The Alaska Republic Party has thrown its weight behind the proposed Pebble copper/gold mine, arguing that responsible development of the mine will be a significant economic boost for the state.

In a resolution dated August 9, the party urges Alaska leaders and the US Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) to move forward “expeditiously” with the Pebble mine’s approval and development.

It claims that the mine has undergone the “most extensive environmental impact study in Alaska’s history” and says the revised proposal is for a mine that is “half the size of that originally proposed, with correspondingly less environmental impact”.

The resolution states that water entering Bristol Bay as a result of mine operations totals 0.01% of water in the area and that the water will be treated for optimal fish habitat before it is released back into the environment.

The Pebble mine, proposed near Bristol Bay, has been an issue in Alaska and US politics since the mid-2000s. With the new Presidential election looming and the mine on the cusp of being issued a permit, the development is again making headlines.

Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden has recently suggested that he will use a study completed by the Obama-era Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2014 to deny federal permits for the Alaska mine.

High-profile Republicans have also spoken out against the mine, including US President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, and VP Mike Pence’s former chief of staff, Nick Ayers.

The President has the power to direct the USACE to deny Pebble its permit. With the release of the USACE’s final environmental impact statement on July 23, a decision on Pebble’s permit could be issued as soon as Monday, August 24.

On August 10, US Congress House Committee on Oversight and Reform wrote to the Inspector General (IG) calling for a review of the USACE’s conduct in the permitting process, claiming that the process had been rushed at the expense of a thorough scientific review.

The committee also believe that the EPA’s reversal of its opposition to the mine in 2019 had been motivated by political influence and not by scientific analysis.

Pebble Partnership, which is owned by Canada-listed Northern Dynasty, is supporting calls for the IG review of the USACE’s conduct. CEO Tom Collier has said he is confident the IG will find allegations raised against the USACE to be baseless.