Pebble Mine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Pebble prospect
Pebble prospect is located in Alaska
Pebble prospect
Pebble prospect
Location of the Pebble prospect in Alaska
Coordinates: 59°53′50″N 155°17′43″W / 59.89722°N 155.29528°W / 59.89722; -155.29528
Countries United States
State Alaska
Borough Lake and Peninsula
Time zone Alaska (AKST) (UTC-9)
 - Summer (DST) AKDT (UTC-8)
Area code(s) 907
Exploration drill rig at the prospective site of the Pebble Mine

Pebble Mine is the common name of an advanced mineral exploration project investigating large copper, gold, and molybdenum deposits in the Bristol Bay region of Southwest Alaska, near Lake Iliamna and Lake Clark. The proposal to build a large mine exploiting these deposits is controversial.

Contents

[edit] Possible mining plan

The exact nature and scope of proposed mining activities at Pebble are yet to be finalized. Planning and exploration is currently focused on a single geologic deposit which is referred to as two contiguous deposits, Pebble West and Pebble East. There are other significant mineral occurrences and deposits in the project area, but they are little-explored, to date. Feasibility studies (detailed mine construction and operation plans) are being prepared by Pebble Mines Corp. The company expects in 2009 to make a decision on whether to apply for permits to build a mine at Pebble, and to make a final construction decision in 2011.[1][2]

Only a huge mine, benefiting from economies of scale, is economically possible at Pebble due to the low-grade character of the ore. Development and operation of Pebble would be a massive industrial project, costing billions of dollars. [3] It will require; many miles of roads and bridges across currently wild and undeveloped land, pipelines for fuel and for rock slurries, the use of great amounts of process water, impoundment of great amounts of surface water, electric powerlines, and constant transport and use of fuel and industrial and domestic chemicals and supplies.

Pebble West would probably be mined from an open pit. Pebble East would most likely be mined by underground methods. The open pit alone would be up to two miles (3 km) wide and several thousand feet deep. Most of the rock dug out of the pit will be waste, up to 2.5 billion tons of waste rock[4]. That waste rock material, along with allowed discharge chemicals, would be stored (forever) in two artificial lakes behind massive earthen dams. The largest of the dams enclosing these lakes would be 740 feet (230 m) tall and 4.3 miles (6.9 km) long.

Some design possibilities being considered include: construction of a port on Iniskin Bay on Cook Inlet with a private one-lane freight road roughly 104 miles (167 km) long built along the north side of Lake Iliamna between the mine and the new port; trucks hauling ore concentrate on that road to the port; a pipeline along the road which would carry a slurry of metal concentrate from the minesite to the portsite. The slurry would be dewatered at the portsite before being shipped to a smelter, with the pipeline returning the water to the minesite.[5] [6] Power to operate the mine would possibly come from a combination of overhead powerlines and a submarine cable across Cook Inlet[7].


Northern Dynasty estimates that Pebble contains over $300 billion worth of metals at early 2009 prices[8].

[edit] Location, land status, and mineral rights

The Pebble Prospect is located 200 miles (320 km) southwest of Anchorage, Alaska. The site is north of Lake Iliamna, near the villages of Nondalton and Iliamna, in a remote and roadless part of the Bristol Bay watershed. The deposit lies at the headwaters of Upper Talarik Creek and of the Koktuli River. Upper Talarik Creek flows into Lake Iliamna which drains into the Kvichak River, which empties into Bristol Bay. The Koktuli River flows into the Mulchatna River, a tributary of the Nushagak River, which empties into Bristol Bay at Dillingham.

The Pebble West/East deposits are centered on 59.8971N, 155.2952W (59o 53' 50"N 155o 17' 43"W).

The Pebble mineral deposits are on land owned by the state of Alaska. Pebble Mines Corp. holds mineral rights on 153 square miles (400 km2) of state mining claims, an area which includes the Pebble deposits, as well as other, less explored, mineral deposits. [9].

