Huge mine project, planned near world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery, is rejected by US Army

The Pebble Project hoped to extract one of the largest amounts of “undeveloped copper and gold resource in the world” close to Bristol Bay, Alaska.

The New York Times reports that The Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday denied a permit for the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska, saying that it is “contrary to the public interest”.

The site was hoping to extract 6.5 billion tonnes of copper and gold ore, one of the world’s largest remaining deposits.

It was planned 200 miles southwest of Anchorage, near headwaters of the Bristol Bay salmon fishery.

However, commercial fishermen have been campaigning on the grounds that the site threatened the breeding grounds for the world’s largest sockeye salmon run.

At one point, fishing enthusiast Donald Trump Jr. tweeted his opposition to the mine: “The headwaters of Bristol Bay and the surrounding fishery are too unique and fragile to take any chances with,” he wrote.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rejected a permit for Pebble Mine, saying that the agency “determined that the applicant’s plan for the discharge of fill material does not comply with Clean Water Act guidelines and concluded that the proposed project is contrary to the public interest”. It determined the Pebble project is “contrary to the public interest”.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski. PHOTO: Wikipedia

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski said the news ended its consideration and affirmed that “this is the wrong mine in the wrong place”.

“It will help ensure the continued protection of an irreplaceable resource – Bristol Bay’s world-class salmon fishery – and I hope it also marks the start of a more collaborative effort within the state to develop a sustainable vision for the region,” said Murkowski.

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