(Bloomberg) -- The Environmental Protection Agency is scrapping proposed restrictions on mining operations in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, dealing a victory to Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., which is hoping to tap a $100 billion gold deposit in the region.

The move does not guarantee the U.S. government will issue a permit for the company’s planned Pebble Mine. But the decision removes a major barrier to the project, which has been thwarted by Obama-era water pollution limitations proposed in 2014 but never finalized.