ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The growing list of jewelers vowing to boycott gold from a proposed Alaska mine now includes major manufacturers of class rings.
Herff Jones and Commemorative Brands Inc., both of which make class rings, have joined the list of jewelers opposed to the proposed Pebble Mine in southwest Alaska. The mine is estimated to contain hundreds of billions of dollars worth of copper, gold and molybdenum, but would be built near some of the world's most productive wild salmon streams.
Two other companies, Birks and Mayors and Hacker Jewelers, also added their names to the list on Wednesday. The 18 jewelry companies now opposed to Pebble represent sales of more than $3.7 billion a year.
Canadian-based Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. and London-based Anglo American are developing the minerals deposit.
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Project plans haven't been finalized, making the jewelers' opposition premature, Pebble Partnership CEO John Shively said.
"They've prejudged the project when we don't have one," he said.
Dan Hacker, whose father founded Hacker Jewelers of Tecumseh, Mich., in 1956, described his business as a "mom and pop" operation.
"Certainly, I am not a crazy person that is against all kinds of economic development or anything, but this proposal is a very big open pit mine, perhaps the biggest open pit mine in North America, and it really threatens to endanger a great commercial salmon fishery and some pristine water," he said Wednesday. "The salmon fishery provides tens of thousands of jobs for people and that is a sustainable industry."
Hacker said he uses recycled gold instead of newly mined gold whenever possible.
"Gold is one of the most recycled resources that the world has ever known," he said.
Tiffany & Co., with more than $1.5 billion in sales, is leading the campaign against Pebble. It took out an advertisement in the October issue of National Jeweler to encourage other jewelers to join the campaign.
"Despite the best of intentions, 175 years of experience sourcing gemstones and precious metals tells us that there are certain places where mining cannot be done without forever destroying landscapes, wildlife and communities," it read. "Bristol Bay is one such place."