The Alatna River is a federally designated wild and scenic river partially contained within the boundaries of Gates of the Arctic National Park , Alaska .
66-728: The Alatna River stems from the central Brooks Range flowing through the Endicott Mountains , passing Circle Lake, the Arrigetch Peaks and Takahula Lake before entering the Helpmejack Hills. The last section of the river continues to flow in a SSE direction through the Alatna Hills into its confluence with the Koyukuk River near the small village of Allakaket . The first 25 miles (40 km) of
132-482: A woolly mammoth that died about 17,100 years ago were found north of the Brooks Range. A research report on its movement range was published in 2021. While other Alaskan ranges to the south and closer to the coast can receive 250 inches (640 cm) to 500 inches (1,300 cm) of snow, the average snow precipitation on the Brooks Range is reported at 30 inches (76 cm) to 51 inches (130 cm). Due to
198-548: A changing climate, between the years 1969–2018 the Eastern and Western portions of the Brooks Range have experienced a 17.2% increase in annual precipitation. As measured at the Anaktuvuk Pass weather station (elevation 770 metres (2,530 ft)), the average summer temperatures are 16 °C (61 °F) as a high and 3 °C (37 °F) as a low. During the winter the average high is −22 °C (−8 °F) while
264-454: A grade of 4.5%, as well as significant additional zinc and lead in the less well-measured resource category. According to a 2007 EPA report, the mine, which produces from an open pit , was mining the Aqqaluk ore body, immediately adjacent to the previous pit. Aqqaluk contains an additional 56 million metric tons (62 million short tons) of lead and zinc ore. The expansion was expected to keep
330-579: A remote area in Alaska, the toxic release is linked to the nearest "city"— Kotzebue. The EPA says that when a "facility" is "not located in a city, town, village, or similar entity will often list a nearby city." National Geographic says that, "All 756 million pounds of toxic chemicals attributed to "Kotzebue" on the TRI dataset came from one of the world's largest zinc and lead mines, the Red Dog Mine, which
396-461: A rotation, most on either a 4 weeks on/2 weeks off or 2 week on/1 week off schedule. At the mine, everybody stays in the single large housing unit, tucked in among the process buildings near the edge of the open pit. A small portion of the work force stays at the port site. Contracted employees stay at the ConPac south of the main accommodations during the summer months. NANA shareholders comprise 56% of
462-723: A shallow-water port site. Also in 1986, residents of Kotzebue and 10 other area villages voted to form the Northwest Arctic Borough, to be economically based on taxing the Red Dog mine. Construction of the road, port site, and mine began in July 1987. Mine operations commenced in December 1989. The Red Dog lead-zinc mine is operated by Teck Resources , a giant Canadian mining company that was associated with Cominco since 1986, "when Teck and two industry partners acquired
528-449: A shareholding from CP Limited". Teck and Cominco completed their merger in July 2001. The Red Dog mine operator was first called Cominco Alaska, Inc., a subsidiary of Cominco American. The mine, which is the largest lead-zinc mine in the world, is located in a remote region of northwestern arctic Alaska. The land is owned by the for-profit NANA Regional Corporation (NANA)—one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under
594-663: A spirit or, as they would translate it, a devil." Marshall described the mountain as, a "towering, black, unscalable-looking giant, the highest peak in this section of the Brooks Range." The Brooks Range forms the northernmost drainage divide in North America, separating streams flowing into the Arctic Ocean and the North Pacific. The range roughly delineates the summer position of the Arctic front. It represents
660-663: A tributary of Ikalukrok Creek . According to a June 2007 article in Anchorage Daily News , both the Kenai River and Big Lake were designated as "heavily polluted." On June 13, 2007 the State of Alaska removed two creeks (Red Dog Creek and Ikalukrok Creek) near the Red Dog mine in Northwest Alaska from the most-polluted waters list with EPA's approval. The mine discharges treated water into Red Dog Creek,
726-608: A tributary of Ikalukrok Creek. Pre-mining studies on Red Dog Creek revealed naturally high concentrations of cadmium, lead, zinc, aluminum, and other metals. Before mining began, aquatic life uses were not present in the main stem of Red Dog Creek because of the natural toxic concentrations and low pH. After mining began, year-round release of treated mine wastewater allowed a population of Arctic Grayling to establish themselves in Red Dog Creek. The EPA reported in August 2007, that
