Kensington Gold Mine Archive
History
Historically, development and ore production occurred at the Kensington mine site from 1897 through 1938. The adjacent Jualin project was discovered in 1895 and operated from 1896 to 1928. All told, both mines produced 40,513 ounces of gold from 75,208 tons of ore. More recent exploration activity has taken place during the 1980s and 1990s.
The Kensington Gold Project now encompasses and includes both the Kensington and Jualin prospects. The Kensington Gold Project is located on federal land overseen by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), on State of Alaska tidelands, and on private patented property.
In July of 1992, the USFS approved a Plan of Operations for the Kensington Gold Project. The plan called for underground mining; ore process, including onsite cyanidation; a tailings impoundment; marine discharge of process wastewater; and various support facilities, including the use of liquefied petroleum gas for power generation.
In August 1997, the USFS approved a revised Plan of Operation for the Kensington Gold Project. The modified plan called for offsite processing of floatation concentrates; placement of tailings in a dry tailings facility accessed through a pipeline, with 25% of tailings to be paste backfilled in the underground workings; diesel fuel would be used for power generation; and tailing slurry would be piped to a dewatering plant and the reclaimed water returned for reuse.
In November 2001, Coeur Alaska, Inc. (Coeur) submitted an amendment to its approved 1998 Plan of Operations to the USFS. The amendment modified site access and eliminated the dry tailings facility in favor of placing the tailings into an impoundment in Lower Slate Lake. In December of 2004, the USFS finalized the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and issued the Record of Decision for the modified Kensington project.
Financial Assurance
None at this time.
Permits and Approvals
Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
Mining
Large Mine Permitting Program
Water Resources
Water Rights and Permits
Dam Safety
Land
Lands
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G)
Reports, Audit, and Annual Meetings
Inspection Reports
DNR Inspections
DEC Inspections
USDA Inspections
Annual Reports And Meetings
2008 Annual Meeting and 2007 Reports
Time:
Location:
1:00PM
DEC Juneau Offices
410 Willoughby Avenue, Juneau
2nd Floor Main Conference Room
2007 Annual reports
Kensington Gold Project 2007 Report PDF NPDES Volume 1: Aquatic Resources 2007 PDF NPDES Volume 2: Water Quality Analytical Data PDF2009 Annual Meeting and 2008 Reports
Time:
Location:
8:00AM
DEC Juneau Offices
410 Willoughby Avenue, Juneau
2nd Floor Main Conference Room
2008 Annual Reports
Kensington Gold Project 2008 Report PDF NPDES Volume 1: Aquatic Resources 2008 PDF NPDES Volume 2: Water Quality 2008 PDF2010 Annual Meeting and 2009 Reports
Time:
Location:
9:00AM
DEC Juneau Offices
410 Willoughby Avenue, Juneau
2nd Floor Main Conference Room
2009 Annual Reports
Kensington Gold Project 2009 Report PDF2011 Annual Meeting and 2010 Reports
Time:
Location:
8:00AM
DEC Juneau Offices
410 Willoughby Avenue, Juneau
2nd Floor Main Conference Room
2010 Annual Reports
Kensington Gold Project 2010 Report PDF2012 Annual Meeting and 2011 Reports
Time:
Location:
10:00AM
DEC Juneau Offices
410 Willoughby Avenue, Juneau
2nd Floor Main Conference Room
2011 Annual Reports
Kensington Gold 2011 Annual Report PDF APDES Volume 1: Aquatic Studies at Kensington Mine, 2011 [ADFG Technical Report No. 11-08] PDF APDES Volume 2: Water Quality 2011 PDF2013 Annual Meeting and 2012 Reports
Time:
Location:
8:30AM
DEC Juneau Offices
410 Willoughby Avenue, Juneau
2nd Floor Main Conference Room
2012 Annual Reports
Kensington Gold Project 2012 Annual Report PDF2014 Annual Meeting and 2013 Reports
Time:
Location:
8:30AM
DEC Juneau Offices
410 Willoughby Avenue, Juneau
2nd Floor Main Conference Room
2013 Annual Reports
Kensington Gold Project 2013 Annual Report PDF2015 Annual Meeting and 2014 Reports
Time:
Location:
10:00AM - 3:00PM
DEC Juneau Offices
410 Willoughby Avenue, Juneau
2nd Floor Main Conference Room
2014 Annual Reports
Kensington Gold Mine 2014 Annual Report PDFAttachment 1: Kensington Marine Mammal Report - 2014 Transportation Action Strategy, May 2014, Coeur Alaska, Juneau, AK
Attachment 2: 2014 Terrestrial Wildlife Monitoring Report of the Slate Lakes Basin, January 2015, Juneau AK
Attachment 3: Mountain Goat Population Monitoring near the Kensington Mine, Alaska - February 2014, ADFG
2016 Annual Meeting and 2015 Reports
Time:
Location:
10:00AM - 3:00PM
DEC Juneau Offices
