The Pebble Mine's size will make it visible from outer space

Sep 14, 2012 13:51 GMT  ·  By

For quite some time now, Alaska's Bristol Bay has been home to the world's largest salmon population. As well as this, brown bears, eagles, moose, lynx, wolverines, walruses, beluga whales and countless other animal species rely on the natural resources these ecosystems provide them with.

However, a new mining project stands to have a major impact on these regions, seeing how according to preliminary estimates its becoming a reality will translate into an area of land bigger than Manhattan being converted into working sites and related infrastructure.

To cut a long story short, the Pew Environment Group argues the Pebble Mine's size will allows people to observe it from outer space, and that its environmental footprint will encompass 32 square miles (82.87 square kilometers).

According to the same source, the Pebble Mine project is intended to allow the world's second largest multinational mining company access to gold and copper. The two companies behind this project are London-based Anglo American, and Northern Dynasty Minerals.

Seeing how the area targeted by these two companies supports countless plant and animal species, several environmentalists and conservationists are trying to make sure the Pebble Mine project fails in getting approval from the entitled authorities.

Presently, the US Environmental Agency is expected to finish looking into this issue, its role being that of stating whether or not this new mine would translate into contaminated local water resources.

This aspect is of utmost importance due to the fact that both wildlife, and communities living in this area rely on said water sources in order to carry on with their daily routine.

Rumor has it that the results of EPA's evaluation of this project will be made public by the end of this year. Later on, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources is to also have a say in this matter.

Hopefully, more information on this topic will soon be made available.