

Warming global temperatures are melting back ice fields and glaciers in the Golden Triangle, allowing easier access to once hidden ore.

The post British Columbia exploration boom may not lead to new mines appeared first on KRBD.

A Petersburg fishing boat passes the ferry Taku near the entrance of Wrangell Narrows in August, 2013. The ship was put on the market in 2017. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)

Southeast Alaska saw some major trends and events in 2017. They ranged from cruise ship passenger increases to budget decreases to labor battles to murder investigations.

Here are our top picks:

State ferry sold

In March, the Alaska Marine Highway System put the ferry Taku up for sale. The 54-year-old ship already had been tied up for about two years.

The Taku went out for bid for a minimum of $1.5 million. But it took several tries, each with a lower price.

General Manager John Falvey said the final offer was $171,000, a little more than a tenth of the original price.

“The winner was the Jabal Al Lawz Trading Co., from the (United Arab) Emirates,” he said.

It will become a ferry in the Philippines – or be sold for scrap.

An earlier offer to turn the ship into lodging in Portland fell through.

“Their plan is to do some renovation on the Taku and turn it into a destination hotel and waterfront activities center,” Falvey said at the time.

Officials hoped to finalize the sale by the end of the year. But the closing date is now Jan. 19.

Chinook shortage hits Southeast

David Turner Jr. won 2016’s Spring King Salmon Derby. This year’s derby was canceled. (Image courtesy Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska)

2017 was a lousy year for king salmon fishing in Southeast waters.

Chinook runs here and in British Columbia saw historically low returns.

That prompted a Southeast-wide closure for kings in both sport and commercial fisheries.

That’s unprecedented, at least in recent memory.

In Juneau, the low numbers meant canceling one sport fishing derby and eliminating kings from another.

State biologist Daniel Teske said the problem is in the ocean, not the rivers where kings spawn and hatch.

“Something’s happening out there, whether it be less prey available or more predators and we are seeing it throughout a bunch of different systems here,” he said.

Proposals to further restrict the region’s catch will go before the state Board of Fisheries at a January meeting in Sitka.

Tongass plan targeted

At the start of 2017, Tongass National Forest managers planned to move away from logging old-growth timber. They wanted to transition to a new industry using younger trees.

But timber businesses – and some politicians – worked to reverse that direction.

Industry leader Owen Graham said the plan was bad news.

“It’s literally going to put our industry completely out of business,” he said.

In October, a federal agency ruled the plan was subject to congressional review. And the next month, Sen. Lisa Murkowski added a measure overturning the plan to an appropriations bill.

Both discouraged environmentalists, who pushed for the transition, including Southeast Alaska Conservation Council’s Meredith Trainor. 

She said when she heard that Congress can decide the Tongass’ fate her “heart sank a little.”

Final decisions could be made in the new year.

Transboundary mines challenged

The Brucejack Mine pours its first gold bar in June of 2017. The mine is about 25 miles from the Alaska border. (Photo courtesy Pretivm Resources)

Fisheries, tribal and environmental activists continued battling mineral development across the border in British Columbia in 2017.

They worried it could poison salmon-rich waterways that flow through Southeast.

In September, tribal activists petitioned for trade sanctions. Leader Frederick Olsen Jr. wanted more done to protect Alaska fisheries.

“The goal is to get federal involvement in our transboundary mining issue,” he said.

It was followed by a November joint letter from the Walker-Mallott administration and Alaska’s Congressional Delegation. It lobbied the State Department to engage with Canadian officials.

It’s not yet clear whether the effort will get the results its authors want.

But the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said the agency is aware of the concerns.

“This is an issue we have raised with our Canadian counterparts at a number of levels with both provincial and federal governments, and we will continue to engage with them on it,” a spokesperson wrote in an email.

The post Southeast’s year: Taku sold, Chinooks crash, mines petitioned and a Tongass turnaround appeared first on KRBD.

Seabridge Gold staff stand in a rust-colored valley that’s part of its Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell exploration project in 2014. A federal agency in Canada has rejected a permit appeal from an Alaska conservation group.  (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska)

An Alaska environmental group has lost its appeal of a large Canadian mining project planned for just across the border.

The developer said the decision shows it’s behaving responsibly. But the conservation group said project owners, and Canada’s government, didn’t follow their own rules.

About a year ago, the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council tried a new tool to protest plans for the Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell transboundary mining project.