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#1732782347190792-634: Is a mountain range in far northern North America stretching some 700 miles (1,100 km) from west to east across northern Alaska into Canada 's Yukon Territory . Reaching a peak elevation of 8,976 feet (2,736 m) on Mount Isto , the range is believed to be approximately 126 million years old. In the United States, these mountains are considered a subrange of the Rocky Mountains , whereas in Canada they are considered separate, as
858-531: Is also a possible put in spot, but according to the Alaska River Guide , this upstream section near the headwaters of the river is shallow and rocky making portaging or lining necessary. Most floaters take out at the village of Allakaket . Bob Marshall made an exploratory mapping trip up the river in 1931, following the river drainage from Allakaket upstream, to the Kutuk River, and onwards to
924-463: Is expected to be produced in 2008 as part of the process of permitting the development of this ore body. Most of the waste rock from this operation is expected to be placed in the depleted Main pit. The Qanaiyaq ore body with 4.7 million metric tons (5.2 million short tons) at 23.7% zinc. Also an open-pit target, studies of the ore characteristics of Qanaiyaq continue. The Paalaaq ore body with 13 million metric tons (14.3 million short tons) at 15% zinc and
990-425: Is located about 80 miles north of Kotzebue." There is no evidence that Kotzebue is at any risk of toxic pollution. Red Dog's 2016 releases included "83,578 pounds of cadmium compounds, 1,435,542 pounds of chromium compounds, 415,802 pounds of mercury compounds, and 319,192,113 pounds of lead compounds, all of which was reportedly disposed of on-site at the mine." ACAT's executive director, Pamela Miller, says that
1056-696: Is operated by the Canadian giant mining company Teck Resources in partnership with NANA Development Corporation . Ore concentrate taken from the mine is trucked westward on the Red Dog Mine Haul Road to the state-owned but Teck Resources-operated DeLong Mountain Port facilities on the Chukchi Sea , where it is stored until the shipping season. The Iñupiaq villages of Kivalina with a population of 377, and Noatak with 428 inhabitants, are
1122-657: Is operated by the Canadian mining company Teck Resources on land owned by the NANA Regional Corporation . It is located within the boundaries of the Red Dog Mine census-designated place in the Northwest Arctic Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska . The mine is the world's largest producer of zinc and has the world's largest zinc reserves. Red Dog accounts for 10% of the world's zinc production. Red Dog accounted for 66% of
1188-476: Is very popular for float trips due to its calm flow and wonderful scenery. Float trips usually take from four to fourteen days, depending on put-in spot and pick-up spot, and also weather/river conditions. One common place to put in is Circle Lake, a small lake which is float plane accessible and is located in a beautiful part of the valley. Another place to put in is Takahula Lake, a larger, float-plane accessible lake, further downstream from Circle Lake. Gaedeke Lake
1254-574: Is you are bringing this large amount of heavy metal-concentrated ore to the Earth's surface and exposing that to the elements, and this promotes the oxidization and leaching of these metals, which is why the EPA requires them to report this way under the TRI," according to Miller. According to 2001 reports, the ore from the mine is transported by ore trucks that weigh 100 tons (net 72-ton payload) that carry 1.1 million dry tons of lead-zinc concentrate annually on
1320-554: The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of Alaska Native land claims. NANA's land base in the Kotzebue area in northwest Alaska . NANA's Alaska Native shareholders are of Inupiat descent. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) first investigated the veins of ore in 1968, at the urging of a local bush pilot and prospector, Bob Baker, who noticed red-stained creeks in
1386-733: The Brooks Range . He was following in the footsteps of Philip Smith in 1911, the Murie brothers Olas and Adolph in 1923, and the Smith, Fitzgerald, and Mertie USGS trip of 1924. This article about a location in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in Alaska is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Brooks Range The Brooks Range ( Gwich'in : Gwazhał )
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#17327823471901452-479: The Chukchi Sea . The mine lies within the Northwest Arctic Borough, the boundaries of which are exactly coincident with the boundaries of the NANA Regional Corporation. The borough, which is approximately the size of Indiana , has only 11 communities and a population of only 7,208 people, 84% of which are native or part native, and 40% of which report speaking native at home. No roads connect
