Alaskans file suit against Pebble mine explorers
An organisation representing native Alaskan groups, as well as some prominent Alaskans, has filed a civil suit against the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR), asserting that the department violated the Alaskan Constitution by granting exploration permits to the controversial Pebble mine, says a Mining Weekly report.
The Pebble copper/gold/molybdenum project, in the Bristol Bay region of south-west Alaska, is owned by diversified resources giant Anglo Chinan and Vancouver-based junior Northern Dynasty Resources. However, the asset is located in an important salmon-bearing area, and Alaskans are concerned that waste from the mine could threaten one of the State’s most important industries. The report notes that the civil suit asserts that the DNR ‘failed to consider the public’s interest in sustaining the region’s rich salmon, wildlife, and subsistence resources, which are negatively affected by exploration activities’.
http://www.legalbrief.co.za/article.php?story=20090804084612187
