ep. 6 - copper
This week on Them Their Hills, Chandler, Ephy, and I tumble straight into Alaska’s Wild West mining universe: from Nome beach miners armed with Astroturf, to claim-stakers dropped by helicopter like geological secret agents, to a reality TV show allegedly moonlighting as a mining operation. Yes, Alaska really said “mining + reality TV” and meant it.
We get into copper fever, urban wire thieves, Tlingit copper histories, spooky mines, haunted railroads, and the mysterious whirlpool lake that drains into the mountain (thank you, gold-hungry prospectors). Plus, a reminder that mineral fanaticism is real, and sometimes irrational enough to feel like folklore.
There are songs about copper, talk of rising energy burdens, interruptible hydro rates, and the ever-growing tangle between mines, groceries, ports, and the electrification future. Also: a brief detour into vitamin-D-induced hallucinations, little people, and whether Alaska is spooky or just… Alaska.
Want to explore more?
Fairbanks North Star Borough Energy Burden - https://fnsb-energy-burden.acep.uaf.edu/
Ghosts of Kennicott Copper Mine - https://www.adn.com/features/article/teeth-chattering-tales-kennecott-copper-mines-keeps-government-officials-away/2013/10/31/
Village of Solomon Village v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - https://www.nomenugget.com/news/three-local-tribes-file-lawsuit-challenging-army-corps%E2%80%99-mining-permit-ipop
Tlingit Copper Mining practices - https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/metallurgy-of-the-tlingit-dene-and-eskimo/
Mining the sidewalks of NYC - https://www.igi.org/digging-for-gold-in-new-yorks-sidewalks/
Alaska’s little people - https://www.kyuk.org/podcast/coffee-at-kyuk/2021-12-08/the-yupik-stories-of-ircenraat-or-little-people-in-the-y-k-delta
