[IMC-US-Tech] Re: alaska / Tech Trouble

[bradley at riseup.net]

Amy L. Dalton wrote:

> The article she refers to is here.
> http://indymedia.us/en/2006/01/13368.shtml
> Seems like a good one to promote to me.

I promoted this one, but now the formatting is all messed up.

I don't know what to do.

I can't seem to fix it using my version of firefox or safari.

Can someone please let me know if the wysiwyg editor is broken... or if 
it is just me.

sincerely,
Bradley

- - - - -

Huge Open-pit Gold Mine Proposed in Alaska
http://indymedia.us/en/2006/01/13368.shtml

Northern Dynasty Mines, a Canadian company, is proposing to start 
operations on what would be North America’s largest open pit gold and 
copper mine, deep in the heart of pristine Alaskan wilderness. The 
Pebble Mine site is located just south of Lake Clark National Park and 
Preserve, 15 miles northwest of Lake Iliamna and some 250 miles south of 
Anchorage. The Iliamna region is important to many Alaskan’s subsistence 
lifestyle. It is home to one of the world’s only populations of 
freshwater seals, the large Mulchatna caribou herd, and contains the 
headwaters of Bristol Bay, with the largest runs of sockeye and Chinook 
salmon in the world.

The Pebble Mine proposal includes the creation of a 20 square mile toxic 
waste-storage lagoon, and the elimination of Frying Pan Lake, critical 
for spawning salmon. Recent finds of high grade ore at the edge of the 
mine site has led NDM to consider a second underground mine adjacent to 
the main pit, which would be widened to 2 miles across. Mines such as 
these can release arsenic, sulfuric acid, cyanide (NDM has already 
rescinded an earlier promise not to use cyanide), and heavy metals 
including lead and mercury. Hard rock mines are, in fact, the single 
largest source of toxic spills and leakage in the U.S. Despite the 
enormous presence of the oil and gas industries in Alaska, three out of 
four of the largest illegal industrial spills in Alaska in 2003 were 
caused by the mining industry.

Alaska already has its share of toxic mines. In 1990, zinc contamination 
levels around the Red Dog zinc and lead mine in NW Alaska rose to levels 
200 times higher than the standard. According to the EPA’s toxic release 
inventory in 2002, Red Dog releases 481.6 million pounds of toxic 
pollutants a year, the major contributor to Alaska’s total of 545.5 
million pounds, more than any other state in the US. The current Pebble 
proposal describes a mine with 20 times the ore output of Red Dog, 
making the resulting pollution likely to be far worse.

One of the major issues surrounding the Pebble project is the remoteness 
of location. Getting power to the mine would require either an over 200 
mile (322 km) long power line slicing right through Lake Clark National 
Park (a remote, roadless park), or one going 80 miles (129 km) to the 
ocean, and then another roughly 40 miles (64.5 km) under the Cook Inlet 
to the town of Homer. The construction of either option, as well as the 
proposed 75 mile long private road, in such remote, previously untouched 
areas will indubitably cause wide spread ecological damage, not only by 
the immediate effects of development but also through increased 
accessibility. The state, as usual, will pay for any development in the 
area, including roads and power lines for the sole use of the mine, 
effectively privatizing public land for the lifetime of the mine. Once 
the infrastructure is in place for large mining operations such as a 
road, mill and high-tension power lines, the mining of smaller 
surrounding sites becomes more feasible. There are over 540 square miles 
of land claimed by six different mining companies north of Lake Iliamna 
that have the potential to be opened.

The region of the mine is also known for seismic activity. It is at the 
base of Mt. Iliamna, an active volcano that continually plumes, and 
earthquakes in the area are frequent, including a major one this spring. 
Furthermore, two active volcanoes that have gone off multiple times in 
the last 30 years flank Mt. Iliamna on both sides. Even waste ponds 
recently constructed with ‘cutting edge’ technology have been known to 
break open, causing widespread damage above and beyond the usual 
leakage. The Baia Mare gold mine in Romania had a damn failure from 
excess rainfall that resulted in the release of 130 cubic yards of mine 
waste containing 75 tons cyanide, which killed 80% of the fish in the 
Tisza River and disrupted the drinking water of 2.5 million people. 
Putting such waste ponds in areas of intense seismic activity can only 
increase the risk.

