The Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys released new airborne geophysical data and maps for the Goodpaster River area in Interior Alaska on Jan. 24. The survey covers approximately 210 square miles in the western Goodpaster mining district, which is home to the Pogo deposit. (See map on page 15.)

Several mining companies, including AngloGold, Rimfire, Freegold and Teck Cominco, are active in the area. "We use these data all the time and have found more and more uses for the geophysical data since (the state) started doing this in the early 1990s," said Curt Freeman of Fairbanks-based Avalon Development Corp.

The Goodpaster River area geophysical data show contrasts in magnetic and electrical properties of geologic units. The flight altitude (200 feet) and line spacing (one-quarter mile) yielded very detailed aeromagnetic and resistivity maps. The Alaska Legislature provided funding for the survey. Maps are available to download in PDF format from the DGGS website at http://wwwdggs.dnr.state.ak.us/ and the data can be purchased on CD or paper for the cost of reproduction.

"Most of Alaska is not exposed very well, so this makes a tremendous difference in being able to trace bedrock units under cover," Laurel Burns, chief of the minerals section at DGGS, told Mining News. "It really cuts down time in the field for geologists and exploration companies. They can see what's causing anomalies. It's a very interesting set of data, it has definitely got potential."

Budget includes other surveys

In his proposed budget for fiscal year 2006 Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski has requested $700,000 for surveys of the Fairbanks mining district, including parts of the Boundary and Wolf Creek, 2004 burn areas, Interior Alaska; the Richardson/Black Mountain area, Interior Alaska; and the Kougarok and northern Nome districts, Seward Peninsula.

Mineral development in Alaska has major economic potential, provides high quality jobs and will provide economic diversification to help offset the loss of Prudhoe Bay oil revenue, the budget proposal says. "Knowledge of the state's mineral resources is a key to orderly development of the state and maintenance of a stable economy. ... The project has been successful in catalyzing private sector investment and job generation at a level that far surpasses the cost of conducting the surveys. Jobs for the Alaskan public are created both as a direct result of the project's execution and as a result of the knowledge generated during the project about Alaska's mineral resources."

Murkowski hopes to appropriate $700,000 every year up to and including 2011 for the airborne geophysical surveys. This would be the largest amount since FY94, soon after the project started, when $750,000 was appropriated. In FY05 the figure was $200,000 and in FY04 it plunged to a low of $100,000.