With little outside review, state agency approves Ester Dome hardrock mining exploration

The Alaska Mental Health Lands Trust plans to lease more than 10,000 acres near Fairbanks at Ester Dome and Cleary Summit for hardrock mining exploration by an Australian company, Felix Gold Alaska, Inc.

There are three separate LLCs registered under the Felix Gold name with the state, all owned by an Australian company.

The trust office says that mining is the best and highest use of the lands on Ester Dome and Cleary Summit. Positive results from exploration could lead to hardrock mining, the trust office says. Here is the agreement.

The Ester Dome property is along Henderson Road and Ester Dome Road, mostly on the south side of the dome. There is also property south of Murphy Dome Road included in an area covering 4,157 acres. There are also 5,000 acres on Cleary Summit and Pedro Dome and 991 acres north of Fox along the Elliott Highway.

If this work ever moves to production, the trust would collect a sliding scale net royalty of from 1 percent to 4.5 percent, depending upon the price of gold. The trust says this is the “standard royalty rate for hardrock mining.”

The trust office said gold prices are high and “the mineral resources affected by this decision are resources that should be offered now rather than later.”

The trust is making the land available without seeking competitive bids, saying that doing so allows the trust to get access to historic exploration data.

Comments on the proposal are due by July 30 at mhtlo@alaska.gov.

The mailing address is: Alaska Mental Health Trust Land Office, 2600 Cordova St., Suite 201, Anchorage, AK 99503. The fax number is (907) 269-8905.