Community Conversations

Pebble Creek Prospect

Prepared by Dr. Deland S. Anderson for the Pratt Museum based on a Community Conversation held 21 October 2005.

Fear, anger, frustration, disenfranchisement, hopelessness. These were the sentiments that washed over the crowd of approximately seventy people at the October Community Conversation on the Pebble Creek Prospect. However, one stalwart navigated through this sea of discontent according to the cheery view that standards of living would rise even as the mining consortium cleanly extracted gold, copper, and molybdenum, etc. from the bottom of the big hole. Without mining, he insisted, your whole way of life would disappear-you would revert to Stone Age Man. Besides, you won't even see it from here!

The announcement of a huge gold and copper find near Lake Iliamna a couple of years ago sent a wave through the communities on the Kenai Peninsula. Reverberations continue. Politicians posture, claiming that this will be the fulfillment of the Alaskan Dream. Opportunists wrangle for an edge in providing the many services that will be needed if the mining consortium goes through with its plans for a huge open pit mine. Other residents without vested interests idly wonder what changes might come from the planned development. Will new jobs for locals balance the diminishing access to area resources associated with population growth? Activists on the other hand are organizing to block the mine. Their concerns vary. They don't always overlap, but occasionally they do. Some fear destruction of the Bristol Bay salmon fishery, which is based on one of the largest wild salmon runs in the world. Others wish to avoid the negative effects on tourism, especially ecotourism, that would result from mining development in the area. Some bemoan the loss of subsistence lifestyles by residents in the vicinity of the proposed mine. Still others are concerned for the entire ecosystem and what negative impacts mining would have on it. Then there are those who shudder at the thought of a gigantic man-made hole right in the middle of a vast, beautiful wilderness area. Additionally there are people who despise the very thought of mining, let alone the practice of it. They argue that extraction of raw wealth from the ground exacerbates inequality in society, filling the purses of the wealthy at the expense of the common person. Next consider the pragmatists who simply say, we don't need it; therefore don't do it. This sentiment is countered by the optimist who argues that miners have a right to mine, and that they should not be denied this opportunity.

Perhaps if the prospect involved a salt mine instead of a gold mine it would cause less controversy and social unease. But the fact is that this prospect has divided the populace: people have drawn up ranks into those who are for the mine and those who are against it, never mind that it doesn't yet exist. Things have gone far enough that some people and organizations, the Homer Chamber of Commerce, for example, maintain a studied neutrality or proffer no comment on the matter.

Twenty miles or so north of Lake Iliamna in southwest Alaska lies an ancient volcanic caldera containing porphyry deposits of gold, silver, copper, molybdenum, and zinc. Two mining consortiums have purchased claims covering the area of the caldera. Liberty Star owns 1,718 claims totaling 421 square miles, equal to nearly half of the surface area of Lake Iliamna itself. Northern Dynasty owns fewer claims covering a much smaller area, but it seems to have control of the known hot spot, and has formulated plans to excavate a pit 14 square miles in surface area and 1,700 feet deep in order to extract metal ore. The company refers to the phenomenon as the Pebble Deposit. Some area residents think of it as the Pebble Mine. Others, focusing on watershed issues refer to it as Pebble Creek. The people assembled at the conversation were encouraged by the facilitator to think of it as the Pebble Creek Prospect, to consider how the prospect has even already begun to change their lives.

The word "prospect" means literally to look ahead, and so that is what the group did. One person in the conversation asked those present to consider what a 14-square-mile open pit mine would look like in 1,000 years. Another remarked that mines used by the Romans some 2,000 years ago are still monitored today for toxins. People discussed the history of European expansion and resource extraction over the past 500 years. Others spoke of the world to come. A three-thousand-year horizon of time is rare for discussions of contemporary social issues. That people were moved to speak in such grand terms is a measure of how extraordinary this prospect is. Northern Dynasty, the corporation that owns the site of the deposit, claimed it had discovered the largest gold deposit in North America. And then it announced that the deposit is twice as large as it had previously believed! On the other hand, some people were considering the short term. A few expressed fears of boom and bust cycles associated with mining districts. One person saw an opportunity to turn a quick profit on stock. But a number of people reflected on their past, saying they had grown up in mining towns and didn't want to see Homer turn into one.

One young participant remarked that he would rather have a whole recycling center in his back yard than a mine over there. Others echoed the sentiment that we should reclaim or recycle the metals from our dumps, especially those scattered around Homer. These and other comments were directed at the question of the need for the mine. Numerous people spoke with antipathy toward gold, remarking that we have plenty already, even more than we should. A middle-of-the-road opinion eventually emerged during the discussion. It was that it will be fine as long as somebody makes sure they do it right. But consider how vague this insight is. It is built on a foundation of pronouns without antecedents. Its vagueness reflects the low level of responsibility felt by anyone who utters it. The vagueness of the subject is commensurate with the degree of anxiety people feel about the prospect. Knowledge is power and Northern Dynasty is tightly controlling the flow of information. Many have complained that a recent public meeting convened by the mining concern did not provide critical information on the mining plans. Further complaints maintain that requests for such information were dodged. Naturally, this leaves people with a sense of disenfranchisement, even hopelessness. At its worst this sentiment leads to visions of catastrophe and apocalypse. People mention Exxon's massive oil spill in this context. They are expressing as accurately as they can how the Pebble Creek Prospect makes them feel-betrayed and devastated in advance. The wreck of the Exxon Valdez and its aftermath has torn the fabric of this society. Healing has been preempted by Exxon Corporation's refusal to settle with the affected fishermen over the past 15 years. The social contract has been broken. Trust is nowhere to be found, because it is not warranted.

