Pebble Mine Partnership 'dismayed' by permit rejection, vows appeal (updated)

Northern Dynasty Minerals

25/11/2020 19:04

(Adds detail, comments)
    TORONTO/WASHINGTON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - The company trying to
develop Alaska's Pebble Mine project on Wednesday said it was
"dismayed" by a U.S. government decision to reject the permit
for the contentious project and vowed to lodge an appeal.
    The administration of Republican President Donald Trump had
moved closer in July to approving the mine’s permit, reversing a
decision by former Democratic President Barack Obama.
    But a prominent group of Republicans, including Trump’s son
Donald Trump Jr., have publicly voiced opposition, saying the
mine would destroy areas of good fishing and hunting.
    The mine would produce 70 million tons of gold, molybdenum
and copper ore a year and create a pit 1,970 feet (600 meters)
deep in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed.
    Col. Damon Delarosa, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE) in Alaska, said in a statement that the agency
would block Pebble Mine because it determined that the plan the
Pebble Limited Partnership submitted to deal with the project’s
waste “does not comply with Clean Water Act guidelines and
concluded that the proposed project is contrary to the public
interest.”
    In August, the U.S. government placed an additional hurdle
in front of the project, giving developers 90 days to explain
how they would offset damage to wetlands and popular fishing
sites amid rising opposition to the project by prominent
Republicans.
    In a statement, Pebble Mine Partnership CEO John Shively
said the project had worked closely with the USACE to revamp the
project's approach, including to sensitive wetlands.
    "All of these efforts led to a comprehensive, positive EIS
for the project that clearly stated it could be developed
responsibly," he said. "It is very disconcerting to see
political influence in this process at the eleventh hour."
    Shares in Canadian parent company Northern Dynasty Minerals
 NDM.TO  had earlier lost about 50% of their value. 
  

 (Reporting by Jeff Lewis; additional reporting by Amran Abocar
Editing by Chris Reese and Alistair Bell)
 ((Jeff.Lewis@thomsonreuters.com; +1 647 200 7236))