Linking transportation to resources: building new infrastructure for mining.

AuthorStricker, Julie
PositionSpecial section: Building Alaska

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Maps of Alaska are defined in large part by what they lack: lines. Aside from a single track bisecting the state from the North Slope to Anchorage and a handful of spokes to the east and south, Alaska is notable for its dearth of roads and railroads.

In the next 10 years, however, that picture is likely to change. The state is spending millions of dollars to develop railroad extensions and all-season roads that would provide access to the state's rich natural resources, which are now effectively stranded without heavy-haul transportation corridors. Communities along the way also would benefit from improved infrastructure, such as lower fuel bills and energy costs, and more job opportunities, according to Randall Ruaro, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Sean Parnell.

Resource development is key to Parnell's plans to boost the state's economy. In the past decade, the value of Alaska's minerals has risen sharply, topping out at $3.55 billion in 2011.

"Go anywhere in the state, mining is happening," said Dave Szumigala of Kinross Fort Knox during a workshop at the Arctic International Mining Symposium in Fairbanks in March.

Just how rich are these resources? Studies undertaken by the University of Alaska Fairbanks in the past decade have resulted in a database of more than 7,200 mineral deposits, with thousands more just across the border in Canada's Yukon.

Dr. Paul Metz, a professor in the geological engineering department at UAF, says the mineral value along the proposed transportation corridors have "conservative estimates in the hundreds of billions of dollars." These deposits include natural gas in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, copper in the Ambler district, limestone near Livengood, and gold and rare earth metals north of the Yukon River. Easy, reliable bulk transportation is a major part of turning prospects into working mines.

Road, Rail and Port Connections

The largest of these projects would link world-class mineral deposits with Alaska's existing road and rail systems to port facilities in Anchorage, Port MacKenzie and potentially Nome and Kotzebue.

The Port of Anchorage is in the midst of a major upgrade and expansion that will add two barge berths and two ship berths. The 50-year-old port has been called the single most important piece of infrastructure in Alaska. Ninety percent of all the merchandise, gasoline, heating oil and other supplies for the state comes in through the port. Although the project's budget has ballooned to nearly $1 billion and it is several years behind schedule...

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