[edit] Discovery and exploration history

Cominco Alaska Exploration (CAE) began investigations in the area in 1986. Early work focused on color anomalies visible from aircraft. Discovery of the Pebble West (originally named Pebble Beach) deposit occurred during the first drilling campaign in 1988. CAE continued drilling and other work through 1992, resulting in a calculated resource of 3 million tonnes of copper metal and 11 million ounces of gold contained in 1000 million tonnes of ore. After 1992 little further work was done on the project for nearly a decade.[10]

In 2001 Northern Dynasty Minerals optioned the property from Teck Cominco (the successor company to the parent company of CAE) and began in 2002 an extensive exploration program that is still in progress. By 2004 Northern Dynasty had expanded the known resources at Pebble West to include 4100 million tonnes of ore. In 2004 engineering, environmental, and socio-economic studies aimed at designing a mine commenced. In 2005 Northern Dynasty discovered the Pebble East deposit. Also that year, Northern Dynasty acquired 100% ownership of the Pebble mining claims.[11] [12]

By the end of 2007, Northern Dynasty expects to have invested about $225 million in the project, with about $85 million of that in environmental and socio-economic studies.[13]

In 2007, Northern Dynasty anticipated completing a prefeasibility study in late 2008, a feasibility study in 2011, and commencing production in 2015.[14]

In 2008, 140 million dollars was budgeted for project expenditures, and approximately 150,000 feet of additional drilling was completed.[15].

For 2009, 59 million dollars are budgeted for the project, in order to complete a Prefeasability study and prepare the project for permitting in 2010.[16]

[edit] Current company ownership and management

In July 2007 Northern Dynasty Minerals announced a partnership with London based Anglo American in the Pebble Mine project. The new Pebble Limited Partnership is 50% owned by a wholly-owned U.S.-based subsidiary of Anglo American and 50% owned by The Northern Dynasty Partnership, which is a wholly-owned Canadian-based subsidiary of Northern Dynasty Minerals Limited.[17] The partnership agreement obligates Anglo American to spend $1.425 billion towards study, permitting, and construction of the project in order to retain its 50% interest.[18] The partnership is managed by the Pebble Mines Corporation, a 50% Northern Dynasty:50% Anglo American owned corporation based in Alaska. Important stockholders in Northern Dynasty Minerals Limited include Kennecott (19.8%) which is a wholly-owned affiliate of Rio Tinto, management (13%), and Mitsubishi (9.1%). One non-executive member of the Northern Dynasty board is a Rio Tinto representative. The corporate officers and executive board members of Northern Dynasty Minerals Limited are all, also, executive board members and corporate officers of Hunter Dickinson Corporation. Northern Dynasty is one of ten public mining companies driven by Hunter Dickinson, a Vancouver-based Canadian corporation.[19]

[edit] Mining Market

Base metal prices dropped significantly in late 2008. In March 2009, Anglo board chairman Sir Mark Moody-Stuart and Pebble Partnership CEO John Shively were talking about the difficulty of obtaining financing for mining projects and a possible slowdown of the Pebble timetable. [20].

Several prominent UK jewelers and American jewelery retailers and manufacturers have pledged not to buy gold from Pebble, should it ever be developed[21][22].

[edit] Geology

[edit] Ore body

The Pebble deposit is hosted in porphyritic granodiorite to tonalite of Upper Cretaceous age intruded into deformed sedimentary rocks of the Jurassic to Cretaceous age Kahiltna flysch terrane.[23].

Pebble Copper is a calc-alkali porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum deposit. The ore body extends from the surface to at least 1700 meters depth. The eastern part of the deposit is in a deeply-buried granodiorite pluton and also, on the west side of that pluton, in sills fed from the pluton and in the enclosing sediments. The deposit continues westward and upward as an extension of those sills until it comes into fault contact with the western part of the deposit: this is a complex of several small granodiorite cupolas, diorite sills, older intrusions, breccias, and sediments. The western part of the deposit is exposed at the surface; thin gossans are developed and oxidation reaches 100 feet (30 m) in depth. The eastern part of the deposit is eroded and has been covered by a thickening-to-the-east wedge of post-mineralization-age Tertiary sedimentary and volcano-sedimentary rocks.[24][25]

The age of mineralization at Pebble is reported to extend for several million years between 86 million years ago and 89.5 Ma.[26]

Metallic minerals identified at Pebble Copper include pyrite, chalcopyrite, molybdenite, and bornite, along with minor covellite, chalcocite, digenite, and magnetite.

