Megaprojects made possible by the state’s unique geology By Isaac Stone Simonelli
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Jonathan Caine | USGS
N AT U R A L R E SO U RC E D E V E LO PM E N T SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
Hunting ‘Elephants’ in Alaska
he valuable mineral deposits investors have brought online or are attempting to bring online in the Last Frontier usually stand out for their mammoth size. There is the Red Dog Mine, the largest zinc mine in the world; there’s the Donlin Gold project, which is one of the largest known undeveloped gold deposits in the world; and then there’s the controversial Pebble Project, which constitutes one of the largest copper and gold discoveries in the world. “In Alaska, people are looking for elephants, because it’s easier to develop elephants—they are more economical,” says Jennifer Athey, geologist and lead data manager for the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS). In the mineral exploration industry, “elephant” is a shorthand term for extremely large deposits. Athey points out that the magnitude of such deposits allows for the construction of roads and other infrastructure needed to bring a mine online. “The nice thing is Alaska has elephants to find, and it also has a lot of smaller deposits, too,” Athey says. “So if that infrastructure is developed over time, then we'll be able to economically develop some of the smaller prospects as well.”
52 | November 2021
Alaska Business
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