CAUTION!

CONCERNS ABOUT THE
KINROSS GOLD ORE
TRANSPORTATION PLAN

Why Are We Concerned About the Kinross Ore Transportation Plan?

Kinross Gold / Contago Ore transports ore from the Mahn Choh mine project near Tetlin, Alaska over 240 miles of public highways to the processing plant at Fort Knox near Cleary Summit north of Fairbanks.  Every hour of every day, double-trailer ore hauling trucks 95 feet long and weighing up to 80 tons travel roads maintained by the State of Alaska. 

This ore transportation activity:

Advocates for Safe Alaska Highways believes that the current Ore Transportation Plan has not been fully developed. In addition, there has been no rigorous review and analysis of the existing plan by the appropriate regulatory agencies. ASAH strongly supports efforts by both the developer and appropriate agencies to develop better alternatives to hauling ore 250 miles on Alaska’s public highways.

Safety

Safety must be the primary goal and the ultimate concern for DOT&PF, Kinross, and the respective trucking companies hired for this project. The addition of 80-ton, 95′ long double trailers driven in all Alaskan weather conditions creates unsafe conditions. Everyone knows about the challenging driving conditions during the winter months. Of particular concern are the “snow tornadoes” created by passing or oncoming vehicles. Big rigs create the worst of these snow whiteouts, which often result in serious accidents on Alaska’s highways.

Using DOT&PF traffic counts and information provided by Kinross, truck traffic will increase significantly along the route. For example, between Delta and North Pole truck traffic will increase 210%. At the intersection of Airport and Peger Roads, it will increase 43%.

Other considerations demand a thorough examination:

 

  • the safety of our children at the 86 schoolbus stops along the route;
  • the added demand on volunteer first responders in communities along the proposed truck route;
  • how the addition of slow-moving military convoys will further increase traffic congestion;
  • the safety risks and reduction in positive experiences for RV visitor traffic along the Richardson Highway Scenic Byway between Tok and Fairbanks.

Increase In Truck Traffic along the route

Source: The Alaska Department of Transportation’s Traffic Analysis and Data Application website
*indicates only TOTAL vehicle count is available, truck traffic is not separately counted
On mobile devices, click "+" sign to view additional table data
LocationIncreaseAvg Daily Truck TrafficAdd'l Ore Truck TrafficData Year
AK Hwy @ Johnson River Bridge60%200*1202021
AK Hwy east of Delta Junction (MP 1421)73%1641202021
Richardson Hwy @ Moose Creek (MP 346)1.3%8980*1202021
Richardson Hwy @ Big Bend (MP 359)12%10201202021
Peger Road @ Chena River Bridge14%8631202020
Steese Highway, South of Fox (MP 10)29%4131202022
Steese Highway, North of Fox61%1971202022
Johnson River Bridge

Infrastructure

Kinross currently uses Interior Alaska public highways to transport ore without recognizing the damaging impact persistent heavy haul operations have on our highway system. Kinross states they are not willing to contribute anything towards the cost of repairs, other than the 8-cent per gallon state motor fuel tax. They note that they would not object if the state raised that tax. 

The Gerstle River and Johnson River bridges were built in 1944 and are approaching the end of their functional life. They are currently on DOT&PF’s “Replace List.” It is possible that the bridges may not be able to withstand the numerous 80-ton loads per day. The same is true of the Chena Hot Springs interchange bridge, which requires trucks to be diverted around the bridge. A robust bridge structural analysis with a third-party peer reviewed engineering study is required to address these issues.

The Richardson Highway from Delta Junction to Eielson AFB is already dangerous and subject to high maintenance demands, particularly in the seven months of winter.

How will trucks navigate the hairpin curve (Skoogy Gulch) on the way up to the mill on Cleary Summit without veering into oncoming traffic?

All of these concerns must be examined.

Liability

Who is liable if someone gets killed? Certainly the truck operator should be responsible for causing any accidents. The truck operator’s insurance may not be adequate to cover damages resulting from an accident. Plaintiffs and co-defendants will look for other potentially responsible parties to pay a portion of the accident damages. We are concerned this will include the State of Alaska. That means that for a private mining operation, operating on public highways, the State of Alaska can be drawn into the web of liability if it is negligent in maintaining the highways, or failed to adequately warn or signal the highways, or created a dangerous condition on the highways.

The State of Alaska is an investor in this project, and stands to profit from allowing the ore haul to occur on public highways, with minimum or no safeguards for the public. This creates a conflict of interest for the State. Any studies and analyses it performs concerning the Kinross trucking operations are suspect unless they are independent and peer-reviewed.

Because the State of Alaska knows that some of the highways proposed for use as the ore haul route are not up to current safety standards, the State may be held to a higher duty to warn, signal and maintain the highways, to minimize dangerous conditions and accidents.

We are concerned about how much this project will actually cost the state of Alaska, in terms of liability for accidents, for additional maintenance and re-construction of infrastructure, inspections, supervision, and planning. To date, no analysis of this risk has been done that we are aware of.

Richardson Hwy Accident
Johnson River Bridge

Environment

The Fairbanks and North Pole areas are already non-compliant with EPA air quality standards. How will adding hundreds of diesel-powered double tractor-trailer truck trips through this area increase this problem?

The ore at Manh Choh is Potentially Acid Generating (PAG). What are the effects of “crop dusting” the waterways and communities along the entire 250-mile transportation route with fugitive dust? What are the long-term effects of mixing PAG tailings with the non-acid generating tailings at Ft. Knox? Acid mine drainage must be monitored in perpetuity to protect fish habitat and drinking water.