SITKA, ALASKA
Some Yakutat residents have been cautiously waiting for news about a large mining operation planned for their back yard.

A group of Oklahoma companies last year announced it had discovered significant deposits of gold, silver and other minerals near the northern Southeast city.

Mining held the prospect of jobs and an economic boost. But it also raised concerns about impacts on the commercial fishing and subsistence hunting that the small community counts on.

Yakutat Borough Manager Skip Ryman says the announcement brought a lot of questions.

“What is the operation going to look like if they actually go into the production stage? What kind of a mine is it going to be, what kind of access is going to be required? Exactly what kind of a clout will our policies have? What kind of a seat will we have at the table?” he says.

A September, 2009, announcement by The Beard Company and Geohedral LLC, both of Oklahoma City, suggested its claims held more than $30 billion in gold.

But a quarterly report, issued this August, indicated that’s probably not the case. It said, quote, “subsequent assays failed to indicate commercial quantities of gold or silver in any of Geohedral’s present claims.” They also found less titanium and iron ore than previously expected.

Beard Company President Herb Mee turned down an interview request, saying there was nothing to talk about.

But a regional environmental organization had plenty to say.

“Often times mining companies aren’t actually mining for gold, they’re mining for investors,” says Rob Cadmus of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council.

“They will inflate numbers or make their prospects seem rather large, with the hope they can get mining investors to put some money into it,” he says. “And although we’re not sure that’s the case in Yakutat, it is a concern of ours. And we want to make sure that if someone is going to get on the ground they know what they’re doing.”

SEACC, and Yakutat manager Ryman, say the land targeted for exploration is particularly sensitive.

Ryman says one area, called Black Sands, is east of town, around the mouth of several salmon dip-netting rivers.

“These are shifting sand dunes and sand islands that are located in the estuaries of these salmon rivers. People have their commercial fishing cabins located on them. They’re also nesting grounds for terns, so there’s subsistence egg-gathering that takes place on these different areas,” he says.

The other area, called Tanis Mesa, is inland. Ryman says it’s used for subsistence and sport moose hunting.

Others have looked for minerals in the area. But SEACC’s Cadmus says his group will continue to monitor, and oppose, development.

“In some it’s just not appropriate. In places where there’s extremely important fisheries as well as extremely important cultural sites. So whether or not this mine is economic, whether this mine could happen, is a definite question. But as long as there’s something in the ground, someone’s going to be looking for it,” he says.

SEACC recently issued a press release through a service monitored by investors stating the mining effort was unlikely since it failed to identify commercial quantities of gold.

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