Felix Gold mining company has recently filed for a permit to start exploration operations near the base of Ester Dome. (KUAC has a story on this HERE, starting at 4:05.)
The activity will impact trails on Ester Dome in the St. Patrick Road area. According to one knowledgable trails advocate: “All activity appears to be planned south of Happy Creek. While not affecting the Singletrack, it is close by and does affect the trails on Happy Ridge. They address that on page 23 of the APMA.”
You can see a map of the planned exploration and prominent trails in the area HERE. Please note that while both the Ester Dome Singletrack Trails and the Equinox Marathon Trail (maps here of upper and lower portions of that section) have some protections, the Happy Ridge Trail (an informal name), like most trails on Ester Dome, does not have special trail protections. And some laws that protect public access to trails, such as RS2477, allow for use by large motorized vehicles or for trails to be turned into roads. Happy Ridge Trail may have RS2477 protections. I don’t know for sure either way.
Several people have posted about this activity on different Facebook pages, such as Fairbanks Trail Users, Ester Dome Singletrack Trails, and Ester Dome Recreational Users. People are alarmed and concerned about how the activity will affect trails and roads. I don’t have time to research this, but according to one poster, the permit asks for activity to start this summer and last until 2035, “including up to 100 drilling sites and use of 20,000 gallons of water per day from Happy Creek and a nearby pond.”
To help put things into perspective, Ester Dome has historically been an active mining area. However, over the years mining has died down and recreation has become more popular. Also, more residential homes have been built in the area. Nonetheless, the area is still legally open to mining. On the plus side mines give us jobs and add pay some local property taxes. On the down side, mining activity can be noisy at times, can impact local roads and trails, and can impact water resources. One thing is clear: If the exploration activity ultimately results in a mine, that will have a larger impact in the area.
How you can act
Comments are due May 8. Written comments, questions concerning this activity or requests to view the full application packet should be directed to Michael Ladouceur, Telephone (907) 451-2784; Fax: (907) 451-2703 or e-mail: dnr.fbx.mining@alaska.gov.
NOTE: One person had problems sending an email to the above address and posted in the Ester Dome Singletrack Facebook page. David Charron, from DNR replied: “If it’s presenting issues you can send a comment directly to me at david.charron@alaska.gov. I work as the DNR Mine Permitting Manager and will consider your comment received via that email.”
You can see the full permit application notice:
http://notice.alaska.gov/219388
Also see the note below about the Felix Gold event at the Noel Wien Library running through May, which may give people another way to act.
Treasure Creek Area Mine Activity
Felix Gold is also looking into developing a mine in the Treasure Creek area, north of Old Murphy Dome Road. The Treasure Creek Trail runs along a ridge in that area.
The company has a survey about the project. You can access it HERE. If you like the Treasure Creek Trail, make sure to let Felix Gold know that want to keep access to it.
Felix Gold will be hosting open hours throughout May at the Noel Wien Library where you can ask questions, fill out their community survey, and share your thoughts on their proposed projects. Find out more HERE. This was advertised regarding the Treasure Creek project, but you might be able to address the Ester Dome project, too.
I’m pro mining and job development, but as a member of this community and a property owner that will be affected by resource development on ester I feel that this is completely inappropriate.
Resource development in a neighborhood is a terrible idea for the community and local property values.
The impact of trucks and helicopters to support exploration efforts will have a negative impact on the ester gold hill Goldstream and ester dome communities.
In a state this rich with mineral resource Felix should go out and explore a more realistic option away from our communities and recreational areas.
Generally I agree with you. But I also understand that mining has a rich history in the area. And that there’s no clear defining line between residential areas and non-residential areas. Life would be so much simpler if there were. The mine operating in Goldstream Valley near Fox is one of those mines that blurs the lines. And homes on Haystack Mountain also blur that line. That said, Ester Dome sure seems like more of a residential/recreational area to me.
Mining in proximity to infrastructure is a necessity to a thriving local economy and to the development of green technologies needed to mitigate the effects of climate change. Modern day mining, as regulated by the EPA, is not as environmentally deleterious as it has historically been. The ethos is to leave the land “better than you found it” – reclaimed land is often cleaner than it was before mining activities commenced and reclamation is strictly regulated. Who will recreate on these trails if Fairbanks becomes uninhabitable due to runaway cost-of-living and an increasing frequency of climate-change-related disaster (e.g., permafrost melting causing acidification of groundwater as it interacts with ore deposits in the subsurface, as is occurring elsewhere in Alaska)?
Thanks for your thoughts. I agree with your first two sentences, though “proximity” is a word with a loose definition. Ester Dome could be described as “in proximity,” but so could Fort Knox or Livengood or Central. I don’t know enough to address your third sentence. As to the rest, that gets trickier. I don’t see Fairbanks becoming inhabitable for a long, long time. Also, while the Treasure Creek mine is focused on antimony, which is needed for green energy technologies, as far as I know the Ester Dome mine is for gold. While gold is used in some green technologies, we have quite a few gold mines in the U.S. So, I agree with some but not all of your arguments.
