Despite the high-profile negative publicity around a plan to build a massive openpit mine in the Bristol Bay region, most of Alaska’s communi- ties welcome responsible explora- tion and development, says the state’s Division of Economic Devel- opment director Joe Jacobson.

“Pebble is an exceptional case and many promising projects continue to quietly advance,” he tells Mining Weekly, pointing out that, in 2012, there were 31 exploration projects with expenditures of $1-million or more and 33 projects with expenditures of between $100 000 and $999 999.

The Pebble project has been a major issue in the US state since the mid-2000s, when Toronto-listed Northern Dynasty announced its plan for a large-scale openpit mine, which could produce one-million tonnes of copper concentrate a year. But the company ran into serious opposition from local communities, who say the mine will ruin the big salmon runs and wildlife.

In late 2013, Anglo American announced that it was pulling out as a project partner. Rio Tinto also said it was reviewing its share- holding in the copper project.

“Alaska has an exceptional record of responsibly developing its resources, while protecting the environment and respecting the concerns of affected communities. As such, a project’s fate should be determined through the actual permitting and public processes,” Jacobson says, adding that it will be a loss for Alaska if the message is perpetuated that every major mining project will face a contentious public relations battle prior to even entering the actual permitting process.

Mining, tourism and fishing have long coexisted in Alaska and Jacobson believes that there is no reason why they could not continue to do so. “With anticipated cuts to government spending and declining revenues from North Slope oil production, Alaska will need to expand in all three sectors.”

Alaska remains largely underexplored and, according to the US Geological Survey, the state has abundant reserves of coal, copper, lead, gold, zinc and silver. It also has over 70 occurrences of rare-earth elements.

“World-class deposits like Pebble and Donlin [an undeveloped gold deposit] indicate that there are still extremely large deposits waiting to be developed or discovered.”

From 2002 to 2012, the average gold discovery rate was 13.5-million ounces a year, thanks to new discoveries and advancements across Alaska’s 190-million acres of state and native lands open for mineral-related activity.

“Combined with Alaska’s geopolitical stability, secure land tenure, skilled workforce, low tax rates, competitive tax incentives, strategic Pacific Rim location, and proresource develop- ment state government, Alaska is one of the world’s most attractive locations for minerals exploration and development investment,” states Jacobson.

Alaska offers tax credits to support exploration, development and vocational education. The Alaska Exploration Incentive Credit Program allows the deduction of up to $20-million of qualified costs from taxes and royalties over a 15-year period for new mines. The Tax Foundation also ranked the state fourth best in the US in the ‘2014 State Business Tax Climate Index’ for its competitive corporate taxes and no individual income or sales tax.

Jacobson adds that substantial effort is going into permitting reform to streamline the process and the ongoing reform has significantly reduced the backlog for mineral projects, achieving a 53.5% reduction in the backlog for permits and authorisations for land and water use since July 2011 (1 421 authorisations). The Office of Project Management and Permitting further facilitates a consistent permitting process for large-scale projects that are subject to overlapping jurisdic- tional authorities in Alaska.

Infrastructure to service strate- gic mineral areas is also receiving attention. The state provides financ- ing for mineral development and associated infrastructure through the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), which has a long history of supporting the mining industry. AIDEA is currently leading efforts to provide surface access to the Ambler mining district with a 300 km all-season access road.

AIDEA also offers several devel- opment financing options for quali- fied energy development projects, among others, electricity transmission and generation projects.

Given the potential for mineral development, Jacobson believes that the non-oil and gas mining sector is set to grow in importance to the Alaska economy. In 2012, the total value of the minerals industry was $4.114-billion, which included $677-million in exploration and development. While mining accounts for less than 3% of the state’s gross domestic product, it accounts for 35% of Alaska’s total exports. In 2012, Alaska exported $1.6-billion in coal, precious metal ore and concentrates and mineral ore and concentrates.

Mining firms are also important local employers, providing 4 366 high-paying year-round jobs and 4 700 indirect jobs. Mining employment has grown faster than any other industry sector in Alaska.

The state has six large lode producing mines and eight advanced projects. Kinross owns the Fort Knox gold mine, Coeur Mining owns the Kensington gold mine and Japan’s Sumitomo Metals and Mining owns the Pogo gold operation. Hecla Mining Company ope- rates the Greens Creek silver/zinc/gold/lead mine and a subsidiary of Teck Resources owns the Red Dog zinc/lead/silver mine in a partnership with the Inupiat people of Northwest Alaska. The Usibelli coal mine – a family-owned business – is Alaska’s only operating coal mine.

Alaska’s opportunities will be on show at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Convention, at booth #1 204.