A-J Mine
The City of Juneau, under direction of Mayor Bruce Botelho, is considering promoting the re-opening of the old A-J Mine near downtown Juneau. The City's A-J Mine Advisory Committee (AJMAC) has released a report documenting it's recommendations. SEACC remains concerned about protections for Juneau's water supply and the enforceability of the public safeguards in the committee's report.
According to a recent study, 76% of hard-rock mines that predict no water quality degradation end up contaminating nearby water sources. A-J Mine is directly adjacent to Last Chance Basin, which supplies 2/3 of Juneau's drinking water and is our only year-round source. The threat to Juneau's water source is serious, as detailed by Alaska's senior geologist Roman Motyka in a letter to the AJMAC.
The A-J mine has a long history in Juneau. The most recent attempt to develop the historic mine by Echo Bay Alaska, lead to an FBI and EPA investigation into overnight dumping of toxic waste into Gold Creek, the location of the city's drinking watershed.
Learn more about the A-J Mine by reading our A-J Fact Sheet.
Get Educated
- The City and Borough of Juneau's A-J Mine Related Water Study (Feb. 2012)
- A-J Mine Fact Sheet
- AJMAC’s Final Report
- SEACC’s “Report on the Report”
- What the A-J Mine Would Look Like
- Roman Motyka’s AJMAC Comments – Water
- SEACC’s AJMAC Comments – Enforceability
- SEACC’s AJMAC Comments – Tailings Disposal and Water Quality
- DNR’s Report on Juneau’s Water Supply (1993)
- History of A-J Mine
Echo Bay Alaska
- FBI shows Mine Misdeeds (Juneau Empire, 1998)
- Heavily redacted FBI investigation Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C
- Echo Bay Drops A-J (Juneau Empire, 1997)
