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The Pebble Blog

The gigantic Pebble copper and gold prospect in Southwest Alaska is one of the touchiest topics in Alaska today.

In this blog, I'll track news that is significant or interesting about the Pebble project. I'll also try to generate discussion and information sharing about some of the claims and counterclaims about the project, and mining in general.

Please keep your comments courteous and on topic. If you violate the ADN comment policy, your posts will be deleted.

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About Elizabeth Bluemink ebluemink@adn.com

I've been writing about mining in Alaska since 2004 and without a doubt, it is one of the most interesting topics that I cover at the Daily News. I've been a newspaper reporter for the past 10 years. In the Deep South, I specialized in reporting about environmental conflicts and pollution cleanups. For two years, I covered commercial fishing, mining and logging in Southeast Alaska. In my current job as a Daily News business reporter, I write about mining, tourism, Native corporations and other businesses.

Eye on Anglo

Posted by Elizabeth Bluemink

Posted: August 1, 2008 - 6:46 pm

Today, a few groups that oppose the proposed Pebble mine unveiled a report they commissioned on the environmental and human rights track record of Anglo American, the London-based mining conglomerate that is partnering on the project.

The groups, Bristol Bay-based Nunamta Aulukestai and Anchorage-based Renewable Resources Coalition, also held a phone press conference on Thursday, and several of us Alaska reporters seized the opportunity to ask the report's author, Phil Mattera, a former journalist and author of several books, and other people available on the line a slew of questions.

The report was embargoed until today at 12:01 a.m. but it is now available for everyone to read here. The web site, a collaborative effort on the part of several anti-Pebble organizations, contains other media accounts about Anglo, such as news articles noting problems at various Anglo mines around the world.

I'm still looking at the report but Anglo has issued a preliminary response here and plans a more detailed response later.

Also, this mine blogger has weighed in with his musings on the report.

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ResponsetoMatteraReport.doc	20.5 KB

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6 August 15, 2008 - 11:18am | Sockeyemark

There will be no Mining shutdown if prop 4 passes

this is all hype by the mining folks to scare the voter....

5 August 5, 2008 - 12:03pm | minewatcher

Trust me...

Believe everything you hear about the track record of Anglo American; these people destroyed an entire town in Colombia for crying out loud. I also think it's very telling that they maintain such close ties with De Beers - a diamond company that has one of the worst human rights records ever.

August 5, 2008 - 1:43pm | Sockeyemark

That is why Clean Water 4 must pass

If only the miners would see the clarity in this proposition, they need to let go of Pebble.

August 6, 2008 - 9:37pm | knittininak

Get your facts straight

Clear Water 4 is not specifically about Pebble. Please, please, please people look at the ballot yourselves, don't listen to the slime coming from little ol' Sockeye Mark, one of the initiative sponsors. He's a flipping and flopping (fish talk for a spin meister). What the ballot states is all mines over 640 acres (alone or adjoining mining activities) are subject to the ballot measure. This will include mines such as Fort Knox, Red Dog and many others. In addition, since all mines re-up their permits with the Department of Resource every five years, they can not be grandfathered like the ballot measure states. That's why poorly written initiatives like ballot measure 4 should be struck down. Vote for common sense, vote NO on ballot measure 4.

Clarity+SockeyeMark= Oxymoron

August 6, 2008 - 11:51pm | Sockeyemark

Miss Kitty has a fur ball stuck in her throat

We Alaskans need to have proposition 4# Our very lives depend on it in some areas of the state. Along with 45 million salmon.

August 10, 2008 - 9:03pm | njalo99

only some????

I think the whole state should be worried about this initiative....... Not just the some from Bristol Bay

August 11, 2008 - 12:50am | Sockeyemark

We are all worried it won't pass !

then Bristol Bay will be the Frazer River of Alaska, once a dominant force in the fish market...

August 11, 2008 - 11:17am | rfn

While the exaggerated hype

is bad enough, the truly sad part is that a few people who have been made into "useful tools" actually have come to believe the propaganda.

This is the mindset that refuses to understand that when the wealthy sports "fishermen" finish their attack on mining they'll move on to eliminating the other competition: commercial fishing.

Oh well, they'll have brought it on themselves.....the tears for them will be few.

August 11, 2008 - 3:16pm | Sockeyemark

I'll be able to sleep at night

knowing I've worked toward a worthwhile cause.
If 4 passes that is, otherwise the work continues....

