Teck-Pogo Inc. has started construction of a winter road up the Goodpaster River to the Pogo mine site, 38 miles northeast of Delta. Cruz Construction, Inc. of Fairbanks was awarded the contract for the winter road, according to Karl Hanneman, spokesman for Teck-Pogo.
The temporary snow road will be completed in February and will be used to ship equipment and supplies to the mine site. By March, a final permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected. Only then will the owners of the mine, Teck Cominco Ltd., Sumitomo Metal Mining America and SC Minerals America, make a final decision to go ahead with the project.
Other contracts for Pogo support and construction are still pending, Hanneman said. Once all permits are in hand and the owners have given the go-ahead, construction work will start at the mine and on a permanent all-year road from the Alaska Highway to the mine.
On Jan. 12 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a Section 404 permit for the project, approving plans to place fill and remove material from wetlands. All state permits for the Pogo mine have been issued. The remaining EPA permit is expected in March, Hanneman said.
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That will be followed by a final Record of Decision on the Environmental Impact Statement and a formal decision by the owner companies. Teck has been designated as operator through its Alaska subsidiary, Teck-Pogo Inc.
Gov. Frank Murkowski said he was pleased at the corps' approval of the Section 404 permit, which along with the EPA permit are the two key federal agency approvals needed for the mine to proceed.
"This is a welcome next step in the progress of the Pogo mine," Murkowski said. "There is only the EPA permit outstanding. I look for its timely approval so that construction of the mine can go forward as quickly as possible," he said.
Teck Cominco also owns and operates the Red Dog lead and zinc mine north of Kotzebue in a partnership with NANA Regional Corp., the landowner there. The Pogo mine is on state lands.
Pogo will cost about $250 million to build and will employ up to 288 workers in production, according to the press release issued by the Corps of Engineers. The mine will process about 2,500 tons of ore daily and is expected to produce 375,000 ounces of gold per year.
