VANCOUVER, April 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Northern
Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (TSX: NDM; NYSE MKT: NAK) ("Northern Dynasty"
or the "Company") announces that its 100%-owned US subsidiary
Pebble Limited Partnership ("Pebble Partnership") has received
notice of approval of a Miscellaneous Land Use Permit ("MLUP") from
the Alaska Department of Natural Resources ("DNR") for its ongoing
activities at the Pebble Project in southwest Alaska.
"The Alaska Department of Natural Resources and other state
agencies have had an active oversight presence at the Pebble
Project site for more than a decade, and have confirmed that Pebble
is a well-managed exploration project," said Tom Collier, Pebble Partnership CEO. "We will
continue our site operations in 2017 in full compliance with the
State's permit conditions, and in a manner that protects the
broader public interest in the lands and resources surrounding the
Pebble property."
The Pebble Partnership is in the process of reviewing in detail
the state land use permit received today. However, Collier
confirmed Pebble will be advancing a program of work in
Alaska in 2017 to prepare the
project to initiate permitting under the Clean Water Act and
National Environmental Policy Act.
Given the extensive work undertaken at the Pebble Project over
the past decade or more, and anticipated future activity, the 2017
MLUP includes a requirement for a performance guaranty in the
amount of $2 million related to any
potential reclamation liability.
The Pebble Partnership maintains an operations base in
Iliamna, Alaska with full-time
staff responsible for care and maintenance of Pebble Project
equipment, facilities and installations. Each year, Pebble staff
undertake a program of inspections, and where necessary make
repairs to ensure public safety and enhance reclamation, at the
1,300+ borehole sites on the property.
About Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.
Northern Dynasty is a mineral exploration and development
company based in Vancouver,
Canada. Northern Dynasty's principal asset, owned through
its wholly-owned Alaska-based US
subsidiary Pebble Limited Partnership and other wholly-owned
subsidiaries, is a 100% interest in a contiguous block of 2,402
mineral claims in southwest Alaska, including the Pebble deposit. The
Pebble Partnership is the proponent of the Pebble Project, an
initiative to develop one of the world's most important mineral
resources.
Marchand Snyman
Chief Financial Officer
Forward Looking Information and other
Cautionary Factors
This release includes certain statements that may
be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this
release, other than statements of historical facts, that address
exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or
developments that the Company expects are forward-looking
statements. Although the Company believes the expectations
expressed in its forward-looking statements are based on reasonable
assumptions, such statements should not be in any way construed as
guarantees of the ultimate size, quality or commercial feasibility
of the Pebble Project or of the Company's future performance or the
outcome of litigation. Assumptions used by the Company to develop
forward-looking statements include the following: the Pebble
Project will obtain all required environmental and other permits
and all land use and other licenses, studies and development of the
Pebble Project will continue to be positive, and no geological or
technical problems will occur. The likelihood of future
mining at the Pebble Project is subject to a large number of risks
and will require achievement of a number of technical, economic and
legal objectives, including obtaining necessary mining and
construction permits, approvals, licenses and title on a timely
basis and delays due to third party opposition, changes in
government policies regarding mining and natural resource
exploration and exploitation, the final outcome of any litigation,
completion of pre-feasibility and final feasibility studies,
preparation of all necessary engineering for surface or underground
mining and processing facilities as well as receipt of significant
additional financing to fund these objectives as well as funding
mine construction. Such funding may not be available to the Company
on acceptable terms or on any terms at all. There is no known ore
at the Pebble Project and there is no assurance that the
mineralization at the Pebble Project will ever be classified as
ore. The need for compliance with extensive environmental and
socio-economic rules and practices and the requirement for the
Company to obtain government permitting can cause a delay or even
abandonment of a mineral project. The Company is also subject to
the specific risks inherent in the mining business as well as
general economic and business conditions. For more information on
the Company, Investors should review the Company's filings with the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission and its home
jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com.
SOURCE Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.