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Northern Dynasty: Pebble Partnership to challenge US Army Corps of Engineers’ finding that Compensatory Mitigation Plan for Alaska’s Pebble Project is non-compliant
December 17, 2020 Vancouver – Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (TSX: NDM; NYSE American: NAK) ("Northern Dynasty" or the "Company") believes the US Army Corps of Engineers’ (“USACE”) perfunctory rejection last month of the Compensatory Mitigation Plan (“CMP”) submitted for Alaska’s Pebble Project is emblematic of the lead federal agency’s recent permitting decision at Pebble, arguing it is contrary to law, unprecedented in Alaska and unsupported by the administrative record.
Northern Dynasty’s 100%-owned, US-based subsidiary Pebble Limited Partnership (the “Pebble Partnership”) is preparing a ‘request for appeal’ (“RFA”) with respect to the USACE’s November 25, 2020 issuance of a negative Record of Decision (“ROD”) for the proposed copper-gold-molybdenum-silver-rhenium mine. To be submitted in January 2021, the Pebble Partnership’s RFA is expected to argue, among other things, that the USACE’s mitigation requirements for Pebble are contrary to policy and precedent in Alaska, and the agency’s rejection of its CMP is both procedurally and substantively invalid.
“The US Army Corps of Engineers issued a finding this summer that Pebble would cause ‘significant degradation’ to aquatic resources in the project area, and on that basis issued mitigation requirements that were both extreme and unprecedented in Alaska,” said Northern Dynasty President & CEO Ron Thiessen. “Although we believe the USACE’s ‘significant degradation’ finding to be contrary to law and unsupported by the administrative record as established by the Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”), we set out in good faith to meet their demand for in-kind and in-watershed mitigation at a very high and unprecedented ratio for Alaska – and after a tremendous amount of professional effort and investment, we did it.
“For the USACE to summarily reject a CMP that is directly responsive to its requirements, to do it on the basis of what we believe to be largely minor and arbitrary deficiencies and without giving the proponent an opportunity to respond to those alleged deficiencies or otherwise amend its application is, we believe, without precedent in the long history of responsible resource development in Alaska.”
The Pebble Project as proposed would directly or indirectly impact 3,650 acres of wetlands and other water bodies, as well as 185 miles of streams. To compensate for these impacts, the Pebble Partnership proposed the creation of a 112,445 acre Koktuli Conservation Area (“KCA”) on state-owned land in the Koktuli watershed – thereby preserving 27,886 acres of wetlands, 1,174 acres of other waters and 814 miles (1,967 acres) of streams in the immediate vicinity of the Pebble Project.
The Pebble Partnership’s CMP was prepared in collaboration with HDR Alaska – the leading aquatic resources consulting firm in Alaska, whose experience spans the preparation of dozens of Clean Water Act-compliant compensatory mitigation plans for oil and gas, mining and other resource and infrastructure development projects in the state. Upon receiving the USACE’s mitigation demands, more than 20 wetland professionals and support staff were mobilized into a fly-in field camp in the Koktuli watershed this summer to map wetlands and waterbodies throughout the 112,445-acre Koktuli watershed conservation area and otherwise generate the technical data required to submit a compliant CMP.
More than 1,000 person-days of field work were spent this summer gathering baseline data and other technical information to meet the USACE’s mitigation requirements. In addition, the Pebble Partnership met with USACE officials to confirm its view that the proposed mitigation area would meet the USACE’s stated requirements for in-watershed and in-kind mitigation.
“We expended considerable financial and professional resources delivering exactly what the US Army Corps asked us to deliver on compensatory mitigation,” Thiessen said.
“I am very confident in saying I believe our CMP is both compliant with the Clean Water Act and fully responsive to the Corps’ demand. So we were shocked when they found our plan to be non-compliant, and even more so that they didn’t provide any opportunity to respond to alleged deficiencies.”
Thiessen said Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Partnership believe the vast majority of CMP deficiencies identified by the USACE after a negative ROD for the Pebble Project was announced are minor and arbitrary – including many implementation and documentation steps that are conventionally addressed after federal permits are issued. He noted that many of the USACE’s objections to Pebble’s CMP are contradicted by its acceptance of CMPs submitted for other Alaska-based resource development projects.
Although the Pebble Partnership met with USACE officials with respect to its proposed mitigation plan several times before submitting a final CMP, it claims the lead federal regulator never raised many of the objections that later became the basis for its rejection of the plan.
For instance, the USACE claimed in its rationale for finding Pebble’s CMP ‘non-compliant’ that the proponent failed to compensate for port-site impacts. In fact, the Pebble Partnership’s CMP clearly proposes to mitigate for the port site through inclusion of additional acres in the KCA.
