State of Alaska supports Pebble... (Fairbanks, Metlakatla: home, construction, contractors)

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by BudinAk

One thing that irks me about the Pebble project is I heard that the company that wants to mine there is foreign-owned, not U.S. So most of the profits from this proposed operation would be going out of the country (less wages paid to the workers). What benefit would the state get from all this...would it get paid a royalty? Maybe that's why the state supports Pebble...

Bud

Nothing new about this. The largest gold mining operations in the interior are being done by Canadian companies. But then, the largest US lumber-products (they build/sell house kits, etc.), Georgia Pacific, operates in Canada.

Now, in relation to the gold mines around Fairbanks, not only the State gets money, but the Federal government, and the borough. I have no idea about the Pebble project, but I imagine that if it's located in a borough, then it would pay property tax to that borough, just like the gold mine near Fairbanks.

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by starlite9

The mine will be very highly regulated by ADEC over it's lifetime and you won't see the type of mining that was done 100 years ago in which the Anti groups like to refer to. When the Pebble partnership started to talk about the Copper River mines back in the turn of the Century, they dumped all their toxins directly into the Tributaries that dumped into the Copper River. Pebble will do nothing of the sort or would be fined out of existence by the State. Fort Knox mine is almost on the same scale as what Pebble will be, but it hasn't destroyed the environment and has done very well by it.

Very true. DNR will issue the lease and permits, but ADEC will also require a comprehensive Contingency Plan be put into place before operations can begin. The Division of Water will be taking regular samples of the water surrounding the mine, and the Division of Spill Prevention & Response will be overseeing day to day mining operations.

I can tell you from experience that oil spills in amounts as small as a teaspoon are recorded in ADEC's database as well as how it was cleaned up. I have put together some of their databases.

I am neither in favor or opposed to the Pebble Mine project yet. There just is not enough information currently to make a determination either way. I want to read the DNR Permit and Pebble's approved Contingency Plan with ADEC before I decide if it really is in the best interests of the State, or poses an unacceptable risk to the Bristol Bay salmon population.

[roadfamily6now]

I will move from Alaska if this ever comes to fruition.

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by roadfamily6now

I will move from Alaska if this ever comes to fruition.

Do not let the door hit you in the posterior on your way out of the State.

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by roadfamily6now

I will move from Alaska if this ever comes to fruition.

Everything you have that is a mineral was mined from someplace, where would you move to?

Your car is from iron ore, the plastics are from oil as is the gas that runs the engine and the list goes on.

Having principles is great, but unless you use rocks as tools, your part of the game. If you have a wedding ring made from gold, somebody had to mine it.

[Glitch]

Pebble is the largest (known) copper ore deposit in the world. In addition to the copper ore, they also expect to mine gold and molybdenum (a mineral used to make stainless steel and other super alloys). Over its anticipated 45-year lifespan, they expect approximately $2 billion per year over most of the mine's lifespan. However, it will only create about 100 jobs for local Alaskans.

Bristol Bay averages around $445 million per year from salmon, but accounts for approximately 75% of the employment in the area.

I think it would be in the best interests of Alaskans to keep as many gainfully employed as possible. If the Pebble mine can be operated in such a manner as to not pose any threat to the Bristol Bay salmon, then I would support such a mine. However, if there is a high risk to the salmon population in Bristol Bay, then I would oppose the Pebble mine in favor of the Bristol Bay fishermen.

I do believe that it is possible for both to exist, but if they could not, then I would support the industry that employs the most Alaskans, even though the revenue that industry provides is more than four times less.

[ShipOfFools42]

OK, so this is a great thread and all, and everyone is making great points, but the original link is broken, so what's going on? From what I can tell, some company called Pebble wants to start mining for something (natural gas?), and it's got something to do with the Copper River and Bristol Bay and the salmon therein. I don't even know if that much is accurate. But I don't get it. The Copper River pretty much defines the western edge of the Wrangell-St. Elias Preserve on the western side of the Wrangell mountains before running down through the Chugach and dumping into the Gulf of Alaska. What does it have to do with Bristol Bay, all the way on the western side of the Aleutians?

And what about this is so severe and intense that it would make someone move from the state? And I don't want scathing responses from other members who want to talk trash, I'd prefer to hear from someone who will be civil about it. This is the kind of thing that I need to keep myself informed about because of my intended future profession, and I've never even heard anything about this Pebble deal. What is it that they are going to do that is so horrendous?

[SityData]

Its quite simple. Pebble mine wants to mine resources. Some people are opposed to it saying it will wipe out the fishing industry (if pollution sets in). EPA rules, restrictions etc.

The simple fact of the matter is - LOOK around the inside of your house. EVERYTHING- in your home came from the dirt (resources) of the earth.

[RayinAK]

Today at school I go to the bathroom to pee, and while standing in front of the urinal, I see a little green color sign attached to the paper towel dispenser that read, "This Comes From Trees," and then below was an explanation of how many trees not using this roll of paper towel would be saved. I started laughing because while the paper towel had the sign, there was none by the roll of toilet paper

[starlite9]

All this is in the same context that people claim electric cars will save the planet... The fact that they plug the car into the wall and the power charges the car with "clean" energy is false. You follow the power grid and you come to a big power plant run on either coal, nuclear or gas. Just because they can't see the source of energy, doesn't mean it is perfect either, but by the standards of even 50 years ago, it is very clean!

When the anti-Pebble first were ranting about the mine being at the headwaters of the Bristol Bay waters, they changed their tune when the mines in the Copper River district were brought up and that river has the highest priced fish today. They now claim that the Kennicott mines were up in the mountains away from the rivers, which of course is somewhat true, but that is where the waters flow from into the "Copper River", funny it was named after the mineral they mined!

Now the anti-Pebble folks claim that the mine is going to be placed on a salmon stream, instead of the entire Bristol Bay water shed. Nobody knows for sure as of yet where the mine will start at, so they are just guessing to scare the begeeze out of people yelling fire!

You have to quit looking at the wall plugin as the entire issue, there is an entire industry that supports the 110 volts that come out of it.
Honesty doesn't seem to be the Anti-Pebble folks strong suite and Sheeple see to believe what they say as fact. Here is another little Oddity they don't tell you, there was massive amount of gold mining done on the Yukon, Kusko and other rivers that dumped into Bristol Bay 80+ years dumping tons of toxic byproducts into the water, during that entire time Bristol Bay still pumped record amounts of Salmon out into the World market. Now we may have s mine that will be highly regulated and fined should the leak anything.

I don't see that as an issue, just jobs for the people in Bristol Bay, and support jobs for the mine all over that area as well. When mining or any other mineral extraction is done responsibly, I see that as an asset verses a disaster.