VANCOUVER, May 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Northern Dynasty
Minerals Ltd. (TSX: NDM; NYSE MKT: NAK) ("Northern Dynasty" or the
"Company") reports that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Alaska-based Pebble Limited Partnership ("Pebble
Partnership" or "PLP") announced today it has received commitments
from five prominent Alaskan and national figures to serve as
founding members of an Advisory Committee formed to provide
independent, external advice as the Pebble Project advances into
federal and state permitting.
In a statement issued in Alaska
today, the Pebble Partnership stated:
Last week, PLP finalized a settlement agreement with the US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that cleared the way for
Pebble to initiate permitting under the Clean Water Act and
National Environmental Policy Act. The Company is now
focused on finalizing a project design for the proposed copper,
gold and molybdenum mine in southwest Alaska and advancing into permitting in a
timely way.
"In our view, this is the ideal time to expand our engagement
with external parties to ensure the project we take into
permitting, and the various environmental safeguards and
partnership programs we build around that project, are as robust
and responsive to stakeholder needs as they can be," explained
Pebble CEO Tom Collier. "The Pebble
Advisory Committee we're announcing today is one of several key
initiatives we will be advancing this year to make Pebble the best
possible project for all our stakeholder audiences."
Founding members of the Pebble Advisory Committee are:
- Willie Hensley – a respected
Alaska Native leader, former Alaska legislator and current Visiting
Professor of Business and Public Policy at the University of Alaska;
- Kim Williams – former Executive
Director of Nunamta Aulukestai, Chief of the Curyung Tribal Council
and Bristol Bay Native Corporation director;
- Jim Maddy – former President of
the League of Conservation Voters and National Park Foundation, in
addition to other leadership roles in conservation
organizations;
- General Joseph Ralston – former
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whose tenure as a
military and government leader spans both Alaska and Washington, DC;
- Terrence 'Rock' Salt – former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the
US Army Corps of Engineers.
Terms of Reference for the Advisory Committee are simple.
Participants will have the latitude to request information about
and provide feedback on any dimension of the Pebble Project they
choose – including: engineering design; environmental safeguards,
programs and technology; alternatives assessment; environmental
impacts and mitigation; socioeconomic impacts; and programs to
enhance public benefits.
"'Although the Pebble Project has been a controversial
development proposal in Alaska for
a number of years, it also has the potential to make a significant
positive contribution to the economic health of the Bristol Bay
region and the State of Alaska,'
said Willie Hensley.
'I have always believed it is better for Alaska Natives and all
stakeholders in major development projects to have a seat at the
table and bring their influence to bear to shape those projects to
meet their needs and priorities. I have every confidence that the
leadership at PLP is serious about listening and finding ways to
honor the ideas and advice of this Advisory Committee, and other
Pebble Project stakeholders. I am also pleased by the
inclusion of Kim Williams, an
outspoken project opponent, because it demonstrates their sincerity
about listening.'"
Collier noted that Advisory Committee participants will not be
bound by confidentiality agreements or any other limitation on
their rights of public expression, including the right to oppose
development of the Pebble Project. He also confirmed that
participants have the option to accept or decline an honorarium to
compensate them for their time, as well as travel and related
expenses. The committee is expected to meet 2 – 3 times each year
in Alaska, in addition to more
frequent meetings via video- or teleconference, and review and
comment on reports and other technical information.
"Developing America's natural resources responsibly – in a
manner that protects important environmental values, respects other
land and resource users, and meaningfully benefits local people –
is clearly in the nation's best interests," said Jim Maddy. "But developers have to find a way to
do it with the trust and support of not just regulators, but the
people who use and live on and care about the land.
"It all begins with listening and sharing information. That's
what Pebble has expressed a willingness to do with this committee,
and that's why I agreed to be involved."
Among the first matters the Pebble Advisory Committee will
tackle is recruiting additional members from a range of stakeholder
constituencies. That work is expected to begin this spring, with
the goal of finalizing a 10-12 member group by mid-year.
For its part, the Pebble Partnership will undertake to adopt as
much input and guidance from committee members as it deems
practicable and appropriate, without being bound to do so. The work
of the Pebble Advisory Committee will be shared publicly with
project stakeholders and the people of Alaska, including those recommendations PLP
has adopted and those it has not.
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.northerndynasty.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
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.