38 Years of Mining Support

DeLong Mountain Transportation System Port Skagway Ore Terminal
  • 1985 - 1990
    • AIDEA financed and built the first phase of the DeLong Mountain Transportation System (DMTS), the road and port serving the area that includes Red Dog Mine. DMTS is a 52 mile long, 30-foot wide industrial haul road and a shallow-draft port with upland support facilities.
    • AIDEA is repaid through user fees.
  • 1990
    • AIDEA purchased and performed renovations on the Skagway Ore Terminal.
  • 1992
    • With a legislative grant, AIDEA contracted for and managed the preparation of the "N.W. Alaska Resource Development Transportation Study."
  • 1993
    • AIDEA (with repayment provisions through a Reimbursement Agreement) financed a scoping study of overland transportation options for the proposed Illinois Creek gold mine.
    • AIDEA contracted with CH2M Hill for a study on "Additional Uses of the DMTS."
  • 1994
    • AIDEA coordinated an economics study of the costs of exporting Healy coal to South Korean users.
  • 1995
    • AIDEA entered into an agreement with Suneel Alaska to purchase 49% of the Seward Coal Terminal. AIDEA is repaid through semi-annual payments.
  • 1996
    • AIDEA arranged federal permits enabling military craft to airlift mining equipment to the Illinois Creek mine site.
    • AIDEA issued conduit revenue bonds to finance the tailings facility at Fort Knox.
  • 1997
    • AIDEA financed the "Production Rate Increase" expansion of the DMTS Portside and is to be repaid by user fees.
  • 2003
    • Due to corrosion, AIDEA demolished the Concentrate Storage Building at Skagway and removed residue concentrates from the entire Skagway Ore Terminal.
    • The Legislature authorized AIDEA to issue conduit revenue bonds for docking facilities and a tailings management facility at the Kensington Mine. AIDEA Board of Directors approved staff to undertake feasibility activities with repayment of costs by Coeur d' Alene Mines Corporation.
  • 2004
    • AIDEA participated in the feasibility and environmental study of the proposed DeLong Mountain Terminal deepwater expansion to the DMTS Port.
    • AIDEA facilitated the study of power options to serve the potential Donlin Creek gold mine.
  • 2005
    • AIDEA signed a reimbursement agreement with Cash Minerals for a feasibility study, to be completed in December, for shipping coal through the Skagway Ore Terminal.
  • 2007
    • AIDEA executed seven-year User Agreement with Sherwood and began constructing new Concentrate Storage Building and support structures. The new structures are easily expandable to handle mine products of additional users.
    • Milestone: For the first time in ten years, mineral concentrates were loaded and shipped from the reactivated Skagway Ore Terminal.
  • 2008
    • The Skagway Ore Terminal building extension (14,000 SF) was substantially completed and Minto/Capstone shipped 28,690 dry metric tons of ore concentrate through the terminal in 2008.
  • 2009
    • the AIDEA Board authorized a Reimbursement Agreement with Zazu Metals Corporation for AIDEA to conduct the first phase of due diligence work on development of the Lik Deposit in the DeLong Mountains. AIDEA awarded the contract for due diligence to Behre Dolbear, Inc., an experienced mining engineering company.
  • 2010
    • A report with recommendations for safely handling lead concentrate was completed in September for the Skagway Ore Terminal. Canadian mines producing lead and zinc are anticipated to ship via Skagway.
  • 2011
    • Teck commences operations in the Aqqaluk deposit at the Red Dog Mine.
    • Teck receives a five year renewal of its Title V Operating Air Permit for the DMTS facility.
  • 2012
    • Reimbursement Agreement signed with Zazu Metals for Lik Deposit study.
    • 14th consecutive year of greater than 1.1 million tons of ore concentrate shipped through DMTS.
  • 2013
    • AIDEA signed an MOU with NovaCopper to investigate the viability of permitting and constructing an industrial access road to the Ambler mining district and the company's Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects which include the Arctic and Bornite deposits.
    • AIDEA signed an MOU with Niblack Project, LLC to advance opportunities associated with the project on Prince of Wales Island, as well as with potential processing facilities at the Gravina Island Industrial Complex within the Ketchikan Gateway Borough.
    • AIDEA Board approves a $6.5 million expansion of the Skagway Ore Terminal to store and ship extracted iron from the tailings of the old Whitehorse Copper site by Eagle Whitehorse, LLC in the Yukon Territory.
    • AIDEA begins evaluating a potential industrial road corridor to the Ambler Mining District in northwest Alaska.
  • 2014
    • AIDEA contracted for a functional specification design of the ore storage facility in Skagway. This specification will be used to guide potential future expansions of the facility.
    • Alaska State Legislature authorizes AIDEA to issue bonds, up to $145 million, to finance the infrastructure and construction costs of the Bokan-Dotson Ridge rare earth element project.
    • Alaska State Legislature authorizes AIDEA to issue bonds, up to $125 million, to finance the infrastructure and construction costs of the Niblack Project and related infrastructure at the Gravina Island Industrial Complex.
    • Completion of Lik Deposit Transportation System Feasibility Study.
  • 2015
    • 25th anniversary of DMTS and first shipments from Red Dog Mine thru the port.
    • AIDEA submitted a right-of-way permit application, under ANILCA, for an access corridor from the Dalton highway to the Ambler Mining District.
  • 2016
  • Ambler Right of Way application deemed sufficient by each of the relevant federal agencies.
  • 2017
  • Scoping portion of the NEPA process begun by BLM for Ambler Right of Way application
  • National Park Service begins the Economic and Environmental Assessment of the Ambler Right of Way through the Gates of the Arctic National Preserve.
  • AIDEA conducts a high-level site location analysis for the proposed Graphite One advanced-materials graphite refinery facility in Alaska.
  • 2018
  • Ucore announces a 2020 production start date for their planned U.S. Strategic Metals Complex, a rare earth elements separation plant to be located in Ketchikan, Alaska.
  • 2019
  • BLM's Public Comment Period commences and ends for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Ambler Access Project.
  • AIDEA works with Mental Health Trust Authority's Trust Land Office with regard to land transfer issues for the Palmer Mining District near Haines.
  • 2020
  • The BLM issues the Final Environmental Impact Statement and a Record of Decision for the Ambler Access Project.
  • AIDEA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sign a 404(b) Permit under the Clean Water Act for the Ambler Access Project.
  • AIDEA and Ambler Metals LLC enter into a Memorandum of Understanding for the next development steps for the Ambler Access Project.