Though Prophecy Platinum representatives said in February financing the construction of a Haines ore terminal is “not on the table” for them, the Haines Borough is exploring other avenues, including a potential public-private partnership, for such a venture.

Borough officials last fall identified the Prophecy Platinum-owned Wellgreen deposit near Burwash Landing, Y.T.,  as a potential customer of a port facility in Haines.

Michael Catsi, business development officer for the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), will travel to Haines this spring to discuss with borough officials what a public-private partnership might look like, assistant to the manager Darsie Culbeck said.

AIDEA is a state entity that provides financing for large-scale projects. It owns the ore terminal in Skagway, which is currently operated and maintained by Mineral Services, Inc., a private company. The project is financed by AIDEA’s funds on hand, and repaid with terminal user fees.

During a March 6 meeting of the borough’s Port Development Steering Committee, Culbeck said the AIDEA visit will likely include a trip to Skagway and meeting with terminal operator Dave Hunz to learn how that terminal works.  

AIDEA will also hold a public meeting in Haines, so residents can ask questions.

Manager Mark Earnest said in a March 8 interview that at this point in time, a public-private enterprise “would be the preferred direction” for development of an ore terminal in Haines. Earnest outlined a hypothetical situation where AIDEA would finance terminal construction, while the private sector, such as a mining company, would enter into a long-term lease to use the terminal. The borough could then operate the facility, collecting payments from the private company and writing checks to repay AIDEA.

Committee member Chip Lende expressed reservations about public involvement and said residents might not want to assume the risk associated with such a project.

“We built a cruise ship dock 20 years ago and everybody said, ‘We’re going to have cruise ships every day and they’re going to pay for it.’ And we all see that it’s being used, but not to its full capacity, and it’s the residents of Haines that bore the brunt of that. The state helped, but we took on that risk and it’s underutilized. And I’d hate to see us build an ore dock, assume a lot of that risk, and find that it’s underutilized,” Lende said.

Committee member Robert Venables said the AIDEA visit will help clarify what an ore facility would look like in Haines. In his mind, Venables said, Haines’ hypothetical terminal “doesn’t look anything like Skagway.”

Venables said he is wary residents will hear the words “ore terminal” and conjure images of what those facilities look like elsewhere, when Haines port development might look completely different.

Earnest agreed with Venables. “There are as many models as there are ports, potentially. In terms of how they’re structured, how they’re financed, what kind of partnerships you bring in and how they’re constructed…it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach,” he said.