Alaska and Canada: sharing a mutually beneficial relationship.

• Author: Barbour, Tracy
• Position: Regional Review

While Alaska and Canada share a common border, they also have similarities in their economies and are connected by important investments, partnerships and commerce.

Alaska and Canada share 1,538 miles of land border. This stretch of land is part of what's known as the International Boundary--the longest border in the world. The boundary extends 5,525 miles across the United States. Canada is the second-largest country in the world, while Alaska is the largest state in the United States. Both places are remote located and sparsely populated.

Canada plays an important role in many aspects of Alaska's economy, according to Wanetta Ayers, division director of the Division of Economic Development at the State of Alaska, Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. "Canada and Alaska share mutual interests in a number of industries," she says. "As economies with significant natural resource endowments, we face many of the same opportunities and challenges."

The Alaska and Canada mining industries are prime examples and have been interlinked since the Gold Rush days of 1898. Canada companies are investing heavily in Alaska mining exploration, development and operations. This makes mining perhaps the most significant economic connection between Alaska and Canada.

Between 1981 and 2008, according to the Government of Canada, Canada companies spent $3.9 billion on mineral exploration and development in Alaska.

In 2008 alone, 38 Canada companies spent a total of $163 million on exploration in Alaska. An additional $304 million was spent on development. Canada companies account for approximately 70 percent of exploration and development expenditures in Alaska's mineral industry. And in 2008, Canada mining companies employed about 1,700 Alaskans, who earned an average of $87,000 per year--nearly double the statewide average annual wage.

MAJOR CANADA PROJECTS

Canada companies operate major mining projects throughout the state. For example, the Fort Knox Mine near Fairbanks--Alaska's largest gold mine--is owned by Toronto-based Kinross Gold. It employs more than 450 people and generates $45 million in wages and benefits annually. Red Dog Mine in Northwest Alaska is the world's largest producer of zinc concentrates. Owned and operated by Teck Resources, a Canada company, the mine employs 485 year-round workers and creates nearly $50 million in total wages annually.

The Pebble Partnership, a joint venture between London-based Anglo American and Vancouver, B.C.-based Northern Dynasty Minerals, is another example. It's currently assessing the potential for developing the Pebble gold and copper project in Southwestern Alaska. Between...