PEBBLE – Alaska Superior Court Judge John Suddock Mar. 19 ruled in favor of the Pebble Limited Partnership and the State of Alaska concerning a lawsuit challenging the validity and constitutionality of Save our Salmon, a 2011 ballot initiative that aimed to amend Lake and Peninsula Borough land use code to prohibit permitting for mines larger than 640 acres (1 square mile) that would have a significant adverse impact on salmon bearing waters. In his ruling, Suddock said the regulatory power given to the borough through the initiative violates state law. In his ruling, the judge notes that the Alaska Legislature granted the Alaska Department of Natural Resources "charge of all matters affecting the mineral resources of the state" and if the SOS Initiative stands “DNR is no longer in charge” of permitting. "Such a grant of power to local governments would Balkanize state natural resource policy," Suddock wrote. In response to the judgment, the Pebble Partnership said, “This ruling will assure that permitting decisions are made through the state's comprehensive process, which includes ample opportunity for input from local people as well as stakeholders throughout the state.”

PEBBLE – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Mar. 18 reported it has extended the early consultation period with the state of Alaska and the Pebble Partnership from Mar. 14 until Apr. 29. The agency said this extended time period provides an opportunity for the landowner and mining company to meet with EPA to provide information relevant to the Clean Water Act 404(c) review process and to demonstrate that no unacceptable adverse effects to aquatic resources would result from mining the Pebble deposit or that actions could be taken to prevent unacceptable adverse effects to waters from such mining. EPA initiated the 404(c) process allows on Feb. 28. The first step in this process is to provide a 15-day consultation period. Alaska asked the federal agency to table the process “until permit applications for an actual mine project are submitted and thorough reviews by state and federal regulatory agencies are completed. In the written request, Alaska Attorney General Michael Geraghty explain that a review of Pebble’s actual mine plan is the only way for the state and EPA to know whether the envisioned effects on the Bristol Bay watershed would be mitigated.

GOLD – Freegold Ventures Ltd. Mar. 18 said it has engaged Tetra Tech to complete a preliminary economic assessment on its Golden Summit project in Interior Alaska. The Golden Summit project currently hosts an NI 43-101-compliant indicated resource of 79.8 million metric tons averaging 0.66 grams per metric ton (1.68 million ounces) gold, and an inferred resource of 248.06 million metric tons averaging 0.61 g/t (4.84 million ounces) gold, both using a 0.3 g/t as a possible open pit cut off. The 2013 estimate included an oxide component for the overall resource. The oxide resource was calculated to be 25.03 million metric tons averaging 0.55 g/t (439,000 ounces) gold in the indicated category and 16.62 million metric tons averaging 0.47 g/t (253,000 ounces) gold in the inferred category, both using a 0.20 g/t cut off. The oxide cap is contained largely within the upper 200 feet (60 meters) of the resource. Resource drilling has been confined to roughly 110 acres (300 by 1,500 meters), however Freegold reports that the Golden Summit property covers a 13,000-acre area and hosts numerous other significant exploration targets with potential to host additional resources, all of which have an oxide cap. Situated about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Fairbanks, Golden Summit has the advantage of being road accessible, in close proximity to industrial strength power and an experienced labor force. For these reasons, Freegold says Golden Summit represents an excellent low risk development project.