1518-669: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of a settlement regarding hazardous waste violations that occurred from October 2019 until January 2024. This was the largest violation in the mine's history. The violations included failures to properly identify, store, report, and treat hazardous waste at Red Dog's laboratory. Teck Alaska contended that the violations stemmed from a “different interpretation of EPA requirements for identifying, storing and disposing” hazardous waste and involved less than 200 grams of solid residual material. Kevin Schanilec—a hazardous waste compliance officer for
1584-538: The United States Environmental Protection Agency reported on a use attainability analysis (UAA). In 2014, state regulators approved a plan which allowed the mine to continue using Red Dog Creek as a mixing zone, although there has been a long-discussed plan to build a 52-mile pipeline to the Chukchi Sea to avoid dumping wastewater into the creek. In August 2024, the operators of Red Dog Mine agreed to pay over $ 429,794 to
1650-730: The Western Arctic Caribou herd (490,000 strong in 2004) traverses the Brooks Range in its annual migration. The smaller Central Arctic herd (32,000 in 2002), as well as the 123,000 animal Porcupine Caribou herd, likewise migrate through the Brooks range on their annual journeys in and out of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The migration path of the Porcupine Caribou herd is the longest of any terrestrial mammal on earth. Because
1716-567: The 52 mi (84 km) Red Dog Mine Haul Road to the state-owned, Teck-operated DeLong Mountain Port Facility on the Chuckchi Sea . By 2001, the trucks were dispatched approximately every 15 minutes, twenty-four hours a day all year long. Teck Resources said that while it is generally agreed that years of operation of tarp-top haul trucks carrying lead-zinc concentrate resulted in lead and cadmium-bearing dust contamination along
1782-670: The Alaska Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. Red Dog mine legally discharges treated wastewater into the Middle Fork of Red Dog Creek. This is of concern to community members of the village of Kivalina, Alaska , near the mouth of the Wulik River , a "source of fish and water for villagers". In 2016, Kivalina sued Teck Resources for polluting its water source. The Red Dog mine discharged treated water into Red Dog Creek ,
1848-515: The Alatna are shallow and rocky, followed by 15 miles (24 km) of a continued shallow area with more rapids. The river then mellows out near Takahula and Circle Lake becoming deeper and more meandering while the scenery turns from mountain peaks into hilly boreal forest. According to The Alaska River Guide , this river is 184 miles (296 km) long from the headwaters to Allakaket and 137 miles (220 km) from Circle Lake to Allakaket. The river
1914-632: The Anarraaq ore body with 17.2 million metric tons (19.0 million short tons) at 15% zinc are both deep underground and will be accessed by tunnels and shafts, if they are eventually mined. Red Dog mine is located at 68°4′19″N 162°52′34″W / 68.07194°N 162.87611°W / 68.07194; -162.87611 (68.071989, -162.876044). It is in the DeLong Mountains in the remote western Brooks Range about 90 miles (144 km) north of Kotzebue and 56 miles (88 km) from
1980-566: The Brookian orogeny that built the Brooks Range ) deformed and thrust faulted the sedimentary strata that host the deposits and the deposits themselves. Subsequent uplift and erosion exposed parts of the deposits at today's earth surface. Red Dog is an example of a sediment-hosted Zn-Pb-Ag deposit, with the zinc - lead ore considered to have been deposited on the sea floor as a stratum of sulfide sediment. Zinc, lead, silver, and barium were deposited in black muds and carbonates on or beneath
2046-473: The EPA—stated that a much greater amount of waste was involved and that had it been properly reported, the mine "would have been a category in a higher category of waste generation that exceeds 1,000 kilograms (2204 lbs) per month.” Teck was given until June of 2025 to ensure that the tank and piping in the mine's laboratory were clean and not a potential source of environmental contamination. Red Dog Mine has
Alatna River - Misplaced Pages Continue
2112-439: The State of Alaska agreed to fund and take ownership of a road (DeLong Mts. Transportation System) from Red Dog to the coast, and a shallow-water port site. Also in 1986, residents of Kotzebue and 10 other area villages voted to form the Northwest Arctic Borough, to be economically based on taxing the Red Dog mine. Construction of the road, port site, and mine began in July 1987. Mine operations commenced in December 1989. Under
2178-493: The area in the mid-1950s. A USGS geologist sampled rocks and stream sediments in the region, including samples from the future site of the Red Dog mine, and named Red Dog Creek after Bob Baker's dog, an Irish Terrier (Tailleur; USGS Open File 70-319). In the mid-1970s, after investigations by BLM-contracted geologists confirmed significant mineralization, interest in the region from major mining companies and NANA intensified. Significant exploration, including drilling of deposits in