[edit] Regional

The Kahiltna terrane is interpreted to represent a sediment trough formed on the landward (Alaska) side of the Wrangellia volcanic arc terrane, prior to collision of Wrangellia with Alaska. The Wrangellia and Kahiltna terranes docked to Alaska in the Cretaceous Period. This part of the Kahiltna terrane is dominated by Late Triassic basalt, andesite, and sedimentary rocks overlain by Jurassic-Cretaceous andesitic turbidites. Cretaceous granitic intrusive activity was widespread in the Kahiltna terrane. Tertiary volcanic and sedimentary rocks, and Quaternary glacial deposits, developed over the older rocks.[27]

The Lake Clark fault, or a splay, probably lies within twenty miles (32 km) of the Pebble deposits, and possibly much closer. The Lake Clark fault is a major right-lateral strike-slip crustal feature, it is considered to be a westward expression of the Castle Mt. fault. The actual ground trace of the fault and its splays is unknown in the Pebble area, due to extensive ground cover.[28][29]. Recent studies indicate that a magnitude 7.1 quake can be expected to occur on the Castle Mt. fault on a 700-year cycle.[30] The Lake Clark fault is sub-parallel to and considered to be of similar nature to the Denali fault, which lies several hundred miles to the north. A magnitude 7.9 quake struck the Denali fault in 2002. The subduction zone of the Aleutian Trench lies approximately 125 miles (201 km) south of Pebble. This zone was the source of the 1964 Good Friday earthquake of magnitude 9.2.[31]

[edit] Reserves and resources

Estimates in February 2008 indicated: Pebble West contains (at a copper-equivalent cut-off of 0.30%) Measured and Indicated Resources of 18.8 billion pounds of copper, 31.3 million ounces of gold, and 265 million pounds of molybdenum, contained within 3026 million tonnes of ore and Inferred Resources of 5.9 billion pounds of copper, 9.1 million ounces of gold, and 993 million pounds of molybdenum contained within 1130 million tonnes of ore.[11]; Pebble East contains (at a copper-equivalent cut-off of 0.6%) Inferred resources of 49 billion pounds of copper, 45 million ounces of gold, and 2.8 billion pounds of molybdenum contained within 3860 million tonnes of ore.[2]

In December 2008, after additional drill testing, an updated resource estimate was announced. This estimate considers the West (relatively shallow) and East (deep) as a single deposit and indicates that Pebble contains (at a copper-equivalent cut-off of 0.30%): Measured and Indicated Resources of 48 billion pounds of copper, 57 million ounces of gold, and 2.9 billion pounds of molybdenum contained within 5.1 billion tonnes of ore; and Inferred Resources of 24 billion pounds of copper, 37 million ounces of gold and 1.9 billion pounds of molybdenum, contained within 4 billion tonnes of ore.[32]

By dollar value, slightly more than half of the value of Pebble is from copper, with the remainder split roughly equally between gold and molybdenum.

Pebble is estimated to be the second-largest ore deposit of its type in the world, slightly smaller than Indonesia's Grasberg Mine.[13]

[edit] Permitting

Northern Dynasty has applied for water rights permits to Upper Talarik Creek and the Koktuli River for use in mining operations. Altogether, Northern Dynasty has applied for rights to about 35 billion gallons of ground and surface water per year,[7] about four times the annual throughput of drinking-quality water at the Anchorage Waste and Wastewater Utility.[33]

[edit] Scientific studies of the Pebble project

A very large amount of site-specific baseline data and scientific studies of potential environmental and social effects have and are being conducted by the project operators and their consultants (i.e., the Pebble Partnership), as is normal for any large industrial project. These studies address a varied and interconnected group of concerns, much of it focused on water quality. Among these are: potential Acid mine drainage - the chemical stability and weathering products of the tailings (waste rock) removed from the mine and of the newly exposed and blast-fractured rocks within the proposed mine; seismic risks to the impoundment systems designed to contain the tailings and to control their chemical behavior; and the effects of road and bridge construction on fish habitat.[34][35]

