Petersburg Pilot -

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Nearly $150 million was spent on mineral exploration for primarily large mine opportunities in Alaska last year, officials said.

That figure is up from just more than $50 million in spending three and four years ago, The Alaska Journal of Commerce reported Wednesday.

Mineral exploration spending reached a peak of $350 million per year in the late 2000s, according to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.

There were 18 large exploration projects across the state for “every metal under the sun,” said Curt Freeman, president of Fairbanks-based Avalon Develop...