A Constantine employee examines an area of the AG zone. (Photo courtesy of Constantine Metal Resources)

The Constantine Mine in Haines announces a new project manager and there’s more discussion of commercial activities in Mud Bay. KHNS’ Mike Swasey spoke with Haines Mayor Doug Olerud for the latest on those stories.

Swasey – Haines Mayor Doug Olerud, thanks so much for joining us today. There seems to be an ongoing saga regarding Mud Bay zoning issues. Can you kind of take us through what’s happening with commercial activity in Mud Bay?

Olerud – Yeah, Mike, at our last meeting, there was an ordinance up for adoption that would prohibit commercial events from being allowed in the Mud Bay rural residential zone. And at the end of the meeting, numerous assembly members had weighed in saying, we hope this doesn’t have unintended consequences. And so the next day, I went in and talked to the manager and the clerk about that. And so we arranged a conversation with our borough attorney to see where those lined out. 

Another issue is there’s a retreat out there, the Chilkat Inlet Retreat, that a lot of people thought would be grandfathered in during this process. But since their permit had expired, they wouldn’t be. And so we had reached out to an assembly member to see if they would ask for reconsideration. I was going to use my veto on that, but figured reconsideration would be a quicker resolution for the residents out there. And the main thing is to make sure the assembly knows all the ramifications. And then also to make sure that those property owners, since it was the intent of everybody that spoke at the meeting for them to continue there, to make sure that we weren’t doing anything that would keep them from operating until the assembly decides on whether to rezone their parcels of property or not. That’ll be at our meeting on Tuesday, where that’ll be up for reconsideration.

Swasey – Okay, the Constantine Mine Project slash the Palmer Project has a new project manager, they’ve announced Ernie Siemoneit, if I’m pronouncing that correctly, out of the Pogo Mine, outside of Fairbanks, is going to be their new project manager. That mine is the fourth-largest producer of mining-related toxic waste in Alaska. How does the borough see the new project manager coming on board, is it looking like that’s going to be an escalation out of the Palmer project? Or is it just more of, we’re not sure what’s happening?

Olerud – I don’t think who they have hired as their project manager signifies any different change out there as much as their actual plans do. They came to us a month and a half ago and explained that their budget for this year allows them to put in, I think, it’s a 50 to 60-man camp out at the project as well as rework the road to the face of the ore body. And that next year there, if everything goes well, they’re planning on beginning their portal into the mountainside. And so I think that shows the escalation much more than who they’re hiring in any capacity.

Swasey – So it certainly looks like that project is all systems go.

Olerud – Right now their goal, as they’ve stated to us, is they want to have a better idea of the actual mineral content. And the best way to do that is to start going underground. So they can reach some areas that are very difficult to reach from the surface for doing some testing. And so that’s the next phase that they’re looking at. They’re going to continue to do their water testing and monitoring, and then start making these plans for going underground. Then once they do go underground that’s going to have a significant impact here because now they’d be able to operate on a year-round basis instead of just in the summer months when they’re able to get up by helicopter and do their drilling.

Swasey – Will the Constantine Mine project be an investor in a potential Lutak Dock rebuild?

Olerud – We have not had any discussions with them about that at all. The borough is going to be working on that to develop that for the current uses that are going over that dock. We haven’t had any discussions about putting ore over it.

Swasey – Okay, Doug Olerud, Mayor of Haines, Alaska, thanks so much for joining us. 

Olerud – You bet. Have a great day Mike, take care.