It appealed to a Canadian agency called the National Contact Point. SEACC staff scientist Guy Archibald said it’s supposed to address international business disputes.

“We’re exploring every venue we can to try to protect the transboundary rivers and the communities and fisheries they support from the large-scale development of Canadian mines across the border,” he said.

Guy Archibald of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, left, discusses issues with former Sitka Mayor Mim McConnell, right, during a 2015 transboundary mine meeting in Juneau. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)

It tried to convince Canadian authorities that project owners didn’t fully follow guidelines requiring stakeholder engagement and environmental protections.

But last month, that agency rejected that appeal.

“There is no formal requirement for us to engage in Alaska,” said Rudi Fronk, chairman and CEO of Seabridge Gold.

The Toronto-headquartered corporation owns the KSM and another British Columbia mine-exploration project. Both are northeast of Ketchikan.

“The confirmation from the National Contact Point in Canada just clearly reinforces the process we went through during the environmental assessment process, that the engagement we had not only with the Canadian authorities, but also the Alaska authorities, was appropriate and bountiful,” he said.

(Read the National Contact Point report rejecting SEACC’s appeal of the KSM project.)

SEACC acknowledges meetings took place, involving conservation, tribal, fisheries and other Southeast Alaska groups.

But Archibald said the Canadian government failed to look into what happened at those meetings.

“They did not consider at all whether that communication between Seabridge Gold and SEACC was adversarial at all. Or particularly informative at all,” he said. “Just that Seabridge had attended some meetings, presented their PowerPoint and that was adequate.”

Seabridge Gold said it’s listened to concerns and made changes in its plans.

(Watch Seabridge Gold’s Rudi Fronk discuss plans for the KSM Mine.)

For example, it moved its tailings storage site at the request of British Columbia tribal leaders. And Fronk said it added protections to its design for that site, where waste rock is kept after being processed.

The KSM, Red Chris and Galore Creek projects are among several planned for northwest British Columbia, near the Alaska border. (Map courtesy Seabridge Gold)

“There is no requirement, or there was no requirement, in British Columbia to actually line the tailings facility,” he said. “But we agreed that we would line a portion of the tailings facility to deal with material that went through the mill that would actually touch cyanide.”

The company continues drilling at its KSM site to locate valuable concentrations of gold, copper and other metals.

But its biggest challenge is to find investors and partners to turn the exploration project into a mine.

Fronk said the corporation has turned down several offers because they were not the right match.

He said non-disclosure agreements prevent him from identifying those companies.

SEACC, meanwhile, continues to push for high-level talks between U.S. and Canada’s federal governments.

It, other organizations, the Walker-Mallott administration and Alaska’s Congressional delegation want stronger protections for Alaska fisheries.

(Take a tour of the KSM exploration projects during the summer drilling season.)

The post Canada rejects transboundary mine permit protest appeared first on KRBD.

Eight transboundary watersheds feed into Southeast Alaska rivers. Alaska officials are pushing for stronger protections. (Map courtesy Alaska Department of Natural Resources)

Alaska leaders want Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to push Canadian officials to better protect Southeast fisheries from British Columbia mine projects.

The governor, lieutenant governor and Congressional delegation made the ask in a joint letter sent Nov. 13 to the U.S. State Department.

Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott said officials want environmental protections discussed at an upcoming meeting of the department and its Canadian counterpart.

“We focused on asking them to have the B.C. mining projects, the transboundary treaty and the implementation of it as it relates to transboundary rivers in Alaska be included on their agenda,” he said.

State officials made similar requests to John Kerry, the previous secretary of state. But his department sent the issue back to Alaska, since it already was consulting with British Columbia.

Since then, tribal, environmental and fisheries groups have demanded stronger action to protect watersheds where Alaska salmon spawn and grow.

Chris Zimmer works for Rivers Without Borders, an environmental group that has warned of the dangers of transboundary mining for more than a decade.

“This is what’s been needed all along, is this concerted approach from our members of Congress and the state to the U.S. federal government,” Zimmer said. “And then hopefully what that will result in is a concerted approach to B.C. and Canada both, to deal with some current issues we have with transboundary mining.”

Two mines and more than a half-dozen exploration projects are active not far from the Alaska border.

Another long-closed mine is leaking acidic water.

The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said the agency is aware of the concerns expressed in the letter.

“This is an issue we have raised with our Canadian counterparts at a number of levels with both provincial and federal governments, and we will continue to engage with them on it,” a spokesperson wrote in an email.

