Pebble Mine

[steckSalathe]

Hey guys, being from Alaska, I've heard that name since I can remember. For those of you who don't know, The 'Pebble Mine' is the name used for the exploration project and proposed mining project in Southwest Alaska. For Alaskans, this has been in the news far longer than Sarah Palin and is still extremely popular. All the popularity comes from the huge controversy over it.

The Pebble deposits are proposed to come in at 72 billion ponds of copper, 91 million ounces of gold, and 4.8 billion pounds of molybdenum. They say it would create about 2,000 jobs and last 30-60 years. Obviously, an amazing discovery.

The opponents come in at a pretty large number though. The mine will sit up river of the world's largest Sockeye Salmon fishery (Bristol Bay). This fishery is responsible for thousands upon thousands of jobs every year (and for every year to come they argue). The companies that make up the 'Pebble Partnership' have a low environmental track record and, the opponents argue, they will not take the necessary precautions with Pebble. Many prominent jewelers have already pledged that, if the mine goes through, they will not buy gold from Pebble (a testament that Bristol Bay is not worth the risk).

I know this is just a quick overview, but does anybody have any knowledge on this already and could give some insight?

[JeffS]

I don't know anything about the Pebble mine, but it seems to me that safeguards could be put in place by the companies wishing to develop it that would prevent any harm to downstream concerns. Bristol Bay fisheries, and anyone so affected, should be allowed to sue for any demonstrable damages caused by the development.