Public interest in the project has also resulted in outside, and opposing, interests publishing scientific reviews of available data and comparisons with other projects. These include reports or summaries on; seismic risks[36], acid rock drainage[37], effects of roads and bridges on fish (roads supporting the Pebble mine could cross 20 known salmon streams)[38], and general water pollution-related concerns.[39]

[edit] Salmon and Freshwater fish resources in the area

Bristol Bay is home to some of the largest runs of salmon in the world, all five Pacific species spawn in the bay's freshwater tributaries. Commercial fisheries include the world's largest sockeye salmon fishery [40], which along with herring and other fisheries, account for nearly 75% of local jobs[41]

Sport fishing is also an important part of the areas industry, there are many lodges catering to sport fishermen exploiting the tremendous salmon and trout populations in the freshwater tributaries. Freshwater species include humpback whitefish (Coregonus Pidschian), Dolly Varden (Salvelinus Malma), and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).[42]

Not only the commercial and sport fish harvest is important: seasonal subsistance harvesting of salmon and year-round subsistance harvesting of freshwater fish is a critical part of life for rural residents of the Bristol Bay region, most of whom live downstream of the Pebble site. [43]

[edit] Human population of the project area

The Pebble site is within the Lake and Peninsula Borough. The Bristol Bay Borough and the Dillingham Census Area are adjacent. Altogether some 7500 people live largely rural lifestyles within or near the large area downstream of the Pebble site. The populations of Lake Clark National Park and other parts of the Bethel Census Area are upstream of the site or in a different watershed.

[edit] Controversy

The controversy over the proposed Pebble mine centers largely on its potential impact on fish and fisheries. In general, mining opponents claim that the mine poses a significant and unacceptable risk to downstream fish stocks, while mining proponents claim that the mine can be developed without significantly harming the fish.

It has been an significant issue in Alaska politics since the mid-2000's and has attracted national attention, with articles in the New York Times and other influential national publications. National environmental and sport-fishing organizations have involved themselves.

An opinion poll conducted in Alaska by the anti-mining Renewable Resources Coalition reported 28% of Alaskans in favor of and 53% opposed to Pebble. A poll conducted for Northern Dynasty Mines reported 45% of Alaskans in favor and 31% in opposition. A poll of Bristol Bay residents reported 20% in favor and 71% opposed. Alaskans at the statewide polls voted 57% in favor and 43% opposed to Pebble.[44][45][46].

Organizations including the Resource Development Council, Alaska Mining Association, and the Alaska Chamber of Commerce support development at Pebble. The proposal has strong support amongst state-wide elected officials in Alaska.

Opposition to the proposal is being led by organizations including; the Renewable Resources Coalition (formed in 2005 to oppose the Pebble project)[47], local native groups (such as the Bristol Bay Native Association[48] and Nunumta Aulukestai[49]), commercial and sport fishing organizations (such as the Alaska Independent Fishermen's Marketing Association[50] and the Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism Association[51]), and environmental groups (such as American Rivers[52] and Trout Unlimited).[53] Senator Ted Stevens, a strong proponent of other resource extraction projects, has expressed his opposition to the Pebble proposal[54].

Several prominent UK jewelers[21] announced a pledge not to buy gold from the Pebble mine if it is built, joining several American jewelery retailers and manufacturers who had done the same in 2008[22].