So by extension people fight to gain access to vital information about Northern Dynasty's prospect. There are two sorts of information sought. First, the details of the plan to mine the Pebble Creek area. That book is closed, or at least has many pages missing. Second, circumstantial evidence about mining, gold mining, open pit gold mining, open pit gold mining on a salmon stream, open pit gold mining on a salmon stream in a subsistence locale, etc. This book is wide open and includes not just statistical information, but human history and values as well. This information is needed for people of the area to decide whether they will grant a social license to Northern Dynasty's prospect, to the proposed mine, to the miners, and to the support personnel. If the people do not receive this information, they will not be able to make an informed decision. Hence if the mine goes through anyway, it will be in the community, but not of it. The political will of the people will have been forced, and this with the help of their own elected officials. The Federal Government and the government of Alaska can grant the permits required for a legal open pit gold mine, but it is not within the power of the General Mining Law of 1872, or any other piece of legislation, to grant a social license for a mine. That can only be provided through a consensus of the people based in complete and reliable knowledge. Unfortunately the information provided by Northern Dynasty is much more geared toward selling the prospect to its shareholders through "forward looking statements" than it is toward assuring the stakeholders of the region that their plans are good for the community.

Ten years ago, even five years ago, there would have been much less local opposition to the prospect. More well-to-do people have relocated to the area in that time, and they don't feel the economic pinch like others do. These people are more inclined to be anti-development, anti-growth than others because they are comfortable with things the way they are. They are less persuaded by the rhetorical pull of the word "jobs" and "standard of living", and instead rally around concepts such as "sustainability", "wilderness" and "quality of life."

Perhaps because they don't feel the wolf at their doors, they are free to think in the long term. Also, the economy of the area has become more vigorous and diversified than it was ten years ago, so at least temporarily, fewer people are desperate for work, and so can be more discerning about what they do for a living. Further, there is a great deal of political discontent with the Bush administration that trickles down through the closely aligned Murkowski administration. There is a measure of ill will toward the Governor just because he hews to the Bush party line. Consequently, when the Governor backs certain projects, as he has wholeheartedly done with Northern Dynasty's plans, a portion of the populace will oppose the project just because they resent his leadership. If the project aligns with the Bush plan of increasing wealth through extraction industries, as the Pebble Creek Prospect does in exemplary fashion, people who oppose the Bush plan oppose the project. The Pebble Creek Prospect is a lens through which one may see the entire political sphere of today's world-what is happening 19 miles northwest of the village of Iliamna is also happening on the North Slope, in the Tongass, on the lower Kuskokwim, indeed around the world. It is the gathering of private wealth at the expense of the common good. When those who benefit are few and when their benefit is hyperbolic, the populace protests. It is a demonstrable fact that some people feel Governor Murkowski is aiding an international corporation in its attempt to rob the people of Alaska. And not just of the gold in the ground, but even more importantly, of their very future. They say the future of the salmon is threatened, the future of the wilderness is threatened, the future of the town of Homer is threatened, the future of clean water and wholesome food is threatened, the future of a subsistence way of life is threatened, the future of the world is threatened.

Numerous particular fears were expressed in the conversation. In no special order, they include the fear of polluting a pristine watershed by ongoing cutbacks of environmental regulations and monitoring as concerns clean water; added air pollution due to the increased production of electricity for the proposed mine (some 250-275 megawatts of electricity would be needed during peak periods of operation); a slurry line to tidewater would negatively affect salmon and crab stocks; the transport of toxins via marine traffic could lead to catastrophic spills; roads, dams, dumps, dust, sewage, noise, etc. would all negatively impact the environment of the region.

In addition to these fears, many questions abound. How many holes have been drilled already? Have they all been drilled where they were supposed to be, or has Northern Dynasty strayed into forbidden zones such as Upper Talarik Creek? What else is in the ground besides gold, silver, copper, zinc, and molybdenum, such as lead, arsenic, uranium? Isn't the gold prospect on a salmon stream, and aren't claims illegal according to state law on such streams? Will Northern Dynasty use cyanide to recover metals? Is Northern Dynasty even going to develop the prospect, or is it just trying to drive up its stock before it dumps the claims? What exactly will the slurry be made of? How much water would be needed for this mine? Where would it come from? How much money has the state of Alaska paid to accommodate Northern Dynasty's plans? How much more is to come? How much does the state anticipate in revenues, based on taxing the net profits of the proposed Pebble Creek Mine? Should the General Mining Law of 1872 and related Alaskan laws permit huge, foreign corporations to gain ownership of gigantic mining districts and extract the raw wealth lying beneath the surface of the land? Etc.

This Community Conversation was but one discussion among many that have happened and will continue to happen in the area on the prospect of mining in the Iliamna region. Opposition groups are compiling statistics on mining practices and amassing eyewitness accounts to mining disasters. Politicians hone their rhetoric as they survey the mood of their base constituents. Northern Dynasty meanwhile polishes its presentation. Interestingly many of the participants in this ongoing discussion speak to the common good. It's just that the definition of the common good keeps shifting. But so long as people openly discuss this notion, the project of democracy will move forward, and that is a benefit to all.