In a turnaround from their December agreement, Canadian mining giant First Quantum Minerals pulled out of the proposed partnership to enter Bristol Bay's hotly-contested development project - Pebble Mine.

In December, Pebble Limited Partnership

for the controversial gold and copper mine in Southwest Alaska.

That agreement fell through at some point, and now, First Quantum is saying they're out for good, causing many opposing the project to rejoice at the dissolution.

In the statement, Northern Dynasty said they were “unable to reach agreement on the option and partnership transaction contemplated in the December 15, 2017 framework agreement.” A statement released by Northern Dynasty confirmed the termination of the agreement.

The deal would have provided the Canadian mining company an option on half of the company itself, Pebble Limited Partnership. In exchange for all that equity, Northern Dynasty wanted First Quantum to get them money for permitting, and help the project materialize.

While that agreement was a good sign for the partnership, it wasn't a done deal. Instead, it represented what the company called a "framework agreement."

That agreement was based on what the companies hoped to accomplish, assuming that permitting would go smoothly. It didn't.

Instead, First Quantum saw a big backlash, as studies have continually questioned whether the proposed Pebble Mine could contaminate water runoff, destroying what many consider to be one of the most valuable salmon habitats in the country.

Opposition even came to the company's native Canada, where

opponents disrupted First Quantum’s annual general meeting in Toronto and took out a full-page ad in Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper vowing to continue fighting the project.

Now, following the announcement from the company that the deal is off, Northern Dynasty stock has fallen significantly, and opponents are rejoicing.

In Alaska, Bristol Bay Tribes celebrated the news. Robert Heyano, president of the board, said, "Our voices are being heard everywhere from our villages to the boardroom at First Quantum. Quyana (thank you) to First Quantum for listening to reason and divesting from this toxic project. No project is worth more than a culture or a way of life."

“First Quantum Minerals did the right thing. They listened to the people of Alaska and walked away from the Pebble Mine," Natural Resources Defense Council's western director, Joel Reynolds, said in a statement.

The NRDC hopes the decision will serve as a death sentence for the project. "It’s the wrong project in the wrong place, and today’s announcement is the latest proof that it’s a bad investment—financially, environmentally, and socially," Reynolds said.

Bonnie Gestring, a program director for Earthworks, said "First Quantum is the latest in a string of investors to recognize that it’s a bad idea to put North America’s largest open pit mine in the spawning grounds of the world’s largest remaining wild sockeye salmon fishery."

While First Quantum is not the first company to pull out of a deal on realizing Pebble Mine, many now question whether it could be the last.

The optioning agreement stipulated an annual cash injection of $37.5 million, recurring over four years for a total of $150 million total toward the permitting process.

Now, as time goes by without that money, it could become harder for the all-important permit to be obtained.

A spokesperson for Northern Dynasty Minerals told KTUU Friday morning that the announcement was still fresh and that the company was evaluating what it would mean moving forward. He said he could not comment on the future of the project at this time.