British Columbia officials said they’ve improved permitting and regulation of mines and mining projects with Alaska and other downstream interests in mind.

Mine owners and developers have said their projects don’t pose serious threats to Alaska.

The letter asks for specific steps beyond what’s already been done to be taken to protect Alaska waters.

Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott signs a statement of cooperation with British Columbia in 2016. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)

Mallott said one important effort would standardize monitoring downstream from the mines and projects.

“Right now, water quality and other environmental data is gathered as the result of specific permits for specific projects,” Mallott said. “And we believe that that kind of monitoring should be undertaken on a consistent, over-time basis by our governments.”

The state signed a memorandum of understanding with British Columbia about a year ago.

But the provincial government has changed leadership, as have both federal governments.

Mallott said his administration continues working with provincial officials. He and other officials met with their British Columbia counterparts this month.

But he said the State Department needs to become a strong partner in those efforts.

The group Salmon Beyond Borders has recently criticized the state for acting too slowly. But spokeswoman Heather Hardcastle said the letter is a step in the right direction.

“They need to know that they’re not stepping on the toes of the state or the delegation, but instead (are) carrying out, really, united asks,” Hardcastle said.

The letter to Tillerson was signed by Mallott, Gov. Bill Walker, Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and Rep. Don Young.

It said the state department should:

• Encourage B.C. officials to develop public outreach tools to better explain their processes for considering the cumulative impacts of proposed mining projects on transboundary waters during the environmental assessment process.
• Determine whether an International Joint Commission reference is a suitable venue to evaluate whether mines operating in the transboundary region between B.C. and Alaska are implementing best management practices in the treatment of wastewaters and management of potential-acid-generating mine tailings and waste rock.
• Establish a formal consultation process with U.S. state agencies, other federal agencies, tribes and Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act corporations during the environmental assessment process, similar to the consultation process afforded to a cooperating agency under the National Environmental Policy Act in the U.S.
• Support and work toward robust funding and other needed resources for developing a reliable database of water quality and related data for transboundary waters that can be used to track cumulative impacts, trends and significant episodic changes associated with operating and historic mines in the  transboundary region.
• Establish an interagency task force led by the Department of State and including the Department of Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies as necessary, to work in collaboration with the State of Alaska, and develop recommendations and direct funding to ensure protection of transboundary rivers.

The post State, delegation push feds on transboundary mining appeared first on KRBD.

Groups rally against mine and other development during the 2017 Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Anchorage. Southeast and Bristol Bay tribal officials signed an agreement during the convention to combine fisheries-protection efforts. (Photo by Zach Hughes/Alaska Public Media)

Tribal groups from opposite ends of the state have formed an alliance to fight mines they say threaten traditional fisheries.

Organizations representing about 30 Southeast Alaska and Bristol Bay tribal governments signed a memorandum of agreement Oct. 18 during the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Anchorage.

The United Tribes of Bristol Bay opposes Southwest Alaska’s Pebble Mine project. The Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission is critical of mines and exploration projects in British Columbia watersheds that drain into state waters.

Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission Chairman Frederick Olsen Jr., left, and United Tribes of Bristol Bay President Robert Heyano hold canned salmon after signing an agreement Oct. 18. (Photo by  United Tribes of Bristol Bay)

“To combine with several tribes from the other part of the state should send a powerful message to everyone and especially the federal government that we want the federal government to uphold its fiduciary trust responsibility and its government-to-government relationship with its federally recognized tribes,” said Frederick Olsen Jr., who chairs the Southeast coalition.

The organizations agreed to back each other’s efforts to protect their regions’ fisheries, Olsen said.

United Tribes of Bristol Bay President Robert Heyano said what he calls mega-mines are threatening indigenous people.

“Our tribes are under siege, but the unification of our people is a powerful move to defeat these toxic projects,” he said in a news release.

Olsen said the two regional efforts have similar goals, but some differences.

“With our issue, the mines are in a different country. Maybe our fight’s a little more uphill,” he said. “It’s hard to say which one’s harder, of course. The grass is always browner on the other side of the fence in this issue.”

He said the coalition hopes to expand the alliance to tribal groups in other parts of the state.

Developers of mines in both areas say they’re safe and will not damage fish or wildlife habitat.

The post Alaska tribes unite to oppose mega-mines appeared first on KRBD.

Eight transboundary watersheds feed Southeast Alaska rivers. A coalition of tribal governments is pushing the federal government to protect their fisheries. (Map by Alaska Department of Natural Resources.)

