“If it’s not financially viable, it’s not going to be built. And if it’s not going to be built, what the hell are we doing here today?”
That’s a direct quote from Pebble Limited Partnership CEO, Tom Collier, last week at the Congressional hearing in Washington, D.C. on the proposed Pebble copper and gold mine. Collier was the sole supporter of the project who testified in front of the House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. He was required to address significant financial shortcomings of both the proposed Pebble project itself, as well as the company backing it. Collier struggled to do so.
Pebble’s statements show us that an economically viable mine that will also meet the environmental standards as required by the Clean Water Act is an impossibility in Bristol Bay.
While we’ve known this for years, information revealed last week reinforces that Pebble’s financials should be scrutinized at the same level as the project proposal itself. Here’s the gist.
Pebble spent $840,000 on lobbying in Washington, D.C. in 65 days. Pebble has spent over $11 million on lobbying since 2007, but in the third quarter of 2019, they’ve spent $840,000 trying to get decision makers to ignore science and the public comments of millions of Americans across the country and push their permitting process forward at an unprecedented speed. When you break that down per business day, Pebble spent roughly $12,923 on lobbying our elected officials every day for the past 65 days. Read more about Pebble’s lobbying expenses here. Meanwhile a number of critical scientific gaps in their mining plan have gone unanswered. Clearly, Pebble has prioritized legal, PR and lobbying expenses over science and technical expertise. This does not bode well for their request that Americans entrust them with one of our most precious natural resources.
Pebble’s parent company, Northern Dynasty Minerals, is under investigation for insider trading. On Monday, October 21st, Earthworks sent a letter of complaint to the SEC, the New Jersey Bureau of Securities and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, detailing a flurry of stock trades and communication related to Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. in the days prior to the EPA’s decision to withdraw the Proposed Determination in July. The company's stock price shot up after both EPA decisions were publicly announced this summer. Read more about the investigation here.
Pebble still has not produced an economic feasibility study for the mine proposal. At the Washington, D.C. hearing last week, Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) asked Collier, “Have you submitted a document on this much smaller mine showing it’s financially viable to the Corps of Engineers? Yes or no.” Collier answered, “no.” He then tried to explain. “If it’s not financially viable, it’s not going to be built. And if it’s not going to be built, what the hell are we doing here today?” This statement contradicts Pebble’s plans. While not required to conduct this kind of economic analysis, it’s unusual that they haven’t. Doing so would simply show the public that this is a mine that would operate “in the black”. But experts, including environmental engineer and mining expert Richard Borden, expressed that the current proposal is not financially viable. At the hearing, Borden told the subcommittee that he believes the mine has a net present value of negative $3 billion. Pebble would have to expand their operations, thereby increasing environmental risk, in order to turn a profit. See what else Collier and Borden had to say about the economic viability of the mine on the committee livestream.
At the end of the day, Pebble’s failure to conduct responsible, transparent and productive financial matters calls in to question their trustworthiness to build a mine in a unique and fragile environment.
Pebble is increasing the amount of money they spend in Washington because they know that they won’t change minds of the majority of Alaskans who hold strong that Bristol Bay is no place for the proposed mine. Pebble has not released an economic feasibility study because their current mine plan covering a fraction of the deposit will not create a profit without significant expansion and additional environmental harm.
What we do know about Bristol Bay? Salmon is gold. Fish-based industries are the job providers, and money makers for thousands of people in the region. For the Native peoples of Bristol Bay, no amount of money can erase the traditions of stewardship and subsistence they have maintained for generations, and the cultural legacy that the land and water of southwest Alaska holds.
It costs $0 for you to contact your Senators and Representatives and ask them to do all they can to stop Pebble. Please do so today.