Nearly four decades ago, a state-owned corporation built the road that makes it possible to transport ore from one of the world's largest lead and zinc mines in Northwest Alaska to international markets.
Now, the ways that the Red Dog Mine has changed the region, are coloring the controversy over the proposed Ambler Road, a project that the same corporation hopes will facilitate new mines in the region.
The board of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority spent Sept. 21 touring the Red Dog Mine, which the corporation holds up as a success story.
The next morning, the board held a meeting in Kotzebue and took public comment from 11 people on the Ambler Road project. Tribal councils in Kobuk, Shungnak, Allakaket, Hughes and Ruby have offered conditional support, and the Northwest Arctic Borough has passed resolutions in favor. But at the meeting, no one spoke in favor of the 211-mile industrial road, which would be four times as long as AIDEA’s Red Dog Mine road.
Kotzebue resident Saagulik Elizabeth Hensley told the board the region, which came to support Red Dog after years of outreach, is proud of the mine. But she said the Ambler Road is different.
“You'll know it when we've got consensus, because things will happen,” Hensley said. “Things aren't happening with the road because there's just not consensus.”
She urged AIDEA to keep working toward that consensus.
Susan Georgette of Protect the Kobuk, a grassroots advocacy group that she said has more than 700 members in the region, pointed to Ambler Metals, the company hoping to build the first mine at the end of the road. Its president has said earning “social license,” or local acceptance, is essential.
“I want to emphasize that there is no social license in this region right now for the Ambler Road,” Georgette said. “The residents of this borough are highly divided about the road.”
Others told the board Red Dog’s success has come at a cost, pointing to the mine’s 52-mile haul road. Kotzebue resident Cyrus Harris told the board it should look at the road from the caribou’s point of view.
“Caribou will start detecting the noise of the road from miles away,” Harris said. “They get closer cautiously, heading that direction. But they'll be hesitant to cross.”
Recent research has found that Red Dog’s haul road delayed many migrating caribou by about a month and that many caribou change course when they encounter roads in the region.
Others who gave comments questioned the federal government’s investment in one of the partners of a mining company that would use the road, or raised concerns about man camps and the safety of young women in the villages. Some questioned whether local residents would actually get the jobs the road promises. One caller criticized the board’s frequent closed-door discussions.
But AIDEA Executive Director Randy Ruaro said the board has heard from supporters, and some communities near the road route have passed resolutions backing the road.
“What they are saying is, they need jobs for their youth and people living in the villages to keep the village alive,” Ruaro said. “They need work and jobs.”
Ruaro said state law requires AIDEA to develop resources and create jobs.
Harris returned to the microphone to respond.
“Let's say it runs strong for 20 years. What happens after 20 years?” Harris said. “My children, my grandchildren are going to live with the damages that got left behind. Jobs are good, but not in this manner.”
Commerce Commissioner and board member Julie Sande said the push for Ambler is about replacing Red Dog’s revenue. The mine’s ore is expected to run out in the early 2030s. Its operator, Teck, is seeking permits to keep the mine running for about 14 more years on two nearby deposits on state land.
“We also have to consider what can we do in this organization to try to replace that revenue if it were to stop,” Sande said. “And so that's part of our hurry, hurry, hurry.”
She said she’s taking the feedback to heart, and that the board has been discussing how nearby communities could benefit more meaningfully than they have from Red Dog. Ruaro said AIDEA will follow up with the borough on ways to help the region.
The Anchorage Press reported that, in recent weeks, AIDEA gave the communities of Ambler, Shungnak and Kobuk, the villages nearest to the Ambler Mining District, each $25,000 in fuel assistance.
