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BBNC remains skeptical of Pebble promise

March 8th 12:03 pm | Margaret Bauman Print this article   Email this article   Create a Shortlink for this article

An energetic speech by the chief executive of Anglo American, encouraging development of a world class ore body in Southwest Alaska drew cheers from many in Anchorage on March 3, but fell flat with leaders of Bristol Bay Native Corp.

"We didn't hear anything new in terms of mine development plans or the timeline for releasing baseline environmental information," said Jason Metrokin, president and chief executive of BBNC, who was among the more than 300 people at the Resource Development Council for Alaska to hear Anglo American's Cynthia Carroll speak.

"They are continuing to talk about the benefits that the project could provide. It's the risk, the uncertainty, scale and location of the mine that continue to give Bristol Bay residents and shareholders cause for concern."

Carroll, who visited Iliamna and Newhalen just days earlier, received rousing applause from most of the RDC breakfast crowd as she repeated her company's oft-spoken promise that Pebble "will apply the world's best and most advanced science.

"Pebble's environmental consultants have been working on what will probably be the most comprehensive scientific environmental baseline assessment of any part of Alaska, investing over $100 million in the process," Carroll said. "Pebble's engineers have been examining in great detail a range of options for different mining and associated infrastructure scenarios."

Carroll also talked about the opportunity to generate hundreds, perhaps thousands of jobs and to supply the world's increasing need for the minerals lying beneath and ground in Southwest Alaska. Mining and fishing can co-exist, she said.

A transcript of her speech is online at www.akrdc.org

Metrokin wasn't convinced.

"Our position is that this project and the Bristol Bay fishery will not co-exist," he said.

"There will be adverse impact to the fish, the game, the environment and the region.

While Pebble is compared with the Red Dog and Fort Knox mines, those examples don't match up to what is planned at this location, this size and make-up, Metrokin said.

"We stress that hard science, or western science, is only part of the puzzle," he said.

"There is a need to include traditional science, local knowledge, the stuff you get by talking with elders, local, people, and we have to find a way to incorporate that into this process."

Metrokin noted that Carroll spent a lot of her speech time focusing on the need and demand for the minerals beneath the surface of Southwest Alaska. "We totally understand that," he said. "We get that, but the world, and the Bristol Bay region, also depend on food supply. Bristol Bay has one of the world's largest and last wild salmon populations, and that also needs to be considered.

To say that can co-exist at this point with such certainty doesn't say to us anything.

"There have been successful mining projects in other places and there have also been many other unsuccessful mining projects. It is too much of a risk for us to accept."

Metrokin said that while he understands there are residents of the Bristol Bay region who want to stay neutral in the Pebble debate and let the process continue, that they are in the minority.

People need to really look at this project from the perspective of the history and the future, he said. "This project only takes up a portion of our timeline," he said.

"We have a very long and rich history of success when it comes to the economics, social and environmental conditions of Bristol Bay and we want to protect that.

"People come and go from Bristol Bay," Metrokin said. "They hunt. They fish. They visit. But those of use who live there and represent the people and the land have a responsibility to protect that unique and valuable renewable resource that has been there for generations."

Metrokin said that BBNC also recognizes its responsibility to ensure economic opportunities that allow people to earn a living. "It is our responsibility to develop such projects," he said. "We need to prepare our workforce for those jobs, and that will take everybody."

 

Margaret Bauman can be reached at mbauman@alaskanewspapers.com, or by phone at 907-348-2438.

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