Metal Revival

FOR SALMONSTATE CAMPAIGNER Rachel James, as for many Alaskans, an announcement in 2014 brought a wave of relief: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would, in effect, block a sprawling copper- and gold-mining project vehemently opposed by commercial fishers, Alaska Natives, and conservation groups like her own.

The Pebble Mine would create what could be North America’s largest open-pit excavation and ponds of potentially