"A proposed gold and copper mine that nearly got buried by the Obama administration moved closer to reality when its developers filed new permits with the federal government.
The company behind Pebble Mine, in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, were poised Friday to file a wetlands-fill permit with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The permit application by the Pebble Limited Partnership, a subsidiary of Northern Dynasty Minerals, marks a milestone for the project that has seen renewed interest since President Trump appointed former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the EPA.
“At the outset of 2017, we established three ambitious corporate objectives for Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Project,” Northern Dynasty President & CEO Ron Thiessen said in a statement. “We committed to reaching a resolution with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to restore the Pebble Project to normal course permitting, to re-partnering on the Pebble Project and to initiating permitting under [National Environmental Policy Act. As we approach the end of the year, I’m proud to report that we will hit our mark on all three important milestones.' "
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017...-process-begins.html
Gold is a nice to have. Copper is essential to industry and new tech, not to mention wiring your house.
US copper mining has remained fairly stabile over the years.
https://www.statista.com/stati...roduction-of-the-us/
US need for copper has grown, resulting in expanded imports.
https://www.statista.com/stati...roduction-of-the-us/
Plus, mining copper and gold produces -- jobs, jobs, jobs!