I agree but it can still be done.
Hope you’re right. My background includes managing a three pit surface coal mine and a 250 ton/hour wash plant so I know something about the process.
An estimated 99 percent of the rock unearthed in sulfide mining is waste that releases sulfuric acid which is a long term threat to human health. Acid mine drainage has damaged or destroyed 40 percent of the watersheds in the western US.
In Colorado, 17 miles of the Alamosa River was rendered dead by drainage from the old Summitville Mine. Eight miles of the Red River in New Mexico was rendered dead by acid leaking from old works. A tailings pond in Montana at the Berkeley Mine killed several hundred snow geese.
Wisconsin has enacted a law called “prove it first,” for copper, gold and other mining mining companies. I think it’s a good idea for Alaska.