[edit] Arguments against the proposal

[edit] Environmental

  • The fish in the watershed, and the wildlife that depend on them, are too important to risk in exchange for the economic benefits of the mine.
  • Accidental discharge of process chemicals and byproducts, heavy metals, and acid mine drainage to the environment are realistic concerns in mine design and operation. Some are dangerous to fish and other wildlife. Downstream salmon and freshwater fish species would be vulnerable to mine-generated pollutants, were a mine constructed at Pebble.[55] A threat to the fish would amount to a threat to the regional subsistence lifestyle.
  • Mining has a poor environmental track record. For example, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency mining has contaminated portions of the headwaters of over 40 percent of watersheds in the western continental U.S., and reclamation of 500,000 abandoned mines in 32 states could cost tens of billions of dollars.[56]
  • A recent study of 25 modern large hard rock metal mines compared water quality outcomes with environmental impact statement (EIS) predictions from the permitting stage. 76 percent (19 mines) of the 25 mines exceeded water quality standards in releases to either surface or groundwater. In this study "exceeded water quality standard" does not necessarily mean that the mines failed to abide by their permits. When the 15 mines with high acid-drainage, high contaminant leaching potential, and proximity to ground water are considered separately, this number is 93% (14 mines).[57][58]
  • Anglo-American PLC is not a desirable corporate partner. A report commissioned by opponents of Pebble, criticizes Anglo American for community, worker safety, public health, and environmental problems at their mining operations in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Mali, Ireland, and the United States(Nevada) and notes the difference between Anglo's stated corporate goals and their actual corporate performance.[59].
  • Earthquake hazards in the area are poorly known, and preliminary plans by the mining company do not prepare adequately for the potential risk.[60]

[edit] Economic

  • The mineral rights and the project are controlled by Canadian, British, Australian, and Japanese corporations.[61]
  • The mine would not provide significant tax revenue to the state. Due to Alaska tax structure, oil and gas drilling returns over 20% of resource value to the state and municipalities, fishing returns 1% to 5%, and mining returns approximately 1.5%[62][63]

[edit] Arguments for the proposal

[edit] Economic

  • The mine, and supporting activities, would provide significant tax revenue to the state. The State of Alaska predicts that direct mining tax revenue, even without Pebble, will be one of the most important sources of non-oil tax revenue (exceeding revenue from fishing).[62]
  • The mine will create well-paying jobs in an increasingly poverty-stricken region [64] — roughly 2000 jobs for construction, dropping to 1000 permanent jobs during the 30 to 60 year expected life span of the mine.[65]
  • The mine would provide a domestic resource of raw materials lowering the United States reliance on foreign sources.[66]

[edit] Environmental

  • Protection of the environment and fisheries will be ensured by the stringent environmental review and permitting process, including an EIS, that is required before development is allowed.
  • Much of the poor environmental track record of mining is from a time before current technologies and regulations.
  • Northern Dynasty has a "no net loss" policy for fisheries[67].

[edit] Past political actions opposing the proposal

Two pieces of legislation designed to outlaw large scale mining in the Pebble area were introduced in the Alaska state legislature in 2007; both stalled permanently in committee. A third attempted (by ballot measure) piece of legislation was the Alaska Clean Water Initiative, 2008. It was voted down at statewide polls in 2008 after months of high profile public debate, heavy advertising, and a series of judgements by the Alaska State Supreme Court. The measure is still an active public issue; in June 2009 the state of Alaska's Alaska Public Offices Commission released a report detailing violations of campaign funding laws during the contest.[68][69]

[edit] Bill to create Jay Hammond State Game Refuge

A proposal to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to create a fish refuge in the Koktuli and Talarik watersheds has been strongly supported by mine opponents and strongly opposed by Northern Dynasty. The Board of Fisheries voted to create a panel to study the proposal (which could decide to recommend a refuge to the legislature), and both sides claimed this as a victory.[70] In March 2007 the Board voted to take no action on the proposal due to pending legislation.[71]

In January, 2007 Senate Bill 67, introduced by Senator Gary Stevens, of Kodiak, proposed the establishment of a State Fish and Game Refuge covering about 7 million acres (28,000 km2) of state land in the Kvichak and Nushagak drainages (with the refuge to be named after former Alaska Governor Jay Hammond). It proposed that no uses incompatible with: fish and wildlife populations, commercial or subsistence food gathering, or recreation would be allowed in the refuge. The bill sought to close the refuge to the staking of new mining claims. Most significantly, the bill would have made illegal the storage or disposal of any quantity of, "industrial waste," thereby making it impossible to develop any industry, including mines, within the refuge. The bill was referred to the Senate Resources Committee.[72] The bill never emerged from the Senate Resources Committee and died with the end of the 25th Alaska Legislature in 2008.

