Alaska

Pebble Creek Mine – Alaska

The Pebble Mine is a controversial proposal to build one of the largest mines in the world, about 200 miles southwest of Anchorage, in an area considered to be one of the world's largest and most pristine wild salmon spawning grounds. Located on state land designated for mining purposes the Pebble Mine deposit is currently estimated to be the second-largest ore deposit of its type in the world, just slightly less than Grasberg Mine in Indonesia. The mine has drawn strong opposition from fishermen, conservationists and many locals.

According to the EPA, the hardrock mining industry is the single largest source of toxic releases in the U.S. Mineral processing chemicals, including cyanide, and the mined minerals themselves can be highly toxic to humans as well as salmon, trout, caribou, and other wildlife in the area.  Acid mine drainage, common and difficult to predict and control, poses an additional threat to resources downstream of metallic sulfide mines. The mining of metallic sulfide mineral deposits such as Pebble -- by open pit and underground methods alike -- has caused significant harm to clean water, fish habitat and regional economies around the world in recent years. If these mines are permitted by government policy, sport and subsistence fishermen and hunters,  and property owners, among others, will all suffer long-lasting economic and social damage.

For a second consecutive year, EcoFlight has collaborated with Earthworks and the Wilderness League in Alaska to bring Alaskan Native leaders from the Bristol Bay and proposed Pebble Mine area to Nevada. EcoFlight has provided aerial tours of the Twin Creek and Getchell gold mines in Nevada to enable these community leaders to have a better understanding of the enormous impacts the Pebble Creek mine will have on their communities and landscapes. For more information on the Pebble Creek mine, please visit http://www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/pebble_mine.htm

See images from the Alaskan Native Leaders flight in our Gallery:  http://ecoflight.info/gallery.html?id_cat=18