Conservative Activists to Challenge Zales Over Anti-American, Anti-Jobs Positions

Jeweler to Face Questions Over Boycott of American Gold and Other Precious Metals from Alaska’s Pebble Mine

Irving, TX / Washington, D.C. – At today’s annual meeting of Zales shareholders in Irving, Texas, National Center for Public Policy Research Free Enterprise Project Director Justin Danhof, Esq. plans to question company CEO Theo Killion about the jeweler’s Pebble Mine boycott aimed at stopping a mining project that could create thousands of American jobs, increase American security and bring prosperity to an impoverished region.

“While the Pebble Partnership is exploring the possibility of mining in Bristol Bay, Alaska, no one has applied for a single state of federal mining permit. The project is merely in the exploratory phase. Despite this, Zales already declared it will boycott all minerals from the region, because – according to the company – Pebble Mine would irrevocably damage the region’s environment and inhabitants,” said Danhof. “If Zales executives can predict the negative consequences of a mine that has no formal plan, perhaps they can also tell me tonight’s winning Powerball numbers. Zales’ Pebble Mine boycott is illogical, regressive and hurts the American people.”

In April 2010, Zales signed the “Bristol Bay Protection Pledge” – a pledge co-sponsored by the radical environmental group Earthworks. By endorsing the pledge, Zales vows to never use any minerals or metals from the Pebble Mine.

Some estimates place the value of the Pebble Mine at $400 billion, and it has been reported that the mine “could potentially triple U.S. reserves of copper, increase its gold reserves by 50 percent and make America the world’s largest holder of mineral molybdenum, an essential component of high-strength steel alloys.”

Earthworks is an anti-business, anti-American non-profit organization that was recently profiled on the National Center’s GroupSnoop.org website. The profile exposes how Earthworks uses bad science and scare tactics to convince corporations to oppose large-scale projects such as the Pebble Mine and the Keystone XL Pipeline.

“By kowtowing to the radicals at Earthworks, Zales executives signaled their willingness to do the bidding of left-wing advocacy groups, even if that harms American workers and Zales’ reputation. The Pebble Mine could create 1,000 high-paying jobs and provide vast resources for use in jewelry, defense weapons and electronics,” said Danhof.

“Zales executives need to rethink their relationship with Earthworks and instead promote American jobs and American resources,” added Danhof. “If not, consumers should look elsewhere for their jewelry.”

The National Center for Public Policy Research is a Zales shareholder.

The National Center for Public Policy Research, founded in 1982, is a non-partisan, free-market, independent conservative think-tank. Ninety-four percent of its support comes from individuals, less than 4% from foundations, and less than 2% from corporations. It receives over a quarter-million individual contributions a year from over 96,000 active recent contributors.

Contributions to The National Center are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated.

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The National Center for Public Policy Research is a communications and research foundation supportive of a strong national defense and dedicated to providing free market solutions to today’s public policy problems. We believe that the principles of a free market, individual liberty and personal responsibility provide the greatest hope for meeting the challenges facing America in the 21st century.