New partner spurs Pebble to file

Canadian firm plans to begin filing for permits by year’s end

Bristol Bay, Alaska.

Promoters of a copper, gold and molybdenum mine in Southwest Alaska say they plan to begin filing for permits by year’s end, now that they have a new business partner who has committed to contribute $37.5 million to the project.

“We are going to meet our goal by the end of the year to file for permits,” said Mike Heatwole, spokesman for the Pebble Limited Partnership in Anchorage.  Heatwole also said in an interview on Dec. 20 that the PLP, a subsidiary of British Columbia’s Northern Dynasty Minerals, plans to begin hiring people in a range of positions after the start of the new year, but offered no specifics on what jobs or how many people would be added to the PLP’s payroll.

Earlier in the week, Northern Dynasty announced that it has entered into a framework agreement with First Quantum Minerals Ltd. to pursue an option to acquire an ownership position in the PLP, including a commitment to contribute $37.5 million to the project.

Tom Collier, chief executive officer of the PLP, said the project could make a significant contribution to the state’s economy and provide year-round jobs in Southwest Alaska.

The permitting process is expected to take several years.

The website Motley Fool, which provides insight and analysis about stocks, noted that Northern Dynasty’s stock fell nearly 17 percent after the announcement of the partnership with First Quantum Minerals before retracing to about an 8 percent loss.

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Opponents of the mine project, including the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp. contend that the mine poses potential adverse impact on salmon habitat in the Bristol Bay watershed, home of the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery.

“Even after 100 years, this commercial fishery is the economic backbone of the region and a literal ‘food factory’ for the world,” said Norm Van Vactor, chief executive officer of BBEEDC.

“Let it be known to any new investor that our opposition remains committed to protecting Bristol Bay from the risks the mine poses to the region and its people,” said Jason Metrokin, chief executive officer of Bristol Bay Native Corp.

Alaska Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham, noted that an overwhelming majority of Bristol Bay residents strongly oppose the project. “As their representative in the State House, it is my clear responsibility to oppose development of the proposed Pebble mine and the unacceptable risks it presents for the Bristol Bay watershed and many communities I serve,” he said. “A new investor in Northern Dynasty’s venture does nothing to change that.”

Collier said the permit applications would be for a much smaller and more environmentally sensitive plan for the mine, but Alannah Hurley, executive director of United Tribes of Bristol Bay said that Northern Dynasty is still “trying to build the wrong mine, in the wrong place. Regardless of how large they want to build it, Northern Dynasty cannot change the fact that the Pebble deposit sits in the very heart of the Bristol Bay watershed,” she said.

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