State rejects IPOP’s appeal of permit denial to mine at Bonanza Channel

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources denied an appeal by IPOP LLC, as the Nevada outfit tried to overturn a decision by the DNR Division of Mining, Land and Water that had denied IPOP’s permit application to start up a controversial gold mining endeavor in Bonanza Channel.
The decision upheld the denial for a mining and reclamation permit as IPOP has not produced exploration data that would prove that gold is there to warrant the operation of the largest placer operation in Alaska in terms of material moved.
The decision document highlights the questionable nature of how IPOP went about pursuing the mining permits, starting in 2018. “It began its pursuit for a mining production permit in March 2018, having told investors it expected to begin mining in June 2018,” without having any state or federal permits in place. In addition, IPOP had not even conducted any exploration, which is generally expected prior to applying for any production permits.
DNR issued an exploration permit in 2019. A modest exploration program was undertaken by IPOP but both the exploration permit and the application for a production permit expired in 2022. In November 2023, IPOP submitted a new production permit, made many revisions to it, but “did not complete the steps necessary to finalize this application until mid-January of 2025, at which time the application was evaluated by the Division and found deficient, leading to both the remand decision and the appeal at issue here.”
The decision document at length describes the flaws of the exploration efforts. IPOP only drilled 13 exploration holes, with eight holes in areas IPOP wanted to initially mine and then combined the samples before testing. “There is no way of knowing whether the one-quarter of an ounce (7 grams) of gold discovered in the 323-pound sample came from the eight drill holes IPOP wants to mine in the years 1 and 2 of the project,” the decision document says.
In short, IPOP has not demonstrated that the resource is there to warrant what would be the largest placer operation in Alaska in terms of volume of material moved, processed and discharged.
The decision document notes the powerful cutterhead dredge that IPOP touted to use, that could “suck out a football field to twelve feet deep in four days” and that would be the first proposed cutter head suction dredge to be used in any estuary or lagoon in Alaska. In its original proposal, the mining endeavor was the backdrop to a reality TV show called “Rivers of Gold.”
The DNR concluded that “a large-scale dredging project not supported by exploration data accurately showing the location, depth, and the size of the mineral deposit would result in unnecessary and undue degradation as defined in AS 27.18.100(9)(a).”
The decision is a final administrative order and IPOP can appeal to the Superior Court.
IPOP has a track record of suing government agencies when permits are not issued according to their timeline. When the Alaska District of the Army Corps of Engineers denied the federal permit, IPOP appealed. Prior to the denial, two of its elderly investors sued the Corps and pressured the Corps to make a decision. The Pacific Division of the Corps granted the appeal in 2022 and issued the federal permit, prompting a lawsuit filed by Earthjustice on behalf of five regional tribes, opposing the proposed mine in the ecologically sensitive area that is customarily used for subsistence activities.
The state has not complied as easily to IPOPs relentless pushing for permits, although the DNR has been the target of two lawsuits filed by IPOP, both filed in 2025.
The first lawsuit was withdrawn by IPOP and was dismissed with prejudice ; the second one is still active in civil Superior Court in Anchorage.