CALISTA CORPORATION
| Overview | Mineral Resources | Economic Geology | Oil & Natural Gas | Sand, Gravel and Quarry Rock | Villages | Development Projects | Maps | Reports |
OVERVIEWIn addition to the village lands where Calista holds subsurface estate, the corporation made regional selections in areas of high mineral potential. In 2008, Calista completed the land selection process by making enough final selections to satisfy its entitlement. Calista continues to explore, evaluate its land conveyances and selections and market its mineral lands. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) became law on December 18, 1971. All Alaska Native village and regional corporations had to make their ANCSA land selections by a 1975 deadline – less than four years after passage of the Act. The corporation worked for three years to assist all 56 Calista village corporations meet their filing deadlines. Calista collected and compiled roughly 200 different types of data within the 56 areas withdrawn for each village, including information about subsistence harvesting; fish and wildlife habitats; furbearer, mammal, waterfowl and plant ranges; soils; climate; mineral potential; and fishery potential. With this data collected and disseminated through local meetings, all 56 villages were able to make informed land selections by the 1975 deadline. A regional geological reconnaissance program, conducted from 1973 to 1975, collected and analyzed more than 13,000 rock, stream sediment and soil samples. Calista Corporation made regional land selections based on mineral value identified through the field survey and historic mineral production records. The value of these selections led to exploration and mining leases that generate resource revenue that is subject to ANCSA 7(i) and 7(j) sharing by all ANCSA regional and village corporations. The Donlin Creek project has had the greatest economic impact on local economies and payrolls. Other mineral lands that generated corporate revenue include Goodnews Bay, Stuyahok, Nyac and the Red Devil district. Other land selections were based on exploration in the Region by the petroleum industry in the 1960s and 1970s. Industry activity in the Region was designed to assess whether the sedimentary rocks underlying the YK Delta had potential source or reservoir rock characteristics. Data from the single test well that was drilled as well as other geological studies indicate the rocks lack oil-generating characteristics, which led to a loss of industry interest in the Region. In 2001, a long-awaited land exchange with the federal government was finalized. Through that exchange, some of Calista’s subsurface estate and surface land parcels became part of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. Subsistence hunting and fishing rights, as well as wildlife habitat and conservation values, are preserved by the exchange. |
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