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A discussion hosted by a group opposing the construction of Pebble Mine in the headwaters of Bristol Bay will offer residents a chance to dig a little deeper into their case.

Nunamta Aulukestai, Caretakers of Our Lands -- a consortium of eight village Native corporations in the Bristol Bay region -- has been holding "Dialogues on Pebble" across the state.

The group will come to the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska in Kenai on Thursday.

"The idea is to have an open, frank dialogue," said Dave Atcheson, of Sterling, who is helping to organize the Kenai event.

The discussion will include presentations on mine permitting by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, impacts of hard rock mining by Bonnie Gestring of Earthworks, the risks to fisheries by Dr. Carol Ann Woody, and technical issues and concerns by Dr. Dave Chambers of the Center of Science in Public Participation.

Atcheson said he was unsure if The Pebble Partnership, an organization supporting the construction of the mine, also would be making a presentation.

Calls to The Pebble Partnership by the Clarion on Monday were not immediately returned.

Following presentations, residents of the Bristol Bay area will lead a round-table discussion.

Atcheson said that while the mine may seem far way, its potential impacts won't be.

"We're really not that far away," he said.

He noted the most likely impact the mine would have is on the fisheries.

"I think there's a lot of facts that show that something this large in scale in that area may be detrimental to the fishery," Atcheson said.

He said any pollution put out by the mine could have wide-reaching effects.

"It would reflect on all the fisheries. Like with the Exxon Valdez disaster, fish prices dropped everywhere since people thought all fish from Alaska was contaminated," he said.

The potential for impact wouldn't just be to commercial and subsistence fishermen but to the commercial guiding industry as well, Atcheson said.

"It would also have a really negative impact on tourism," he said.

Contamination of headwater streams is not the only concern. The mine would likely require a deep-water port in Cook Inlet where ore-carrying ships would load up with slurry produced in the mine.

"There would be ore ships going in and out of Cook Inlet," he said.

He also noted that the mine's workers, who would likely have a two-week-on, two-week-off schedule, would need to be housed somewhere, and he didn't expect many to live on the remote west side of the inlet.

"They're going to live in Anchorage, Kenai or Homer, that's going to have an impact," he said.

He also expected that Homer would become the staging area for the delivery of supplies to the mine.

According to Atcheson, the mine will require 500 to 600 megawatts of power to operate as well, and the source of that power remains unclear.

Dante Petri can be reached at dante.petri@peninsulaclarion.com.