VANCOUVER, May 6, 2014 /CNW/ - Northern Dynasty Minerals
Ltd. (TSX: NDM) (NYSE MKT: NAK) ("Northern Dynasty" or the
"Company") reports that the Office of the Inspector General ("IG")
of the US Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") has announced it
will investigate EPA conduct in preparing 'An Assessment of
Potential Mining Impacts on Salmon Ecosystems of Bristol Bay,
Alaska' (the "Bristol Bay
Assessment" or the "Assessment").
Northern Dynasty has submitted three letters to
the EPA Inspector General since January
2014 raising serious issues of bias, process irregularities
and collusion with environmental organizations in the federal
agency's preparation of the Bristol Bay Assessment.
Yesterday, in response to congressional and other requests, the
IG's office announced its plans to "begin preliminary research to
determine whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
adhered to laws, regulations, policies and procedures in developing
its assessment of potential mining impacts in Bristol Bay,
Alaska."
"While the documents we've received to date
through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests are sparse and
heavily redacted, they paint the picture of an agency launching a
'watershed assessment' to justify a pre-determined outcome," said
Northern Dynasty President & CEO Ron
Thiessen. "We are thankful that the IG's office has
initiated this action, and hopeful that EPA's failure to conduct an
objective, transparent and defensible scientific investigation will
ultimately come to light."
Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Limited
Partnership ("Pebble Partnership" or "PLP") have called on EPA to
suspend the regulatory process under Section 404(c) of the Clean
Water Act that it initiated on February 28, 2014. Despite the
absence of a proposed development plan, EPA is threatening to take
pre-emptive action to either veto or restrict development at Pebble
- citing the Assessment as the principal evidentiary basis for its
actions.
Northern Dynasty, the Pebble Partnership and the
State of Alaska have encouraged
EPA to wait for the submission of a proposed development plan for
the Pebble Project and to participate in the federal and state
permitting process under the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), including the preparation of a comprehensive Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS), before taking any regulatory action.
"Not only does EPA not have the statutory
authority to undertake pre-emptive action at Pebble, they are
threatening to do so based on a flawed study that is now the
subject of an investigation by their own agency," Thiessen said.
"There is absolutely no reason for EPA to press on with its
pre-emptive regulatory process for Pebble when, by its own
admission, an EIS process under NEPA will provide a more
comprehensive, definitive and robust assessment of the true effects
of mineral development in southwest Alaska."
To view the Pebble Partnership's April 29, 2014 submission to EPA, which includes
copies of submission letters to the Office of the EPA Inspector
General, visit
www.northerndynastyminerals.com/ndm/Pebble_Bristol_Bay_Watershed_Assessment.asp.
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 2013 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. Northern Dynasty's principal asset is the Pebble
Project in southwest Alaska, USA,
an advanced-stage initiative to develop one of the world's most
important mineral resources.
Ronald W.
Thiessen
President & CEO
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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.