|
|
|
| Syllabus | |
| 1 History of Mining | |
| 2 Using Maps | |
| 3 Geological Exploration | |
| 4 Geophysical Exploration | |
| 5 Geochemical Exploration | |
| 6 Secondary Exploration | |
| 7 Open Pit Mining | |
| 8 *****Mid Term***** | |
| 9 Strip Mining & Placer Mining | |
| 10 Underground Mining | |
| 11 Permits and Laws | |
| 12 Environmental Impact | |
| 13 Jobs and Tools | |
| 14 Mineral Economics | |
| 15 Reclamation | |
| 16**** Final Exam***** | |
| Resources | |
| Staff E-mail | |
|
Lesson 11 Objectives
Handmining Handmining permits and regulations- There
are rules and regulations for handming ( gold panning) in Alaska.
"Gold panning is generally allowed almost anywhere in Alaska,
and only in the rarest cases would a permit be required. The
main areas to avoid are mining claims if you do not have permission
from the claim holder, and private property if you do not have
the property owners permission. Native land should be considered
private property, and not even gold panning should be done without
permission from the proper authorities. Example: Sixmile Creek and Resurrection Creeks, Southcentral Alaska These two creeks are among the most popular
recreational sites in Alaska. Gold panning is allowed year-round
without a permit, but a permit is required for using a hand fed
sluice box as well as for suction dredging. Sluice boxes are
allowed from May 15th until July 15th only. The permit is issued
each season by the State of Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
There is no charge for the permit but it must be in your possession
while mining. A copy of the 2000 permit application is available
below in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. If you do not have a viewer
for Acrobat documents, you may download a free viewer at the
Adobe website. Chugach State Park PERMANENT REGULATIONS RECREATIONAL GOLD PANNING. Recreational gold panning is allowed in
Chugach State Park with the following stipulations: The above information was quoted form the article "Handmining regulations" Alaska Mining and Diving Supply.http://www.akmining.com/mine/perhand.htm Placer Mining Alaska Dept of Natural Resources- Division
of Mining, Land and Water In order to conduct exploration or mining activities in the State of Alaska, permits and licenses are required by as many as 12 State and Federal agencies. To assist the industry with applications in the complex permitting process, the State designed the Annual Placer Mining Application (APMA). Each year a claim owner intends to conduct mining activity, including exploration, mining, or transportation of equipment, an APMA should be completed and submitted to a State Division of Mining Office nearest to where the activity will take place. A $100 processing fee must accompany the application. Submission well in advance of the intended "start-up" date is recommended November or December is not too early! The Division of Mining reviews the form for completeness and, when accepted, distributes to all State and Federal agencies involved in the permitting process thus, expediting the paperwork for the benefit of the applicant. Permits may or may not be required by the agencies receiving copies of each application. After reviewing the application an agency may: 1) issue a required permit, sometimes with stipulations; 2) request more information before issuing a permit; 3) deny the permit under their statutory and regulatory authority, or by order of court injunction. Agencies involved in the permitting process,
along with the respective permits/licenses managed, follows:
NOTE: Although the U.S Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers both receive copies of the APMA, they do not issue permits from the application. Separate, individual, applications must be filed with these agencies to receive their respective permits (EPA National Pollutant discharge elimination system Permits (NPDES)) and COE (Dredge & Fill Permit). 1. Will the Annual Placer Mining Application
get me every permit I may need? 2. Isn't a mining license the only permit I need? No. A mining license is the Alaska's Department of Revenue's way of tracking your income tax obligation to the State (can be deferred for the first 3 1/2 years of production IF an Affidavit of Initial Production is filed). It is not a mining permit and does not have anything to do with authorizing surface disturbance wastewater discharge, surface use, habitat permits, etc. 3. Does the $100 processing fee for the Annual Placer Mining Application cover the cost of all permits that could be issued? No. The fee applies only to land use/water use permits issued by the Department of Natural Resources and the cost of duplication and distribution of the application to other State and Federal agencies. 4. Do I need to complete and submit a new Annual Placer Mining Application each year? Yes. If you are intending to perform any type of mining related activity requiring the submission of such. Many agency permits are issued for only one year. 5. If I am not mining, only prospecting or performing exploration work, do I still need permits? Yes. Permits or Notices of Operation are required for any activity involving heavy, mechanized equipment on all State and Federal lands. 6. I'm only a recreational miner using a suction dredge, not a commercial venture with big equipment. Do I still need permits? Possibly. Any suction dredge activity must be coordinated through a local Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Habitat Division Office. Generally: On State mining claims, suction dredges with a nozzle intake six inches or less, powered by a 16HP motor or less without additional mechanized equipment, is considered "recreational activity". Recreational dredging requires authorization from the Department of Fish & Game. On Federal mining claims, suction dredges
with nozzle intakes larger than four inches are considered commercial
and require a Notice/Plan of Operation to be submitted or an
Annual Placer Mining Application, in addition to authorization
from the Alaska Department of Fish & Game.
