Trump administration seeks to greenlight controversial Alaska mine

Northern Dynasty Minerals

24/07/2020 14:59

By Yereth Rosen
    ANCHORAGE, Alaska, July 24 (Reuters) - The Trump
administration on Friday proposed approving a key permit to
build an Alaska copper and gold mine that the Obama
administration had tried to block over environmental concerns.
    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a final
environmental impact statement on the Pebble Mine, located near
the world’s largest natural salmon runs, that would allow
construction of the mine and associated developments, including
an 82-mile (132-km) road system.
    That paves the way for a final decision in as little as 30
days for the project, which is owned by Canada's Northern
Dynasty Minerals  NDM.TO .  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2EV2SW
    During the Obama administration, the controversial project
opposed by the fishing industry, Alaska Natives, and
environmentalists appeared dead. 
    The Obama administration tried to prevent permitting for
Pebble construction after a study it had launched concluded the
mine would irreparably damage the salmon-rich habitat and the
people and wildlife that depend on it.
    "For the Army Corps to rubber-stamp a massive toxic open-pit
mine in the headwaters of a national food source just doesn’t
make sense,” said Andy Wink, executive director of the Bristol
Bay Regional Seafood Development Association.
    The proposed road is a change from the original plan
submitted by the Pebble Limited Partnership. The company wanted
to access the mine using icebreakers to cross Alaska’s largest
lake, but the Corps determined a road skirting the north side of
the lake was environmentally preferable.
    Native organizations that own land along the route have
vowed to prevent Pebble from using it, which could tie the
project up in legal wrangling.
    Friday’s decision comes a day after the Trump
administration approved a plan for another Alaska mining effort:
a 211-mile (340-km) mining-access road through the Brooks Range
foothills to a minerals-rich area in the northwest of the state.

 (Additional reporting by Reporting by Arunima Kumar in
Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Jonathan Oatis)
 ((richard.valdmanis@thomsonreuters.com; +1 617 312 6022;
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