August 13, 2008 - 7:06pm | rfn

But how will it be sleeping

now that you know an outside activist group with the clear intention of making all of Alaska a gun-free, vehicle-free private playground for the ultra-rich is the hand inside your favorite puppet?

August 13, 2008 - 7:14pm | demorgan33

Let me get this straight

Your argument is that the ultra-rich lodge owners want a playground that the outside-super-ultra-rich mine owners think they deserve. Your statements are weak at best and really have no merit. Please try to make a point once in a while.

August 14, 2008 - 11:30am | rfn

Been a tough week, eh?

First the ADN denounces money laundering.

Then the outside environmental extreme activists are unmasked.

Those two points should suffice until the next bombshell.....

August 14, 2008 - 12:12pm | demorgan33

Who was wearing masks?

It's about time some outside factions joined into this fray. It was a just a matter of time before the rest of the country had this mess brought to their attention, and thankfully they are joining the effort to hold off this project. As far as money laundering goes, if there has been criminal activities, they should be actively prosocuting the parties involved, not writing unsigned editorial pieces in the local paper. There doesn't appear to be any bomns here, just more accusations from those hell-bent on shoving this mine down all of our throats.

August 14, 2008 - 1:51pm | rfn

And you really think that

if the mining industry is shut down the outside activists will quietly go home? No, though it is open to debate which they'll go after next; hunting or commercial fishing. I'd bet on commercial fishing being next in their sights. Easier target and obviously easily duped as presently being shown.

August 11, 2008 - 1:36pm | demorgan33

I will try to explain

The salmon fishery in Bristol Bay is managed based on escapement goals required for each individual river system, the two systems affected by this "not yet proposed" mine are the Kvichak and the Nushagak. The minimum escapement requirement before any commercial harvest for the Kvichak is 2 million fish, if this goal is met the target is then raised to half of whatever the overall return to this lake is. The Nushagak has a minimum goal of 750,000 and remains the same regardless of run strength. This has been the system for as long as I can remember and thus far has created stable steady returns. The wealthy sportsmen who have lodges around the region haven't put a dent in the escapement numbers, and as long as this area remains the same they won't. This area is not like the Kenai river which is an easy commute for the thundering herd from Anchorage and therefore should be well protected from any overfishing due to an elevated sport interest. The unique thing about this area is the abundance, meaning under the current conditions, there are plenty of fish for everyone. Letting this "not yet proposed" mine go forward in this region will upset a balance that has worked and provided for many people over thousands of years.

August 7, 2008 - 8:34am | rfn

45 million?

That figure, of course, was prior to the slaughter of tens of millions this "season" for commercial profit.

August 7, 2008 - 6:17pm | Observermp

Fishing, rfn?

The different salmon species of Alaska spend varying amounts of time in fresh water and then varying amounts of time in the ocean. Each year some of them come back to their river of origin.

You could go to the ADF&G website to find that your guess of 45 million is grossly underestimated if your were referring to statewide salmon harvests. The annual harvest is often in the 125-150 million range. So far this year just shy of 75 million salmon have been harvested in Alaska.

If you were referring to the Bristol Bay your estimate is high, this year's number is currently just shy of 28 million salmon harvested.

The season isn't over yet.

All of Alaska's salmon fisheries are managed sustainably as judged by the Marine Stewardship Council, the U.N., and any unit of measure that judges sustainable fisheries.

You see, rfn, only a percentage of the fish that return to the rivers each year are harvested. The rest go up river to spawn and continue the cycle. It's a renewable resource. So, if treated kindly (as I am treating you) they will continue to return forever. And that is, as they say, a long long time.

Go fishing somewhere else rfn, and eat healthy.

August 8, 2008 - 2:02pm | rfn

45 million was not my figure.

I merely employed the 45-million figure posted by our resident expert on the slaughter of salmon for fun and profit. Certainly the carnage is much greater but I was charitably accepting the supposed expert's number.

I'm paying attention to the various U.S. government warnings concerning the risk of mercury poisoning (naturally occurring mercury) in seafood.

Would that more people would do the same. We might all be much healthier.

August 10, 2008 - 2:28am | Observermp

If you were paying attention

you'd be eating salmon. But that's OK, you'll leave more for people who choose to be healthy.

August 7, 2008 - 10:22am | demorgan33

Make a point

You like to eat don't you? Sometimes things have to die to provide food. Even vegetables give up their lives for the vegan crowd. Should farmers not sell their crops, ranchers not profit from beef and dairy sales, fishermen from selling their harvest? Get a grip and come back to reality. After the report on acids and poisons in current mines in this country on the other post, this is the best you can come up with. A tired and idiotic response to a non-issue.

