In 2016, the Haines Borough began developing plans for the Lutak Dock. The borough commissioned R&M
Consultants to do a study and come up with new dock designs, all of which would accommodate Handymax ships.
This is R&M's 2016 design 1B showing a Handymax as well as a freight barge.
Though they have more than enough capacity to supply local needs, local freight barges are 1/2 the size of Handymax ships with a much smaller capacity.
R&M's report contained a Mine Export Memo which outlined how the borough could export the Palmer Project's ore at the 'Lutak Ore Terminal.' Many of the design features were modeled on Skagway's ore terminal. Constantine was a stakeholder at the meetings.
Note: this is prior to the emergence of container bulk handling technology, which doesn't require a concentrate storage building or a conveyor. (We'll get into that more later)
MARCH 2, 2017
"AML is very familiar with the cost to build and maintain a marine facility... the proposed cost to rebuild this facility could never be recovered by wharfage charges assessed for cargo that moves over the facility...we suggest that we do some brainstorming for the project with a greatly reduced scope
— Letter from Alaska Marine Lines, Appendix D
AML was the one stakeholder voice that suggested that the borough might not ever pay off the facility with user fees and that they should consider a smaller dock.
This is the phased design that emerged in 2021. This is the design submitted with the borough's RAISE grant application. It, too, would accommodate Handymax ships.
This image is from the fourth phase of R&M's design from June of 2021 showing uplands uphill of the dock.
The forested area to the right of the fuel tanks contains the 23 acres the borough proposed to clear-cut and level during "phase 4" of R&M's June 2021 design plan. If the borough did want to develop a site for an ore concentrate storage building, this site might be workable. It would require building an ore loader that would stretch across the Lutak road.
Phase 4 was abandoned (publicly) after opposition from the community, yet it was still mentioned in the 2021 Jobs Analysis submitted with the borough's RAISE grant application.
The use of a Handymax as a design vessel continues throughout the 2021 and 2022 designs.
We have yet to see a design proposal for the Lutak Dock that would NOT accommodate Handymax ships. The Lutak dock does not currently accommodate Handymax ships, due to the depth of the sea floor and other issues.
Borough officials met with Yukon mining officials for over 2 hours. The presence of the mining officials was not posted on the meeting's agenda and thus was unknown to the public.
The mining officials discussed in detail how the rebuilt Lutak Dock could meet the needs of Yukon mines. Kells Boland (chair of the Yukon Joint Transportation and Mining Committee) described how Skagway's increasing focus on cruise ships complicates Yukon mineral export plans. He described how a new system called containerized bulk handling could avoid the costs of ore concentrate storage buildings and a ship loader while utilizing the Lutak Dock for mineral export.
(See the audio/video clips to the right)
Kells Boland
Yukon Joint Transportation and Mining Committee chair
Listen to the full meeting here
The Yukon mining officials also gave feedback on the Lutak Dock design plans.
From the designs, Joel Schirrif, Yukon tidewater engineer, said that current plans would work for mineral export, but described their ideal situation:
To extend the dock face out for a deeper draft, to be able to utilize the entire dock face, and project completion by 2024.
Mining reps looked over and gave feedback on R&M's 2021 Lutak Dock
IDEAL SITUATION:
Extend dock out 10-15 ft to get a deeper draft
IDEAL SITUATION: 600 ft dock face to allow for multi loading points for a ship
DROP DEAD DEADLINE: 2024
MEETS YUKON REQUESTS:
extends the dock out 10-15 ft maintains and the 630 ft length of the dock (+ reclaims one cell)
Completion date: Dec 2024
Since the grant application and award, however, the Borough has made dramatic changes to the Lutak Dock project based on concepts developed by a new contractor, Turnagain Marine Construction.
Turnagain's design perfectly meets the specifications requested by Yukon mining interests at that 3/24/22 meeting, including the deeper draft accomplished by pushing the dock face out 10-15 feet and maintaining the entire 630 foot (now 700 feet, since the 65% design changes came out) dock face to allow for multiple loading points. Their aim for project completion is December 2024.
Turnagain's 65% plan
Even though previous engineering firms had determined that encapsulation was risky and possibly infeasible, the Borough is now proposing to encapsulate the old decaying dock and build a new dock on top of it.
The design requirements from Turnagain's notes tell us that they are designing for a Handymax ship and very heavyduty mobile harbor cranes, as well as a dock surface that can withstand extremely heavy loads.
Uniform Live Load: 1,000 psf
Uniform Live Load: 1,000 psf
LUTAK DOCK
From Turnagain's basis of design:
The new dock is being designed to withstand 2000 pounds per square foot in dead weight — twice the load capacity of other major industrial docks in Alaska.
Skagway's and Anchorage's docks are also industrial docks in seismically active zones and have half the load capacity (at 1000 psf) that they want to build into the new Lutak dock.
In 2021, AIDEA began looking to Haines for the location of a new ore port, anticipating the potential end to their lease with Skagway for use of their ore terminal.
A few months later, after the community had expressed opposition to an ore port in Haines, the borough submitted a $20M federal RAISE grant application mentioning "transshipment of ore."
--Haines Borough
FY 2021 RAISE grant application, pg. 1
“This deepwater port ...could support the... transshipment of ore..."”
$5M MATCHING FUNDS
The Borough submitted a funding request for $3.2 million from the state:
"The Lutak Dock also plays a crucial role in the economic viability of the region. Key mineral mines in the Yukon territories, and other northern regions need access to maritime shipping as a cost effective way to bring their products to market. "
The borough was required to contribute ~$5 million in matching funds for the RAISE grant.
They decided to put down $2.4 million from the Lutak Dock Enterprise Fund and ask for the remaining $3.2 million from the state. In their grant application request to the state, they mentioned shipping ore for Yukon mines.