Producing Mines 

Greens Creek Mine: The Greens Creek Mine is owned by Kennecott Minerals and produces silver, zinc, gold, and lead.  Despite the fact it is located within a National Monument where strict environmental standards apply, the mine has had issues with acid and heavy metal pollution.  According to the EPA, the mine is Alaska’s second largest producer of toxic waste.   
Download document for more on the Greens Creek Mine.

Mines Under Construction

Kensington Mine:  Owned by Coeur d’Alene Mines, the Kensington would be an underground gold mine.  Although construction of its mill facility is nearly complete, the mine has no permits or approved plan for tailings disposal.  The company hoped to dump its toxic tailings into lake perched above Berners Bay, an amazing natural area, but the 9th Circuit Court determined the plan violated the Clean Water Act.  SEACC prefers a dry stack tailings disposal method and will continue to work to protect clean water and Berners Bay. 
Download document for more on Berners Bay.

Galore Creek Mine:  NovaGold Resources and Teck Cominco recently received initial approval to construct this large open-pit gold, copper, and silver mine near the Scud River, a tributary of the Stikine, in British Columbia.  The Galore Creek Mine would produce over 500 million tons of toxic and acidic material to be kept behind a 900 ft tall dam.  If that dam were to fail the pollution would drain into the Stikine.  The cumulative impacts this mine and other developments would have on the the Stikine River is a major concern.

Proposed Mines   

Tulsequah Chief Mine:  Redcorp Ventures is pushing to reopen the Tulsequah Chief Mine, an abandoned mine just across the BC-Alaska border that has been leaking acid and toxic heavy metals into the Taku watershed for decades.  Pollution that occurs would flow into the Tulsequah and Taku Rivers.  It plans to use an amphibious tug boat and a hovercraft like barge to access the mine via the Taku River.  Their operation raise questions about potential negative impacts on salmon and interference with the gillnet fleet. 

Schaft Creek Mine: CopperFox Metals is in the planning phase for development of this copper, gold, moylbdenum and silver deposit.  The large open pit and tailings waste this mine could pollute the Stikine River.

Other Activity

Yakutat D-1 Lands:  The Bureau of Land Management is planning to open 215,000 acres of land around Yakutat to mining and drilling.  The proposed plan has been opposed by the borough and a coalition of national, state, and regional environmental groups.

Salt Chuck: Research is being done to determine what type of clean up is needed to contain pollution at this abandoned mine owned by Pure Nickel. 

Quartz Hill:  The proposed Quartz Hill molybdenum mine would have created a 2 by 1.3 mile open pit almost 2,000 feet deep.  The tailings and waste rock would have largely filled the Wilson Arm Fjord and some surrounding valleys and salmon producing streams and rivers in Misty Fjords National Monument.  Although this mine proposal now lays dormant it still could be pursued. 

Mineral Exploration

Niblack Anchorage:  Niblack Mining is doing advanced exploration for precious metals.  The operations involve tunneling, drilling, and storage of acid producing waste and fuels.   

Wowoedski Island: BravoVentures is exploring a massive sulfide deposit for metals. 

Zarembo Island: Small scale exploration for precious metals. 

Kasaan:  Full Metal Minerals is exploring for precious metals. 

Bokan Uranium:   Ucore Uranium is exploring this abandoned uranium mine.