August 7, 2008 - 2:23pm | rfn

It's just the

hypocrisy of those who slaughter salmon crying "Save The Salmon" that touches a nerve.

Of course taking a reasonable number for the family table would be appropriate. But killing them by the millions for commercial exploitation is hardly "saving" anything.

August 7, 2008 - 6:22pm | Observermp

Where do you think

the salmon harvested in large numbers go? You don't think they go to the family table?

Are you opposed to commercial enterprise in general?

Saving a resource to use it wisely is not a new concept in renewable resource management. Where you been, rfn?

August 7, 2008 - 3:21pm | demorgan33

Hypocracy?

Since you are making up the rules for what is deemed appropriate in the salmon harvest world, how many fish should each person be allowed to take? We've all been harvesting fish for many years and the funny thing is, being a well managed resource with guaranteed escapement before any are harveted, the fish keep coming back. Please find another tree to bark up, the fisheries in this state are extremely well managed.

August 7, 2008 - 3:58pm | rfn

Doggone fish....

they're not well enough educated to understand that unrepentant profiteers lurk in the rivers. What we need is an initiative to establish schools for them.

"Saving" fish by killing them does seen a wee bit hypocritical. Cruel, too, saving a few to reproduce so the joyous killing can continue. Bad enough when it's for profit but when it's for the savage amusement of a wealthy few at an exclusive resort.... that's somewhat beyond hypocrisy.

If the "clean" pretext were just dropped and the campaign were run as "Save our private retreat" it would escape the "hypocrisy" label entirely.

August 7, 2008 - 4:04pm | demorgan33

Beat dead horse, dig up dead horse beat it again

Just because you don't approve of the current use of these fish doesn't give you the right to destroy thier habitat for the proposed mine. I feel that you may be a rational person with a sense of humor so I will assume that your posts are as devil's advocate and for your own amusement.

August 8, 2008 - 2:05pm | rfn

Not so much for amusement

as irritation at seeing a small but vocal number of people having swallowed, hook, line and sinker, the agenda of an even fewer - albeit wealthy - number dedicated to eliminating jobs and keeping an entire area in economic darkness. And all so preserve what they regard as their own private preserve.

Lies, repeated often enough, take on a ring of truth. I merely follow their excellent example (toll the bells of doom).

August 8, 2008 - 3:18pm | demorgan33

Your argument sounds familiar

Oh yeah, the wealthy mine company wants to eliminate my job and put me into economic darkness. Sorry for being so vocal about the possible future or lack thereof in my industry. NO PEBBLE

August 8, 2008 - 9:19pm | rfn

Like a doomed

salmon you have taken the sports fisherman's bait.

Remember, if there is no mine the next target will be commercial fishermen in the relentless drive to keep the private lodge(s) of the extremely wealthy from having to share.

That would be an exceptionally poor time to look to anyone associated with mining or the use of metals to rush to your aid.

I'm looking forward to this......

August 8, 2008 - 9:29pm | demorgan33

Are you kidding?

This debate is about your mine, not the lodges or the fishermen. The current players have coexisted for many years with plenty of fish for everyone, including the lodge owners, the sport fishermen, the subsistence users and the commercial fleet. Their is no animosity between these groups and if anything, this mine proposal has given all the current user groups a chance to meet each other and realize how vital each member is.

August 8, 2008 - 10:00pm | CingRed

Let's see...

All you have to do is look across the AK Range at Cook Inlet to see how lodge owners, sport fisherman, subsistence, and commercial fleet coexist, not exactly ebony and ivory. Of course there was no animosity between these groups in the seventies or eighties in Cook Inlet. Bristol Bay will go through the same cycle and in the end, commercial fisherman lose out.

August 9, 2008 - 1:41am | Sockeyemark

Nice try, Bristol Bay is not on the road system. Will not happen

unless of course they put a mine in that brings roads. Then the likelihood of Bristol Bay following the plight of Cook Inlet is very likely. Another bonus that Pebble would bring into the region, more roads, more people, more problems on top of the mine itself.
This my friend is called progress, PRO mine and the fish REGRESS

August 11, 2008 - 12:47am | CingRed

You're an isolationist?

I never knew Mark.

