A mining prospect near the headwaters of the Chilkat River is entering a new phase of operations. And the public comment period has been extended.
The Palmer Project is a Copper, Zinc, Gold and Silver exploration project, upstream from Haines and Klukwan. Representatives for the Palmer Project and American Pacific, who owns it, did not return requests for comment on this story.
The company has applied for an amendment to its 2019 application. It will require a state land use permit.
This information was made public as part of a hundred page document on May 2nd. The public comments on it were due by May 16th. Individuals, advocacy groups, and agency employees found themselves with only two weeks to review the document, and pleaded for more time to their representatives and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, who oversees the permitting. DNR spokesperson Lorraine Henry, says the agency received over 200 requests to extend the public comment period so they decided to extend the period to June 3rd.
The new activities at the Palmer project would include building miles of trails 25 feet wide, some shallow drilling, operation of heavy equipment and helicopters, and detonation of close to a thousand dynamite sticks for seismic studies.
Shannon Donahue works for the environmental group, Rivers Without Borders. She says the proposed activities suggest the mining company is considering two sites for tailings storage.
Donahue: “Some of the new drill sites (doc p.22) are in some very new locations, closer to the Klehini River. And what’s interesting is if you go back to the 2019 preliminary economic assessment that Constantine released, those are the same locations that they had proposed for tailings storage (doc p.266).”
Tailings piles could leach toxic chemicals in the environments and would have to be monitored in perpetuity. The two sites are on each side of Glacier Creek, close to where it joins the Klehini river.
Donahue says the implications from this new phase of operations are significant enough that a comment period of three months would be warranted.
However, Henry with DNR, says the proposed activities are classified as exploration, not mining. The Alaska statutes do not require the agency to notify the public in this case. Henry says the current notice and public comment period are offered as a courtesy, and any further mining or tailings facility proposed would have to go through a separate permitting process.
Donahue says she disagrees with this reasoning.
Donahue: “One of the strategies that mining or exploration companies will use in the permitting process, is just to get permits in a kind of piecemeal sort of a way.”
She says this allows companies to move into an area and have a significant impact without proper oversight.
Donahue: “There is actually so much damage that can be done in the exploration process.”
She says the explosions will disturb wildlife and fish, and impact other human users of the area.
The Palmer project estimates that the operations will disturb around 20 acres of land, clearing vegetation for wide trails, drilling pads and seismic lines. The mining company says it will replant vegetation in some areas, and potentially leave some trails open to serve as access for future logging operations in the valley.
Written comments, questions or requests to view the full application packet should be directed to Sara Church, Telephone (907) 458-6896; Fax: (907) 451-2703 or e-mail: dnr.fbx.mining@alaska.gov
