Final Flashcards
What are the eras of mining history?
Historic Era, Low Era, Modern Era
Professor Loeffler divided Alaska’s mining history into 3 era’s. Which of the events below triggered the beginning of the era that we are in today? (More than one answer may be appropriate).
President Nixon deregulating gold prices
The permitting of the Red Dog and Greens Creek Mines
The federal government conveying significant amounts of land to Native Corporations to implement ANCSA
What mineral is leased like oil and gas?
Coal
What is a hard rock mineral deposit?
A mine that requires drilling and blasting to separate ore from its foundation.
Why is the mineral industry a lottery industry?
For exploration, because a single win must pay for many losses.
How does a mineral price increase affect a mine’s profits?
Profit will increase more than mineral prices increase.
What is the state’s royalty rate on locatable minerals (i.e., not coal)? Where does it apply?
3% net profits and applies only to state land.
What is Alaska’s mining license tax and where does it apply?
7% of net profit, applies to all land.
The Red Dog Mine began production in 1989. When did Teck recover its capital investment?
2007
How much money has NANA received from the Red Dog Mine since startup?
$1 billion
According to the article “Mining and Sustainable Communities,” which of the statements below are true about the Red Dog Mine’s effects on villages in the region? (More than one answer may be correct.)
Red Dog employs a significant number of NANA shareholders, including many from the region
Red Dog Mine has increased the median income in the region
Red Dog Mine is associated with an increase in K-12 graduation rates in the Northwest Arctic Borough School District?
Red Dog Mine helped create the Northwest Arctic Borough.
How does the revenue that the State of Alaska receives from the mining industry compare to the cost to promote and regulate the industry
State revenue is significantly greater than the state’s cost.
Which of the following statements is accurate concerning the contribution of the mining industry to Alaska’s government revenues as compared to the oil industry’s contribution?
The state government’s revenue from the mining industry is much less than a quarter as large its revenue from the oil industry.
Roughly how many placer mines operated in Alaska in 2013?
295
Mine Locations from Norther to South
Red Dog Fort Knox Pogo Gold Usibelli Coal Kensington Gold Greens Creek Silver/Lead
Greens Creek Silver/Lead Mine
Southern Most
What two industries make up the Alaska’s “seafood industry”?
Fishing and fish processing
What is “ex-vessel value?”
The money paid to fishermen when they sell their fish to processors
There are two components of first wholesale value of Alaska seafood production
ex-vessel value, and seafood processing
What are Alaska’s five major “fisheries”?
Salmon, Groundfish, Crab, Halibut, and Herring
What salmon species accounts for the greatest share of the ex-vessel value of Alaska salmon
harvests?
Sockeye Salmon
Which of the major Alaska fisheries accounts for most of the volume (weight) of fish harvested in Alaska?
Groundfish
What two of the five major Alaska fisheries account for most of the first wholesale value produced by the Alaska seafood industry?
Groundfish and salmon
What caused a dramatic increase in U.S. groundfish harvests in Alaska waters in the 1980s?
U.S. fleets replaced foreign fleets harvesting groundfish
Under the “limited entry” system, who is allowed to fish for salmon?
Only people with limited
entry permits
What does IFQ stand for
Individual Fishing Quota
•Under IFQ management, how much halibut is a fisherman allowed to catch during a season?
An amount equal to the fisherman’s individual quota, which differs for different fishermen
When the IFQ program began, what did halibut fishermen pay for their original IFQ shares?
Nothing, they received them for free
What are three arguments in favor of IFQ management?
Lower costs, higher value, and safer
What is an argument against IFQ management?
Unfair allocation, Fishing no longer open to anyone who wants to fish, Hard for a young person to get into the fishery, Reduces the
number of fishing jobs
What species of fish harvested in Alaska accounts for the largest share of U.S. fish catches by
volume?
Alaska pollock
What is “surimi”
Fish paste
What factor has contributed to strong harvests of pink and chum salmon in Alaska in recent
years?
(Good returns to salmon hatcheries
What is the best description of Alaska fish prices?
Very unstable, like prices of other natural
resources such as oil, minerals and timber
What are the two reasons for which Alaska fishermen opposed allowing salmon farming in
Alaska?
They were worried about effects on wild fishery; they were worried about competition
from farmed salmon
• Which is the best description of the condition of Alaska’s fish resources?
Most fishery
resources are healthy, with a few important exceptions
What was the trend in Alaska salmon prices during the 1990s?
Downwards
In fisheries science, what is a “regime shift”?
Periodic long-term changes in ocean conditions
What was the trend in Alaska salmon prices during the 2000s?
Upwards
Name two SUPPLY factors that affect Alaska fish prices.
Supply from Alaska; supply from
Alaska’s competitors (farmed and wild)
Name two DEMAND factors that affect Alaska fish prices
Consumer Incomes, consumer
tastes, exchange rates, prices of other fish and other foods, distribution costs, trade barriers,
marketing, market power of buyers
What was the most important factor affecting Alaska salmon prices during the 1990s?
Competition from farmed salmon
What are three reasons for which the seafood industry is important to Alaska?
A major
source of jobs and income. The most important source of income in many coastal communities.
The only private sector source of cash income in many rural areas. An important part of the tax
base in rural Alaska. An important contributor to rural infrastructure and utilities. A very
important part of the culture and way of life of many Alaskans
Under what kind of system are most Alaska fishermen paid?
A “share” system
Which is higher: annual average employment in fishing, or the total number of people who
participate in fishing?
The total number of people who participate in fishing
About what percentage of the workers in Alaska’s seafood processing industry are nonresidents?
70%
• What is the most important tax paid by the Alaska seafood industry? How is it calculated?
Fisheries business tax: A tax paid by processors based on a percentage of the ex-vessel value
of the fish
Which two major Alaska fisheries are managed by the State of Alaska?
Salmon and herring
What organization establishes fishery management policy for the federal government in Alaska
waters?
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council
Why is there a potential for “conflict of interest” in the U.S. fishery management council
system?
Because the council members are deciding about issues which affect their own
businesses
What organization establishes fisheries management policies for the State of Alaska?
The
Board of Fisheries
Name one of the Alaska CDQ groups.
Any of: Aleutian Pribilof Island Community
Development Association, Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation, Central Bering Sea
Fishermen’s Association, Coastal Villages Region Fund, Norton Sound Economic Development
Corporation, Yukon Delta Fisheries Development Association
