Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Alaskans voice pollution concerns over New Polaris gold mine project near Taku River

June 18, 2026 — A proposed gold mine in British Columbia, Canada, is causing controversy for residents in Alaska.

The New Polaris gold mine is 100 kilometers south of Atlin, British Columbia, and is located near the Alaska border, particularly near the city of Juneau, according to a report by CBC. The project is owned by Vancouver, Canada-based natural resource acquisition company Canagold, which is looking to refurbish the abandoned mine and produce an estimated 90,000 kilograms of ore daily. CBC reported that the gold mine dates back to 1929 with its first gold discovery and remained operational from 1937 to 1957.

Read the full article at the SeafoodSource

Proposed New Polaris mine raises concerns about Taku River salmon, but mining company assures safegaurds

May 18, 2026 — Canagold Resources, the company proposing to open the New Polaris gold mine on the Tulsequah River in British Columbia, says it’s taking steps to protect the environment.

The Tulsequah is a tributary of the Taku River in Alaska, which is known as the most productive salmon stream in Southeast. All five Pacific salmon species spawn in the river, including the largest Chinook run in the region. Although there hasn’t been a concerted effort to study whether mining has affected Taku River salmon, some are concerned it could.

Chris Pharness is the senior vice president of sustainability and permitting at Canagold. He said the company plans to operate in ways that avoid harming the watershed and the fish in it.

For instance, he said Canagold originally planned to use cyanide to separate gold on-site.

“We were going to produce doré, which is unrefined gold, on site,” Pharness said. “But, you know, in consideration of the fisheries values and water quality values and things like that, we decided against that.”

Instead, Pharness said they’ll use another method that involves less chemical processing, called flotation. A foaming agent creates bubbles to concentrate gold out of waste rock. He said the gold concentrate will be shipped somewhere else for further processing.

Read the full article at KTOO