Opponents argue that a potential spill from the massive mine, which would rank as North America’s largest if constructed, would jeopardize a pristine ecosystem. In an earlier environmental assessment of the project, the EPA estimated a project on the scale of the Pebble Mine — which could ultimately produce 80 billion pounds of copper, 107 million ounces of gold and 5.6 billion pounds of molybdenum — would likely cause the loss of between 54 and 89 miles of streams and between 4 and nearly 7 square miles of wetlands.
Over the course of the mine’s operation, the draft assessment said, one or more accidents or failures could occur, “potentially resulting in immediate, severe impacts on salmon and detrimental, long-term impacts on salmon habitat.”
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