Could a cross-boundary mining battle lead to a trade war with Canada? A Southeast Alaska tribal organization is using that possibility to push federal officials into providing stronger protections for regional fisheries.

A coalition of 16 Southeast tribal governments has filed paperwork that could lead to trade sanctions against British Columbia, which borders the region.

Frederick Olsen Jr. is chairman of the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission. He said about half of the region’s tribal governments have signed a petition to the federal Department of the Interior.

“The goal is to get federal involvement in our transboundary mining issue. And so we are getting some more of our member tribes to sign on,” he said.

What’s called a Pelly Petition is allowed under a provision of the federal Fishermen’s Protective Act.

Guy Archibald is staff scientist for the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, which also opposes transboundary mining.

“If another country is found to be violating the tenets of the Fisherman’s Act, the other country can institute trade sanctions against that country,” he said.

Frederick Olsen Jr. is chairman of the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission. (Photo courtesy SAITC)

A number of advocacy groups and local governments are concerned about mines on or near British Columbia rivers that flow through Southeast. They said silt, minerals and acidic water from the mines will damage fish stocks on both sides of the border.

British Columbia’s mineral-extraction industry said it develops and operates its mines safely, with limited environmental impacts. But it’s had to defend itself after the Mount Polley Mine tailings dam collapse.

Archibald said trade sanctions are not the petition’s real goal.

Instead, the groups want federal officials to put their concerns before the International Joint Commission. That panel moderates disputes involving U.S.-Canada boundary waters.

“Now, nobody really wants to start a trade war with British Columbia. Basically, what they’re saying, is that if neither country wants to refer this matter to the International Joint Commission, we as the people on this side have another options. And that maybe the International Joint Commission would be the less onerous of the two options,” he said.

Interior Department officials did not immediately respond to inquiries about the petition. Archibald said they’ve told petitioners they’re looking into it, but that’s all.

Earlier efforts trying to get the State Department to involve the joint commission were unsuccessful.

The Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission is the new name for the United Tribal Transboundary Mining Work Group.

Olsen, the chairman and a Kasaan resident, said the new name addresses the wider scope of the group’s work.

Tis Peterman is coodinator of the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission, formerly the United Tribal Transboundary Mining Work Group. (Photo by KSTK-FM)

“Transboundary issues are far beyond mining alone. There’s oil tankers, there’s radioactive debris, there’s fish farms breaking apart, there’s cruise ships dumping their bad water,” he said.

Another change: The nonprofit organization hired its first employee in August.

Wrangell resident and activist Tis Peterman is the new coordinator.

“We’ve never had a staff person. And so trying to get everybody coordinated and meeting and coordinating meetings with First Nations in B.C. is one of my tasks,” she said.

The organization is also reaching out to Alaska Native groups facing similar issues. Olsen said that includes the United Tribes of Bristol Bay.

“We completely back them up in their fight against the Pebble Mine and to protect Bristol Bay and all the watersheds up there,” he said.

He said hiring a coordinator will help develop and formalize such relationships.

The post Can a Southeast mine battle lead to a trade war? appeared first on KRBD.

Seabridge Gold’s Brent Murphy points to a valley to be dammed to hold tailings from the KSM mine during a 2014 tour. The tailings dam was granted a key federal permit needed for development this summer. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)

A new gold mine has gone into production near British Columbia’s border with Southeast Alaska. It’s one of several prospects under exploration near creeks or rivers that flow into the region.

The Brucejack Mine pours its first gold bar in June of 2017. The mine is about 25 miles from the Alaska border. (Photo courtesy Pretivm Resources press release)

The Brucejack Mine had what’s called its “first pour” this summer. That’s when refined ore is melted down to make a project’s first bar of gold.

The high-altitude mine is about 25 miles from the Alaska border and around 80 miles east of Wrangell. It’s within the watershed of the Unuk River, which drains into the ocean northeast of Ketchikan.

Officials at Vancouver-based mine owner Pretivm Resources did not return calls by this report’s deadline.

But in an earlier interview, vice president Michelle Romero said the company is building on a previous owner’s work.

“There was existing underground excavation done and we had used that access to get to the heart of the project, which is the Valley of the Kings,” she said.

A company press release said its main ore body has proven reserves of 1.6 million ounces, worth around $2 billion in U.S. currency. It projects total reserves of four times that much gold, plus a significant silver deposit.

