Tag: Mike Heatwole

It's one of the most controversial mining projects in the United States, and it's sparked heated debate among Alaskans for more than a decade. Bill Walker urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to suspend a key environmental impact study of the proposed Pebble Mine in the Bristol Bay watershed, home to the world's largest wild salmon fishery. "I think that the governor's action has a lot more to do with politics than policy," Mike Heatwole, a spokesperson for Pebble Limited Partnership said Sunday. "Because all of the questions, the high bar that the governor has put out there, are exactly the type of issues that should be resolved and looked at and evaluated through the regulatory process." of Natural Resources, Andy Mack, said there's only one way the Walker administration would support the project. But Heatwole says zero impact isn't possible. Heatwole says Pebble has invested over $150 million in environmental studies of the area. As for the financials on the proposed mine, Heatwole said he couldn't address why a potential investor, First Quantum Minerals, backed away from the project in May. "I can't speak to why they backed away, I think that's probably best answered by them," Heatwole said. "Pebble is on state of Alaska land open to mineral development.