The idea that hard rock gold mining can be benign is especially laughable adjacent to neighborhoods and with Trump and Dunleavy in charge. This is just exploration, but it would double local traffic, generate noise and toxic metal waste, and wreck beloved trails. There are no 20,000 gallons a day in the creek or the pond, even combined. They plan to drill 1,200 ft 100 times over 10 years; as if they don’t intend to mine before 2035.
Gold keeps rich people rich – that’s what gold does. There is more gold buried in vaults than we will ever use in electronics. Proximity to public infrastructure makes it that much more lucrative. Beyond the inequity and environmental degradation, the high pay jobs are toxic and miserable. I’ve seen no evidence mining leaves land “cleaner” or trails better than before they’re torn open, and plenty to the contrary. We need to build an economy that doesn’t require being exploited by Aussie billionaires – or any billionaires.
Reading what you wrote, that mines are regulated by the EPA (even mines on State of Alaska mining claims?) gives some encouragement to the idea of mining a few miles from downtown Fairbanks. But I have seen lots of abandoned mines, and the surrounding environment was not restored to as it was previously.. I would love to see an example of this modern day miracle.
It has already been said, but I will say it again. Mining is a necessity for modern living, but not in the middle of a populated and growing municipal area like Fairbanks. I have lived here 53 years and mining has always been pressuring to develop to the edge of our existing community areas. The argument is always that mining predates the residential development and that would be a sort of half-truth statement. But our Fairbanks community continues to grow and the reality is that mining does not cohabitate well with clean, healthy living desired by most everyone. There needs to be designated areas that are off-limits to mining just as there should be designated areas that are off limits to urban development… a plan that the State of Alaska has never come to grips with. In this case, I am against further development of mining.
Thanks Bruce. I hope you have sent your comments to DNR.
APMA F20252961/ Hardrock Exploration Permit Application within the Fairbanks Mining District, St Patrick’s Project
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To whom it may concern:
As a trail user and resident of Ester Dome Road, I am strongly against the development of further drilling sites on Ester Dome/ St. Patricks Road.
a) I am concerned about the wetlands on my property (Myrtle A 1 and Myrtle A 2) and along Sheep Creek Road if over 20.000 gallons of water will be pumped out of Happy Creek every day.
This will eventually destroy habitats. I would like to ask that water in the Creek will be checked for arsenic and pollutions if the exploration goes forward to hold them accountable.
Prior explorations water tests have found, that the ground water in Ester Dome below 500 ft is extremely high in arsenic.
To bring this water to the surface would be illegal.
It would poison Happy Creek as well as the small lakes along Sheep Creek Road. Please check prior tests from drill sites from 20 (?) years ago before issuing a permit.
b) Since the company will use Ester Dome Road as access, dust levels on the 1 acre properties along the lower 0.8 miles of the road will rise to extreme levels. I personally have asthma and would be forced to sell the home I have lived in for over 35 years. In certain ways the whole neighborhood will be disrupted if not destroyed by 24/7 summer traffic of trucks, heavy equipment and other issues that comes with this exploration.
c) Wherever the company will drill, noise levels of the pumps will echo off the backdrop of Ester Dome far down Sheep Creek Road. This project will not only disturb property owners on Ester Dome Rd. and St. Patricks Road but will also disturb residents on Sheep Creek Road.
What once was a place to live will become a noisy and high traffic nuance for many.
d) Neither Ester Dome Road nor St. Patricks Road are built for heavy equipment.
Both roads are built on permafrost. They heave and are not fit for constant use of heavy equipment.
“Felix Gold” should make concessions for road repairs if they get the permit.
Living on this road I can assure you, that the road, which already has to be fixed every year would have to be fixed every month.
e) Almost two decades ago Ester Dome/ St Patricks Road have become one of the few premier recreational areas for Fairbanks outdoor enthusiasts. Living at the junction of Ester Dome and St. Patricks I know and have become used to more than 100 enthusiasts who use the area on weekends, as well at least 50 people who use it during weekdays.
Fairbanks does not have many places in close proximity to the city to enjoy sports and this area is vital to a diverse sport community.
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It is clear, that a gold mine so close to town would reduce cost for an eventual mine and I understand the logic behind the company’s intent.
However, there are plenty of opportunities to find gold further away from Fairbanks without adversely affecting one of the closest and best summer and winter recreational areas close to town, without impacting a vast amount of the Goldstream and sport community of our town.
So if this permit is given, it will not only adversely affect people along Ester Dome and Sheep Creek Road or the creek.
It will affect the sport community in all of Fairbanks and destroy what should be held as one of the best recreational opportunities close to Fairbanks for decades to come.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Peter, Kelly and Lukas Kamper
Thanks for your comments. Make sure you send them to DNR.
One person had problems sending an email to the above address and posted in the Ester Dome Singletrack Facebook page. David Charron, from DNR replied: “If it’s presenting issues you can send a comment directly to me at david.charron@alaska.gov. I work as the DNR Mine Permitting Manager and will consider your comment received via that email.”