Juneau’s Docks and Harbors Board has approved a permit for the Kensington Mine to launch and moor employee commuter boats at Echo Cove this winter.
Kensington’s parent company, Coeur Alaska, asked for and received the permit last year as well. It allows the mine to use Echo Cove as a backup to the company’s private dock at Yankee Cove when weather creates unsafe conditions in Lynn Canal. It’s good from November 14th through April 30th.
CBJ Port Director Carl Uchytil told the Docks and Harbors board that the mine pays the city for using the dock.
“It’s about 12-thousand dollars for Docks and Harbors,” says Uchytil. “Not a great amount of money, but certainly it’s something that helps the mine and helps Juneau’s economics to provide this service.”
Kensington plans to beach load and offload passengers on the north side of the Echo Cove boat launch. The number of employees commuting to and from the mine and the schedule for Kensington’s shuttle buses will not change. The company will also plow the Echo Cove parking lot on days that it’s used by the mine.
The permit request was approved unanimously at last night’s Docks and Harbors board meeting.
