Mining Matters: The future looks bright for Alaska's commodities.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa
• Position: MINING

Alaska has always been a state that depends on natural resources. And while much of its history is based around mining, the industry is poised to play a large part in its future as well. According to Alaska's Mineral Industry 2017, published by Alaska's Department of Natural Resources Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, the value of the state's mineral industry in 2017 totaled $3.15 billion, an increase of roughly 12 percent from 2016. And while numbers are just starting to come in for 2018, it looks like investment in this area will continue to grow.

How the State Ranks

According to the report, Alaska ranks in the top ten for global reserves and resources of major metals and coal. The state holds 12 percent of the world's coal resources (the second most in the world) and 3 percent of the world's lead (the sixth most in the world). It also contains 3 percent of its gold (ninth most in the world), 4 percent of its zinc (seventh most in the world), 2 percent of its silver (tenth most in the world), and 0.2 percent of its copper (eleventh most in the world).

There are currently six operating mines in the state, which include Teck Alaska's Red Dog mine, one of the world's largest zinc mines; Hecla's Greens Creek mine, one of the world's largest and lowest-cost primary silver mines; Northern Star Resources' Pogo mine; Kinross-owned Fort Knox; Coeur Alaska's Kensington Mine; and Usibelli Coal Mine. Zinc is the top metal produced, accounting for more than half of Alaska's total metal production by value, followed by gold at 33 percent, lead at 8.8 percent, and silver at 77 percent.

And while the demand for these mined minerals stays steady, providing employment for the more than 9,000 direct and indirect jobs attributed to the industry according to Economic Impact of Mining in Alaska, prepared by the McDowell Group for the Alaska Miners Association, what's even more exciting is that quite a number of advanced-exploration and development projects are underway-some at existing sites and some at newly discovered areas--that may bring even more mines to fruition in the near future.

Expanding Markets

It's a bit ironic that even as society moves away from fossil fuels, investing more time and money into alternatives like solar and wind power, this new direction is creating an even higher demand for more mined commodities.

"Copper is a very unique metal given its physical properties as the best conductor of electricity apart from gold, which...