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Mining exec: Alaska’s pricy, fossil fuel-based power could thwart investment
Steep electricity prices and heavy dependence on fossil fuels to generate power risk discouraging development of new mining projects in Alaska.
That’s the blunt message that representatives of Alaska’s natural resource development industries heard from a mining executive at a recent conference.
“As our company and other mining companies look at opportunities for growth, these become a bit of a barrier,” said Sunil Kumar, vice president of energy strategy and engineering at Toronto-based Kinross Gold, a multinational mining company. “Having a high electricity price makes it challenging for more growth, more production to be added on. And also, if the (greenhouse gas) emission factor is high, that becomes a concern as well.”
Kumar spoke Nov. 15 in Anchorage at the annual conference for members of the Resource Development Council, an advocacy group that supports Alaska’s oil and gas, mining, fishing, timber and tourism industries.
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Mining exec: Alaska’s pricy, fossil fuel-based power could thwart investment
Kinross Gold, whose Fairbanks-area mine employs 700 people, says its Alaska investments have "extremely high" energy costs and carbon emissions compared to other projects in its portfolio.