Valentine’s Day is recorded as the biggest holiday for U.S. sales in gold. However, according to a new Earthworks press release, this Valentine’s Day, fifty-four jewelers—including Zale Corp., Helzberg Diamonds, Boucheron and others—have pledged not to use gold taken from the proposed Pebble Mine at the headwaters of Bristol Bay in Southwest Alaska. The proposed mine would be the largest open-pit mine in North America and possess a serious threat to Alaskan wild salmon by the 10 billion tons of toxic estimated to be dumped into the Bristol Bay watershed.
The fifty-four jewelers' pledge is the first time a large number of jewelers have come together and taken a position on a specific place or mine, says the release. Jewelry demand accounts for 80% of annual mined production of gold, giving jewelers a powerful voice. In the case of Bristol Bay waters, these jewelers are using their voice to say “NO” to gold and encourage government help.
