A proposed graphite mine on Alaska’s Seward Peninsula could begin operations by the end of the decade. The critical mineral has numerous industrial uses and currently, the United States doesn’t produce any of it.
Federal support has grown and lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have approved millions in funding. Last June, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) put the project on a fast-track, potentially slashing years off its permitting timeline.
But in Brevig Mission, about an hour by boat from the Graphite Creek site, some residents are organizing opposition. At a mid-January meeting, community members discussed concerns and next steps.
“I’ve talked to people for a long time, and people have told me their feelings, but if those feelings only stay right here in the village, then nobody finds out,” Keith Conger said. “And the idea is to get the rest of the state, the rest of the country, to listen to you.”
Residents are forming a coalition with nearby villages and environmental experts to oppose Graphite One, the Canadian company behind the project. Conger and others voiced concerns about potential impacts to the Kigluaik Mountains and waterways that flow into the Imuruk Basin, a 17-mile-wide estuary and known salmon spawning area.
“If it does open, our food sources are going to be taken away from us, and the government is not going to supplement that,” Frieda Southall, Brevig Mission resident said.
