Anchorage Daily News

Both sides of Pebble fight throw money to lure voters

Alaskans are being deluged with TV, print and radio ads asking them to vote for or against Ballot Measure 4, which seeks voter approval for more water quality regulations for large mines.

State biologist accepts Pebble job

A deputy commissioner for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has agreed to take the top environmental post at the company seeking to develop the massive and controversial Pebble copper and gold prospect.

Mining ballot measure tough to sort out

The friends and foes of Ballot Measure 4, the proposed state law seeking tougher pollution standards for large, new mines, can't seem to find much to agree on.

State confident fish are protected

State mining coordinator Tom Crafford says he remains confident that ongoing exploration drilling at the proposed Pebble mine in Southwest Alaska will have no significant impact on fisheries resources.

Pebble company has history of helping out its neighbors

I had a chance to meet the director of Anglo American's corporate community development group recently, and I was frankly surprised to learn that one of the world's largest mining companies even does something like this.

Court OKs initiative for ballot

The Alaska Supreme Court issued a order Thursday allowing a "Clean Water" initiative to go on the statewide ballot in August.

Gold mine case on next-term docket

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to step into an environmental dispute over the disposing of mine tailings at the Kensington gold mine near Juneau.

Alaska Supreme Court will rule on mining ballot issue

The Alaska Supreme Court is taking a hard look at one of the touchiest debates in Alaska today: mining and clean water.

State high court dismisses Pebble initiative

The state Supreme Court signed an order Monday that dismisses the more controversial of two embattled "clean water" ballot initiatives aimed at blocking development of the Pebble copper and gold prospect in Southwest Alaska.

Red Dog mine settlement is in suspense

It's been several weeks since attorneys announced that a proposed settlement had been reached in a long-running pollution lawsuit that pitted several Kivalina residents against the Red Dog mine in Northwest Alaska.

After fast rise, zinc drops below $1 a pound

World zinc prices closed below $1 a pound Tuesday for the first time in more than two years. Zinc is most valuable mineral mined in Alaska.

Mine settles water lawsuit

A trial in the multimillion-dollar lawsuit over water pollution violations by Alaska's largest mine scheduled to begin Monday in Anchorage has been canceled.

Enemy of Pebble also an investor in mining firm

Over the past year, the firm owned by one of the biggest enemies of Pebble -- a huge copper and gold prospect -- has been investing millions of dollars in an international mining firm that wants to develop the controversial project in Southwest Alaska.

Pebble Partnership expects to spend $140 million in '08

Two mining companies collaborating on the Pebble mine prospect have set a budget of more than $140 million this year.

Monitoring of Pebble drilling is questioned

A former federal fisheries biologist is critiquing state regulators' oversight of mineral exploration at the massive copper and gold Pebble prospect in Southwest Alaska.

Pebble Partnership names Shively point man

The Pebble Partnership, a group formed last summer to increase support for developing a huge copper and gold deposit upstream from salmon-rich Bristol Bay, announced Wednesday that John Shively will head the partnership.

Court date set for Red Dog pollution lawsuit

A pollution lawsuit filed by a few Kivalina residents against the operator of the Red Dog Mine will go to trial in Anchorage federal district court on May 19.

Citizens' group files suit over Chuitna coal plan

A citizens' group has filed a lawsuit over a proposal to develop a large strip coal mine across Cook Inlet from Alaska's largest city.

Blood lead levels in Alaska raise concern

Roughly one in 10 Alaska workers tested for lead in their blood in recent years -- mostly because they worked around it -- had an amount that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers unhealthy.

Judge rules against clean-water initiative

JUNEAU -- A Superior Court judge in Fairbanks has ruled a clean-water ballot initiative is unconstitutional because it usurps the Legislature's duty of allocating state resources.