A company and Native corporation that want to operate a gold mine on the west side of Cook Inlet are moving forward with new proposals for access paths into Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.
The proposed mine, known as Johnson Tract, is on land owned by Cook Inlet Region Inc, the regional Native corporation known as CIRI. The corporation won the 20,000-acre parcel in a 1976 land exchange with the state. Johnson Tract has been a known mineral site for gold, copper and zinc since the 1980s. Development stalled for decades, until 2019, when CIRI contracted with Canadian mining company HighGold to develop the project.
The National Park Service opened public comment this week on two easements, or park areas the company will need to travel through in order to reach the mine site. The first is a waterside dock in Tuxedni Bay. The other is a 10-mile road through the park to the mine site.
“Because those lands are landlocked, the necessity of being able to access it for the development of what would potentially become a mine was needed, so a transportation and portside easement was put in place,” said Buck Mangipane, the natural resource program manager for the park.
He said the easements, approved in 1976, predate the national park and are part of CIRI’s land claim agreements. They’ll be necessary — if the mine is developed — to get the minerals from the site to a dock so it can be transported by barge.
Mangipane said this public comment period is about a resource analysis the park will do of the easement locations.
“We’ll be looking at the initial planning phases for these two easements, so at this point in time that would include a lot of geotechnical work, potentially some fisheries and water, wildlife work,” Mangipane said. “Things that are related to their ability to understand what would be needed to ultimately construct some sort of transportation route and a port site.”
Environmental groups and local business owners have closely watched the developing mine project, and have concerns about its potential impact on wildlife habitat. Specifically, they’re worried about the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale and brown bears.
Mangipane said gathering that feedback will be an important part of the public comment process.
“How we are hoping those will be used is that as we go into creating this resource analysis, their input can provide information on areas they have environmental concerns on, species of concern,” he said.
As the project moves into development, Mangipane said, NOAA Fisheries will consult on mitigating impact to Cook Inlet belugas.
The public comment period comes shortly after HighGold announced its pending acquisition by Alaska mining company Contango ORE Inc. Contango operates the controversial Manh Choh Mine in Interior Alaska.
In an email, HighGold CEO Darwin Green said the merger will not affect the timeline or plans for the Johnson Tract mine.
“What it does do is create a larger and stronger Alaska-based and Alaska-focused company with the capacity to self-fund the next steps at Johnson Tract out of cash flow from their existing Manh Choh mine,” Green said. “We believe Contango and their management team are a perfect fit for Johnson Tract given their long history in Alaska and work with Alaska Native Corporations and Tribes.”
The $37 million deal is set to go through in late June if it receives support from two thirds of HighGold shareholders. Public comments on the easements are due to the National Park Service by June 24. You can submit comments online or by mail.