Financing for Pebble Mine Collapses
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Northern Dynasty Minerals and First Quantum Minerals today announced their proposed agreement to finance Pebble Mine has collapsed. The announcement comes after years of opposition to the mine by local communities and strong doubts from potential financiers of the project.
Pebble Mine threatened Alaska’s Bristol Bay, home to one of the largest and last remaining wild salmon populations in the world. Should the project move forward, the mine could generate more than 10 billion tons of dangerous waste, wipe out 90 miles of salmon streams and pollute more than 5,000 acres of wetlands, ponds and lakes.
Over 40,000 Friends of the Earth members took action to oppose the mine.
In response, Verner Wilson, Senior Oceans Campaigner at Friends of the Earth and a member of the Curyung Tribe in Bristol Bay, issued the following statement:
By pulling out of the agreement to finance Pebble Mine, First Quantum Minerals finally listened to the overwhelming opposition from the people of Bristol Bay and throughout Alaska. The company’s decision to back out of Pebble Mine is a great victory for people and the planet.
Pebble Mine would be an environmental disaster. This project is a financial blackhole. Four major mining companies, including Anglo-American, Rio Tinto, Mitsubishi, and now, First Quantum Minerals, have rejected financing for the project. It’s time for the Trump Administration to step up and also reject Pebble Mine which is too risky for Bristol Bay’s world-class fisheries and the many communities who depend on the rich natural resources of the region.
Standing alongside the local communities, Friends of the Earth will continue to fight Pebble Mine until the project is scrapped.
Expert contact: Verner Wilson III, (907) 360-8591, [email protected]
Communications contact: Patrick Davis, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]