Brucejack is far less controversial than some other British Columbia mining projects across the border from Southeast Alaska.

Heather Hardcastle is a fisheries-business owner and campaign director for the environmental group Salmon Beyond Borders.

“It is a lot smaller than the other mines in the transboundary region and it is an underground mine. So as far as the disposal of tailings go, we certainly feel better about their plans to put the tailings and the waste back underground,” she said.

Tailings are ground-up rock, often containing hazardous minerals, that are leftover from processing ore. Mine critics say the common practice of mixing them with water and storing them behind dams threatens downstream fisheries.

Hardcastle said her main concern is that it’s part of a larger effort to develop more than a half-dozen projects that would use tailings dams.

Oxidized rock colors a valley where one of Seabridge Gold’s KSM Project’s open pit mines will be dug if the project proceeds. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)

The largest of those is Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell, which is next to Brucejack.

What’s known as KSM won a key permit from Canada environmental officials this summer.

Brent Murphy is vice president of environmental affairs for Toronto-based developer Seabridge Gold.

“The permit that we got was essentially an amendment to the federal law that allows us to go in and deposit essentially waste material into streams that are frequented by fish,” he said.

Murphy said the permit requires the company to post an appropriate bond and create twice as much fish habitat as it destroys.

This summer is KSM’s 11th for exploratory drilling. Murphy said work continues to better define its high-value ore bodies.

“We have a crew of about 25 people in there, the camp has been open since early May and we’re also continuing with our ongoing environmental monitoring and it’s actually our 10th year of collection of baseline data,” he said.

KSM will store its tailings in a valley that’s part of the watershed of the Nass River, which enters an ocean inlet about 20 miles south of the Alaska border.

Salmon Without Borders’ Hardcastle, who fishes out of Juneau, said that’s close enough to pose a threat.

“Commercial fishermen from the United States do and are allowed to catch a certain number of Nass fish. So commercial fishermen from Alaska especially contend that we very much have concerns about what goes on in the headwaters of the Nass,” she said.

The KSM project is supported by the Nisga’a Nation, the tribal government for the Nass River Valley. Both signed an agreement promising environmental protections, jobs and financial support.

Seabridge Gold continues to seek investors for the multi-billion-dollar project.

The Tulsequah Chief Mine is on the banks of its namesake river, which flows into the Taku River , which enters an ocean inlet about 25 miles northeast of Juneau. (Photo by Joe Hitselberger/ADF&G)

The company is also exploring ore deposits in a nearby area. The Iskut Project is about 20 miles northwest of the KSM and approximately 10 miles from the Alaska border.

Seabridge acquired the area about a year ago. Murphy said the company has been drilling to find out more about what’s there. The prospect includes a mine that closed in 1990.

“We know there’s gold mineralization at Johnny Mountain. We started there last year, trying to understand the geology, and we’re moving a little bit further afield this year,” he said.

Part of the purchase is a multi-year cleanup plan, including removal of asbestos tiles, mercury lamps and a fuel-tank farm.

One transboundary mine that’s going nowhere is the Tulsequah Chief, on a Taku River tributary about 40 miles northeast of Juneau. It closed more than a half-century ago and two attempts to reopen it failed.

The company holding its assets filed documents earlier this summer suggesting it had found a new investor. But mine critic Chris Zimmer, of the group Rivers without Borders, said officials have told him the company is no longer interested.

“Now we’re kind of back here in a little bit of limbo. There’s no company up there, the mine continues to leak acid mine drainage and now we’re kind of unsure what the B.C. government is going to do next,” he said.

The province’s previous top mine official committed to cleaning up pollution from the Tulsequah Chief after a visit two years ago. But a new mines minister just took over and isn’t ready to discuss the situation.

The post Another mine opens close to the Alaska border appeared first on KRBD.

A Tulsequah Chief Mine settling pond overflows at the site about 40 miles northeast of Juneau Sept. 26, 2016. (Photo courtesy of British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines)

Canadian officials say they’ll stop polluted mine water from entering a salmon-rich river that flows into Southeast Alaska near Juneau. The work could include plugging up tunnels from British Columbia’s decades-old Tulsequah Chief Mine.

The Tulsequah Chief hasn’t operated since 1957. Two companies tried to reopen it during the past 20 years, but both failed.

That’s left a legacy of acidic water carrying pollutants into the Tulsequah River. It’s a tributary of the Taku River, a key source of salmon caught in Southeast Alaska.

