The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 151 - 175 of 176
Looking at the world through the wrong end of the binoculars, as I often do, induces me to conclude that Alaska's mining industry is in a major state of disarray. Consider the evidence: There is a huge investment into the country for the purpose of developing our vast resource base; one-third of Alaska, an area approximately the size of California, is owned by the state and is generally open to resource development; our mineral resources are diverse, accessible, and by most...
The economic catastrophe that has plagued the national economy for the past 24 months has precipitated a laundry list of blame factors and proposed solutions that are simultaneously well intended and, thus far at least, ineffective. The bailout of financial institutions and automobile manufacturers has not yet done the job. The rolls of the private sector unemployed continue to grow, albeit more slowly than was the case a year ago. Many of the so-called "shovel ready" projects that were supposed to be funded, are still on...
In my simple world of cause and effect, when I see things happen I always leap to the conclusion that there will be a related subsequent development. When I see the United States borrow untold billions of dollars from the People's Republic of China (for whatever wonderful reason), I assume that the People's Republic will want to be repaid - and not in deflated dollars. When I see millions of people out of work, I assume they will try very hard to find a way to feed their...
As I age up, the world does appear to be, as Alice would say, curiouser and curiouser. I have long been bemused by the obvious observation that logic and reason have little to do with how humanity conducts itself. In Philosophy 101 we all learned that before the Age of Enlightenment, deductive logic was woefully out of fashion and that inductive logic was the only tool for solving problems. In other words, if you don't know - guess and attribute your answer to higher authority...
Although there are innumerable differences between any point in the past and the present, modern political activists of all political stripes routinely draw on one half-recalled and poorly understood event or another from the past to "prove" a point. Strict constructionists of the U. S. Constitution gladly leap over 230 years of history to bemoan the way that the President, or Congress or the Judiciary are misconstruing the framers' "intent," while the progressive opposition hastily condemns them as being Nazis. One group cel...
It seems that with the passage of time the concept of the common good, the general welfare and the public interest, all variations of the same theme, have become so diluted as to make them indecipherable. There was a time when charitable, educational, and eleemosynary entities were honored for their selfless contributions to the general welfare. Dedicated volunteers worked with trivial stipends or no recompense at all to attend to the poor and sickly. Tax benefits were extended toward charitable entities and, notwithstanding...
It's the most wonderful time of the year. Throughout the State state of Alaska, people are starting to make preparations for winter. Placer operators are thinking about the final clean-up, seasonal exploration projects are starting to button up remote camps and winterize field gear, the Alaska Miners Association staff is gathering together the material for the annual convention, and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources is gathering money from claim rent. Although it is...
When it comes to comprehending social forces that frame our society, it sometimes occurs that good people take irrational positions for strange reasons, despite unequivocal evidence that it is contrary to their own best interests. This irony contributes to the difficulty in understanding why so-called "public interest" activists, whether litigious or simply vocal participants on the political radar choose to dedicate their time and energy to destructive objectives. The simplistic observation by Adam Smith about provisioners...
No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." Fifth Amendment, U.S. Constitution. "That is not a just government, nor is property secure under it, where arbitrary restrictions, exemptions, and monopolies deny to part of its citizens that free use of their faculties, and free choice of their occupations, which not only constitute their property in the gener...
"What is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days." -James R. Lowell The United States has many unique governmental features which distinguish it from other constitutional democracies, one of which is the role of our Senate. The United States Senate was inspired by the institution that governed the Roman Republic from its founding in 509 BC until its overthrow in 27 BC. That ancient body's impressive durability gives testament to the richness of its concept....
Although it is somewhat unusual, the U.S. Supreme Court asked the parties and amici (friends of the court) in Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (the Kensington case) to brief two supplemental questions concerning possible applications of the Clean Water Act to the Kensington project in Southeast Alaska. Essentially, the Court asked whether, if effluent from the mine was deemed a pollutant, the underlying Record of Decision by the Forest Service would...
In high school civics we all learned about separation of powers and the concept that under our system of government Congress enacted the law, the Executive Branch carried out the law and the Supreme Court interpreted the law. Where the education system failed many of us is in leaving us with the impression that the judiciary is independent of the other two branches. Although the Supreme Court is nominally independent, the inferior courts (please note that I use the word "infer...
The hardships that the economic crisis is imposing on Americans across the country at all economic levels and in all regions cannot be overstated. The mining industry is not immune and may have been a bellwether for many as risk capital began to dry up over a year ago anticipating the spreading disaster. The entire horizon is not entirely black, however. Gold as an intuitive store of wealth has continued to hold its ground well, and prognosticators are fairly consistent with their anticipation that gold will pass through the...
