Anglo American pulls out of Alaska gold mines plan
Source: The Guardian
Anglo American pulls out of Alaska gold mines plan
Suzanne Goldenberg US environment correspondent
theguardian.com, Monday 16 September 2013 15.59 BST
Anglo American withdrew on Monday from plans to develop vast open-pit gold and copper mines in one of the last big wild salmon runs in Alaska's Bristol Bay.
The company said in a statement that it was pulling out of the Pebble Mine project, spread across rolling tundra about 200 miles south-west of Anchorage, despite the huge mineral potential.
The area is believed to hold the world's richest gold deposits, but Anglo American's exit could now put the entire project in jeopardy.
"Despite our belief that Pebble is a deposit of rare magnitude and quality, we have taken the decision to withdraw, following a thorough assessment of Anglo American's extensive pipeline of long-dated project options," the company's chief executive, Mark Cutifani, said in a statement.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/sep/16/anglo-american-alaska-gold-mines