Provincial officials had ordered the latest developer, Chieftain Metals, to clean up the site. After the company went bankrupt last fall, British Columbia sent inspectors to see what had been done. But it wasn’t much.

British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett said a government contractor took care of improperly stored chemicals and petroleum products.

“They were not able before freeze-up to do anything about the settling pond that exists beside the river that captures the runoff from the hill that the old mine was built into,” he said.

A Tulsequah Chief Mine settling pond overflows at the site about 40 miles northeast of Juneau Sept. 26, 2016. (Photo Courtesy of British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines)

He said experts will look into plugging leaking mine tunnels to stop the discharges into the pond, which leaks into the river.

If that’s not practical, he said they’ll look at other options.

“Even though the water that’s been tested by both Alaska and British Columbia has shown no negative impacts on aquatic organisms, it’s still against our rules for that water to be flowing into the Tulsequah River. So, one way or the other, we have to stop it,” he said.

“I think there is actually some good news here and a change from past practices,” said Chris Zimmer, Alaska campaign director for the group Rivers Without Borders.

He said the studies Bennett mentioned were faulty and inconclusive. And he’s been calling for a cleanup for years.

“In the past, B.C. was simply saying we’re going to let the mining companies come in, develop the mine and clean it up. I think now Minister Bennett realizes that after two bankruptcies that this mine isn’t one that will be developed and B.C.’s now going to have to responsibility for the cleanup,” he said.

B.C. acknowledges a new company could take over the Tulsequah Chief. It’s in the hands of a Canadian firm that would like to recoup some of its investments. It could do that by selling the mine.

But Bennett said such a developer would have to meet tighter standards.

“We would need an ironclad commitment from any new buyer that they were going to do what’s necessary immediately. And if we can’t get that, then the government would act on the closure and remediation plan and just simply close the site down,” he said.

That’s what transboundary mine activists, including Zimmer, want. But he said it’s not as easy as it sounds.

“Plugging up the mine to stop the movement of water is one thing. You could do that relatively cheaply and quickly. But the problem is eventually you’ll have cracks, water will start moving and you’ll be back to the acid-mine drainage situation where you would need a water-treatment plant,” he said.

And that would be costly.

Chieftain did set up such a plant for a while, but determined it was too expensive to run without the mine opening and generating income.

The post British Columbia will clean up mine near Juneau appeared first on KRBD.

Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott opens the first teleconferenced meeting of a bilateral working group on transboundary mines Dec. 16. Shown are, from the left, Meghan Topkok, First Alaskans Institute; Barbara Blake, senior advisor to Mallott; Mallott; and David Rogers and Jackie Timothy, Department of Fish and Game. (Photo courtesy Governor’s Office.)

Alaska and British Columbia are working out details of how they will handle transboundary mine concerns. They’re figuring out how to coordinate the work of monitoring and permitting on both sides of the border.

A statement of cooperation between the state and the province signed in early October promised openness, transparency and increased environmental monitoring.

Now begins the work of meeting those goals.

Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott heads up the state’s effort to address concerns about British Columbia mines near rivers that flow into Southeast Alaska.

He said state and provincial officials met via teleconference meeting Dec. 16.

“We’re trying to create a big tent here, but with a very specific process of engagement and sharing and review and critical examination of all those things that we need to,” he said.

The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation will address water-quality concerns. Terri Lomax is a manager in the agency’s Monitoring and Assessment Program.

“We, of course, can do our testing on the Alaska side and we’re hoping our B.C. counterparts can do testing on the British Columbia side, but that hasn’t been determined yet,” she said.

Testing will create a record of what’s in transboundary river water now — with an eye toward changes that could threaten fisheries, wildlife and people.

“Some of the groups that are already doing monitoring are collecting water and sediment contaminates of concern, specifically like trace metals. That kind of information is going to really help us in deciding how to narrow down our focus and … how to pick the right parameters and methods to be looking at,” she said.

Those other groups include tribal governments in Southeast Alaska and northwest British Columbia. They’ll be asked to help develop the regionwide monitoring program.

B.C. Mines Minister Bill Bennett discusses transboundary mining as Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott and other state officials listen during a 2015 press conference. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska News)

Other state agencies will work on protocols for input into B.C.’s permitting process.

Mallott said the state will also develop a website to share information about transboundary mines.

“You can never say nothing will drop through the cracks,” he said. “But at least we will have a process and a working relationship that is stronger and more focused and with a value construct that did not exist before.”

