It’s hard to believe that the battle to protect America’s most valuable wild salmon fishery from the proposed Pebble Mine continues. Across America, the public has repeatedly voiced its opposition to Pebble, and its support for protecting Alaska’s Bristol Bay salmon fishery and the 14,000 hard-working fishermen it supports.
Commercial fishermen. Seafood processors. Hunters and anglers. Alaska Native communities. Jewelry retail companies. Grocery stores. Chefs. Restaurants. Churches. Scientists. They’ve all said Pebble is a bad idea. And, some of the world’s largest mining companies (Anglo American & Rio Tinto) have walked away from it.
Yet, Northern Dynasty, the Canadian junior mining company behind the project, continues to promote the mine to investors amid speculation that the Trump Administration may view it more favorably.
Today, the company’s stock took a deep dive after a New York investment firm released a report claiming that the Pebble Mine isn’t commercially viable, stating that: “All this enthusiasm is misplaced. We believe Northern Dynasty is worthless.”
Their report concluded that:
- Northern Dynasty’s key asset, the lowgrade Pebble deposit, is not commercially viable: mining it would require so much upfront investment that it would actually destroy value.
- Kerrisdale believes Northern Dynasty’s former partners concluded that the Pebble project had a negative present value – an assessment that Northern Dynasty has spent years trying to conceal from the public.
Not only that, but a law firm has announced an investigation into possible securities fraud violations.
In contrast, the value of the Bristol Bay fishery is proven. Every year, millions upon millions of wild salmon return to Bristol Bay, like no place else on earth. It’s the economic backbone of the region, supplying roughly half of the world’s supply of wild sockeye salmon, and generating $1.5 billion in annual value. It can continue to play this vital role as long as the habitat is protected.
At the end of the day, it's the Bristol Bay fishery that's the good investment!
