Planning is at an advanced stage for the company’s mine, and a U.S. Clean Water Act Section 404 permit application will be submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lat - er this summer, according to Mike Schaffner, Graphite One’s Senior Vice President for Operations. A feasibility study is complete, which is a requirement for financ - ing to be arranged. A Department of Defense grant helped finance the feasibility study, allowing it to be completed early. Capital costs of the mine are estimated at $950 million in the study. 155 exploration holes have been drilled at the mine along 1.2 miles of the graphite accumulation. The known geologic trend is 9.5 miles long and the deposit is open at depth, and to the east and west, meaning more resources are certain to be added, Schaffner said. In operation, the mine would employ about 250 in production with additional workers hired by contractors tasked with, among other things, trucking of ore to the barge storage area in Nome, Schaff - ner said. Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) is expected to provide sup - port services for mine operations similar to the way Teck Alaska’s Red Dog Mine north of Kotzebue is supported by subsidiaries of NANA Regional Corp. Bering Straits is the Alaska Na - tive Regional corporation for the Seward Peninsula region of western Alaska, where the mine is located. BSNC is also an investor in Graphite One. Graphite One controls 176 state mining claims where the graphite deposit and facilities will be locat - ed. Schaffner said the Army Corps of Engineers will be the lead permit - ting agency. “We will submit the Section 404 permit application and the Army Corps will determine if an Envi - ronmental Assessment or Environ - mental Impact Statement will be required,” he said. An Environmental Assessment is a more streamlined review of en - vironmental effects while the En - vironmental Impact Statement is more detailed and requires more time. The decision made by the Corps for an EA or EIS will be deter - mined by how many wetland acres
Graphite One’s intent is to produce high-grade anode material for the lithium-ion electric vehicle battery market and energy storage systems.
are disturbed by the site and a 17- mile access road planned to be built from the existing state Nome-Teller highway. “This will be the only federal permit that is required. All other permits will be issued by the state of Alaska,” Schaffner said. An uncertainty on the Section 404 permit is the amount of acre - age that may be determined as wetlands. Graphite One has done mapping to be submitted with the application to the Army Corps but the Corps will make the decision as to whether the acres meet the tech - nical specifications for wetland in the Corps’ regulations. The U.S. Supreme Court’s deci - sion on wetlands in the Sackett case will weigh into this, and the deter - minations for Graphite One’s per - mit may be the first for the Corps under the Sackett case. “We have no role in the deci -
sion,” Schaffner said. “It will be decided solely by the Corps. Based on this decision, the acreage affect - ed, however, could range from five acres to 550.” One relatively recent change in the company’s plan is to drop a plan for a large camp for workers at the mine and to instead develop a sub - division in Nome and build houses for permanent employees in Nome as well as a lodge facility for res - idents of other communities like Teller and Brevig Mission. “It is envisioned that Graphite One would subsidize the houses, cosigning on loans, so that employ - ees can eventually own their homes. This is a model for employee hous - ing that has worked in Nevada to help recruit and retain workers. It really benefits the community,” Schaffner said.
— Tim Bradner
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