You do know the natives in the bush communities are leaving their traditional grounds in droves and moving to the big city and you call this progress?

With a current non-resident economy of over 80% we are only likely to see this number increase with the mass exodus of the local natives. Is this what you consider progress?

How about bringing skilled, educated, year round work to the communities. I would love to see the natives keep their traditions (yes this includes fishing) and keep their residence in their ancestral home area.

I know a lot of natives in the area would welcome a road. Cheaper fuel, food and supplies along with greater opportunities, it's mainly the wealthy foreign lodge owners who do not want to build a road.

August 12, 2008 - 1:49am | Sockeyemark

Must we dig,tear and beat it to death

whatever "ist" you want to call me. But the Bristol Bay watershed needs to be left alone.
You guys paint Pebble to be the regions elixir...your either the sky is falling "mining shutdown" or the mine will "solve all your problems".
One extreme to the next.....please settle down some it might help your credibility.

August 9, 2008 - 7:39am | pmjusa

Ban the EEEEvil Roads

Fishermen unite! Refuse to market fish that are transported on a road. Roads are eeeevil.

Vote No on 4.

August 9, 2008 - 9:03am | Sockeyemark

99.9% of The Bristol Bay sockeye run never touch a road

system, from the commercial side of things. Years ago they would fly some of them out to be processed but not anymore.
The point being is that the road from Pebble Mine to the waterfront will go right through the town of Pedro Bay. And an ore truck every seven minutes through your town you would not like either, along with the ore dust.
So yes this will harm the town of Pedro Bay, and you promised me that if this mine would harm any "way of life" it would not happen. Hmmmmm......another empty promise I guess

August 9, 2008 - 9:36am | pmjusa

Ban the Eeeevil Trucks!

Trucks RUIN everything! Trucks are eeeevil. Especially trucks that go on the eeeevil roads in the middle of your town. Also ban the sale of toy eeeevil trucks that children unknowingly become accustomed to by the industrialist eeeevil truck manufacturers.

Ban the eeeevil blacktop too! Eeeevil blacktop keeps down the dust that exposes the eeeevil trucks. Ban it!

Ban progress! Save the fish! Put your Sockeye mark in the No box on the 26th.

August 9, 2008 - 10:33am | Sockeyemark

And why haven't they blacktopped the road from Red Dog??

It's all about the bottom line pms , and it will be with Pebble also. They will do as little as possible/or have to when developing this mine.
Another reason to put your yes mark ( remember he's a yes man ) in the ballot box come August 26th.

August 9, 2008 - 12:53pm | pmjusa

Bottom Lines are Eeeevil

Ban them! We need to move back to the barter system and abolish eeeevil bottom lines. Accumulation of capitol is eeeevil.

But how do you know that using eeeevil trucks to move the concentrate will be a part of the mine plan? As for why Red Dog hasn't blacktopped the eeeevil haul road, more info. is available here: http://www.allbusiness.com/north-america/united-states-alaska/887041-1.html and I don't think that eeevil road goes through any towns.

Save the fish! Stop regressive eeeevil progress. Put your Sockeye-mark in the No box on the 26th.

August 10, 2008 - 9:39am | Sockeyemark

Eeeeevil fishermen and their Eeeeevil initiative

Ban all fishing, ban all public initiatives,,,,,,The Miners are losing all their jobs, mines are closing down, people at the bread lines, no work,,,,,,the END OF THE WORLD IS NEAR.......MINING SHUTDOWN...MINING SHUTDOWN...DANGER WILL ROBINSON....

August 7, 2008 - 3:19pm | Sockeyemark

Don't worry DEMORGAN33 , your not going to makes sense to

a guy like rfn. A 10% salmon consumption increase in the US this year, guess he thinks all that fish comes from the chemical laden fish farms of Norway,Scotland,Chile and yes Canada.
The 200 plus million wild salmon that get caught in Alaska every year just vanish into the world market.
You would think that with this slaughter that has been going on every year for the past 100 years that the salmon would be all gone......where do they keep coming from??? Maybe rfn knows??
I'll just keep catching them and selling them until someone comes up with an answer....or until Pebble mine comes in and takes them away for me.

August 10, 2008 - 8:35am | njalo99

.........

Gee Sock,
only a hundred years....hmmmm mining has been in Alaska since the 1800's......so who came first the chicken or the egg..........lol

August 10, 2008 - 8:39pm | PuckFebble

Bristol Bay Salmon Harvest

Dates back much more than the 1890s. But why let the facts get in the way. Tens of thousands of years of a resource coming from the valley they want to dig the hole in.

