Mine company CEO resigns following leaked conversations over an Alaskan mining plan
Tom Collier, CEO of the Alaskan mining company Pebble Limited Partnership, resigned on September 23 following the release of damning recordings. These recordings document Collier's exploitation of relations with the White House and Alaskan politicians in the hopes of reducing barriers for the construction of a controversial mine in Southwestern Alaska. The non-profit organization Environmental Investigational Association (EIA) released the recordings, which have been dubbed the “The Pebble Tapes.” The EIA describes the tapes as “a series of recorded conversations between EIA investigators and the Chief Executive Officers of Pebble Limited Partnership and Northern Dynasty Minerals,” which “are the companies behind the contested mine project in Alaska.”
Pebble Limited Partnership told investigators, posing as potential investors, that the company planned to push forward with a much larger mine project in Bristol Bay than what their application under the Clean Water Act would have allowed for. Furthermore, despite a public statement to Congress claiming that the company had “no current plans … for expansion,” the recordings indicate otherwise. They show Pebble Limited Partnership planned for a longer and larger operation, including expanding a pipeline, connecting the project with other mines, and growing the mine upon its completion.
The recordings also indicate that the company did not anticipate any pushback from GOP politicians. According to the Washington Post, in the event of a Biden victory, Collier would merely “brush off [his] Democratic credentials and start using them a little more actively.” Ronald Thiessen, CEO of the parent company Northern Dynasty Minerals, apologized for the comments on the same day as Collier’s resignation, but did not step down from his post.
The release of this report has drawn sharp criticism from environmental and indigenous activists alike. Many argue that the mining operation will harm salmon in the area, which constitute a central concern for many, especially Alaskan Natives. In a New York Times interview with Alannah Hurley, an activist for the indigenous people in Bristol Bay, Hurley said, “it’s time … for our elected leadership to stand up for Alaskans and stop this corrupt process.” The president and chief executive of the conservation group Trout Unlimited went further, adding that “this is an incredibly pristine area … If you industrialize the landscape, and develop mining there for a hundred years, you’re basically writing off the salmon.”
Pebble Limited Partnership and Northern Dynasty Minerals’ long-term plans for their mining project remain unclear in the face of this controversy.