[edit] Bill for Protection of Salmon Spawning Water

In February 2007, HB 134 was introduced in the Alaska State House by Representatives Edgmon, Ramras, Dahlstrom, Gara, and Kerttula entitled: "An Act relating to conservation and protection of wild salmon production in drainages affecting the Bristol Bay Fisheries Reserve; and providing for an effective date."[73] By making it law that, "a person may not alter, destroy, displace, relocate, channel, dam, convert to dry land, or otherwise adversely affect any portion of the anadromous fish waters of the Bristol Bay watershed in connection with a sulfide mining operation," the bill intended to make it impossible for Pebble Mine to continue its development. The bill was heard several times in the House Fisheries Committee, and was forwarded to the House Resources Committee.[74][75] The measure died with the end of the 25th Legislature.

[edit] 2008 Alaska Clean Water Initiative

See main article: Alaska Clean Water Initiative, 2008

In August 2008, Ballot Measure 4, the "Alaska Clean Water Initiative," was voted down (approximately 57% against and 43% in favor) in the statewide primary election. The initiative was created by the same political forces that brought about the stalled; Bill to create Jay Hammond State Game Refuge and Bill for Protection of Salmon Spawning Water. Ballot Measure 4, although it was written to apply statewide (which the State constituition demands), was written and supported by forces specifically opposed to any try at developing the metal resources at Pebble. Supporters of the Measure argued strongly that the Measure would not affect any other mining operation in Alaska. Opponents of the Measure argued that it would have serious, and unnecessary, adverse effects on the mining industry statewide.

[edit] Legal arguments concerning the proposed bills and ballot measures

Advocates of Pebble argue that the bills and measures discussed above would constitute an illegal taking of property rights. The rights under discussion are the mineral rights granted by the State of Alaska to holders of mining claims on state land. Opponents of Pebble disagreed.[76]