410 Willoughby Avenue, Juneau
2nd Floor Main Conference Room
2015 Annual Reports
Kensington Gold Mine 2015 Annual Report PDFAttachment 1: Kensington Marine Mammal Report - 2015 Transportation Action Strategy, May 2015, Coeur Alaska, Juneau, AK
Attachment 2: 2015 Terrestrial Wildlife Monitoring Report of the Slate Lakes Basin, January 2015, Juneau AK
Attachment 3: Mountain Goat Population Monitoring near the Kensington Mine, Alaska - February 2015, ADFG
2017 Annual Meeting and 2016 Reports
Time:
Location:
10:00AM - 3:00PM
DEC Juneau Offices
410 Willoughby Avenue, Juneau
2nd Floor Main Conference Room
2016 Annual Reports
Kensington Gold Mine 2016 Annual Report PDFAttachment 1: Kensington Marine Mammal Report - 2016 Transportation Action Strategy, May 2014, Coeur Alaska, Juneau, AK
Attachment 2: 2016 Terrestrial Wildlife Monitoring Report of the Slate Lakes Basin, January 2017, Juneau AK
Attachment 3: Mountain Goat Population Monitoring near the Kensington Mine, Alaska - February 2016, ADFG
Attachment 4: 2016 Re-vegetation test Plot Monitoring Data
2018 Annual Meeting and 2017 Reports
Time:
Location:
10:00AM - 3:30PM
DEC Juneau Offices
410 Willoughby Avenue, Juneau
2nd Floor Main Conference Room
2017 Annual Reports
Kensington Gold Mine 2017 Annual Report PDFAttachment 1: Kensington Marine Mammal Report - 2017 Transportation Action Strategy, May 2017, Coeur Alaska, Juneau, AK
Attachment 2: 2017 Terrestrial Wildlife Monitoring Report of the Slate Lakes Basin, January 2018, Juneau AK
Attachment 3: Mountain Goat Population Monitoring near the Kensington Mine, Alaska - February 2016, ADFG
Attachment 4: 2017 Revegetation Test Plot Monitoring Data
2019 Annual Meeting and 2018 Reports
Time:
Location:
10:00AM - 3:30PM
Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Offices
400 Willoughby Avenue, Juneau
4th Floor Main Conference Room
2018 Annual Reports
Kensington Gold Mine 2018 Annual Report PDF Mountain goat population monitoring and movement patterns near the Kensington Mine, Alaska - March 2019, ADFG PDF Waste Management Permit No. 2013DB0002 2018 Annual Report PDF Waste Management Permit No. 2013DB0002 2018 4Q Report PDF Aquatic Studies at Kensington Gold Mine, 2018, ADFG Technical Report No. 19-06 PDF APDES Annual Report, 2018 Volume II: Water Quality PDF2020 Annual Meeting and 2019 Reports
Considering the logistical difficulties and health-related risks of holding an in-person meeting in this time of pandemic response, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Wastewater Discharge Authorization Program (WDAP) has waived Permit Part 2.4.2.7. The annual meeting for calendar year 2020 is cancelled. All other permit conditions remain in effect.
2019 Annual Reports
2019 Kensington Gold Mine Annual Report PDF 2019 Mountain goat population monitoring and movement patterns near the Kensington Mine PDF 2019 Waste Management Permit No. 2013DB0002 Annual Report PDF 2019 Waste Management Permit No. 2013DB0002 4th Qtr Report PDF 2019 Aquatic Studies at Kensington Gold Mine PDF APDES Annual Report, 2019 Vol. 2 Water Quality PDF2021 Annual Meeting and 2020 Reports
Time:
Location:
12:30-4:15pm
Virtual meeting held using Microsoft Teams
2020 Annual Reports
2020 Kensington Gold Mine Annual Report PDF 2020 Aquatic Studies at Kensington Gold Mine (ADF&G Technical Report No. 21-03) PDF 2020 Waste Management Permit No. 2013DB0002 Annual Report PDF 2020 Waste Management Permit No. 2013DB0002 4th Qtr. Report PDF 2021 Mtn. Goat Annual Research Progress Report PDF APDES Annual Report, 2020 Vol. 2 Water Quality PDF2022 Annual Meeting and 2021 Reports
Date: Thursday, June 23, 2022
Time: 9:00 - 11:30am
Location: 400 Willoughby Ave., 4th Floor conference room AND Teams meeting
Agenda PDF2022 Annual Meeting Presentations
Kensington Annual Meeting PDF Aquatic Studies PDF Mountain Goat Monitoring PDF2021 Annual reports
2021 Kensington Annual Report PDF 2021 Aquatic Studies at Kensington Mine (ADF&G Technical Report No. 22-07) PDF 2021 Waste Management Permit No. 2013DB0002 Annual Report PDF 2021 Waste Management Permit No. 2013DB0002 4th Qtr. Report PDF 2022 Mtn. Goat Annual Research Progress Report PDF 2021 APDES Permit AK 0050571 Annual Report PDF2023 Annual Meeting and 2022 Reports
Coeur Alaska held their 2023 Kensington Mine Annual Meeting which is required by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Waste Management Permit (WMP), Section 2.4.2.7, on June 15, 2023 from 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm. The purpose of this meeting is to address the annual reports required by the WMP, which are available for review in the "2022 Annual Reports" section below.
