Trump Administration Denies Alaska Pebble Mine Permit, Denying Economic Opportunity to the State and the Nation

The Trump administration, via the Army Corps of Engineers, today denied a permit to the Pebble Mine in Alaska, to the great detriment of economic gains for the state and the nation.

Statement by Myron Ebell, Director of CEI’s Center for Energy and Environment:

“The decision by the Army Corps of Engineers to deny the wetlands permit for the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska, apparently as the result of pressure from the White House, is disastrous for the people who live there, for Alaska, and for America.  

“Specifically, canceling Pebble Mine is disastrous for the unemployed and destitute people in southwest Alaska who need the high-paying jobs and economic activity the mine would provide for many decades. The administration’s decision is disastrous for Alaska, which, as Governor Dunleavy has argued so forcefully, urgently needs to diversify its economy away from oil and gas production. Canceling Pebble means that many other potential mining projects in Alaska will never be attempted.  

“This decision is bad for the American economy, too, because the copper, gold, molybdenum, and rare earths produced at Pebble would create hundreds of billions of dollars of wealth for America and provide minerals that are critical for America’s high-tech industries.     

“We hope the Army Corps will have an opportunity reconsider its ill-informed and politically driven decision.”  

Statement by Ben Lieberman, Senior Fellow:

“It is disappointing that the Army Corps of Engineers let politics dictate its decision to reject the Pebble Mine, as its own extensive Environmental Impact Statement found no reason to stop the project. 

“The Pebble Mine would have been a domestic source of several minerals needed to make electric vehicle batteries and other high tech products.”

Related analysis: Trump Administration Better on Permit Approvals for Energy Projects than for Minerals Projects Like the Pebble Mine