The Economic Impacts of Alaska's Mining Industry - Alaska Miners ...

mine is the largest employer in the borough. The
mine generated $46 million in total wages in 2004.
Red Dog accounted for 17 percent of all wage
and salary employment in the Northwest Arctic
Borough, and 30 percent of all private sector
employment.
According to a 2002 study, Red Dog accounted
for one-third of the private sector jobs held by the
residents of Buckland (33%), Kiana (36%),
Kivalina (38%), Noorvik (33%), Selawik (34%),
and Shungnak (32%). It accounted for 63 percent
of the private sector jobs held by the residents of
Noatak. 46
Prior to Red Dog Mine’s opening, wages in the
Borough were well below the statewide average,
but just one year after the mine became
operational, the local average wage rose above
that of the state. The median household income in
the Northwest Arctic Borough grew by about 87
percent ($17,756 to $33,313) from 1979 to 1989
and by 38 percent from 1989 to 1999 ($33,313 to
$45,976), according to US Census data. Annual
wages at the mine are typically from $45,000 to
$85,000 per year plus benefits. 47
Teck Cominco has paid $90.1 million in total
royalties to NANA from 1982 to 2004. In addition,
payments in lieu of taxes to the Northwest Arctic
Borough from 1988 to 2004 have been $44.3
million. 48
Greens Creek Mine spent $20 million for goods
and services purchased in Alaska, $17 million of
which was spent in Juneau, in 2003.
It employs a higher percentage of residents (89
percent at the time of the study) than the overall
Juneau private and government entities combined
(85 percent). 50
Economic multiplier impacts add annual
average employment of 273 and annual payroll of
$8 million, totaling an average annual employment
of 527 and payroll of $28 million.
Greens Creek Mine households contributed
$307,000 in residential real estate property tax in
2003 for the $26.4 million in assessed value of
their homes.
Greens Creek Mine contributes $50,000
annually to charitable organizations and pays
employees for several hundred hours of
community service work. Employees contributed in
excess of $100,000 to local charitable
organizations, and donated another $15,000 in
goods and more than 4,000 hours of volunteer
time to more than 50 charitable organizations,
schools, and community organizations.
Greens Creek underground drill rig
Greens Creek Mine
In 2004, McDowell Group produced a report of the
socioeconomic impacts of Greens Creek Mine in
Juneau. 49 Key findings are summarized here.
Greens Creek is Juneau’s largest private sector
employer in terms of annual payroll.
Greens Creek Mine’s 260 employees as a
group are among the highest-paid workers in the
community. Employees have average annual
wages of nearly $79,000, almost triple the average
$29,000 wage for Juneau private sector workers,
and double the average state worker annual
average wage of $40,000.
Photo courtesy of Kennecott Greens Creek Mine.
46
An Assessment of the Contribution of Red Dog Mine
Operations to the Economy of the Northwest Arctic Borough,
Oct. 2002. Prepared for Northern Economics for the Alaska
Industrial Development and Export Authority.
47
www.nwabor.org/edc/EDC%20CompPlan.htm
48
www.nana.com/businesses/mining.htm for payments prior to
2004. 2004 payments compiled by McDowell Group.
49
McDowell Group, Socioeconomic Impacts of the Greens
Creek Mine, May 2004.
50 This estimate of resident employment is as of 2003 and is
based on place of residency at the time of the study. This
differs from ADOLWD residency data for Greens Creek, which
is based on PFD application data.
The Economic Impacts of Alaska’s Mining Industry McDowell Group, Inc. • Page 34