“The superior man seeks what is right; the inferior one, what is profitable” - Confucius
Pebble Mine is a controversial proposed gold, copper, and zinc mine. The mine would be constructed in the headwaters of Bristol Bay, which is in Southcentral Alaska. There are roughly 10 villages and communities that surround the mine. These communities are currently dependent on the fishing industry for their livelihood, and struggle with limited economic opportunities. Since 2005, Pebble Mine has become a major contention in the media around Alaska, the United States, and even around the world. As the proposal makes its way through the permitting process, the people of Alaska argue whether the additional jobs and development the mine would create for the surrounding communities are worth the possible harm to the land, wildlife, and renewable resources. Even though Pebble Mine would bring jobs and opportunity to an impoverished region of Alaska, Alaskans should oppose Pebble Mine because it poses a grave environmental risk to Bristol Bay and it will not provide enough jobs to justify endangering the salmon fisheries.
The Pebble Mine project is being spearheaded by a startup Canadian company called Northern Dynasty. The mining company plans to build the biggest open pit mine on the continent (Dembosky, 2006). Two dams, or tailing lakes, would also be constructed in the forks of the Koktuli River. One of these dams would be “the largest in the world, larger than Three Gorges Dam in China” (Renewable Resources Coalition, 2007). They would be uncovered and constructed of cement and earth. The Koktuli River forks are at the end of a watershed that extends to Bristol Bay and the ocean beyond. Bristol Bay and the rivers that feed into it are also important salmon spawning grounds, and are home to the world's largest sockeye salmon run (Alaska Department of Fish & Game, 1994). The surrounding communities have long depended on these salmon for subsistence and economic sustenance.
A further investigation of the dams will uncover an insidious plot. The sole purpose of the dams is to hold mining wastes such as cyanide and sulfuric acid. Cyanide is used to extract low concentrations of gold, which is the situation in the Pebble region (Mineral Resources Forum, 2007). The proposal does not include a long term clean up plan, and the wastes would be left in the dams in perpetuity (Economist, 2007). These dams not only lie at the head of extensive river and lake systems, but are also in a highly seismically active area (U.S. Geological Survey, 2007). Earthquakes are very frequent in the Bristol Bay region, and by extrapolation the reliability of the storage dams over many years seems very doubtful. In the event that these dams are breached, overflowed, or otherwise compromised, toxic chemicals would be released directly into the salmon spawning grounds.
Small amounts of toxins concentrate as they move up the food chain in an effect known as bioaccumulation. This means that even small amounts of pollution will amass in animals in high trophic levels, like humans. Alaskan Native populations have relied on fish to feed themselves and their families since time immemorial. Alaska fish are also sold through out the world, and the state's wild salmon brand has become synonymous with purity and quality (Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, 2005). Contamination of the fish would ruin the rapport of one of Alaska's largest economies. Even if a disaster never occurred, knowledge that salmon were harvested from water near a mining site would likely degrade the image of Alaskan seafood.
We can learn much from the history of other mines. In the 1980's in Montana, a mining project known as Zortman-Landusky was created with the promise of plentiful jobs that would last 50 years, but the mine was shut down within 15 years. Not only were those promises broken, but the mine left behind severely polluted land and rivers; over a dozen large cyanide spills and leaks contaminated the local drinking water. The responsible company was based in Canada. The company went bankrupt, and was immune to any legal recourse due to the fact that they were not an American firm (Fowler, 2005).
The proponents of the Pebble Mine argue that the project would bring jobs and money to the state, but the reality of the situation is we stand to lose much more money by adversely affecting the natural resources such as fishing. Only 2,000 jobs would be produced for the construction of the mine. Employment would drop down to about 1,000 jobs after the mine is developed. The mine will generate employment for 50 to 80 years maximum, while commercial fishing has no limit if managed properly (The Pebble Partnership, 2007). The fishing industry provides 5,500 jobs and contributes $400 million annually to the state's economy. We must also take into consideration the amount that would be paid by the mining company in royalties to the sate. Mining companies pay only 0.7 percent, while fishing pays 2.3 percent (Laing, 2006).
Too much money, jobs, land, and most important of all wildlife would be risked for the limited economic benefit Pebble Mine would provide to our state. Dangerous chemicals would be stored in sensitive fishing waters with no plan for clean up or removal. Any amount of pollution can cause catastrophic harm to Alaska's subsistence and commercial fisheries. There has never been a mine of this size that has been successful, and we should take lessons from mistakes made by the mining industry elsewhere. It is important for Alaskan residents to speak out now and let our representatives know where we stand before it is too late. As the late 18th century philosopher, Edmund Burke, once said "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing"
REFERENCES
Alaska Department of Fish & Game. (1994). Wildlife notebook series: Sockeye salmon. Alaska Department of Fish & Game website. Retrieved November 15, 2007 from http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/fish/sockeye.php
Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. (2005). Wild & pure. Alaska Seafood and Marketing Institute website. Retrieved December 8, 2007 from http://www.alaskaseafood.org/health/wild/index.html.
Dembosky, A. (2006, May/June). Minions of Midas. Mother Jones. San Francisco, CA.
Link: http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2006/05/minions_midas.html.
Economist. (2007, November 8). Fishing for molybdenum. London, U.K. Link: http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10110049.
Fowler, R. (2005, May 10). Pebble Mine should scare us to death. Anchorage Daily News website. Retrieved November 7, 2007 from http://www.adn.com/opinion/guest_columns/story/6473374p-6353459c.html.
Laing, Ian. (2006). Percent of Resource Production Value Paid to State and Municipalities from the Oil and Gas, Mining and Fishing Industries, FY 03 - 05 (in $Million). Alaska Republicans website. Retrieved 11 Oct 2007 http://www.akrepublicans.org/seaton/24/pdfs/seat_hb418_08.pdf
Mineral Resources Forum. (2007). The use of cyanide in mining. Mineral Resources Forum website. Retrieved December 2, 2007 from http://www.mineralresourcesforum.org/incidents/BaiaMare/docs/Bckgrnd-Use_of_cyanide_in_mining.htm.
The Pebble Partnership. (2007). Pebble facts: Pebble project at a glance. The Pebble Partnership website. Retrieved November 15, 2007 from http://www.pebblepartnership.com/pages/PebbleFacts.php
Renewable Resources Coalition. (2007). Pebble Mine- Bristol Bay, Alaska. Renewable Resources Coalition website. Retrieved November 26, 2007 from http://www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/pebble_mine.htm.
U.S. Geological Survey. (2007). Seismicity of Alaska [map]. U.S. Geological Survey website. Retrieved November 7, 2007 from http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/alaska/seismicity.php.
