Lightloads for SeaCal.

• Author: Jones, Patricia
• Position: Limestone mine operated by SeaCal, a mine operating subsidiary of the Southeast Alaska Native regional corporation Sealaska Regional Native Corp.

The Calder Limestone mine offers a premium product, but with the depressed Asian market there is only hope for future profits.

In an area better known for timber resources, Sealaska Regional Native Corp. is tapping a treasure trove of white limestone called the Calder Mine, located on the Prince of Wales Island.

Although limestone is one of the most common rocks found worldwide, the brightness and purity of the calcium carbonate rock found on the Southeast Alaska island is unique.

Paper and paint manufacturers needing such high quality white limestone are the primary target audience for Sealaska's future limestone sales, said Bob Wysocki, vice president and general manager of SeaCal, a mine operating subsidiary created by the Southeast Alaska Native regional corporation.

"It's one of the top three deposits in the world that can meet the market demands for brightness, quality and accessibility," Wysocki said. But that uniqueness makes marketing the product somewhat more difficult.

"Many of the end users have their sources pretty well squared away," said Dick Swainbank, a mineral development specialist with the state Department of Commerce and Economic Development. "There's not much margin there, so you need a market."

Therein lies one of few clouds on the horizon for SeaCal's continued operations at Calder. The sluggish economic recovery of Far East countries struck by the Asian flu two years ago has stopped mining at the Alaska project.

After spending $14 million in 1996 and 1997 to build the limestone mine and port facility, SeaCal is now sitting on a stockpile of more than 100,000 tons of the brilliant white rock. Crews dug up 150,000 tons in the fall of 1998, the first season of mining at Calder.

Now, the company is waiting for the economies of Japan and Korea to recover so that sale of the unique mineral can start, Wysocki said.

"About the time we finished development, the Asian flu started rapidly deteriorating the economies ...; It caught everyone off guard," he said. "We have people at the table ready to buy, but we can't sell at a profit because of the currencies."

In the meantime, SeaCal continues to maintain the site and offer test samples of the limestone to various paper and paint manufacturers, both in Asia and along the West Coast in the United States and Canada.

"They require extensive testing and they are very slow, careful and methodical, especially with industrial materials," Wysocki said. "Once we're accepted and proven...