Friday, 30th June 2006 (1312 views)

The Pebble copper-gold project in southwest Alaska has been given a boost by an investment from mining giant Rio Tinto.

The Pebble project, which is controlled by Northern Dynasty Mines, is somewhat controversial due to its location near Lake Iliamna, which is an important wildlife habitat.

But the investment from Rio Tinto, in the form of subsidiary company Kennecott Exploration buying 9.9 per cent of Northern Dynasty's shares for C$87 million, will go towards pacifying critics.

Louie Cononelos, a spokesman for Kennecott, told Mineweb that his company "will work closely with Northern Dynasty Minerals to achieve best world practice, in line with Kennecott/Rio Tinto's policies and high standards for safety and health, environmental stewardship and community involvement".

The Pebble site is a copper-gold porphyry with an estimated resource of 26.5 million ounces of gold and 16.5 billion pounds of copper.

London-based Rio Tinto is one of the most conspicuously socially-conscious mining firms in the world, committed to sustainability, community relations, the environment and openness in its business dealings.

 

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