Summary
The Johnson River Prospect is a high grade copper-silver-lead-zinc-gold deposit within Lake Clark National Park, in southwestern Alaska. The Cook Inlet Regional Corporation (CIRI), an Alaska Native-owned for-profit company created by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) of 1971, chose 21,000 acres of land around the deposit in 1976, as part of the compensation agreement for Native lands redistributed under the Act. CIRI has explored the deposit intermittently since 1983, performing a large drilling program and resource estimate in 1993.
The National Park Service worries that, if developed, Johnson River would be the largest commercial mining operation in any Alaskan park, and has expressed concerns about effects on the park, including possible acid mine drainage, and sediment discharge into the Johnson River.
Current Status
There is no active exploration taking place at the Johnson River Prospect. According to CIRI’s 2008 Annual Report (4.2 MB):
" The Company has an exploration agreement with Talon Gold to explore CIRI ’s Farewell property for minerals and it continues to explore development options for CIRI’s Johnson River gold prospect."
Further Reading
Created: Jan. 19, 2018