The Alaska Contractor - Summer 2008

“We’re excited about completing
this,” Trigg said. “We’re hoping to have
the Modified Plan of Operations approved
by the Forest Service this fall,
and we’re currently working on other
permits that need to be modified.”
Coeur’s new tailings disposal proposal
included input from one of the
environmental groups that initially
launched the permit appeal, according
to the mining company. The modified
plan that the Forest Service will consider,
which is supported by more than
900 studies, includes an environmental
monitoring component and extensive
reclamation requirements, Coeur said.
The city and borough of Juneau
helped facilitate meetings between the
mining company and the environmental
groups and indicated support for the new
tailings disposal plan by all parties involved
in a press release last November.
“The conservation groups believe
that the potential adverse environmental
impacts of the Comet Beach
site are less than the impacts of alter-
native sites that have been identified,”
according to the press release. “If the
Comet Beach site is approved, Lower
Slate Lake would not be used in any
way for tailings storage or disposal.”
In May, Coeur announced that the
U.S. Forest Service will complete an
Environmental Assessment on the revised
tailings storage plan. That could
allow for conclusion of permitting for
an alternative tailings facility later this
year, Coeur said.
“The EA process will provide a welldefined
and timely permitting pathway
for the paste tailings plan,” said Dennis
E. Wheeler, chairman, president and
CEO of Coeur, in a May 9 press release.
“Coeur is now confident the environmental
review process can be completed
in 2008, allowing Kensington to be
brought into production in 2009.”
In a separate press release, the Southeast
Alaska Conservation Council indicated
their support for the paste tailings
plan as a preferred alternative over the
dry tailings facility, according to Coeur.
Once completed, Kensington is expected
to produce gold for at least 10
years, based on the current proven and
probable mineral reserve of 1.352 million
ounces. Cash costs to produce at
Construction crews completed work on the
mill and crushing facilities and other surface
buildings at the Kensington gold mine,
located northeast of Juneau, last August. The
buildings remain idle, as permits to store
tailings from the gold processing facility were
withdrawn after environmental challenges.