[edit] External links

[edit] Government links

[edit] Pebble Opposition

[edit] Pebble proponents

[edit] News

[edit] References

  1. ^ adn.com | Top Stories : Pebble's prospects grow
  2. ^ a b Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. - News Releases - Updated Resource Estimate Confirms Pebble East As One Of The World's Most Important Copper-Gold-Molybdenum Deposits - Fri Mar 28, 2008
  3. ^ http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/2719121
  4. ^ "Fishing for molybdenum," Economist, Nov 10 2007, 38-39.
  5. ^ Pebble Mine Project Alaska
  6. ^ Alaska Journal of Commerce Online
  7. ^ a b Alaska Department of Natural Resources. "Pebble Copper-Gold Project". http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/mining/largemine/pebble/. Retrieved on 2007-01-06. 
  8. ^ http://www.northerndynastyminerals.com/ndm/NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=336854&_Type=News-Releases&_Title=Resource-Estimate-Confirms-Pebble-As-One-Of-The-Worlds-Most-Important-Coppe...
  9. ^ Renewable Resources Coalition. "Potential Mining Footprint on Bristol Bay's Wild Salmon and Trout Waters". http://www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/map_resources2.htm. Retrieved on 2007-01-06. 
  10. ^ http://ardf.wr.usgs.gov/ardf_data/Iliamna.pdf
  11. ^ a b NDM_InvestorHandout_9Jan2008.indd
  12. ^ Corporate Overview - Northern Dynasty Minerals (TSX: NDM)
  13. ^ a b Anchorage Daily News: "Pebble mine prospect keeps getting richer." Retrieved November 27, 2007.
  14. ^ Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. - News Releases - Update On Pebble East Drilling Results - Sat May 31, 2008
  15. ^ Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. - News Releases - Pebble Project Update - Sat May 31, 2008
  16. ^ http://www.northerndynastyminerals.com/ndm/NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=342004&_Type=News-Releases&_Title=US-59-Million-Work-Program-To-Prepare-Pebble-Project-For-Permitting
  17. ^ Northern Dynast Press Release. "The Pebble Partnership". http://www.pebblepartnership.com/release/update.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-11-27. 
  18. ^ Alaska Journal of Commerce. "Pebble nets partner while studies on mine continue". http://alaskajournal.com/stories/081207/nat_20070812038.shtml. Retrieved on 2007-11-27. 
  19. ^ Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. - Corporate Profile - Sat May 31, 2008
  20. ^ Alaska Journal of Commerce: Anglo Chairman Talks About Future of Mining
  21. ^ a b Interactive Investor: Jewellers pledge not to buy Pebble gold
  22. ^ a b Peninsula Clarion: Major jewelers oppose Pebble
  23. ^ Iliamna Quad ARDF, USGShttp://ardf.wr.usgs.gov/ardf_data/Iliamna.pdf
  24. ^ http://www.cprm.gov.br/33IGC/1190904.html
  25. ^ Pebble Project Metal Leaching/Acid Rock Drainage Characterization DRAFT Sampling and Analysis Program, SRK Consulting for Northern Dynasty, June 2005 http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/mining/largemine/pebble/2005_plans/fsp_ch08.pdf
  26. ^ http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2001AM/finalprogram/abstract_27798.htm
  27. ^ http://www.cprm.gov.br/33IGC/1190904.html
  28. ^ Detterman, R.L., and Reed, B.L., 1980, Stratigraphy, structure, and economic geology of the Iliamna quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1368-B, 86 p.
  29. ^ http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1709a/pp1709a.pdf
  30. ^ http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1043/pdf/of07-1043_508.pdf
  31. ^ Pebble Engineering Geology Discussion of Issues, Center for Science in Public Participationhttp://www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/ChambersSep07.pdf
  32. ^ http://www.northerndynastyminerals.com/ndm/NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=336854&_Type=News-Releases&_Title=Resource-Estimate-Confirms-Pebble-As-One-Of-The-Worlds-Most-Important-Coppe...
  33. ^ http://www.awwu.biz/website/about_us/aboutawwu.htm
  34. ^ Pre-Permitting Environmental/ Socio-Economic Data Report Series
  35. ^ Not Your Grandfather's Copper Mine
  36. ^ Seismic Risk at the Pebble Mine, summary adapted from paper by Bretwood Higman, Ph.D., March 2008 (available at http://www.groundtruthtrekking.org/PebbleHazardLetter.pdf)
  37. ^ Acid Rock Drainage and Metal Leaching at the Pebble Project, summary prepared by Dr. Kendra Zamzow
  38. ^ Fisheries Impacts at the Pebble Mine, text by William J. Hauser, Fish Talk Consulting
  39. ^ Alaska Department of Fish and Game. "Sockeye Salmon - Wildlife Notebook Series". http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/fish/sockeye.php. Retrieved on 2007-01-06. 
  40. ^ http://www.ak2uk.com/commercial-fisheries.html
  41. ^ Subsistence Fisheries, Non-Salmon
  42. ^ Freshwater Fish Harvest and Use in Communities of the Kvichak Watershed, 2003 see in particular, Figures 7 through 14
