"The major financial investor in the Pebble Mine project has pulled out, Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. announced Friday, dealing a serious blow to the firm’s plan to build a controversial gold and copper mine near rich salmon fishing grounds at Alaska’s Bristol Bay.

The stock price of Northern Dynasty plummeted more than 30 percent by midafternoon Friday after it announced that First Quantum Minerals Ltd. had withdrawn from an agreement the two companies forged in mid-December. Under that partnership, First Quantum had provided $37.5 million upfront and pledged $150 million over the next three years to fund the permitting process, in exchange for a 50 percent share in the project.

Environmental groups, which had lobbied First Quantum for months to withdraw from the deal, said constructing the massive mine would imperil a watershed that is home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery."

Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson report for the Washington Post May 25, 2018. [2]