The mine would employ an estimated 2000 workers during construction 
and1000 after it is opened. The small Native villages that do exist in 
these remote regions rely on fish and caribou for food, and the mine 
threatens to permanently destroy the delicate balance they have with 
nature by increasing the population, which puts more stress on the food 
resources, by driving away game with their operations, and by the 
destruction of the entire local ecology with toxic leakages. Despite the 
jobs promised (mostly labor), the mining industry is not usually 
associated with prosperous communities across the nation for a number of 
reasons. Metal commodity prices are unstable, causing instability in 
employment and payroll, the life of a contemporary metal mine tends to 
be relatively short, the labor needs of metal mining operations are 
constantly falling as technological change displaces workers, and 
environmental damage associated with metal mining discourages people and 
business from locating near mining operations. The Red Dog Mine 
mentioned above does employ a significant portion of the local Native 
population, but in labor jobs with serious exposure to lead 
contamination and other toxins. Higher paying jobs will be filled by 
people brought in, probably from outside Alaska. The Nushagak river 
villages of Kooliganek, New Stuyahok, Ekwok, Dillingham Village Council, 
Lake and Pen villages, Nondalton Village Council, and Kokhanok Village 
Council, have written resolutions opposing the mine development, though 
there is a fair degree of local ambivalence. The laws to deal with 
mining in Alaska (as with much of the nation) are outdated and 
inadequate. Alaska’s major industries are all extractive, many very 
environmentally damaging, and the government usually supports these 
industries without hesitation. The states legislature’s recent votes on 
mining issues have favored industry by a margin of 278-2. Recent 
decisions have included allowing mining companies to dump tailings 
directly into fresh water lakes. The state has financed $267 million 
dollars of development for the Red Dog mine, $71 million in 1997 alone 
to the Fort Knox Mine, and have approved to pay more than 25% of the 
capital cost for the development of the Kensington Mine. This kind of 
support makes Alaska a very attractive place for mining companies to 
operate in. The EPA reports that mining has contaminated 40% of the 
headwaters in the western US outside of Alaska, and, if we continue on 
the same course, Alaska seems likely to join that statistic.

In the case of a toxic release, ND’s managements may not be affected by 
attempts to hold them accountable. As Canadian citizens and residents, 
certain of Northern Dynasty’s directors and officers may not be subject 
themselves to U.S. legal proceedings, so that recovery on judgments 
issued by U.S. courts may be difficult or impossible. Even though 
Alaskans are largely supportive of mining activities, the problems with 
the Pebble project are enough to make even most of them think twice. The 
threat not only to the regions environment, but the subsistence 
lifestyle of much of the state’s population through threatening the 
Bristol Bay fisheries and caribou grounds widely used by nearby 
population centers, has many people in opposition to the mine. 
Unfortunately, politicians aren’t listening, and the governor has 
already given his approval, as has the Lake and Peninsula Borough in 
which the mine would be situated. Leaders in Alaska usually enjoy the 
support of the public when they encourage extractive industries to set 
up operations in the state, doing the will of the people and lining 
their own pockets at the same time. But let Alaskans decide for once NOT 
to let an Outside company rape our land, and we see the politicians show 
their true colors. Mining, already the source of most of our pollution, 
is not strongly regulated in the state, and allowing North America’s 
biggest open pit mine to open up in the middle of pristine country and 
crucial subsistence habitat is inviting catastrophe.

Most of the information here from:
http://www.bristolbayalliance.com

Alaska Department of Natural Resources on the mine: 
http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/mining/largemine/pebble/

Northern Dynasty:
http://www.northerndynastyminerals.com/ndm/Home.asp

Pictures/maps/info:
http://www.aktrekking.com/pebble/index.html
http://skytruth.mediatools.org/objects/view.acs?object_id=5984

To get on the Pebble opposition list:
http://www.reformakmines.org/