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A profile of Alaska’s mining industry in Petroleum News showcases the benefits the sector provides to the state, including “substantial and growing contributions” to Alaska’s economy and its communities.

Here are some of the piece’s key points:

• In 2011, the mining industry accounted for 4,500 direct and 4,500 indirect jobs, most of which were year-round jobs.
• With total spending of $620 million on direct and indirect payroll, and annual averages of about $100,000, mining registered some of the highest wages in the state.
• Rents, royalties, fees and taxes filled state coffers to the tune of $148 million (an increase of 170 percent over 2010 revenues), while local governments received $17 million through property taxes and other payments. This is on top of more than $70 million in other payments into state coffers, such as for transportation and construction projects.
• Mining companies spent more than $300 million on mineral exploration projects in the state in 2011.

 
The profile also highlights the ripple effects for other Alaska native corporations, and touts the civic impact of the mining industry representing the most significant private-sector presence in many communities.

The conclusion: while challenges have to be overcome, “further development of Alaska’s mineral resources would bring additional benefits in the form of more high-wage jobs and increased spending with local vendors as well as government and Alaska Native revenue from taxes and royalties. The presence of responsible mining organizations also would dramatically improve the quality of life for many Alaskans who will never see the inside of a mine.”

While Alaska is already benefiting from its natural resources, the sheer vastness of its mineral wealth alone suggests that much more can be done. A look to the Canada may be in order, where the Canadian province of Quebec is pursuing its ambitious Plan du Nord. As American Resources principal Daniel McGroarty points out in his latest column for Real Clear World, the idea behind the comprehensive plan which encompasses the allocation of $80 billion to resource exploration, is to develop the province’s mineral riches in “strategic bid to contribute to the wealth and prominence of the province.”

Given its vast mineral potential, Alaska may well be America’s Plan du Nord. The question is, are we ready to implement it?

While most Rare Earths-related stories focus on China these days, there’s no denying that the race for critical mineral resources has arrived on the North American continent.

As the Fairbanks Daily News Miner reports, Alaska State geologists are excited by the findings of recent mineral cataloguing efforts, with a new $3 million program underway. The latest effort centers on strategic mineral deposits near the Ray Mountains north of Fairbanks, Alaska, “which include both the valuable rare earth elements as well as others such as cobalt, platinum and yttrium.”

While this (and previous related) effort(s) are sure to put Alaska on the map in the global Rare Earths supply debate, our northern neighbors in Canada are also engaged in efforts to get access to Rare Earths beneath their own soil. According to the news site Kenora Online, within five years, Rare Earths developer “Avalon Rare Metals could have invested $100 million at its Thor Lake property in the Northwest Territories, as well as $300 million at a new processing plant on the Gulf Coast.”

The Kenora Online piece cites a tough economic climate with the European financial crisis, uncertainty over the renewal of green energy credits in the U.S., and environmental concerns as obstacles for the Canadian Rare Earths efforts. Meanwhile in the U.S., “Federal and state policymakers continue to dither over domestic mining policy initiatives,” as ARPN expert and MetalMiner co-founder and editor Lisa Reisman has pointed out. As promising as certain mineral deposits may be from a geological perspective – it is not until these policy challenges are addressed that the U.S. will be able to successfully compete in the global race for mineral resources.

The Daily Caller reports that the EPA’s preemptive assessment of the Pebble copper and gold mine in Alaska could cost the U.S. $220 billion in investment. The agency’s report, based on an evaluation of a hypothetical mine, expresses concern over the site’s potential environmental impact and could lead to Pebble’s rejection before it has a [...]

While the U.S. Government continues to talk about critical minerals access and the dangers of foreign dependency, New Zealand’s government is taking action. According to MiningNe.ws, the New Zealand government is “looking at ways of speeding up approvals for big mining projects because endless court action is “frustrating” companies and costing them millions.” Here are [...]

In a new column featured on the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s website, American Resources principal Daniel McGroarty discusses the latest American Resources report on Critical Minerals & National Security in the context of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s latest manifestations of regulatory overreach. Here are his key points: The EPA’s activist approach to regulating natural resource [...]

Earlier this month, China’s President Hu Jintao paid a three-day visit to Denmark. Danish officials were quick to dismiss speculations that Arctic issues were on the agenda, but the fact that “the leader of the world’s most populous country decided to visit a nation of 5.6-million for the first time in 62 years” only two [...]

Two copper mines in Silver City, New Mexico are proving to be a real boon to the local economy. Employment at the Chino and Tyrone copper mines has increased dramatically since 2009 thanks to increased production, with the Chino mine now employing 1,500 people. The economic benefit, however, stretches beyond local families and businesses profiting [...]

Sounding the alarm on the possible impact of hypothetical mining — in spite of the fact that no permit application or specific plans have been submitted — the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a cursory review of the Bristol Bay Watershed in Alaska. The EPA’s unprecedented early action is part of the agency’s effort [...]

American Resources Principal Dan McGroarty appeared on the Lars Larson show and Charles Payne’s PayneNation to discuss the EPA’s latest bid to stop the prospective Pebble Mine in Alaska before the project has a chance to be reviewed. Check out the interviews below.

If you haven’t lived under a rock lately (pun intended), you are probably aware of the fact that there is growing concern regarding the supply of mineral resources. While American Resources has consistently argued that the U.S. has subjected itself to a troubling degree of non-fuel mineral import dependency, which is often greater than our [...]