Mining brings economic vitality to Fairbanks

In a recent editorial, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner touted the importance of mining to the local economy, stating, “While retail businesses make up the high-visibility private economy in Fairbanks, mines produce many of the jobs that feed those operations. Fairbanks might not look like a mining town today, but it certainly remains one.” The editorial pointed toward the area’s Fort Knox mine, a producer of gold ore, which is now the second largest commercial tax payer in the region behind the trans-Alaska pipeline.