On Jan. 12, 2009, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, generally referred to as the Kensington case. Like all complex issues, this case defies simple explanation, but there is a kernel issue which can be held up to the light for examination. Since 1972, when the Clean Water Act was overhauled, there has been a split in the responsibilities for the management of our national waterways. Those...
I've been thinking a lot about numbers lately, maybe because it is the end of the year, and therefore a time for reflection. But when I read about hundreds of billions of dollars committed to re-energizing the economy or billions of people occupying the planet or billions of pounds of copper from a possible mine at Pebble, I just get confused. That may be because I cannot count past 10 without taking my shoes and socks off. What do big numbers mean to Alaska's mining...
10 is 90 percent over. As we approach the calendar change and the other mid-winter holidays, it is reasonable to reflect and prognosticate. Eight short years ago, we were on the dawn of a new era. Republicans controlled the White House, both houses of Congress, Alaska's governor's mansion and both houses of our state Legislature. The stars were perfectly aligned. It was a time for celebration because the dark decade was past and resource development in Alaska, most...
While resource development issues other than those offered in conjunction with the availability of affordable energy have gotten very little play during the presidential campaign, a few sub-rosa developments are taking place that shouldn't escape the attention of those who would mine in Alaska. First, it is fair to say that neither U.S. Interior Secretary Kempthorne nor his predecessor, Gale Norton, made substantial progress in facilitating mineral development. Among the bad decisions made in recent years was the dissolution...
Is there anyone anywhere who was caught by surprise by the domestic financial crunch that has recently occurred? Those of us who aren't players in world economics have watched the symptoms develop for several years. When commodities move up in lockstep, it doesn't mean their value is increasing, it simply means that the currency in which that value is expressed has dropped. When money, as a commodity is cheap, it is symptomatic of a problem with the money system. When...
Change is on the tip of everyone's tongue these days, and it is inevitable that change will occur. It is a perfectly normal law of nature; however, it is equally demonstrable that the more things change the more they remain the same. Newton captured the concept which is as true in politics as it is in physics. We have all watched as the environmental movement matured and the guerrilla tactics honed in the '60s and refined in the '70s and '80s developed into a major domestic industry in the '90s. Perhaps the most illustrative...
There is no other explanation for the situation we are in - the gods must be crazy. Consider this: Gasoline prices are through the roof, but Congress won't compromise a postage stamp footprint on the Arctic Ocean to tap the reserve under Kaktovik; environMENTALists, having successfully run the timber industry out of Southeast Alaska, are now bent on dragging the region's tourist industry to its knees; our Governor believes gas producers shouldn't build pipelines; and the...
It is said that those who forget their history must relive it. It appears that geologists working together with the State of Alaska have found a unique way to make that adage come true. Imagine spending hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars building an active database and then stashing it in an unsecured facility where access, at best, is difficult and retrieval of the data for review places those very data at risk. That, however, is exactly the way the State is...
It is axiomatic that democracy as a form of government doesn't work very well. If you doubt me, you should consider watching the television program "Survivor" sometime. In that show, a group of people are marooned in a desert location (along with a couple of hundred medical support staff, television producers, and aircraft pilots) for 39 days to decide who among them should be given $1,000,000. One-by-one the players are voted out of the group until only two or three remain;...
An essential element of the Communist Manifesto was a free education to all qualified young men and women, followed by a rich and rewarding career that would produce endless benefits for the state and, by extension, all people. We, of the People's Republic of Alaska, are fortunate to have realized this basic Marxist objective, at least in the area of mining and geological engineering. I am told, in fact, that despite the presence of a vital mining industry, there is a...
I'm ready to give the Devil his due. The Star Trekkie commercials that the Renewable Resource Coalition, or whatever nom de guerre Bob Gillam currently hides behind, are very clever. They are not true, but then again, truth and freedom of speech have always been wholly disassociated when it comes to advertising. The Gillamites attempt to raise the inference that the initiatives that have been offered for the ballot next August will stop the Pebble mine, but won't affect other...
During this brief respite between the U.S. House and Senate considerations of mining law reform legislation, it is timely to review the bidding. Where are we? Where are we going? How do we get there? We know these things: The House passed legislation (H.R. 2262) is an anathema. Furthermore, there is reason to believe that there will be mining law reform legislation passed, if not in this Congress, probably in the next one. Until the recent Northwest Mining Association...
