Mineral development: the roll of state and native lands.

• Author: Borell, Steve
• Position: Alaska

The theme of the 1998 Alaska Miners Association Annual Convention and Trade Show is "Alaska's State and Native Lands-150 Million Acres of Opportunity." This is more than a catchy phrase; it is part of the answer to the question: "Why do mining companies continue to explore and invest in Alaska when the same companies are dropping projects in other parts of the world?"

The year 1998 has been difficult for the mineral industry throughout the world. Metal prices are depressed and analysts are not projecting significant increases. This situation is true for both base metals (such as copper, zinc and nickel) and for precious metals (such as gold, silver and platinum). All Alaska miners-including small family mines, junior mining/exploration companies, and the large companies - are being hurt.

It is my rough estimate that total world-wide exploration expenditures in 1998 will be more than 30 percent below 1997 amounts. But the good news is that Alaska's share of the 1998 dollars should be greater than it was in 1997. Two major reasons are that the State of Alaska owns more than 104 million acres, and private Native-owned lands total more than 44 million acres.

Alaska is unique in that it has such a large amount of state-owned land. In fact, once the state selections are transferred, Alaska state-owned land will total an area larger than the entire state of California. Most other western states have some state land, but most of the land is either owned by the federal government, land-grant universities, or by private citizens in relatively small parcels.

Regarding Native-owned lands, there is growing recognition of the importance of mineral development for the Native peoples of Alaska. The leadership of most Native regional corporations has known this for several years, but the recognition of the benefits is now growing among more of the individual Native shareholders and in the mineral industry itself.

There have been measurable benefits like jobs, payrolls, contracts associated with mineral activity, and taxes paid to local government. But there are also less measurable benefits that result from people having jobs to include:

* learning new skills

* expanding general knowledge

* increasing opportunities in other fields that build on what has been learned in mining jobs

* increasing the ability to help others in the villages

* decreasing dependence on public assistance programs.

All of these benefits result in increased personal self-esteem for...