“That the USACE never afforded Pebble an opportunity to respond to these minor gaps or to amend its CMP submission to address them is, in our view, procedurally invalid and incorrect,” Thiessen said. “It was our belief when we submitted the CMP that we’d met the regulatory requirements under the Clean Water Act and that remains our belief today.”
Northern Dynasty believes the federal agency’s demand for in-kind and in-watershed mitigation at very high ratio is unprecedented in Alaska, and contrary to both the USACE’s standard practice and a Memorandum of Agreement reached by the USACE and US Environmental Protection Agency in 2018.
“Having improperly imposed a more stringent mitigation standard on Pebble than any other development project in the state, we believe the USACE summarily rejected a CMP that demonstrably met the unprecedented high-bar it had set,” Thiessen said. “As I’ve said before, we believe the facts are on our side and we intend to pursue our appeal and other avenues with vigor and determination.”
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 U.S. subsidiary, Pebble Limited Partnership (“PLP”), is a 100% interest in a contiguous block of 2,402 mineral claims in southwest Alaska, including the Pebble deposit. PLP 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
US Media Contact:
Dan Gagnier
Gagnier Communications
(646) 569-5897
December 04, 2020 9:50 AM ET. Northern Dynasty Minerals is upgraded to super strong buy at Endut & Co. Reason: nak was a buy at $1. Now it's at 0.38 while nothing have changed. The mineral are still there, not even 1 lb less and nak still hold the mining right. Nothing have changed other than stock price. U got more bang for your buck at this level. Based on these, Endut & Co raised nak to super strong buy. Target : $1.50+
Northern Dynasty: Pebble Partnership prepares appeal of US Army Corps of Engineers’ Record of Decision on Alaska’s Pebble Project
December 3, 2020 Vancouver – Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (TSX: NDM; NYSE American: NAK) ("Northern Dynasty" or the "Company") reports that its 100%-owned, US-based subsidiary Pebble Limited Partnership (the “Pebble Partnership”) is preparing a comprehensive and substantive ‘request for appeal’ (“RFA”) with respect to the US Army Corps of Engineers’ (“USACE”) issuance last week of a negative Record of Decision (“ROD”) for the proposed Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum-silver-rhenium mine in southwest Alaska.
The ROD issued by the lead federal regulator for Alaska’s Pebble Project on November 25, 2020 denied the project a ‘dredge and fill’ permit under the Clean Water Act on the grounds that its ‘compensatory mitigation plan’ (“CMP”) is non-compliant and the project is not in the ‘public interest.’ The Pebble Partnership has 60 days to submit its application for administrative appeal to the USACE’s Pacific Ocean Division Engineer headquartered in Hawaii.
“We will take a significant proportion of the time allotted to us to complete an exhaustive review of the administrative record pertinent to the Pebble Project Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) and ROD, to prepare a comprehensive and substantive appeal and submit an RFA to the Division Engineer,” said Ron Thiessen, Northern Dynasty President & CEO.
“It is our view that this decision, the process by which it was reached and the facts upon which it is based stand as a significant outlier from standard USACE precedent and practice. We believe there is a sound basis for this permitting decision to be overturned.”
Thiessen confirmed that Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Partnership intend to challenge the USACE’s permitting decision on procedural, substantive and legal grounds. Among the substantive issues to be raised is Northern Dynasty’s contention that the ROD – and, in particular, the Public Interest Review (”PIR”) findings upon which it is based – are fundamentally unsupported by the Pebble Project EIS.
Under US regulatory law, permitting decisions for major development projects must be based on an ‘administrative record’ – which, in Pebble’s case, includes the Final EIS published by the USACE in July 2020.
When it comes to Pebble’s potential economic benefits, water quality impacts, effects on subsistence fishing and hunting opportunities, the likelihood and consequence of a catastrophic tailings storage facility failure, among other issues, Northern Dynasty believes the USACE has based its permitting decision on a PIR that is wholly inconsistent with, and at times diametrically opposed to, findings in the Final EIS.
