Pebble Mine is the common name of a mineral exploration of a very large, but relatively low grade copper - gold - molybdenum sulfide deposit, along with smaller yields of silver, palladium and rhenium in the Bristol Bay region of Southwest Alaska, near Lake Iliamna and Lake Clark. If built, Pebble would be one of the largest mines in the world. Because of its size, geochemistry and location, Pebble runs a high risk of polluting Bristol Bay, one of the world’s few and most productive wild salmon fisheries.
The proposed mine developers, the Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP) was a consortium of the world’s second largest multinational mining corporation, London-based Anglo American, along with Northern Dynasty, a junior mining company headquartered in Canada. Anglo American’s environmental track record does not bode well for Bristol Bay and Northern Dynasty has little experience safeguarding the environment having never developed a mine to date. Recently, however, Anglo American backed out of the project leaving Northenr Dynasty the only member. Although PLP has not released its final mine plans, preliminary designs indicate that the Pebble Mine complex would span 20 square miles of state land in the Bristol Bay watershed. Located in a seismically active region, Pebble would require the world’s largest earthen dam to be built, some 700 feet high and several miles in length. Independent scientists have questioned whether the dam could withstand the force of a massive earthquake, such as the 9.2 quake that devastated Anchorage in 1964.
The dam and 10-square-mile-wide containment pond are intended to hold between 2.5 billion and 10 billion tons of mine waste that Pebble would produce over its lifetime - nearly enough to bury the city of Seattle, WA. Because the sulfide, or acid-generating, nature of the Pebble ore body, the waste would require environmental treatment in perpetuity. Any release of mine waste into the surface or groundwater has the potential to harm Bristol Bay’s salmon runs. (From SaveBristolBay.org)
The land is state owned. Funding for the project appears to be private. Rio Tinto, the major investor, has pulled out as has Anglo American. In the few minutes I devoted to the search, I could not find any information on the road other than the vast size of the project and mention of the requirement for a new deep water port, power requirements and additional infrastructure.
I’m leaning west and facing north.
If put to a vote in Alaska, what would the result be in your opinion?