Northern Dynasty: Permitting for Southwest Alaska’s Pebble Project remains on track 2017 settlement agreement provides clear path for project review and permitting
Northern Dynasty: Permitting for Southwest Alaska’s Pebble Project remains on track
2017 settlement agreement provides clear path for project review and permitting
January 2 6, 2018 Vancouver– Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (TSX: NDM; NYSE MKT: NAK) ("Northern
Dynasty" or the "Company") confirms the Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) permitting process for
Southwest Alaska’s Pebble Project continues to advance under the guidance of lead federal agency, the US
Army Corps of Engineers (“the Corps”).
“The settlement agreement that the Pebble Partnership entered into with the US Environmental Protection
Agency (“EPA”) last year provides Pebble an unfettered opportunity to proceed through normal course
permitting under the Clean Water Act and National Environmental Policy Act ,” said Northern Dynasty
President & CEO Ron Thiessen. “We have every confidence that Pebble’s ultimate project design will meet
the rigorous environmental st andards enforced in Alaska and the US , and that the EIS permitting process
initiated by the Corps this month will demonstrate that compliance through an open, objective, transparent
and science-driven review.”
Under the terms of a May 2017 settlement agreement reached between Northern Dynasty’s 100% -owned
subsidiary Pebble Limited Partnership and the US EPA, the federal agency agreed it will not advance any
action under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act until a final EIS for the Pebble Project has been completed
– so long as that occurs within four years of the settlement agreement and Pebble files permit applications
within 30 months of the settlement agreement. Earlier this month, the Corps accepted as complete a CWA
404 permit application submitted by the Pebble Partnership in December 2017, and has initiated the EIS
permitting process.
Northern Dynasty acknowledged a statement issued today by the EPA that indicates the federal agency will
continue to support Pebble’s due process rights as agreed in th e settlement, though it has suspended
withdrawal of a pre-emptive regulatory action under CWA 404(c) initiated at Pebble in July 2014.
“We expect the permitting process for Pebble to advance expeditiously over the next few years, and that a
draft and final EIS will be completed upon which final permitting decisions for the Pebble Project will be
made,” Thiessen said. “Ultimately, we believe the Pebble EIS will describe a project that protects clean water
and the world-class fisheries of Bristol Bay, and presents the opportunity for substantial economic benefits
for the people of the region and the state. We’d encourage all Alaskans and all interested stakeholders to
participate fully in the thorough, objective and rigorous review of the Pebble Project.”
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.
For further details on Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Project, please visit the Company's website at
www.northerndynastyminerals.com or contact Investor services at (604) 684-6365 or within North America
at 1-800-667-2114. Review Canadian public filings at www.sedar.com and US public filings at www.sec.gov.
Ronald W. Thiessen
President & CEO
-2-
Canadian Media Contact:
Ian Hamilton
DFH Public Affairs
(416) 206-0118 x.222
US Media Contact:
Dan Gagnier
Gagnier Communications
(646) 569-5897
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, the outcome of litigation or the
completion of the transactions referenced above.
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 a partnering transaction is subject to
risks related to the satisfactory comp letion of due diligence and negotiations, including finalization of definitive agreements and
fulfilment of conditions precedent therein, including receipt of all necessary approvals. Such process may not be successful ly
completed or completed on terms satisfactory to the Company. The likelihood of future mining at the Pebble Project 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 is subject to a large number of risks, including government actions 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 objectiv es
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 C ommission and its
home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com