KennecottCopperMine
DavidCoil,PhD,Director1,ElizabethLesterPhD2,NikiHoagland3,Bretwood"Hig"
Higman,PhD,ExecutiveDirector4
[email protected]
LastModified:28thAugust2012
Summary
TheKennecottCopperMine,foratimethelargestcoppermineintheworld,operatedfrom1911to1938in
whatisnowWrangellSt.EliasNationalPark.Themineproducedatotalofaround4.6milliontonsofore,
valuedatover$200million(~$3billionin2011dollars).TheAlaskaSyndicatewhichformedtodevelopthe
mine,eventuallyexpandedintocoal,salmon,andinfrastructurethroughoutthestate.Theirinfluencehelped
preventAlaskafrombecomingastateasearlyas1916andplayedanimportantroleinnationalpoliticsas
well.
History
ThefirstclaimstowhatwouldbecometheKennecottMining
Companywerestakedin1900.Oresamplesfromthistime
containedupto70%copper,makingitoneofthehighest
gradedepositsintheworld.Theoredepositswereprimarily
composedofchalcocite whichisknownforitshighercopper
contentandeaseofrefining.Inadditiontocopper,a
significantamountofsilverandsmallamountsofgoldcame
outofthemine.From1901-1905avarietyoflegalbattles
overtheclaimsandcompanyreorganizationstookplace.
Eventually,J.P.Morgan andtheGuggenheimfamily
createdthefamous"AlaskaSyndicate"todevelopthemine
andbuildrelatedinfrastructure.A196-milelongrailroadto
transporttheoretoCordovaandasteamshiplinebetween
CordovaandTacoma(Seattle)weredeveloped,alongwith
miningfacilitiesandatownfortheworkers.
KennecottPowerHouse
RemnantsoftheKennecottMinewith
theKenicottGlacierbehind
source:Copyrightheldbyphotographer
In1911thenewrailwaytransporteditsfirstloadofcopper
ore.Themineoperateduntil1938,whenthedepositwas
mostlyexhaustedandcopperpriceshadfallen.DuringthetimetheminewasstillinoperationtheKennecott
MiningCompanyhadalsodevelopedotherproperties,anditstillexiststoday (aspartofRioTinto)andis
involvedintheproposedPebbleMine.
DuringitsheydaytheAlaskaSyndicatepurchasedotherminesinthestate,suchastheBeatsonCopper
Mine,aswellasnumerouscoal,fishing,andtransportationinterests.ThepoliticalinfluenceoftheSyndicate
wasanimportantpartofthePinchot-Ballingercontroversy ,whichhelpedtodefinetheconservation
movementatthestartofthe20thcentury.
Minesite
ThemineandthetownsofKennecottandnearbyMcCarthywerealllocatedwithinwhatisnowWrangell
St-EliasNationalPark .Kennecott(amisspellingofthenearbyKennicottGlacier)consistedofmining
infrastructure(mill,flotationplant,crushers,etc.)aswellasatownfortheminersandtheirfamilies.The
orecamefromfiveseparateminesupinthehillstotheNE:ErieMine,JumboMine,BonanzaMine,Mother
LodeMine,andGlacierMine.Asystemoftramwaysmovedorebetweenthesitesandthetown.Atitspeak
http://www.groundtruthtrekking.org/Issues/MetalsMining/Kennecott-Copper-Mine.html
1DavidCoil,PhD,Director;
2ElizabethLesterPhD;
3NikiHoagland;
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Non-Commercial
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thetownhadaround300people,andanadditional200-300minerslivedatthemines.Muchofthe
KennecottLeachandFlotationFacility
infrastructurestillremainsandthetownofKennecotthas
becomeatouristdestinationwithinthepark.
ComparisontoPebbleMine
TheKennecottminehadrelativelyfewlong-term
environmentalimpactsforamineofitssize,andhasbeen
used bysupportersoftheproposedPebbleMineasan
exampletofollow.However,therearesignificantdifferences
betweenthetwosites.
Thecopperdepositminedby
Kennecottwasveryhighgrade
andthecoppersulfideswere
source:Copyrightheldbyphotographer
foundinconjunctionwith
carbonateminerals.These
carbonatemineralsreactedto
neutralizeacidminedrainage.Thehighgradeofcopper(average13%)
meantthatrelativelylittlewastewasproducedbythemine,especiallysince
muchoftherichorewasremovedselectivelybypickaxe.Incontrast,the
depositattheproposedPebbleMineis2000timesthevolume,doesn't
containsignificantacidneutralizationpotential(i.e.carbonateminerals),and
theaveragecoppergradeisonly0.34%.
AcidMineDrainage
READARTICLE
...Acidminedrainageisa
majorproblemwithmany
hardrockmines,including
almostallmineswherethe
metaloreisboundupwith
sulfur(metalsulfide
mines)...
Additionally,theKennecottmineissituatedinasettingwherethedepositisrapidlyeroding,sodownstream
watersarealreadyexposedtothemineralmaterial,anddownstreamecosystemsareadaptedtosediment
andrunofffromtheminedarea.Incontrast,thePebbledepositisburiedundersurficialsedimentinanarea
thatiserodingverylittle,andsoisinsulatedfromtheenvironmentifnominingoccurs.
DateCreated:14thAugust2011
http://www.groundtruthtrekking.org/Issues/MetalsMining/Kennecott-Copper-Mine.html
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