More on Antimony Mining in the Fairbanks Area

UPDATE 11/14/2025: I haven’t been up there yet, but I’ve heard from a trail user that the parallel trail to the Treasure Creek Trail that the mining company put in is “satisfactory.”

“The new trail is about 10’ wide and has some stubs and wood debris, but new snow should make it enjoyable.  It starts just to the west of the 40×80’ white garage tent Felix has erected at their staging yard just off 5.5 mi Old Murphy Dome Rd  (measured from the Elliott).”

The new trail runs about a mile, just past their exploration site.

Thanks to Felix Gold for creating this alternative trail.

ORIGINAL POST

The Wall Street Journal recently ran an excellent article on antimony mining and it has a lot of information about Fairbanks.

One of the big things mentioned for trail users is that Felix Gold built a parallel trail to restore access to the Treasure Creek Trail off Old Murphy Dome Road.

Local dog-sled racers, known as mushers, complain that Felix Gold obstructed access to the White Mountains, where they train for the annual 1,000-mile Iditarod race. There was no other way to access the park without going through private property, say Jeff and KattiJo Deeter, competitive racers who run a sledding company that offers tourists a chance to get pulled by a team of sled dogs.

In October, Felix Gold built a parallel trail for recreational users, restoring access. KattiJo said she appreciated the new path, but worried other problems would crop up as mining activity increases. “We’re just a little bit concerned that this is a conversation that we’ll continue to have…every year,” she said.

The article also includes comments from a local Northern Lights tour operator and a Save Our Domes meeting.

Also mentioned is U.S. Antimony, which is doing exploration on Ester Dome, though operations have shut down for the winter. The article didn’t mention anything about trails on Ester Dome. Felix Gold is continuing its Treasure Creek operations year-round.

Here’s a LINK to the article. (I THINK everyone should be able to read it, but if you can’t here’s a VERSION from MSN.)

Here’s a previous POST on Felix Gold and the Treasure Creek area.

Here’s a LINK to the Trail Forks page for the Treasure Creek Trail.

Here’s a previous POST on U.S. Antimony and Ester Dome