Constantine’s Palmer Project is the subject of a new report in the Guardian

Constantine’s Palmer Project, a proposed metals mine near Klukwan, is the subject of a new 2,400 word report (“A tiny Alaska town is split over a goldmine. At stake is a way of life”) by The Guardian. KHNS’ Corinne Smith spoke with the U.S. business editor Dominic Rushe about his report.

The Palmer Project, also known as the Constantine Mine, is now in the advanced stages of exploration – looking for copper, zinc, silver, and gold in the mountains at the headwaters of the Chilkat River. 

Dominic Rushe business editor with the Guardian, flew out from New York City at the invitation of Haines watershed scientist and activist Gershon Cohen, a KHNS board member. Rushe spent a week in May reporting and interviewing community members about the impacts of the proposed mining project. 

“It’s not a new project. Merill Palmer made the claim in 1969,” said Rush. “There’s been interest in this site for a long time. But it’s kind of taken a step closer to being a real mine with the involvement of Dowa, which is this huge Japanese metals company that now has a majority stake in the project.”

This year, Dowa is planning to invest close to $9 million dollars into the Canadian mining company’s project to drill a large exploratory tunnel under the Saksaia glacier. Where the drilling wastewater and run-off will go is still being negotiated, and has been a source of  concern for some residents.  

In his report that went online on Tuesday, Rushe focused on the front-line Native community of Klukwan.

“Klukwan has been there for 2000 years, and you know, what’s the average life of a mine, like ten, twenty years. Is it really worth taking a risk to potentially pollute this waterway, and destroy something that’s been there for two thousand years?” 

Dust particulates from mining trucks and contamination could endanger residents’ health, and the entire environment, especially the salmon runs.

“If the copper gets into the waterway, copper in particular is terrible for fish and their homing abilities and interferes with their ability to get back to their spawning grounds.”

Same for tourism, which is a major industry for the Chilkat Valley, with visitors from all over the world coming to see the wildlife along the Chilkat River. 

“People come to see the bald eagles, or come to fish, or come to see the wildlife, etc. If those things aren’t there anymore, then that’s going to be…really difficult for the tourism industry.”

Rushe didn’t only speak to critics. He notes there’s a good deal of support for a metals mine on Upper Lynn Canal to bring jobs and help the economy. 

“There are people on the other side too who say the pandemic showed how reliant on tourism, and that having another industry in town would be great for Haines. And there should be more diversity in the local economy and maybe the mine could provide that.” 

Constantine, the Vancouver, B.C.-based exploration company, has projected to support more than 200 full-time jobs not including an estimated 40 contractors. Its executives have dismissed the pollution concerns, and said the mine development would be to the highest standards. 

“I spoke to Garfield McVeigh, who’s Constantine’s chief executive,” said Rushe. “He said it was overplayed, that the concerns were overplayed and every precaution would be taken to make sure this mine was developed and operated to the highest possible standard.”

Rushe says the final decision for the Palmer Project will be made by Alaska state regulatory agencies, but the Biden Administration could also get involved, as seen with the Pebble Mine project near Bristol Bay. 

“We don’t know when and if the mine will open. We don’t know who will operate it. We don’t know the exact details of how the mine is going to operate. There was a dye test, which was conducted a while ago, which was to try and find out where runoff water from the mine was going. I think that’s been released yet to the public, that those these kind of things I think need to be aired.”

Rushe says these issues are complex, and there will be a lot of new information over the next year. State and federal agencies are not the only decision makers, Haines and Klukwan residents will also have a chance to weigh in. 

Right now, the proposed development of the Lutak Dock in Haines is being debated. Expansion could allow for an ore dock to transport mining materials to bulk carriers that could sail to international ports. The next town hall for the Lutak Dock project is scheduled to be held at 6:30 p.m. this Thursday June 24 via Zoom. To join, see details on the Haines Borough calendar.