The state’s efforts accelerated last year after environmental, fisheries, tribal and community leaders pushed for active engagement with B.C. leaders.

One mine, the Red Chris, began operations in the Stikine River watershed last year. Another, the Tulsequah Chief, is closed and leaking pollutants into the Taku watershed. A half-dozen to a dozen others are being explored or considered for development.

Guy Archibald works with Inside Passage Waterkeeper and the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council.

“I think the process itself is helping make things safe. Any time Alaska and B.C. can communicate on these projects to each other and ask for expertise, I think is constructive,” he said.

But he said the state needs to do more than monitor water quality or put information on a new website. He said it needs to worry about more than mines. For example: new dams.

“Anything that brings the cost down for developing these mines, such as access to hydropower, makes their development that much more likely,” he said.

Other mine critics also say the state’s agreement with B.C. needs to go further.

Salmon Beyond Borders’ Heather Hardcastle speaks during a panel including Rivers Without Borders’ Chris Zimmer, center, and the Douglas Indian Association’s John Morris in 2015. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/ CoastAlaska News)

Fisheries business owner Heather Hardcastle is with the group Salmon Beyond Borders.

“We would like to see enforceable protections and financial assurances that we will not be negatively impacted by upstream mining in British Columbia. And I still don’t see how the state of Alaska is pushing for those,” she said.

Hardcastle said future meetings following up on the transboundary agreement should be advertised and made open to the public.

State officials say more details will be available in January.

Mallott said a meeting of stakeholders, including mine critics, will happen within the next six months.

Salmon Beyond Borders and other groups continue to pursue federal involvement in the issue.

Hardcastle points to a longtime goal of invoking part of a treaty that governs U.S- Canada water conflicts.

“One way to get closer to such an agreement would be for the International Joint Commission to get involved,” she said. “But at this point we’d like to see any sort of true federal engagement on this issue and we just haven’t yet.”

Mallott said that’s on his agenda when he heads to Washington, D.C. And federal officials have been responsive, to a point.

In a prepared statement, British Columbia officials said the province will share equal responsibilities under the agreement. That includes water-quality monitoring.

They say tribal governments, called First Nations in Canada, will participate, as will the mining industry.

The post Alaska, B.C. detail transboundary mine pact appeared first on KRBD.

A creek drains naturally occurring rusty water from the KSM mine prospect in northwest British Columbia. It runs into the Unuk River, which enters the ocean near Ketchikan.  (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)

Southeast Alaska’s largest tribal organization said this month’s meetings with the U.S. State Department and Environmental Protection Agency were productive. Among other things, the agencies could help expand water-monitoring efforts along transboundary rivers

The 30,000-member Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska set up the government-to-government meetings.

President Richard Peterson said representatives heard about potential and existing pollution from British Columbia mines near rivers that flow into Alaska.

“I think we gave them some of our concerns and questions and whatnot,” he said. “That gives them a chance to go back and now have that next conversation that’s more action-based and promissory in nature.”

The federal officials met with tribal government and Native corporation leaders from Juneau, Ketchikan, Saxman, Douglas and Kasaan Aug. 9^th-11th.

Peterson said they talked about water-quality monitoring along fish-and-wildlife-rich transboundary rivers. He said the federal officials were interested in supporting the effort.

“And we were able to use that as an opportunity to push for more funding for activities regionwide, so that other communities can do that baseline analysis that needs to take place,” he said.

State Department and EPA public-affairs staff offered no comment on the meetings or any commitments made. That’s common for federal agencies.

But Peterson said they agreed to hold further meetings, which will happen this fall in Washington, D.C.

Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott and other state officials presented their concerns at the meetings.

He said they brought up a U.S. Canada boundary-waters treaty that includes a commission tasked with resolving such conflicts.

“We emphasized that if, when, how, in what manner, that the IJC, the International Joint Commission, might be engaged that we would No. 1, welcome it and No. 2, be part of it to the degree that that was appropriate,” he said.

Mallott heads up a state task force on transboundary mine concerns. He said his team also brought up the need for more federal support.

“To put it mildly, Alaska is resource-constrained, at least fiscal resource-constrained, right now,” he said. “And these collaborations and network-building is very important.”

Alaska and British Columbia officials have been discussing the state’s concerns for more than a year. A statement of cooperation detailing ways Alaska can provide more input into mine decisions is nearing a final draft.

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