5VIWMHIRXƶW2IWWEKI
Make 2020 the best year yet for AMA
ŮʱƋƵĜĬĬĵ±ĩåeaeåƴåĹĵŅųååýåÏƋĜƴåĜĹ the coming year and decade is more of our members participating in the AMA committees to share expertise, experiences and insight to better our organization and the mining industry.”
H appy New Year!
Natural Resource Waters (ONRW), the Roadless Rule in the Tongass National Forest, and the dishonest and deceitful characterization of social impacts from mining are a few of the challenges we face. Some of these issues have continued to menace the resource development industries through a couple of administrations and are hopefully coming to the point of final resolution with this legislative session. Mineral tenure and IFRs have languished in the bureaucracy and political limbo for years even with continuous pressure from AMA. Recent dialogue with the Alaska Departments of Natural Resources and Fish and Game have provided some glimmer of optimism regarding meaningful progress toward resolution of the mineral tenure and the IFR issues that continue to cause uncertainty for claim owners and disincentives for investment. Unfortunately, we have been assured in the past the issues would be resolved, so we will remain cautiously optimistic until we see words put into actions. Legislation is required to ultimately fix the mineral tenure and the Tier 3 ONRW designations. AMA remains committed to working with the legislature, administration, and other stakeholders to address and
Here we are at the start of 2020 and heading toward year 81 for
the Alaska Miners Association (AMA). 2019 was a notable year for AMA highlighting how effective volunteer organization can be considering the numerous issues the mining and resource industries have dealt with on the national and state level. The activities of the AMA Director, staff, and committees are only possible through the generosity and dedication of its members, sponsors, and vendors, as again demonstrated at the record-breaking 2019 AMA Annual Conference in November. The participation in the technical sessions and at the trade show was phenomenal. I am truly thankful and proud to be a part of such an outstanding group representing the mining industry in Alaska. Looking back at 2019 regarding the issues that continue to plague the mining industry and make the slogan “Alaska is open for business” a little less certain and hazy, AMA has steadfastly worked with State of Alaska resource agencies, federal land managers, the legislature, and the executive branch to do what is right for Alaska and our industry. Conflicts with mineral tenure, instream flow reservations (IFR), Tier 3: Outstanding
4
The Alaska Miner
January 2020
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online