In last week’s “Three takeaways from Constantine preliminary economic assessment” a mood of assuredness about the future potential for a mine’s success seemed to lie in subtext .The number of unknown factors, however, prohibits any projection of mine-life, profitability, and safety of the watershed that isn’t enormously speculative. The PEA, for example, has not been released to the public, and is being relayed to reporters by the head of company PR. As mentioned in the article, the PEA is a marketing tool to lure investors and maintain stakeholder allegiance: an intricate billboard. The infrastructure chain, additionally, is far from known or established, especially with regard to a port. The water treatment plan is based upon Constantine’s findings that surface water discharge is unconnected to groundwater downstream of the upper Klehini. With so little specific information to inform the claims of profit, longevity, and safety of the mine, this unreleased PEA should be regarded as an advertisement which obscures unknowns and distracts from the hard questions. We’re being asked to accept an article of faith: one that may be at odds with the generational food security and economic diversity of Haines and Klukwan.
Ben Aultman-Moore