00 CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 56(RLS)                                                                             
01 Relating to yttrium mining and transfer of the linear induction motor research                                          
02 vehicle to Alaska.                                                                                                      
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                              
04  WHEREAS yttrium bearing and other rare earth minerals have been identified in large                                  
05 quantities on Prince of Wales Island; and                                                                               
06  WHEREAS the Prince of Wales deposits are the only known deposits of yttrium                                          
07 bearing minerals in North America; and                                                                                  
08  WHEREAS, based on the present world market, one pound of 99.9999 pure yttrium                                        
09 has a market value of $320,000; and                                                                                     
10  WHEREAS the presence of yttrium in the state offers Southeast Alaska a potential                                     
11 economic development opportunity in the areas of mining, refining, research, and                                        
12 manufacturing; and                                                                                                      
13  WHEREAS the local availability of refined yttrium metal could promote the                                            
14 establishment of a major research and manufacturing facility for yttrium-based products in                              
01 Southeast Alaska, resulting in new career opportunities for Alaskans; and                                               
02  WHEREAS products manufactured using yttrium and technology involving yttrium                                         
03 include powerful frictionless motors and magnetic levitation equipment for use in                                       
04 transportation systems, superconducting fault limiters, electromagnetic mass launchers, and                             
05 yttrium coated tapes and wire; yttrium wire can also be used in medical equipment, including                            
06 field magnets in MRI-scanning machines; and                                                                             
07  WHEREAS the firm of Power Superconductor Applications Corporation, based in                                          
08 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has expressed an interest in working with the state to establish                              
09 manufacturing and research facilities in Southeast Alaska using the local workforce and local                           
10 facilities; and                                                                                                         
11  WHEREAS Power Superconductor Applications Corporation has requested assistance                                       
12 from the state in securing use of a 30-ton linear induction motor research vehicle (LIMRV)                              
13 currently in storage by the Federal Railroad Administration; and                                                        
14  WHEREAS the LIMRV is expected to become part of a four-year based retrofit and                                       
15 research project involving yttrium, yttrium products, and yttrium technology; and                                       
16  WHEREAS the retrofit and research project is expected to start in 1998 and could lead                                
17 to the establishment of a new $3,100,000 yttrium and yttrium products manufacturing facility                            
18 in Southeast Alaska, employing 55 Alaskans; once transfer of the LIMRV to the State of                                  
19 Alaska takes place, 15 new jobs for Alaskans are expected to be established immediately; and                            
20  WHEREAS requests for funding to establish new yttrium industrial and research                                        
21 sectors in Southeast Alaska are not currently being made by the state;                                                  
22  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature would welcome a transfer of the                                     
23 linear induction motor research vehicle (LIMRV) to the state as a federal contribution to                               
24 establishment of a new industrial and research sector located in Southeast Alaska; and be it                            
25  FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the Federal Railroad                                        
26 Administration, the Alaska Congressional delegation, and the Governor to facilitate transfer                            
27 of the LIMRV to Alaska for a period of at least four years.                                                             
28  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to Ms. Jolene M. Molitoris, Administrator,                                   
29 Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation; and to the Honorable Ted                            
30 Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young,                                  
31 U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.