The Alaska Contractor - Summer 2008

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“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 alternative 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 The buildings remain idle, as permits to store tailings from the gold processing facility were withdrawn after environmental challenges.
Kensington were estimated by Coeur at $310 per ounce, according to a mid- 2007 press release. Coeur has been working on plans to develop Kensington near the historic Jualin underground mine since 1990, initially with former partner Echo Bay Exploration. Coeur is now the sole operator and developer of Kensington. This new permit consideration will be the fourth time regulatory agencies have reviewed the Kensington project under the National Environmental Policy Act since the original plan of operations was submitted in 1990. While receiving past regulatory approval, no mine has ever been built at Kensington. Low gold prices in the late 1990s caused Coeur to look for ways to reduce capital costs and to accomplish that, the company modified its proposed development. Coeur submitted an amendment to its approved 1998 Plan of Operations, changing the location for site access to the Jualin prospect, with a nearly three mile horizontal tunnel connecting to the Kensington ore body. In addition to changes in the tailings disposal plan, Coeur announced this April a new Memorandum of Un- derstanding with Goldbelt Inc., regarding transportation for mine workers. The new agreement between the mining company and Goldbelt, an Alaska Native village corporation, will focus on an alternative marine transportation center at Yankee Cove that will move workers to and from the Kensington mine, which is located about 45 miles north of Juneau. Workers will be bused from Juneau to Yankee Cove, then will be moved by boat from Yankee Cove to the mine site, according to Coeur. “This plan will put Goldbelt shareholders back to work,” said Gary Droubay, CEO at Goldbelt. “The delay caused by the lawsuit adversely impacted both jobs and services in which Goldbelt shareholders would have benefited. I know the recent developments to progress the project are good news for Juneau and all of Southeast Alaska.” Patricia Liles is a freelance writer living in Fairbanks.
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8005 Schoon St. Anchorage, AK 99518
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HOMER WATER TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT
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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE New issues fa
Page 14 and 15: Associated General Contractors of A
Page 16: Behavior-based safety and the const
Page 19 and 20: SAFETY Kevin P. Welker, KIEWIT BUIL
Page 21 and 22: 55, Ken says he has worked for the
Page 23 and 24: are producing little to no asphalt
Page 25 and 26: gether at one of the family cabins
Page 28 and 29: Juneau’s “in school” program
Page 30 and 31: trict, community, parents and educa
Page 32 and 33: Rural Alaska As in urban Alaska, th
Page 34 and 35: AGC of Alaska forms Construction Ed
Page 36 and 37: Construction Career Day introduces
Page 38 and 39: ilities during the few hours he was
Page 40 and 41: First UAA graduates earn four-year
Page 42 and 43: subcontract you need on your job,
Page 44: CM students intern at Anchorage con
Page 47 and 48: Girl Scouts earned this patch for p
Page 49 and 50: A tourist walks along Fifth Avenue
Page 51 and 52: southern U.S. building techniques a
Page 54: Steel bridge team wins regional com
Page 57 and 58: misrepresentations on to the engine
Page 59 and 60: Past projects Other major past proj
Page 61: for the project. Coeur asked regula
Page 65 and 66: “The Sutton job was a big overlay
Page 67 and 68: whether the second measure should b
Page 69 and 70: to the Fort Knox mine. Kinross Gold
Page 71 and 72: water ballot initiative. Parnell la
Page 73 and 74: enced Marsh Alaska staff, it means
Page 75 and 76: Aerial shot that shows the scope an
Page 77 and 78: As production drops, there will com
Page 79 and 80: Do you or your company have profess
Page 81 and 82: The blasting crew from Advanced Bla
Page 83 and 84: “My partner and I are fans of art
Page 86: The Politics of Construction Vote
Page 89 and 90: Graduates of CH2M Hill’s pilot pr
Page 91 and 92: continued Anchorage Museum Expansio
Page 93 and 94: continued “Carlile continues to r
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The Alaska Contractor - Summer 2008

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