By Sherilee Bridge, I-Net Bridge, The Times

Anglo American has promised to abandon plans to develop the Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum mine in Alaska if studies prove that the mine would damage the region’s natural resources or endanger its wildlife.

Anglo American CEO Cynthia Carroll, who has already laid down the law regarding the group’s safety standards, looks set to set another precedent by advocating the preservation of natural resources over profit.

In August, Anglo American agreed to become a 50% partner with the Northern Dynasty in the Pebble project by making a staged cash investment of US$1.425 billion.

The copper-gold-molybdenum project has been fraught with controversy because the mine lies near the headwaters of the world’s largest sockeye salmon streams.

"We do not want to and will not be associated with a mine that damages Alaska’s fisheries and wildlife," Carroll told the Resource Development Council, a pro-business organisation, at a breakfast meeting in Anchorage.

"If a mine cannot be planned in a way that provides proper protections, it will not be built," Carroll said.

According to The International Herald Tribune, opponents of the mine include sport and commercial fishermen, as well as the region’s mostly Alaskan Native residents who depend on salmon for a large part of their diet.

"They worry that pollution from the open-pit mine could cause irreparable harm to the fishery and the watershed," the newspaper reported.

Northern Dynasty and Anglo American estimate one of the Pebble deposits has 42.6 billion pounds of copper, 39.6 million ounces of gold, and 2.7 billion pounds of molybdenum, which is used to strengthen metal.

In the meantime, Anchorage’s natural resources chief has warned that the Pebble mine controversy was damaging the state’s future with too much hype.

"The ultimate result is that the controversy over Pebble is spilling to other mineral projects, and could stunt economic growth and development in rural parts of Alaska," said Tom Irwin, commissioner of the state department of natural resources at the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce.

Quoted by the Anchorage Daily News, Irwin said opposition to the mine was causing "collateral damage" to the mining industry’s reputation in Alaska.

Mining has a significant economic impact in the state by providing jobs and as the biggest source of tax revenue.