2244-399: The average low is −30 °C (−22 °F). Polar amplification is a force experienced in this region as global temperatures are rising. The northern and western regions of Alaska, where the Brooks Range lies, is experiencing a warming rate twice that of southeastern Alaska. The Brooks Range has experienced an increase in average summer temperature between 4.2 °F and 5.8 °F between
2310-738: The cadmium endpoint considered highly polluted in the Nordic moss monitoring program (0.8 mg/kg dw)." A July 19, 2004 report by the Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT)— an Anchorage -based "environmental health research and advocacy organization group", criticized the 2001 "Alaska Division of Public Health (ADPH) investigation, conclusions, and recommendations" and called for "more environmental and human testing, restricting areas for subsistence food gathering, and increasing efforts to control pollution sources and environmental contamination." This 2004 report presents no new data and
2376-566: The communities. The nearest permanent settlements to the mine, roughly 60 miles (100 km) west and 50 miles (80 km) south respectively, are the villages of Kivalina , population 377, and Noatak , population 428, at the 2000 census . Although native populations have historically used areas around the mine and port for seasonal food-gathering there are no permanent residents at the mine or port site. The workforce consists of about 460 employees and contractors, of which somewhat more than half will be on-site at any given time. All staff work on
2442-474: The county level the Northwest Arctic of Alaska leads the list with 756,000,000 pounds of toxins. The state of Alaska produces three times more toxins than every other American state—834 million pounds. The TRI placed Kotzebue as the most toxic place in the United States. However, as National Geographic explains, the source of the toxins is not Kotzebue, but Red Dog Mine. Since the mine is located in
2508-528: The earth's surface. The fluid eventually reemerged through fault systems focused on the location of the Red Dog deposits, in a manner somewhat similar to the process surrounding black smokers . According to a 2007 article in the Alaska Journal of Commerce —at that time—there were several ore bodies that contained zinc at Red Dog. The main pit ore body had 19.5 million metric tons (21.5 million short tons)of ore containing 20.5% zinc. The figures represent
2574-546: The edges of the haul road, that this practice did not result in a threat to human safety. In 2008, Teck Resources said that the entire concentrate-haulage system had been improved, including tight-fitting seals on side-dump trucks and enclosure of conveyor belts at the port site. A 24 mi (39 km) section of this road traverses National Park Service (NPS) lands in Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR). A 2001 NPS study investigated
2640-623: The fish population was protected by regulations. The Delong Mountain Transportation System includes the 52-mile (84 km) Red Dog Mine Haul Road that connects the mine to the state-owned but Teck Resources-operated DeLong Mountain Port facilities on the Chukchi Sea . The road was "constructed to deliver zinc mined at Red Dog to world markets". A 2018 North of 60 Mining article described it as Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA)-funded "most successful" projects to date—a "model for future partnerships." AIDEA
2706-437: The fluid onto or into the seafloor to form the Red Dog deposits. One model holds that very saline brines formed in a restricted ocean basin within a hundred kilometers of the site of the Red Dog deposits. The brine fluid infiltrated the subsurface and was tectonically pumped through the rock mass, becoming enriched in metals as it stripped those metals from the rocks it passed through. The fluid traveled several kilometers below
Alatna River - Misplaced Pages Continue
2772-501: The global mean temperature increases, tree line has been observed to move further north, changing the boundaries of where these trees are found. An increase in shrub abundance is also being experienced in areas which were previously dominated by tundra, impacting the ecology of the area. As one of the most remote and least-disturbed wildernesses of North America, the mountains are home to Dall sheep , grizzly bears , black bear , gray wolf , moose and porcupine caribou . In Alaska,
2838-400: The industry's claim that "elements like lead and cadmium" are "naturally occurring" in the region, may be true, but both lead and cadmium "are nonetheless toxic". "Lead is one of the most well-known toxic substances, with neurotoxic properties that are very well established, and it is especially toxic to children." "The mining industry will make the argument this is just waste rock, but the fact
2904-399: The land underlying Red Dog. Drill exploration of the Red Dog deposit began in 1980, by Cominco American. In 1982 NANA and Cominco American (a mining company that had staked the land, and later became Teck Cominco) signed an agreement to develop the deposit. In 1986 the State of Alaska agreed to fund and take ownership of a road (DeLong Mts. Transportation System) from Red Dog to the coast, and
