Rare mine wall collapse at Pogo
A rare mine wall collapse incident occurred at the underground Pogo Mine in late August, blocking one portal, or entrance. Safety was not jeopardized and mine workers used other portals to exit. Northern Star Resources Ltd., the mine owner and operator, and the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, are investigating the cause. The company said “seasonal factors” may have played a role, but did not cite surface water or heavy rains in the region as a contributor. Northern Star Resources, an Australian company, purchased Pogo from Sumitomo, a Japanese company that developed the mine, in 2018 for $260 million.

Coeur settlement with EPA
Coeur Alaska, operator of the Kensington Mine near Juneau, settled issues with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over pollution monitoring problems. Coeur paid $534,500 to EPA in the settlement. In a statement, Coeur said the bulk of the alleged violations were administrative in nature related to permit compliance, with problems in documentation and the timing of reporting. No actual pollution resulted, Coeur said. The company said it had reason to contest many of the claimed violations but chose to settle with EPA rather than engage in a lengthy and costly appeal process.

Governor pushes Bokan Mountain
Gov. Mike Dunleavy asked the federal Council on Environmental Quality to designate the Bokan Mountain rare earth mining project on Prince of Wales Island as a High Priority Infrastructure Project, which establishes an accelerated environmental review process. Ucore Rare Metals has been engaged in the project. In an Aug. 9 letter to the federal council the governor noted the importance of rare earth elements in high-technology products.