Alaska Tribes Challenge Massive Gold Dredging Operation Planned near Nome

Three Alaska Native tribes filed a lawsuit today in Alaska District Court today challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ approval of a fill permit for a controversial suction dredge gold mining operation proposed about 30 miles east of Nome in Northwest Alaska.

IPOP LLC, the Nevada-based mine developer, is seeking to dredge gold in an ecologically valuable estuary that is critical for subsistence harvests. The place where the dredging would occur, within Bonanza Channel in Safety Sound, is an important habitat for fish, migratory birds, marine mammals and other wildlife. Tribal members and other residents depend on the area to fish, gather eggs, pick berries, and hunt for migratory birds, seals, and other wildlife. The estuary and surrounding lands are also a popular destination for birdwatchers, who support local tourism businesses.

If built, the operation would be the largest of its kind in Alaska and the first of its kind proposed in a productive, ecologically intact estuary. It would cause lasting and significant harm to valuable ecosystems, posing risks to the tribes’ food security and subsistence ways of life. The tribes challenging the mine are the Village of Solomon, Native Village of Council, and King Island Native Community.

“As Iñupiaq people, our subsistence way of life is deeply connected to the Bonanza Channel,” said Village of Solomon President Kirsten Timbers. “The river, the ocean, and the land are not just resources — they are sacred gifts from the Earth that have sustained us for generations. The salmon and other fish that thrive in these four rivers are more than food; they are life itself. They link us to our ancestors, ground us in the present, and carry our culture into the future. This land and its waters are who we are. Now, the IPOP mine threatens to destroy them. Every local organization opposes this project — ask anyone who lives here. We must stand united in our resistance.”

The approval of the federal permit was a blow to the tribes and Northwest Alaska residents who oppose the mine. The Army Corps initially rejected the permit in September 2022 at the Alaska District level, but in a surprising move, after the mining company appealed, the Corps’ Pacific Division, which oversees Alaska and three other districts, reversed its decision in March 2024 and approved the Clean Water Act permit for the mine. Tribes, village corporations, the regional tribal nonprofit and the regional health corporation stated their opposition in a letter following the Army Corps’ permit approval.

In the legal challenge filed today, tribal plaintiffs argue that the Corps’ approval of the project violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) because the Corps failed to fully examine the impacts of the project and refused to complete an environmental impact statement. The tribes also argue the Corps violated the Clean Water Act because of the harm to the estuary that the dredge would cause and for failing to require adequate measures to mitigate that damage.

“The Corp’s Pacific Division made an ill-informed and illegal decision when it approved this project,” said Earthjustice Attorney Carole Holley. “Other federal agencies and the State of Alaska have identified serious threats posed by this mine and requested more information; the Corps cannot legally claim this project poses no significant harms to what has been described by federal agencies as a pristine estuary and to the subsistence, cultural and spiritual practices of our tribal plaintiffs.”

Activities covered under the permit include dredging, disposal of excess materials back into the estuary waters and future reclamation of dredged materials and disposal of excess materials back into the estuary waters. The suction dredge mining proposed by IPOP would involve cutting and vacuuming up the underwater bed of the estuary, sucking these materials through a tube, processing, and pumping unwanted materials back out. IPOP said it would be able to process 285 cubic yards of materials per hour with a wastewater discharge rate of 8,500 gallons per minute. The project would affect over 150 acres of the estuary.

Background

When the project was first proposed in 2018, IPOP LLC said it also planned to produce a reality television show called “Rivers of Gold” and to create a “gold luxury brand” alongside the mining operation. In a video touting the project for investors, the mine’s backers claimed they would be able to start mining immediately and said the company’s dredge could process enough material to fill the Rose Bowl “to the top row” within 120 days. IPOP LLC subsequently distanced itself from the reality TV show and luxury brand but sued alongside the companies pursuing those projects to compel the Corps to approve the permit. That lawsuit was eventually dismissed.

In addition to this challenge filed by the tribes to the mine’s federal permitting, mine opponents have also challenged state permits to the mine. Kawerak, a regional Tribal nonprofit, appealed the Department of Environmental Conservation’s decision to issue a wastewater discharge permit for the project.

Last month, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) rejected the company’s land use permit and plan for reclamation that are required by the State of Alaska. DNR found that IPOP had not provided adequate exploration data to meet the state’s legal standards for approving mining activities and that the project would block public navigation within the Bonanza Channel. These issues violated the state’s public trust responsibility to manage the estuary for the benefit of all Alaskans, including for navigation and the protection of fish.