http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-09-27/why-anglo-american-walked-away-from-the-pebble-mine-gold-deposit#r=most popular

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/18/us-mining-alaska-pebble-idUSBRE98H03H20130918

The Pebble Gold Mine is growing to be a source of great dispute in the southern Alaskan Peninsula. One of the world’s largest mining companies, Anglo American, had invested six years and $541 million into Pebble through a partnership with Northern Dynasty Minerals to develop the site. Despite this, Anglo American unexpectedly pulled out of the project last week, foregoing more than half a billion dollars of their shareholders’ money and leaving Northern Dynasty to continue on alone.

And the reason for Anglo American’s sudden departure? Chief executive officer, Mark Cutifani, explained that it is an attempt to “prioritize capital to projects with the highest value and lowest risks”. With the risks for the Pebble Mine increasing daily it is apparent why Anglo American might have decided to pull out.

The opponents of the mining project are vast and varied; fishermen, First Nations Peoples, large corporations, environmentalists, and political entities. Pebble Mine has the capacity to cause immense effects on numerous industries and peoples in the area. Most prevalent among of them is the salmon fisheries in Alaska’s Bristol Bay. Almost “half of the world’s sockeye salmon spawn in the watersheds downstream from the mine site”, creating a high potential for damage to both the fishing industry and the environment in that area. Due to this, Pebble Mine is at risk of being shut down by the Environmental Protection Agency. Perhaps Anglo American recognized this possibility and jumped ship when they had the chance.

So the question is: is it worth it to dig at the Pebble Mine or is the controversy too much for the payoff at the end? The mine would generate direct employment for at least 915 people in Alaska over its first 25 years of production, and indirectly support about another 2,000 jobs in the state. The economy would be stimulated by an increase in gold availability, positively affecting many other industries due to the mass usage of gold in almost all electronics and technologies produced today. However, it might also destroy Alaskan ecosystems in the area and negatively impact the fishing industry.

It is difficult to weigh the pros and cons of going ahead with the mine from an objective point of view. And from a company’s perspective it is almost always profit that trumps the decision making process. However, Anglo American obviously sees something in Pebble Mine that they don’t want to be a part of.