Pebble Mine could spark economic transformation in SW Alaska – CEO – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – May 31, 2013)

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The Pebble Project’s estimated $1 billion in annual operating costs “could define a new economic engine for Alaska,” says a new report commissioned by the Pebble Limited Partnership.

RENO (MINEWEB) – A study by economic analysis firm IHS Global Insight advises that development of the Pebble copper deposit “could have significant economic impacts” for the state of Alaska including $136 million to $180 million in yearly taxes and royalties, and support more than 16,000 jobs nationwide during construction including nearly 5,000 jobs in Alaska.

The study, which was commissioned by the Pebble Limited Partnership estimates that Pebble-related jobs could pay an average annual wage of $63,500 per year. “Once the mine is constructed, it could provide approximately 2,900 operating jobs, of which 915 will be at the mine,” said IHS Global Insight. Pebble workers on-site could earn approximately $109,500 per year on average with about 75% of the workers expected to be Alaska residents.

“The Pebble Limited Partnership has the potential to develop one of the most significant discoveries of copper, molybdenum, gold and silver in the world,” said the report.

Some $1.2 billion of capital investment annually is expected during the construction phase of the project in the first five years of development.

The average value of produced mineral concentrates anticipated during the Initial Production Phase (IPP) will be $1.9 billion, reaching a peak of $2.9 billion over the 25-year period. The mine’s cumulative production of copper in concentrate during the IPP is expected to be almost 5.6 million metric tons, valued between $29.5 billion and $30.6 billion. Annual production, which will range from 148,000-314,000 metric tons, is valued between $726.7 million and $1.7 billion.

‘With an average annual copper ore production of 222.3 thousand metric tons, the Pebble Mine would expand total US copper production by 20% above the 2011 production level of 1.1 metric tons,” said IHS Global Insight.

The cumulative value of all mineral concentrates produced during the IPP will reach between $47.8 billion and $55.1 billion, with a peak annual production value between $2.9 billion and $3.3 billion, said the report.

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