VANCOUVER, Jan. 15, 2014 /CNW/ - Northern Dynasty Minerals
Ltd. (TSX: NDM; NYSE MKT: NAK) ("Northern Dynasty" or the
"Company") acknowledges that the US Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) today released the final version of its Bristol Bay Watershed
Assessment (BBWA), an initiative launched in February 2011 to assess the effects of current
and potential future development on the natural resources of
Bristol Bay.
EPA released drafts of the watershed assessment
in May 2012 and April 2013 to widespread criticism about the
report's flawed methodology and findings, including from the
State of Alaska, Alaska Native
groups and expert Peer Reviewers commissioned by the federal
agency. Throughout the process of completing the BBWA, EPA has
repeatedly failed to meet its own guidelines and policies for
watershed assessments, risk assessment and peer review, and
violated the US Information Quality Act.
"Publication of the final watershed assessment
is really the final chapter in a very sad story," said Northern
Dynasty President & CEO Ron
Thiessen. "We believe EPA set out to do a flawed analysis of
the Pebble Project, and they certainly succeeded with both their
first and second drafts of the BBWA. We have every expectation that
the final report released today is more of the same."
Thiessen said the final BBWA report does not
include any recommendations or regulatory actions that will affect
future development of the Pebble Project.
"We look forward to defining a proposed
development plan for Pebble and to having it reviewed by federal
and state regulatory agencies under the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) in the months and years ahead," Thiessen said.
"We have every expectation that the Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) process required by NEPA, to be administered by the US Army
Corps of Engineers, will ultimately provide a much more rigorous,
fair and transparent review of the science surrounding this
important project."
About the Pebble Project
The Pebble Project is an initiative of the Pebble Partnership to
responsibly develop a globally significant copper, gold and
molybdenum deposit in southwest Alaska into a modern, long-life mine, which
will benefit not only the owner, but the people, culture and
industries of the State of Alaska,
as well as suppliers, consultants and industries in the Lower 48
United States of America.
A recent study authored by IHS Global Insight,
entitled The Economic and Employment Contributions of a
Conceptual Pebble Mine to the Alaska and United States Economies found
the Pebble Project has the potential to support 15,000 American
jobs and contribute more than $2.5
billion annually to US GDP over decades of production. The
IHS Global Insight study is available at
www.northerndynasty.com.
The Pebble Project is located 200 miles
southwest of Anchorage on state land designated for mineral
exploration and development. It is situated in a region of rolling
tundra approximately 1,000 feet above sea-level, 65 miles from
tidewater on Cook Inlet and presents favourable conditions for
successful mine site and infrastructure development.
About Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.
Northern Dynasty is a mineral exploration and development company
based in Vancouver, Canada, which
holds indirect interests in over 500 sq. miles of mineral claims in
southwest Alaska, USA. Northern
Dynasty's principal asset is the Pebble Project, an advanced-stage
initiative to develop one of the world's most important mineral
resources.
Ronald W.
Thiessen
President & CEO
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, especially those that address
estimated resource quantities, grades and contained metals, are
forward-looking statements because they are generally made on the
basis of estimation and extrapolation from a limited number of
drill holes and metallurgical studies. Although diamond drill hole
core provides valuable information about the size, shape and
geology of an exploration project, there will always remain a
significant degree of uncertainty in connection with these
valuation factors until a deposit has been extensively drilled on
closely spaced centers, which has occurred only in specific areas
on the Pebble Project. 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. 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, completion of
pre-feasibility and final feasibility studies, preparation of all
necessary engineering for underground workings 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 annual Form 40-F filing 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.