Meeting Agenda PDF Annual Meeting Presentation PDF 2022 Aquatic Studies Presentation PDF
2022 Annual Reports
2022 Kensington Annual Report PDF Aquatic Studies at Kensington Mine, 2022 (ADF&G Technical Report No. 23-06) PDF 2022 Waste Management Permit No. 2013DB0002 Annual Report PDF 2022 Waste Management Permit No. 2013DB0002 4th Qtr. Report PDF 2022 APDES Permit AK 0050571 Annual Report PDFEnvironmental Audits
None at this time.
Other Supporting Documents
Reclamation and Closure Plan
Plan of Operations
Final Plan of Operations - May 2005 PDFPublic Notices
Alaska Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (APDES) Permit issued by DEC
July 29, 2011 (Outfall 002 Lat/Long modified on November 7, 2011)
Permit Effective Date: September 1, 2011
APDES Permit No. AK0050571 PDF Permit Fact Sheet PDF Response to Comments PDFThe Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) has issued a Notice of Applicant Review of an Alaska Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (APDES) Preliminary Draft Permit for Kensington Gold Project, Coeur Alaska Inc. The 10-day applicant review period runs from 11/30/2010 to 12/13/2010.
Prior to a formal 30-day public notice period, ADEC invites you to review the Preliminary Draft Permit, fact sheet, and associated documents. Public comments will be accepted during the formal 30-day public review period which is expected to begin in late December. Permit documents can also be accessed from the ADEC Wastewater Discharge Authorization website under the Public Notice section.
2022 Kensington Mine Public Notice
Public Notice: Kensington Mine - Applications and State Draft Decisions
Public Notice Start: April 29, 2022
Public Notice End: May 31, 2022
On April 29, 2022, the State of Alaska is releasing application renewal documents for the Kensington Mine, Coeur Alaska Inc., existing mining operation and the following draft state decisions for a 32-day public review and comment period. The Kensington Mine is an underground gold mine operated by Coeur Alaska Inc. and located on United States Forest Service land and privately owned lands, in Southeast Alaska. The project applicant, Coeur Alaska Inc., applied for renewal of their Waste Management Permit and Reclamation Plan Approval. Comments were handled via the DEC's Public Comment system.
Documents Associated with the Public Review and Comment Period
Documents submitted by Coeur Alaska Inc. to the State of Alaska in support of project authorizations
Public Comments
Written comments on the proposed permits must be submitted within 32 days of the first publication of this public notice or no later than May 31, 2022. Please direct written comments to the attention of Sylvia Kreel online or at the address or email identified below. All comments should include the name, address, and telephone number of the commenter, and a concise statement of comment on the permit condition and the relevant facts upon which the comment is based. Comments of either support or concern which are directed at specific, cited permit requirements are appreciated. Mailed comments must be postmarked on or before the expiration date of the public notice.
Comments were handled via DEC's public notice system.
Sylvia Kreel, Large Mine Coordinator
DNR / Office of Project Management and Permitting
PO Box 111030
Juneau, AK 99811
(907) 465-3177
kgm.comments@alaska.gov
DEADLINE FOR WRITTEN COMMENTS:
May 31, 2022, at 5:00 pm ADT
April 2011 Public Notice
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) has issued a Public Notice for the proposed Alaska Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (APDES) Permit to Kensington Gold Project applicant Coeur Alaska Inc.
The 45-day Public Notice Period runs from 4/25/2011 to 6/9/2011
PUBLIC MEETING and HEARING
May 26, 2011
5:00 to 7:00 PM
Centennial Hall, Hammond Room
101 Egan Drive, Juneau
ADEC invites you to review the Draft Permit AK0050571 and associated Fact Sheet. Details for the Public Comment process are presented in the Public Notice. Permit documents can also be accessed from the ADEC Wastewater Discharge Authorization website under the Public Notice section.
DEADLINE FOR WRITTEN COMMENTS:
June 9, 2011 at 5:00 p.m.
Contact
Kate Harper
Associate Director
Alaska Department of Natural Resources
Office of Project Management and Permitting
Phone: (907) 269-5533
Fax: (907) 269-5673
Email
Mail to:
550 W. 7th Ave. Suite 1430
Anchorage, AK 99501
Visit at:
550 W. 7th Ave. Suite 1430
Anchorage, AK 99501