I would like to take the opportunity to correct several inaccuracies regarding Teck and the Red Dog Mine in March 22 Washington Post article, “The United States of Subsidies.”
The article repeats flawed data provided by the organization Good Jobs First, which claimed that Teck had received $597 million in state government subsidies in Alaska. Good Jobs First has acknowledged this is not accurate, and it is being corrected on its website.
That figure was a misstatement of a $267 million investment made by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority in the 1990s to build the state-owned DeLong Mountain Transportation System (DMTS), which consists of a haul road and port facilities used to transport zinc and lead mineral concentrates from the Red Dog Mine to overseas customers.
More importantly, that investment was clearly not a subsidy. Red Dog pays a toll for use of those facilities and, to date, has paid about $450 million — far more than the original cost of the project — making it a source of ongoing revenue for Alaska.
In addition, the mine has supported close to 600 well-paying jobs in Northwest Alaska for over 25 years, paid close to $1 billion in royalties to the Inupiat-owned NANA Regional Corp. — of which more than $617 million has been shared with other Alaska Native Regional Corporations through the 7(i) provision of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act — and injected $1.5 billion into the Alaskan economy.
The fact is, government’s building of the DMTS was not a subsidy — it was a smart investment that continues to reap enormous benefits for Alaskans.
Henri Letient
General Manager, Red Dog Mine
Alaska
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