The Pebble Partnership is auctioning off surplus equipment ahead of another season of little to no work at its site north of Iliamna.
The list of equipment for sale, which was circulated in early April, includes excavators, generators, trucks and shipping containers, as well as household items.
Pebble spokesperson Mike Heatwole says the company decided to sell off equipment that was depreciating in value while sitting idle. However, Pebble will retain enough equipment onsite to restart work if they succeed in bringing on another investor for the proposed Pebble mine, he said.
"We are maintaining what we would envision to need for a program in the future to support up to three drill rigs," he explained, "once we secure another partner for the project to advance us to the next phase."
Pebble only has three staff members based in Iliamna currently, according to Heatwole. He says the company is still actively seeking another investor to replace Anglo American to move the mine project forward.
Heatwole declined to comment on how much money Pebble hopes to make from the surplus sale, but said the first week of the auction generated quite a lot of local interest.
Because the remote Iliamna location is primarily accessed by aircraft or barge, Heatwole said he sees the surplus sale as a win-win situation: "[Pebble] can move on assets that are depreciating and local residents can take advantage of the opportunity," he said, "because getting items into the region is expensive."
The local Iliamna Development Corporation is facilitating the sale, and will continue to hold weekly sales for an unspecified time period.
This story first appeared in The Bristol Bay Times/Dutch Harbor Fisherman and is republished here with permission.