Making natural resource extraction decisions within a community is often a difficult one. The first decision is made by the company interested in opening the mine. They must decide if they can afford the lease, tax, transportation, equipment, reclamation, employees, and facilities. They must predict if the area holds quality resources in a commercially valuable quantity to warrant opening a mine. They must also predict the length of productivity for the mine and the market value for the resource. Once a company has made the decision to pursue a mine, they must begin the permit process. Once these permits have been requested an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) must be prepared by the proposing company. An analysis of the environmental effects that could occur from a proposed action or project, which is required by the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). Their purpose is to provide the public and public officials with the environmental information before permits are granted or final decisions are made. Environmental Impact The EIS generally studies the following areas and states the possible environmental affects of the mine and ways to mitigate them:
Economic Impacts From the EIS and other information, the public can make comments on the mining operation plans in the area. The disputing points generally include socioeconomic concerns, safety concerns and environmental concerns. The socioeconomic concerns mainly deal with jobs and population. According to Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys minerals and mining employed 3,492 Alaskans in 1992. (Alaska Almanac, 1993, pag.103) While the mine may provide jobs and bring money to the community through economic diversification, it may not employ people exclusively from the community. In other words, the population of the area increases, as do the problems that accompany it. This means more people competing for housing, education, additional jobs, medical services, fore protection, and police protection. On the other hand, more people may increase property value, and taxes may increase which in turn may allow better education. More people may mean more competition or more services and retailers in the community growth and stability to a community, which relies on only one industry. These mining points can become exaggerated in Alaska's rural communities where economic diversity is minimal and jobs are scarce. Rural economics often cannot support services found in larger communities. The money from a mining operation often means construction of facilities including local high schools and health clinics. The operation and money can also mean improved public services, housing, water and sewer programs, electric facilities, airports, public safety, and fire protection. In addition, it can mean job training (See samples www.dmtcalaska.org) and general economic growth. Opening a mine in or near a rural community can bring additional to better jobs to the people in the area. It can also mean an increase in population, a change some communities may not want. In Alaska, while mining might help the economics of the area, there might be concerns that it could impact subsistence harvests and lifestyles, an economic and cultural concern. Some may see the success in cash employment as a way to succeed in subsistence, allowing one to buy new and better equipment for hunting and fishing. Safety Healthy habitat means maintaining water quality for healthy fish habitats and spawning grounds, maintaining water and noise quality for healthy marine habitats and calving/birthing grounds, maintaining healthy land and wetland habitats for all the animals and especially for large migrating herds and threatened species, and protecting the fragility of the arctic vegetation. The vegetation in arctic regions takes longer to grow than plants in other regions. The short growing period, the soil condition, and the severe weather make it difficult for plants in the northern regions to grow quickly, even with their arctic adaptations. Mines, mine roads, and mine reclamation projects can impact the tundra vegetation. Reclamation Reclamation plans revolve around restoring contours and vegetation to the area to stabilize the soil. An Alaskan reclamation engineering challenge involves permafrost. Permafrost is defined as permanently frozen sub-soil which has been frozen for over 2 years. It can range in depths from 1-2 feet to over 2,000 feet. Permafrost can be continuous or discontinuous. In the Arctic regions for the state it is continuous, while in the interior and south central it is discontinuous, being found in patches of 20-400 ft deep. Some areas of Alaska contain no permafrost. Permafrost can be environmental engineering
challenge in both mining and reclamation if the frozen subsoil
begins to melt changing its consistency. When this sub-soil melts,
it not only looses it solidity, but its mass as well. Slopes
can flow and ooze if the thaw3ing permafrost contains more ice
than soil. This thawing can accelerate during mining and reclamation
because the subsoil is exposed to the sunlight and the temperature
changes for the Earth's surface. In addition, dark mining dust
can absorb sunlight and heat up the area. There is currently
no way to refreeze the soil permanently to stop water from melting
away. There are many complicated decisions to be made regarding economics, safety and environment before a mine is put into operation. Meeting and public hearings are held and letters are written to voice viewpoints. Many people are involved in the decision making process. When the decision process is over, a process which in some cases takes many years, a mine may or may not open in a given area. (Ecology/Economy, Module D, Alaska Mineral Resources Kit1996, pg 104-107 Glossary- References: **This article was adapted from Scott G Britton, Mine Plant Layout. SME Mining Engineering Handbook, 2nd Edition, Volume 2. (Littleton, Colorado: Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc., 1992), pp. 1572-1579. Resources: ANNUAL PLACER MINING APPLICATION |
Delta Mine Training Center
Copyright © 2001 DMTC. All rights reserved.