2970-524: The mid-1970s, after investigations by BLM-contracted geologists confirmed significant mineralization, interest in the region from major mining companies and NANA intensified. Significant exploration, soon including drilling, of deposits in the region began in 1975 (Alaska Minerals Yearbook 1978-1979). In 1980 the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) became law and NANA officially selected
3036-419: The mine life and for many decades after mine closure . All of the waste rock and tailings material remains in permanent disposal on-site, contained, and treated as necessary by the mine operations. The EPA notes about Red Dog's rank, "No conclusions on the potential risks can be made based solely on this information." In Alaska it is legal for mines to discharge treated wastewater into rivers and streams under
3102-433: The mine on small aircraft. Alaska Airlines is contracted by the mine to fly other mine workers out of Anchorage. Until 2007, gravel-strip capable Boeing 737-200 Combi aircraft were used. These ships have a cargo door in the front part of the aircraft and a separate rear passenger cabin. In 2005 the runway was paved, in anticipation of newer Boeing 737-400 Combi aircraft which are not equipped to land on gravel. In 2014,
3168-437: The mine operating until 2031. Red Dog is located on land owned by the for-profit NANA Regional Corporation (NANA)—one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) as part of the settlement of Alaska Native land claims. NANA's land base in the Kotzebue area in northwest Alaska . NANA's Alaska Native shareholders are of Inupiat descent. The mine
3234-436: The mine's workforce. The Red Dog mine provides over a quarter of the borough's wage and salary payroll. While many of the borough's residents benefit from the mine and associated economic activities, virtually all of the borough's residents rely on subsistence activities which are dependent on a healthy environment. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2016 Toxic Releases Inventory (TRI), Red Dog Mine
3300-479: The mineral value produced in Alaska in 2018. In 2008 the mine produced 515,200 metric tons (507,100 LT ; 567,900 ST ) of zinc, 122,600 metric tons (120,700 LT; 135,100 ST) of lead, and 283 metric tons (9,100,000 ozt ) of silver, for a total metal value of over one billion dollars. At the end of 2008 the mine had reserves of 61,400,000 metric tons (60,400,000 LT; 67,700,000 ST) of zinc at a grade of 17.1% and 61,400,000 tonnes (60,400,000 LT; 67,700,000 ST) of lead at
3366-473: The nearest permanent settlements to the mine. In the mid-1950s, Bob Baker, a local bush pilot and prospector, noticed red-stained creeks in the area, but was unable to land his plane nearby. In 1968, at Baker's urging, a U.S. Geological Survey geologist sampled rocks and stream sediments in the region, including samples from the future site of the Red Dog mine, and named Red Dog Creek after Bob Baker's dog, an Irish Terrier (Tailleur; USGS Open File 70-319). In
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#17327823471903432-690: The northern border of the Rocky Mountains is considered to be the Liard River far to the south in the province of British Columbia . While the range is mostly uninhabited, the Dalton Highway and Trans-Alaska Pipeline System run through the Atigun Pass (1,415 m, 4,643 ft) on their way to the oil fields at Prudhoe Bay on Alaska's North Slope . The Alaska Native villages of Anaktuvuk and Arctic Village , as well as
3498-413: The northern extent of the tree line , with little beyond isolated balsam poplar stands occurring north of the continental drainage divide. Trembling aspen and white spruce also occur north of the Brooks Range, though they are limited to sites that have been disturbed by human activity. Southern slopes have some cover of black spruce , Picea mariana , marking the northern limit of those trees. As
3564-546: The orebody before mining began in 1989. This is the currently permitted area of active mining, which is expected to be mined out by 2012. The ultimate size of this pit will be 5,200 ft by 3,000 ft by 400 ft (1,600 m x 900 m x 120 m) deep. The Aqqaluk ore body with 55.7 million metric tons (61.4 million short tons) at 16% zinc. This is adjacent to the Main pit. It is well understood geologically and metallurgically. A Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
3630-647: The other eleven land-based regional native corporations. If the mine remains profitable at the current level, this will mean a distribution of several hundred million dollars a year of mine profits to the regional native corporations. The Red Dog area has the world's largest known zinc deposits, which include the four at Red Dog as well as Anarraaq and Su-Lik, respectively 10 and 18 km (6 and 11 mi) northwest. They are stratiform massive sulfide bodies hosted in Carboniferous black shale and altered carbonates. Mesozoic mountain-building tectonic events (i.e.
