WASHINGTON, DC – April 7, 2014.
Alaska Daily News reported today that mining giant Rio Tinto is pulling out of
the Pebble mine project in Alaska.
The Pebble mine project is a
controversial plan to build an open pit mine.
The plan is controversial because the
mine is sited in the best wild salmon waters in the world.
Ginger Tornes, occasional Alaska
correspondent for WCRX-LP, Bexley Public Radio Foundation, expressed
satisfaction with the development. Tornes is an Alaska resident, spending the
winter in Bexley with her family.
She also commented that the US EPA was very slow in taking regulatory
action regarding the mining project.
The ADN also reports that Rio Tinto
will donate its ownership share in the project to a pair of Alaskan
non-profits, the Alaska Community Foundation and the Bristol Bay Native Corp.
Education Foundation.
ADN also reported that the mining
company explained its action: "the Pebble Project does not fit with Rio
Tinto's strategy."
Rio Tinto's decision might be a
response to growing belief that the
US Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) is moving closer to blocking the mine. ADN also reported EPA
Administrator Gina McCarthy saying that the Pebble mine project would
"likely have significant and irreversible negative impacts on the salmon
of Bristol Bay." McCarthy said her agency would decide on action to
protect the salmon under the Clean Water Act, which could lead to a veto of the
project.
The British Anglo American mining
enterprise pulled out of the Pebble project last year.
Rio Tinto offered further explanation
for its action: "By giving
our shares to two respected Alaskan charities, we are ensuring that Alaskans
will have a say in Pebble's future development," said Rio Tinto Copper
Chief Executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques.
The charitable foundations that
received the ownership interests will each receive half of Rio Tinto's 19
percent share in Northern Dynasty Minerals, the Canadian company whose
principal asset is Pebble.
The Bristol Bay Native Corp.
Education Foundation said "Rio Tinto's gift will benefit organizations
that serve the people and communities of Alaska."
Executive Director Greta Goto said
the shares would help the foundation to support educational opportunities for
shareholders in the Bristol Bay Native Corp, which represents the interests of
Alaska Natives from the area around the proposed mine.
The Bristol Bay Native Corp., though,
has been among the fiercest opponents of the Pebble mine. It now suddenly has a
stake in the project's success.
Corporation officials said in an
interview that the education foundation is managed separately from the
corporation as a whole and has its own distinct mission.
"This gift provides an example
of what open discussion and relationship building between stakeholders with
differing views can accomplish," said Bristol Bay Native Corp. President
Jason Metrokin. "However, BBNC's opposition to the proposed Pebble mine
has not changed."
The Alaska Community Foundation said
its shares would go to create a new fund for supporting vocational education
programs, with a focus on building worker skills for resource development
industries.
Foundation CEO Candace Winkler said
the foundation first heard from Rio Tinto about a week ago. She said she is
excited about the possibilities, regardless of the controversy over the mine.
"We understand this is a complex
issue and that people have strong feelings on both sides," she said.
"We looked it as an opportunity to be involved in workforce
development."
It's not clear how much the shares
will be worth. Northern Dynasty's stock value has faltered with the continual
problems experienced by the Pebble project. The stock fell another 5 percent on
Monday at the news that Rio Tinto was pulling out of the project.
Rio Tinto's decision came under
pressure from major investors, including the pension funds of California and
New York City. Rio Tinto was risking its reputation with involvement in the
Pebble mine, the chief financial officers who oversee those pension funds told
the company in a December letter.
The Natural Resources Defense Council
hailed Rio Tinto's move as a big step toward the end of the project.
"Rio Tinto's decision is the
latest demonstration that the Pebble Mine is economically and environmentally
infeasible, even for the largest mining companies in the world," said Joel
Reynolds, the western director for the environmental group.
Gov. Sean Parnell, in a written
statement, criticized the EPA.
"It's disheartening to see a
company like Rio Tinto take its business elsewhere as a result of the current
federal regulatory environment," Parnell said.
Pebble ranks among the largest
undeveloped copper deposits in the world and Northern Dynasty Minerals is
vowing to push on despite all the problems.
Last year's pullout of Anglo American
was an especially big blow, leaving Northern Dynasty without the necessary
financial backing to construct the mine.
Northern Dynasty is searching for a
new partner, and said it will work with the two Alaska foundations that are now
major shareholders in one of the most controversial development projects in the
history of the state.
Northern Dynasty President Ron
Thiessen said his company had previously worked with the Alaska Community
Foundation on the Pebble Fund, a grant program for organizations in the Bristol
Bay region.
"We look forward to meeting with
the leadership of the Alaska Community Foundation and Bristol Bay Native Corp.
Education Foundation in the days ahead to better understand their long-term
goals and aspirations, and how their ownership interest in Northern Dynasty and
the Pebble Project can make the greatest possible contribution to the people
and communities they serve," Thiessen said in a written statement.
Read more here:
http://www.adn.com/2014/04/07/3413818/mining-giant-rio-tinto-pulling.html#emlnl=Breaking_News#storylink=cpy
