alaska resource overview -...

Alaska Resource Overview

Kennicott Mine

July 21, 2010JOGMEC • Tokyo, Japan

By Tom Irwin, CommissionerAlaska Department of Natural Resources

Larry Hartig, CommissionerAlaska Department of Environmental Conservation

Ed Fogels, DirectorOffice of Project Management and Permitting, ADNR

Alaska has a long mining history

1880 - Joe Juneau and Richard Harris discover gold at Juneau

1886 - Treadwell Mines in Juneau are the largest underground gold mines in the world

1896 - Klondike Gold Rush begins in Yukon Territory

1898 – Gold discovered at Nome

1900 – Copper discovered at Kennicott 1911 – 1938 Kennicott copper mine in operation

1902 – Gold discovered on Pedro Creek near Fairbanks

Alaska Mining Industry Defined by

Three Major Periods

1.From late 1800s until 1940s - mining was the largest industry in Alaska and provided the most jobs.

2.From 1940s until 1989 - effectively no hardrock mining in Alaska.

3.From 1989 to Present – Red Dog & Greens Creek began operation in 1989 and ever since continued growth of minerals development.

Historically, Gold has been focus of most mining in Alaska

Much of recent gold emphasis has been on the “Tintina Gold Belt”

But, as following map and placer districts show, gold occurs in many other areas in Alaska

TINTINA GOLD

BELT

Fort KnoxPogo

Donlin Creek

Nyac

Nixon ForkRock Creek Big Hurrah

Lucky ShotKensington

AJ/Treadwell

In Development

Producing Gold Mine

Major Prospect

Livengood

But…

…there is more than just Gold in Alaska

TINTINA GOLD

BELT

Goodnews Bay/

Red Mountain

MAN

Brady Glacier

Salt Chuck

Union Bay

Duke Island

Red Mountain

Chip-Loy

Ni + Cu + Cr + PGE

TINTINA GOLD

BELT

Red Dog

Brooks Range Lead-

Zinc Belt

Niblack

Greens Creek

Denali

Kennicott

Prince William Sound

VMS deposits

Arctic Ambler VMS Belt

MAJOR STRATIFORM

BASE METAL + Au, Ag

OCCURRENCES

TINTINA GOLD

BELT

Quartz

Hill

Pebble

Pyramid

“Porphyry” Cu + Mo + Au

Rare Earth Elements

Alaska is under explored

Bokan Mountain is one of the largest combined heavy & light rare earth deposits in North America

Variable concentrations of light and heavy rare earth elements (REE)

Zirconium,

Beryllium,

Tantalum,

and Niobium are associated with uranium mineralization.

And then…

…there is coal

(a lot!)

Coal Resources and Reserves

Eagle-Circle

Rampart

Nulato

Matanuska

Alaska Coal Resources and Reserves(all tonnes x 1,000,000)

2277,80013,320Nenana Province

1,700154,8703,716,210Totals

05208,660All Other Areas

1,40010,55064,230

Cook Inlet-Susitna

Basin

73136,0003,630,000

Northern Alaska

Basin

Measured

Reserves

Identified

Resources

Hypothetical

ResourcesLocation

Sub-bituminous C Approximately 40% of Alaska’s coal resources

Nenana and Cook Inlet Basins Clean Low Rank Coal

7,800 Btu/lb Sulfur 0.17% Moisture 26% Volatile Matter 36% Fixed C 29% Ash 9%

Bituminous High Rank CoalApproximately 55% of Total Resource

Location Btu/lb Sulfur Moisture

Volatile

Matter Fixed C Ash

Cape

Beaufort

9,100 to

12,700 0.2 - 0.4% 2.5 - 7% 22 - 33% 35 - 56% 8 – 27%

Deadfall

Syncline

10,900 to

13,200 0.2 - 0.3% 2.5 - 8% 22 - 36% 35 – 56% 5.5 – 23%

Matanuska

10,400 to

13,200 0.2 - 0.6% 2.5 - 9% 32 - 45% 38 - 51% 4 – 24%

USIBELLI

HEALY MINE

WESTERN ARCTIC

COAL

Alaska Coal Projects andInfrastructure

Jarvis

Coal Mining Activities in Alaska

Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc. operations constitute the only active coal mining operation in Alaska.

Last year, Usibelli increased production to 1.7 million tonnes and expects to exceed 1.8 million tonnes in 2010.

The majority of production is for Alaska markets

UCM currently ships over 816,000 tonnes per year to Japan, South Korea and Chile through Port of Seward

Usibelli Coal Mine(www.usibelli.com)

• Continued Alaska coal contracts to Korea & Japan

• Trial shipments of coal to power plants in Chile

• 1.7 million tonnes production in 2009

• 95 Employees• No “Lost-Time” Accidents

since 1/27/04

USIBELLI

HEALY MINE

WESTERN ARCTIC

COAL

Alaska Coal Projects andInfrastructure

Jarvis

Chuitna Coal Project(PacRim Coal)

Chuitna Coal Project

A surface coal mining and export development located in the Beluga Coal Field, approximately 72 kilometers west of Anchorage.

Ultra low sulfur, subbituminous coal resource, approximately 20 kilometers from the coast of Cook Inlet.

25-year mine life at approximately 12 million tonnes/year based on proven reserves in one (LMU-1) of three mining areas in 20,571 acre (8,325 hectares) coal lease area.

Chuitna Coal Project

The proposed project includes:

a surface coal mine and support facilities.

mine access road, coal transport conveyor, personnel housing; air strip;

a logistics center, and coal export terminal (Ladd Landing Development). The coal export terminal would include a 3,000-meter trestle constructed into Cook Inlet for the purpose of loading ocean-going coal transport vessels.

Project is currently in permitting stage –Supplemental EIS is in preparation

Permitting expected to be completed in 2011

Production anticipated in 2014

Chuitna Coal Project

Western Arctic Coal Project Arctic Slope Regional Corporation

(http://www.asrc.com/lands/lands.asp?page=coal)

Underground test mine; circa 1994; coal tested in local villages

Western Arctic Coal Project

Located in the Western Arctic Coalfield of northwestern Alaska, approximately 64 kilometers south of Point Lay.

At Deadfall Syncline, the Cretaceous-age Nanushuk Formation Contains four coal seams range from 1.5-3.5 meters in thickness that dip at 14 to 30 degrees.

The bituminous grade coal has a measured resource of 40 million tonnes and identified resource of 350 million tonnes that averages 12,900 BTUs.

Recent studies have increased the reserves of coking quality coal within the deposit.

Western Arctic Coal

Project Location

• 1,050 kilometers northwest of

Anchorage

• 800 kilometers northwest of

Fairbanks

• 64 kilometers south of Pt. Lay

•190 kilometers NNW of Pt.

Hope

•145 kilometers north of Red

Dog Mine

•250 kilometers north of Red

Dog PortIllustration courtesy of ASRC

Wishbone Hill

Wishbone Hill

Wishbone Hill is a historic mining area located approximately 64 kilometers northeast of Anchorage.

Surface mineable reserves at Wishbone are estimated at 13 million tonnes of clean bituminous coal.

Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc. has not yet initiated mining activity at the Wishbone Hill location.

How to get more information…

Alaska Department of Natural Resources,

Large Mine Permitting

Mine information at:

www.dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/mining/largemine/index.htm

Alaska Department of Commerce, Community

and Economic Development

Minerals information at:

www.dced.state.ak.us/oed/minerals/mining.htm

State and FederalInteragency Minerals and

Geology Information

at:

AKGeology.info

Domo Arigato!