3696-560: The potential of heavy metals from the dust of the stream of trucks on low-lying vegetation in the park. A 2001 NPR reports found that, the "environmental levels of [cadmium] (Cd) in the Red Dog data set far exceed the maxima reported for severely polluted locations in Central European countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria. Almost all moss concentrations from this Red Dog study are greater than
3762-631: The range as the Arctic Mountains, Hooper Mountains, Meade Mountains and Meade River Mountains. The Canadian portion of the range is officially called the British Mountains . Ivvavik National Park is located in Canada's British Mountains. Bob Marshall explored the North Fork Koyukuk River area of the range in 1929. He named Mount Doonerak, explaining "the name Doonerak I took from an Eskimo word which means
3828-407: The region, began in 1975. In 1980 the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) became law and NANA officially selected the land underlying Red Dog. Drill exploration of the Red Dog deposit began in 1980, by Cominco American. In 1982 NANA and Cominco American (a mining company that had staked the land, and later became Teck Cominco) signed an agreement to develop the deposit. In 1986
3894-542: The rocks of the range were formed in an ancient seabed, the Brooks Range contains fossils of marine organisms . In addition to the coral fossils shown, trilobites and brachiopods from the middle Cambrian have been found in the sandy limestones of the Central Brooks Range. During the middle of the Cretaceous, the Brooks Range thrust belt underwent significant regional extension. Remains of
3960-506: The seafloor, in a deep quiet ocean basin, some 338 million years ago in the Mississippian period. Fluids probably percolated through a huge mass (hundreds of square kilometers) of sediments. The nature of the fluids caused them to absorb and concentrate trace amounts of zinc and lead contained in the rocks the fluids were passing through. These metals were then caused to precipitate, by chemical or biological or physical agents, from
4026-574: The terms of the Teck Cominco/NANA agreement, NANA received royalties of 4.5% until the capital costs of the mine were recovered, which occurred in late 2007. At this point, the royalty due to NANA increased to 25%, and will increase by an additional 5% every year, to a maximum of 50%. Under the terms of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANSCA), which created NANA and the other native corporations in Alaska, NANA must share approximately half of its profits from natural resources with
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#17327823471904092-637: The very small communities of Coldfoot , Wiseman , Bettles , and Chandalar , are the range's only settlements. In the far west, near the Wulik River in the De Long Mountains is the Red Dog mine , the largest zinc mine in the world. The range was named by the United States Board on Geographic Names in 1925 after Alfred Hulse Brooks , chief USGS geologist for Alaska from 1903 to 1924. Various historical records also referred to
4158-413: The years 1969–2018. In certain areas of the Brooks Range, year round snow cover or "perennial snowfields", can be found. In 1985, 34 square miles of snowfields were recorded, where as that number has dropped to under four square miles in 2017. Red Dog mine The Red Dog mine is a large zinc and lead mine in a remote region of Alaska, about 80 miles (130 km) north of Kotzebue , which
4224-418: Was "based upon a re-analysis and re-interpretation of data that were reported in 2001 and 2002." According to a 2005 Alaska Business Monthly , leaching of metals and acids from waste rocks into the environment is a valid concern. The waste rock piles are contained and all runoff water is monitored and treated to water quality standards. Monitoring, and mitigation if necessary, will need to continue throughout
4290-485: Was established by the Alaska Legislature in 1967 as a public corporation and is not state-funded. Local inhabitants have expressed concerns that the proposed expansion of DeLong Mountain Port docking facilities may detrimentally change the migratory patterns of marine life. The mine's airport, known as Red Dog Airport , provides the main access. Mine workers from remote villages in the region are ferried to
4356-456: Was the source of more toxic releases than any other facility in the United States. Although, no "toxic releases" come "from within the bounds of this small tundra metropolis, Kotzebue, the methods used by the EPA's TRI reported that in 2016, Kotzebue, with only 7,500 inhabitants, "produced" 756 million pounds of toxins. Forbes also published the claim and added that the second most toxic was Bingham Canyon, Utah at 200 million pounds of toxins. At
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