Army Corps hears public comments for yet another IPOP proposal

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has opened a public comment period on yet another proposal by IPOP LLC to mine for gold at Bonanza Channel.
This time, IPOP proposes to conduct a ‘case study’ while mining at Bonanza Channel, near mile 28 of the Nome-Council Highway. “The proposed case study involves mining and is proposed for this summer, which would then be followed by the five-year mining proposal (for five summer/fall ‘mining seasons’),” explained Project Manager Tiffany Kwakwa with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “The purpose of the case study has been stated by the applicant as to collect scientific information in order to support the five-year mining operation.”
According to the public notice, IPOP proposes to discharge 294,000 cubic yards of dredged material into 26.8 acres of waters including wetlands. In the original five-year mining plan, they proposed to discharge more than 4.5 million cubic yards into 177 acres of waters or wetlands, for the purpose of producing gold with equipment they claim to be specifically designed for shallow water estuary dredging and ultra-fine gold recovery.
Essentially, IPOP proposes to mine with the same equipment and— while doing so —conduct the ‘case study.’ “The proposed two phases of the case study work consist of a full-scale mining and reclamation project,” reads the public notice document. “Equipment proposed for the ‘case study’ would be the same as for the five-year mining plan and includes a single engine dredge vessel (50 feet long x 24 feet wide) with a 36-inch diameter Vosta cutterhead, a 10-inch diameter dredge nozzle and two smaller tender boats.
Reclamation, the application says, would be concurrent with mining, and temporary dredge material disposal sites would be reclaimed. They plan to re-establish the estuary as close to the original pre-mining extent and depth as possible, except for the access channel.
In a discussion on the detailed plan for 2021, the agent for IPOP, Yukuskokon Professional Services, argues that agency reviews of the Individual Permit application highlighted deficiencies rooted in the lack of scientific data and literature “to support IPOP’s position that the proposed project will result in minimal impact to the resource values of the Bonanza Channel lagoon.” Hence, the reasoning goes, “to generate additional real case-study data (in the absence of available literature or comparable operations) IPOP is proposing this amendment to the existing Individual Application to modify access channel construction into a site specific, controlled, full-scale mining and reclamation study,” the document says. The proposal calls for the case study to last one season, to dredge and backfill a 5.9-acre test site; to dredge to a depth of 28 feet; reclaim concurrent with dredging and to do this in a study area between two islands. The duration is proposed to start in June through October 15.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has failed to publish a proper public notice in this week’s paper. The 66-page public notice document is posted online at the Corps’ website.
The comment period began April 16 and will close on May 17.