Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd (NAK)

[Atinus]

About that downside. The mine is losing political support at the state level and the tapes may make it politically impossible for the named elected officials to now publicly support the mine.

According to the executives in the recording, the governor's support was *essential*: "I did, in my home, the largest private fundraiser for the governor when he was running for office, and it’s not unusual for the governor to call me," Collier said.Thiessen discusses the strategy Pebble uses to reach White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to talk about the project. Rather than Collier reaching the White House, it’s better for Collier to talk with Dunleavy, who can make that call to the chief of staff, Thiessen said.“I mean, we can talk to the chief of staff of the White House any time we want,” Thiessen said in the recording. “You want to be careful with all this because it’s all recorded. Every telephone call that the chief of staff to the White House has to be recorded. It’s not that they tape the call, it’s just that it’s recorded that, ‘He had a call with Tom Collier, the CEO of Pebble Limited Partnership.' You don’t want to be seen to be trying to exercise undue influence.”

Now, to save his political skin, the governor has to distance himself from the company and the mine. If the governor's not on board, and neither are the senators, why would the President stick his neck out?

https://www.adn.com/politics/2020/09/22/alaska-governor-and-senators-accuse-pebble-mine-executives-of-embellishment-and-untruths-in-recorded-calls/

Alaska governor and senators accuse Pebble mine executives of embellishment and untruths in recorded calls

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the state’s U.S. senators Tuesday sharply criticized Pebble mine executives after an environmental group released secretly recorded video meetings of the executives describing their connections to the politicians.…..Thanks for being an ADN.com reader.

In a statement, Dunleavy’s office said the executives “embellished their relationships with state and federal officials at all levels.”

Sen. Dan Sullivan accused the executives of multiple fabrications, adding “it’s clear that the company executives are floundering.”

And Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she’s not sitting “quiet in the corner” to allow the Pebble project to move ahead, as a Pebble executive said.

The videos, released on Monday, were recorded by the Environmental Investigation Agency, an environmental group, using people hired to pose as potential investors in the mine. The online meetings occurred in August and September of this year.

In the videos, Pebble CEO Tom Collier and Ron Thiessen, president of Pebble parent company Northern Dynasty Minerals, described Pebble as having easy access to Dunleavy’s office.

They also said Republican Sens. Murkowski and Sullivan are simply making political points when they express reservations about the project.