Metal Mining: Revival of a Basic Industry

In the last two decades, oil has come to dominate Alaska's economy, but originally another sector of the mining industry fueled employment and population growth in the state. Metal mining, particularly the quest for gold, sparked the founding of many communities in Alaska's first 50 years as a territory and provided an economic base for these boomtowns. Settlements in the Southeast and Interior regions and the Kenai and Seward peninsulas sprang up during the early gold rushes. Metal mining activity decreased in the years following statehood due to low metal prices, high costs and lack of infrastructure. It recently has rebounded. Although it now represents only a small portion of the state's economy, metal mining has the potential for significant growth. This article examines the current structure and economic impacts of Alaska's metal mining industry.