  43. ^ Renewable Resources Coalition. "A Summary of Statewide Polling Results on Pebble Mine". http://www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/cromer.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-01-06. 
  44. ^ Kenai Peninsula Clarion: "Dueling polls oppose, support Pebble Mine project." Retrieved January 23, 2007.
  45. ^ Renewable Resources Coalition. "Bristol Bay and Lake Peninsula Boroughs Pebble Mine Survey". http://www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/hellenthal.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-01-06. 
  46. ^ Renewable Resources Coalition. "Renewable Resources Coalition Home". http://www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/. Retrieved on 2007-01-06. 
  47. ^ Bristol Bay Native Association. "A resolution opposing all large-scale mining in the Bristol Bay region". http://www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/BBNA_resolution.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-01-06. 
  48. ^ Nunumta Aulukestai. "Nunumta Aulukestai". http://www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/NunumtaPressRelease.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-01-06. 
  49. ^ Alaska Independent Fishermen's Marketing Association. "AIFMA Opposes the Proposed Pebble Mine". http://www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/AIFMA.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-01-06. 
  50. ^ Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism Association. "Pebble Mine Policy Statement". http://www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/AWRTA.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-01-06. 
  51. ^ American Rivers. "Bristol Bay on 10 Most Endangered Rivers List for 2006". http://www.americanrivers.org/site/DocServer/BristolBay_MER2006.pdf?docID=3862. Retrieved on 2007-01-06. 
  52. ^ Trout Unlimited. "Save Bristol Bay". http://www.tu.org/site/c.gqLTI4OzGlF/b.2000555/k.BE39/Home.htm. Retrieved on 2007-01-06. 
  53. ^ Anchorage Daily News: "Stevens pledges to stall Pebble." Retrieved January 23, 2007.
  54. ^ Freshwater Fish Harvest and Use in Communities of the Kvichak Watershed, 2003 See in particular Figures 15 through 36
  55. ^ Environmental Protection Agency. "Liquid Assets 2000: Americans Pay for Dirty Water". http://www.epa.gov/water/liquidassets/dirtywater.html. Retrieved on 2007-01-23. 
  56. ^ Comparison of Predicted and Actual Water Quality at Hardrock Mineshttp://www.earthworksaction.org/publications.cfm?pubID=211
  57. ^ http://www.aktrekking.com/pebble/news/PredictionsComparisonsWhitePaperFINAL.pdf
  58. ^ http://eyeonpebblemine.org/wp-content/uploads/anglo_trackrecord_final1.pdf Anglo American's Track Record: Rhetoric or Reality?
  59. ^ http://www.groundtruthtrekking.org/PebbleHazardLetter.pdf
  60. ^ Northern Dynasty's 2004 Annual Report, Pg. 9, June 30, 2004, www.sedar.com
  61. ^ a b http://www.labor.state.ak.us/research/trends/sep07econ.pdf
  62. ^ Alaska Republican Party. "Percentage of Resource Production Value Paid to State Municipalities from the Oil and Gas, Mining, and Fishing Industries". http://www.akrepublicans.org/seaton/24/pdfs/seat_hb418_08.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-01-23. 
  63. ^ Bristol Bay Bourough Economic Overview, State of Alaska Dept Commerce and Economic Devphttp://www.dced.state.ak.us/dca/aeis/Bristol/General/Bristol_General_Narrative.htm
  64. ^ "The Pebble Partnership"
  65. ^ USGS, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2006http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/copper/coppemcs06.pdf
  66. ^ Mother Jones: "The Midas touch." Retrieved January 23, 2007.
  67. ^ http://media.adn.com/smedia/2009/06/06/03/APOC_staff_report.source.prod_affiliate.7.pdf
  68. ^ http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/821271.html?pageNum=5&mi_pluck_action=page_nav#Comments_Container
  69. ^ Anchorage Daily News: "Both sides laud decision on fish refuge." Retrieved January 23, 2007.
  70. ^ Alaska Board of Fisheries Summary of Actions from March 07 Meeting, http://www.boards.adfg.state.ak.us/fishinfo/meetsum/2006_2007/bof-mar07-psum.pdf, retrieved on 2007-11-28 
  71. ^ http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill_text.asp?hsid=SB0067A&session=25
  72. ^ > Alaska State House Journal, http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_jrn_page.asp?session=25&bill=HB134&jrn=0224&hse=H, retrieved on 2007-11-28 
  73. ^ >>"Pebble Backers say Fish Refuge Bill Actually Targets Mine". Alaska Journal of Commerce. http://www.alaskajournal.com/stories/022507/hom_20070225034.shtml. Retrieved on 2007-11-28. 
  74. ^ HB 134 text
  75. ^ Alaska Law Review: Geoffrey Y. Parker, Frances M. Raskin, Carol Ann Woody and Lance Trasky, Pebble Mine: Fish, Minerals, and Testing the Limits of Alaska's "Large Mine Permitt...
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_Mine"
Personal tools
Languages