The US Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) has confirmed that an all land-based transport plan to connect the proposed Pebble mine, in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, to a port site is the preferred development scenario for the project.
The USACE selected the land-based transport plan as the “least environmentally damaging practicable alternative” for the mine. It includes an 85-mile road north of Lake Iliamna and avoids the need for ferry transport across the lake, project developer Northern Dynasty Minerals explained on Monday.
Northern Dynasty president and CEO Ron Thiessen said that it was not a new plan and that its US-based subsidiary Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP) had studied the option as an alternative in its environmental impact statement (EIS).