Pebble Mine debate continues
Public weighs in on Pebble debate
Lisa Wagner
Issue date: 4/1/08 Section: News
In July of 2007 the Pebble Mine Project partnered with Northern Dynasty Minerals with plans to construct and operate a mine.
The site sits in Pebble Valley on the Nushagak and Kvichak rivers, about 238 miles southwest of Anchorage. Exploratory drilling at Pebble West and Pebble East has found that the site is rich in both copper and gold.
If Pebble Mine is allowed to move forward, prices of the metals would sell for roughly $1 per pound of copper, and $400 per ounce of gold.
The UAA debate team met to discuss the Pebble Mine on March 29.
The debate included an open forum between community members, UAA students and a panel of four UAA professors.
Community members included advocates from both sides of the issue: engineers, environmentalists, Bristol Bay locals, Alaskan natives and people from the Anchorage community.
"I think it's too early to (decide) one way or another," said Gunnar Knapp, a professor in the Institute of Social and Economic Research. "We don't know enough about the possible positives or negatives yet."
Some concerns brought up included the effect of the mine on water quality and the fishing industry.
Multiple members in the audience voiced that two Bristol Bay rivers are among the highest ranked in the world for fish production, and are considered important for all five types of the rare sockeye salmon.
NDM has stated that their company has a "no net loss" policy for fisheries in the area.
This means that if any fish are lost due to the mining practices, fisheries will be compensated by increasing the productive capacity of some habitats, and by conservation management of large tracts of land.
Pebble West is planned to be an open-pit mine, which means excavations will be made at the surface of the ground in order to extract ore. Pebble East will be an underground-style deposit, and is still open for expansion.
"On average, 40 tons of earth will have to be drilled in order to get one ounce of gold," said UAA professor Paula Williams.
The site sits in Pebble Valley on the Nushagak and Kvichak rivers, about 238 miles southwest of Anchorage. Exploratory drilling at Pebble West and Pebble East has found that the site is rich in both copper and gold.
If Pebble Mine is allowed to move forward, prices of the metals would sell for roughly $1 per pound of copper, and $400 per ounce of gold.
The UAA debate team met to discuss the Pebble Mine on March 29.
The debate included an open forum between community members, UAA students and a panel of four UAA professors.
Community members included advocates from both sides of the issue: engineers, environmentalists, Bristol Bay locals, Alaskan natives and people from the Anchorage community.
"I think it's too early to (decide) one way or another," said Gunnar Knapp, a professor in the Institute of Social and Economic Research. "We don't know enough about the possible positives or negatives yet."
Some concerns brought up included the effect of the mine on water quality and the fishing industry.
Multiple members in the audience voiced that two Bristol Bay rivers are among the highest ranked in the world for fish production, and are considered important for all five types of the rare sockeye salmon.
NDM has stated that their company has a "no net loss" policy for fisheries in the area.
This means that if any fish are lost due to the mining practices, fisheries will be compensated by increasing the productive capacity of some habitats, and by conservation management of large tracts of land.
Pebble West is planned to be an open-pit mine, which means excavations will be made at the surface of the ground in order to extract ore. Pebble East will be an underground-style deposit, and is still open for expansion.
"On average, 40 tons of earth will have to be drilled in order to get one ounce of gold," said UAA professor Paula Williams.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Tirzah
posted 4/01/08 @ 5:03 PM AKST
" It's to early to tell". This statement tells me they will go ahead with the project and then find out how it is destroying the land, water, and wildlife around it. (Continued…)
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