Tim Smith

The program combines technical sessions, a mining trade show, poster sessions, a Core Shack and Prospectors Tent, and policy discussions. Technical subjects include Alaska geoscience and mineral-resource data; exploration projects involving gold, antimony, lithium, tin, tantalum, niobium, nickel, graphite and copper; remote mine access and infrastructure; and mine operations and engineering. Policy sessions address Alaska permitting, mining’s economic impacts, FAST-41 coordination, water-reservation regulations, Alaska’s energy and critical-minerals future, cross-border mining collaboration, and industry collaboration on wildlife habitat. Other presentations cover permafrost and mine remediation, machine learning for safer mining and subsurface gas operations, mine-waste geomembranes, freight costs, geophysical mapping, mine engineering data, NEPA reform, Clean Water Act jurisdiction, and mine-road stabilization. The program also includes a discussion of Alaska’s resource future and regulatory priorities, a session on Kinross Alaska’s partnership with Interior Alaska, and an Alaska general-election recap. Bill Groffy, the Bureau of Land Management’s principal deputy director, and Emma Pokon, EPA Region 10 administrator, are among the featured officials.