Anglo American under fire for planned gold-copper mine in Alaska

Opponents say mine would damage one of the world’s most valuable habitats for salmon.

The polemic Pebble Mine project in Alaska, a 50-50 partnership between Anglo American (LON: AAL) and Northern Dynasty Minerals (TSX: NDM) is one again the centre of attention, as BBC World News aired Monday an in-depth report on the proposed open-pit copper and gold mine.

The video comes barely a week after the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) admitted to have spent $2.4 million in reviewing the proposed project in southwest Alaska.

The deposit, which could be worth as much as half a trillion dollars, hosts 55 billion pounds of copper, 76 million ounces of gold, 3.3 billion pounds of molybdenum, and quantities of silver, palladium and rhenium.

RELATED: INFOGRAPHIC: Pebble Project economics and employment 

If approved, it would become the largest open pit copper and gold mine in the world, but it would also generate tons of potentially dangerous waste material, which would damage the area’s salmon population, one of the world’s most valuable habitats for the fish.

Watch the BBC‘s video here:

(Image by Charlie Kindel)

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