Alaska voters say no to gold, copper mine

Voters in a small southwest Alaska borough narrowly passed a measure blocking a prock cutting and crushing machine from usaroposed gold and copper mine that conservationists said would have threatened one of the world's premier wild salmon fisheries in a local election that gained national attention, pitting environmental and business interests on opposing sides.

The vote bans large-scale resource extraction — including mining — that would destroy or degrade salmon habitat. The measure was aimed squarely at Pebble Mine, a massive gold and copper operation planned near the headwaters of Bristol Bay and one of the world's premier wild salmon fisheries. Unofficial results, released by the Lake and Peninsula Borough clerk late Monday, showed 280 in favor of the measure and 246 against. The mine is a joint venture of Canada-based Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. and Anglo American plc of the United Kingdom. The proposal, like the project itself, was the subject of an...