Pebble Mine is the common name of a mineral exploration project investigating a very large porphyry copper, gold, and molybdenum mineral deposit in the Bristol Bay region of Southwest Alaska, near Lake Iliamna and Lake Clark. The proposal to mine the ore deposit, using large-scale operations and infrastructure, is controversial. Proponents argue that the mine will create jobs, provide tax revenue to the state of Alaska, and reduce American dependence on foreign sources of raw materials. Opponents argue that the mine would adversely affect the entire Bristol Bay watershed; and that the possible consequences to fish populations, when mining effluents escape planned containments, are simply too great to risk. Much of this debate concerns the tentative plan to impound large amounts of water, waste rock, and mine tailings behind several earthen dams at the mine site.
Read more about Pebble Mine: Possible Mining Plan, Location, Land Status, and Mineral Rights, Discovery and Exploration History, Mining Market / Economics, Reserves and Resources, Current Project Ownership and Management, Permitting, Scientific Studies of The Pebble Project, Salmon and Freshwater Fish Resources in The Area, Human Population of The Project Area, Controversy, Active Legal Challenges, Past Political Actions Opposing The Proposal
Famous quotes containing the word pebble:
“I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”
—Isaac Newton (1642–1727)