August 10, 2008 - 10:44pm | CingRed

Right back at cha' ;-)

Native copper utensils (knives, bracelets, beads, pots, so on) have been found traded throughout the area pre-dating Russian or Western civilization...value rare & priceless. Bones and stone were inferior in quality than copper made tools.

Then there was coal and red hematite, but hey like you said why let the facts get in the way.

August 11, 2008 - 6:52am | demorgan33

This is all very interesting, Cingred

But what the heck does it have to do with the current issue of this proposed mine? Yes, metal was discovered a long time ago, fish were around even before the discovery, Who gives a hoot really. This is a distraction from the facts, I'm glad you can name off other things that are mined, but it doesn't give any weight to the cause of risking the fishery for the profit of few. You keep your job and I'll keep mine.

August 11, 2008 - 7:44am | CingRed

Rephrase your question plaese.

"have to do with the current issue of this proposed mine?" Their is no proposal to mine Pebble!

So my question to you is: What does proposition 4 have to do with Pebble since it doesn't even name Pebble in the lame document?

You see people this is the problem when fisherman and lodge owners get together to write and introduce legislation. They don't get input from the mining industry, scientific professionals or regulatory agencies, they just jot something down and throw at the Alaskan voter. In all actuality they are throwing *ahem* at a wall and hoping it may stick. The kicker is, they really don't even know what they did. They believe it will prevent Pebble from being a reality yet this lame duck (Prop 4) will have sweeping adverse affects to the whole mining industry! Really amateurish and sophomoric in a way.

Vote NO for Prop 4- The lame initiative.

August 11, 2008 - 8:49am | Sockeyemark

I'll have to say Ms Red

lawyers can't hold a candle to you miners when it comes to writing allot about little.
Lets keep things simple, like the initiative is. No mines that are currently operating, and under or over a certain size, and this list of chemicals, and any amount of life threatening. Keep it simple vote YES on 4

August 11, 2008 - 8:04am | demorgan33

Why all the drill rigs?

If there is no mine in the works, why is lake Iliamna surrounded by drill rigs?
As far as Proposition 4, I've heard the promises from Northern Dynasty at the meetings and all this proposal does is puts their own words into writing. Once they are asked to abide by their promises we are all subjected to this "all mining is coming to an end" rhetoric. Pebble's location is the heart of this problem. If it cannot be developed without adversely affecting it's surroundings it should not move forward. We have the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of ourselves and others here. I don't want to see the mining industry fall, but they do need to catch up with the times. The era of polluting streams and lakes in exchange for shiny metals is over. Too many people depend on the existing purpose of the lakes and streams in Bristol Bay to have things move forward on this mine without some sort of guarantee that the ecosystem will remain unharmed. Thank you

August 11, 2008 - 9:28pm | CingRed

The drill rigs...

are there to take core samples. Scientists use this information for myriad reasons, but mining ore is not one of them.

Prop 4 will cause a mining shutdown, that's why the entire mining industry is opposed to this lame initiative. They care about clean water & fishing streams as much as any other Alaskan, and proudly uphold the current stringent laws with a badge of honor. If anyone has to adapt to the ever changing times, it's the mining industry. Everyday new practices, enforcements, and engineering techniques are being introduced. That's why the mining industry is such a great profession to be in, it's challenging, thought provoking, exciting, and rewarding. I hear the pay is great too! Maybe you should consider a job in the industry, we'd welcome fellow Alaskans, especially those who value ALL our resources.

Protect Alaskan Miners Vote NO on Prop 4.

August 12, 2008 - 1:27am | Sockeyemark

Sounds like Prop 4 should be challenging and thought provoking

along with exciting and rewarding. Knowing that your business will be doing the right thing.
By the way, when the oil drilling rigs do there drilling nothing hits the ground. All is re injected back into the ground. Unlike the core drilling that is going on around Lake Iliamna, their effluent hose just runs out on the tundra into small creeks and drainages.
Another fine example of the current stringent laws, I would hide that badge of honor if I were you.
Clean Water 4 is needed for Alaskans to be able to adapt to these ever changing times....

August 12, 2008 - 9:15pm | CingRed

Okay whatever Sockeyemark...

The hypocrisy is astounding. Big Oil is environmentally safe but the mining industry is evil.

Do you really want to go there? Let me just say, the industry you work for doesn't have the best track record.

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