The Mining Frontier And Transportation In The North: Analogies To Alaska (Soviet Union, Canada, Scandinavia) Item Type Thesis Authors Rhoads, Edwin Milton Download date 05/10/2021 07:42:33 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/9300 INFORMATION TO USERS While the most advanced technology has been used to photograph and reproduce this manuscript, the quality of the reproduction is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. For example: • Manuscript pages may have indistinct print. In such cases, the best available copy has been filmed. • Manuscripts may not always be complete. In such cases, a note will indicate that it is not possible to obtain missing pages. • Copyrighted material may have been removed from the manuscript. In such cases, a note will indicate the deletion. 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Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 8704874 Rhoads, Edwin Milton THE MINING FRONTIER AND TRANSPORTATION IN THE NORTH: ANALOGIES TO ALASKA University of Alaska, Fairbanks Ph.D. 1986 University Microfilms International 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 Copyright 1987 by Rhoads, Edwin Milton All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PLEASE NOTE: In all cases this material has been filmed in the best possible way from the available copy. Problems encountered with this document have been identified here with a check Vmark . 1. Glossy photographs or pages_____ 2. Colored illustrations, paper or print_______ 3. Photographs with dark background_____ 4. Illustrations are poor copy_______ 5. Pages with black marks, not original copy______ 6. 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THE MINING FRONTIER AND TRANSPORTATION IN THE NORTH Analogies to Alaska A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Edwin M. Rhoads, B.S., M.S. Fairbanks, Alaska April, 1986 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE MINING FRONTIER AND TRANSPORTATION IN THE NORTH Analogies to Alaska RECOMMENDED: ^ ) f \ U 6 S 'J . & mI u -- iJLl Chairman, Advisory Committee_ APPROVED: JE3S Dean, School of Mineral Engineering Director of Graduate Programs Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. © 1 9 8 7 EDWIN MILTON RHOADS All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT This study identifies and analyzes the most important variables which have influenced the development of mineral resources in the Circumpolar North. The purpose is to determine, based on analogies, those variables most likely to be critical in the future development of Alaska's rich mineral resources. The factors most essential for any mineral development are: the location of viable deposits, demand for minerals, favorable governmental policies, available technology, transportation, sources of energy, investment capital, and economic or social or political benefits which exceed costs. These factors are discussed in terms of historical experiences in the Circumpolar North, a region in which there has been a steady movement northward of a frontier based on mining. This mining frontier has virtually disap­ peared in the paternalistic and export-oriented economies of the Nordic states. It has advanced substantially in the Soviet North under the centrally planned and largely self-sufficient economy of the USSR. In the relatively laissez-faire policies and market economies of North America, the mining frontier is not as far advanced. In Alaska, post World War II economic development has been fueled by defense construction and petroleum related activities, while federal and state policies towards land-use restrict mineral development. In Northern Canada, government policies encouraged an acceleration in mineral development. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. iv From analyzing experiences elsewhere in the North, the study concludes that the major critical variables for mineral development must be favorable simultaneously. These variables must be synchronized in time, but this not always been the case in Alaska. This study highlights those policies which could facilitate the development of a much stronger mineral industry in Alaska, one which could contribute significantly to the national mineral base, to foreign trade, and to Alaska's economic development. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ■ Page A b s t r a c t ...................................................... iii List of Figures............................................. ix List of T a b l e s ............................................. x P r e f a c e ................................................... xi Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION .................................... 1 Purpose and Scope of the S t u d y .................. 2 Minerals and Their Significance .................. 5 The Nature of the Mineral Industry............... 7 The Significance of Hard Rock Mining in Alaska . 11 The Northern Mining Frontier ..................... 13 The Role of Transportation in the Mining Industry . 15 Chapter 2 THE NORTHLANDS AND THEIR RESOURCES ............... 19 Renewable Resources .............................. 22 Fish and Mammals................................. 23 Forests.......................................... 2k Agricultural L a n d .............................. 25 The Hydropower P o t e n t i a l ........................ 26 Chapter 3 THE COURSE OF NORTHERN DEVELOPMENT THROUGH ' WORLD WAR I I ..................................... 3U The Scandinavian North ........................... 3^ The Soviet N o r t h ................................. 3*+ Settlement and Economic Development of the Canadian N o r t h ................................. 60 Early Period to 1 8 6 7 ........................ 60 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. v i ■ Confederation to World War I I ............... 63 A l a s k a ............................................ 73 Russian Occupation 17^1-1867 .................... 73 United States Territory and the Gold Rush 1 8 6 7 - 1 9 1 ^ ...................................... 77 Alaska Mechanized 191^-19^0 85 The North in World War I I .......................... 95 Scandinavia ................................... 95 The Soviet N o r t h ................................ 99 The Canadian N o r t h .............................. 103 A l a s k a .......................................... 106 Chapter h THE ADVANCE OF THE MINING FRONTIER AFTER WORLD WAR I I ................................. Ill The Scandinavian North ............................. Ill The Soviet N o r t h .................................... 123 National Policy and Economic Choice .... 135 Technology....................................... li*U The Canadian N o r t h ................................. lH8 Alaska After World War I I ........................... 177 The State of Alaska: First Twenty-Five Years (1959 _ 198L) .................................... 187 The Northern Mining Frontier in the 1980s . 2hj Chapter 5 FACTORS INFLUENCING MINERAL DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSPORTATION IN THE N O R T H ........................ 253 Economic Factors ................................... 253 Mineral and Development Policy .................... 26l Scandinavia .................................... 26l Reproduced with permission of the copyright