Anti-Pebble gold movement grows among U.S. jewelry manufacturers

Eighteen jewelers representing billions of dollars in annual sales have vowed not to use gold from the massive Pebble copper-gold project near the Bristol Bay fishery in Alaska.

RENO, NV - 

As Tiffany & Co. ran an ad urging its peers to join the boycott against the use of any future gold mined from the Pebble Gold project in their jewelry, two of the nation's largest manufacturers of class rings agreed to reject Pebble's precious metal.

Four more jewelers with nearly $1 billion in sales joined the 14 jewelry companies now opposed to Pebble's development near the sport fishery of Bristol Bay, Alaska.

Herff-Jones, Commemorative Bands, Birks and Mayors, and Hacker Jewelers have joined other retailers, including Tiffany and Helzberg Diamonds, who have vowed not to buy gold from the Pebble mine.

In an industry advertisement aimed at jewelers, Tiffany said it objects to the proposal "to build an enormous gold and copper mine in the very heart of Alaska's Bristol Bay Watershed, home of the world's most productive salmon fishery."

Tiffany contends that "there are certain places where mining cannot be done without forever destroying landscapes, wildlife and communities. Bristol Bay is one such place."

In a news release, environmental NGO Earthworks said the mine will generate "billions of tons of mine waste and using 35 billion gallons of water per year-about the same amount as the City of Anchorage."

The Pebble Partnership-comprised of Anglo American and Northern Dynasty-did not respond to Mineweb's request for comment by our deadline early Thursday morning.

In an e-mail to Mineweb Wednesday, Tiffany CEO Michael Kowalski said, "We have been opposing the Pebble mine in every public forum we have spoken at - the FT and Fortune Green conferences, the EMA awards in Hollywood." Kowalski said Tiffany & Co. has discussed its objections to the Pebble Project with Anglo American.

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