Cda Mines Lauded For Alaska Mining Project
Coeur d’Alene Mines is an example of a company that’s “doing it right,” Alaska’s governor said Wednesday.
Gov. Tony Knowles cited the company’s proposed Kensington gold mine as an example of a project that blends economic development with environmental protection.
The Kensington property is 45 miles north of Juneau, Alaska, in the Tongass National Forest.
“Coeur is taking the right approach to development,” said Knowles, guest speaker at the Northwest Mining Association’s annual meeting at the Spokane Convention Center.
During the permitting process, the company worked closely with local fisherman and representatives from seven major environmental groups.
The permit’s checklist included 29 approvals from seven federal and state agencies. Coeur d’Alene Mines met all deadlines, and received its permit in an unprecedented 18 months, said Michele Brown, Alaska’s environmental conservation commissioner.
The company also modified its wastewater system to address fishermen’s concerns about discharges into the ocean - even though its first design met federal standards, Brown said.
Gold prices below $300 an ounce have delayed the opening of the underground mine. Coeur d’Alene Mines officials don’t know when the two-year construction phase will start.
The company revised its mine plan as a result of low gold prices, reducing production costs to $195 an ounce, Gordon Bigler, director of investment relations, said recently.
That triggered additional environmental reviews, which haven’t been completed, he added.
Alaska has worked hard to promote both mining and environmental protection, Knowles said.
The state has the largest zinc mine in the world, and the nation’s largest silver producer.
The Greens Creek mine, which leads U.S. mines in silver production, is another example of mining done correctly, Knowles said.
The mine is located within a national monument, in an area with high concentrations of brown bears and spawning salmon. Opening Greens Creek required two acts of Congress and land exchanges with native corporations.
Hecla Mining Co. in Coeur d’Alene owns a 30-percent interest in the mine, which is operated by Kennecott Minerals Co. of Salt Lake City.