OPINION: Mining plan would waste public money and make Alaska’s roads less safe

Our budgetary Groundhog Day is in full swing, with the wants and needs of Alaskans still outweighing financial resources. Considering this, squandering precious highway funds on unnecessary projects is unthinkable. But it’s happening.

Although not contained in the approved fiscal year 2024 budget, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (AKDOT&PF) now plans to replace or update five additional state highway bridges, according to its Feb. 14 news release. Two of those bridges are perfectly functional and don’t require upgrades for normal traffic, including semitrucks.

Why upgrade them, then? The answer: It’s for the exclusive benefit of Canadian mining company Kinross Gold and its co-owner, Texas-based Contango Ore. Their plan is to use 52-wheel, 95-foot-long 165,000-pound B-train trucks to carry ore 250 miles from Manh Choh mine at Tetlin to their Fort Knox mine north of Fairbanks for processing. Kinross’s trucks are too heavy for most existing bridges in Alaska, including those along their planned route via the Alaska, Richardson and Steese Highways.

In 2018, when the price of gold was $1,250 per ounce, an on-site processing mill was shown to be a viable and profitable option. Today’s current price of gold is at least $700 per ounce higher than 2018 (more than $1,950). If an on-site mill was deemed profitable then, it should be even more profitable today.

Manh Choh is unique in Alaska, as the land, subsurface rights and all potential royalties belong to the people of Tetlin — who have every right to, and should, develop their resources. Mine developers should build an ore processing mill nearby. Trucking ore on our public highways to Fort Knox is costly to the state and dangerous for the residents of Interior Alaska.

The Robertson, Johnson and Gerstle River bridges were built in 1944, and it makes sense for AKDOT&PF to replace them. However, the Richardson Highway Chena Flood Control bridge and Steese Highway Chena Hot Springs Road bridge are well within their useful lifespans.

The true reason for the bridge replacement plan is thinly veiled in the news release: “… the need for their replacement, have been part of the conversations surrounding proposed mining development that would affect the Alaska, Richardson, and Steese Highways.” The chief cheerleader of this wasteful plan is “I need Alaska to say ‘yes’ to everything” Gov. Mike Dunleavy. There is little chance the commissioner of the Dept. of Transportation, or for that matter Gov. Dunleavy, didn’t know that during 2021, the Alaska Permanent Fund had acquired 7% of Contango Ore!

The Permanent Fund is a part owner of Contango, so the decision to upgrade two perfectly functional bridges is a clear conflict of interest. It is wrong for the Permanent Fund to be party to unnecessary infrastructure replacement, much less in service of an ore-hauling proposal deeply unpopular with residents along its proposed route. If the ore were processed near Tetlin, neither bridge would need to be repaired or replaced. (Only the north lane of each of these divided highway bridges, the side subjected to excessive loads, is scheduled for work.)

At best, this scheme demonstrates fiscal malfeasance, benefiting mine developers while Alaska collects zero production royalties (because the people of Tetlin own subsurface rights).

At worst,

1. Millions of dollars will be wasted on two bridges that don’t need to be replaced;

2. Road damage will accelerate from excessive weight and frequency of ore-trains hauling private cargo on our road system; and

3. Local drivers, children at 118 school bus stops, and visitors alike face catastrophic safety issues every few minutes, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for at least five years.

If this plan is executed, how long before we encounter ore B-trains in Hatcher Pass, or on the Sterling, Seward, Glenn, Taylor, Top of the World, Dalton, Denali, Elliot or Parks highways — all adjacent to known gold deposits?

Alaska should redirect the funds to be wasted on these two bridges to more important projects and divest state ownership of Contango Ore. The Permanent Fund should work for all Alaskans, not jeopardize the lives and quality of life of some Alaskans in the pursuit of profit.

Dirk Tordoff is a lifelong Alaskan and is a retired researcher and archivist. He resides in Fairbanks.

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