Gov. Mike Dunleavy, along with Chief of Staff Ben Stevens and Department of Conservation Commissioner Jason Brune, visited Haines for a private tour of the Palmer Project exploration site on Monday.
The governor and his staff flew by helicopter directly from Juneau to the site 35 miles north of Haines. Constantine Metal Resources staff led them on a site tour. “It was a beautiful day and we were able to show the governor what we are doing in our ongoing exploration program and share our plans for future development,” spokesperson Liz Cornejo wrote in an email.
Mayor Jan Hill was invited by Cornejo last minute to meet with the governor and his staff, Hill said. She was driven to the airport by a Constantine employee and spoke with Dunleavy for about ten minutes next to the heli-landing pad at the airport, where he briefly stopped on his trip back to Juneau for a cabinet meeting.
“It was very casual,” she said. “He was eating an apple.”
Hill said Dunleavy asked specific questions about Haines, such as the impacts last month’s ferry strike had on the Southeast State Fair, and how many of the local retirees are seasonal.
“We didn’t talk about big-ticket items,” Hill said. “This was mine business; this wasn’t borough business.”
About 50 community members have visited the Palmer Project recently for site tours, including 8th grade students, according to Cornejo.
The governor’s office did not respond to requests for comment before press time.
The visit comes a day after DEC remanded Constantine’s waste water discharge permit.