On the Pebble Project’spotential ‘economic contribution’ to the Bristol Bay region and State of Alaska:
• in supporting documents for its ROD, the USACE claims the Pebble Project’s economic benefits are “speculative” and “would be primarily received by the private applicant”;
• in the Final EIS, the USACE forecast Pebble would make a significant positive contribution to state and local government tax revenues and a profound socioeconomic contribution to the Bristol Bay region:
“An estimated $64 million annually in state corporate taxes during the operations phase. It was estimated that the operations phase could also generate $41 million annually from State mining license taxes. The project could generate $20 million annually (in 2011 dollars) in state royalty payments during the operations phase.” (4.3-11)
“The project would generate $25 million annually in state taxes through construction, and $84 million annually in state taxes and royalty payments during the operations phase. The project would generate $27 million annually in severances taxes for the LPB during operations, and annual property tax revenue to the Kenai Peninsula Borough based on assessed value of project-related real property.” (ES 47-48)
“Local employment opportunities could offset current trends of outmigration in some communities and provide service fee revenue to maintain or even improve community infrastructure.” (4.3-6-4.3-7)
“In addition, an increased revenue stream to the LPB (Lake & Peninsula Borough), along with stabilization of population levels attributable to employment opportunities, could result in improvements to community health care facilities throughout the borough.” (4.3-8)
On the Pebble Project’s potential effects on ‘water quality’:
• in supporting documents for its ROD, the USACE claims Pebble would “cause water quality degradation”;
• in the Final EIS, the USACE found the Pebble Project would protect downstream water quality:
“…permit stipulation requires treated water quality monitoring, to ensure discharged water meets applicable water quality criteria. Assuming these protections are adopted, direct and indirect impacts of treated contact waters to off-site surface water are not expected to occur.” (ES-70)
“There would be no effects on any community groundwater or surface water supplies from the changes in groundwater flows at the mine site.” (ES 67)
“With few exceptions, predicted changes in habitat in the modeled portion of the upper mainstem Koktuli River (upstream of the Swan River) are near zero or positive, suggesting that project effects from flow changes would not negatively impact reaches downstream of the NFK and SFK confluence, or in UTC.” (4.24-13)
On the Pebble Project’s potential effects on ‘subsistence fishing and hunting’:
• in supporting documents for its ROD, the USACE claims Pebble would lead to “reduced subsistence opportunities”;
• in the Final EIS, the USACE found the Pebble Project would have no impact on subsistence fishing and hunting opportunities:
“Overall, impacts to fish and wildlife would not be expected to impact harvest levels. Resources would continue to be available because no population level decrease in resources would be anticipated.” (ES 51)
On the likelihood and consequence of a ‘catastrophic tailings storage facility failure’:
• in supporting documents for its ROD, the USACE found that in “the event of human failure and/or a catastrophic event (at Pebble), the commercial and/or subsistence (fisheries) resources would be irrevocably harmed.”;
• in the Final EIS, the USACE found that, based on the engineering design submitted for the Pebble tailings storage facility, it could not establish a failure mechanism that would lead to a catastrophic failure. Accordingly, it did not model the effects of catastrophic failure that would require a “lengthy causal chain of unlikely events.” (EIS 100)
“The Applicant’s bulk TSF design is different than that of most other historic and current TSFs. The proposed design is especially distinct when compared to most historic mines that have experience large failures.” (K4.27-4)
Following receipt of an RFA, the USACE will have 30 days to notify the Pebble Partnership as to whether the appeal is complete. If complete, a Review Officer will be appointed and an appeal conference held between the parties within 60 days of receipt of the Pebble Partnership’s RFA.
USACE guidelines indicate the federal agency’s administrative appeal should conclude within 90 days.
“We believe the Pebble Project as proposed can meet the high environmental standards enforced in the Clean Water Act and other federal statutes, including co-existing with the world-class subsistence, commercial and sport fisheries of Bristol Bay,” Thiessen said. “Perhaps more importantly in the near-term, we believe the findings of the Record of Decision released by the USACE last week are both inconsistent with, and in places wholly contradictory to, the administrative record established for federal permitting decisions at Pebble by the Final EIS published in July 2020.
“We believe the facts are on our side, and we intend to pursue every avenue of appeal available to the Company with vigor and determination.”
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 U.S. subsidiary, Pebble Limited Partnership (“PLP”), is a 100% interest in a contiguous block of 2,402 mineral claims in southwest Alaska, including the Pebble deposit. PLP 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
Agree. Hope for the best, plan for the worst. So, configure cost structure for a potentially protracted fight. Dilution should be out of the question considering the cash on hand. If it materializes, that would be a huge scar, and call for executive assessment.
amazing how the USACE changed its position the minute Hobbie was replaced by Delarosa! Read this post from a couple months back:
U.S. Army Corps poised to recommend approval of Alaska's Pebble Mine
By Yereth Rosen
2 MIN READ
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is poised to give its blessing later this week to an Alaska copper and gold mining project the Obama administration tried to block because of concerns it could harm the state’s salmon industry.
A final environmental impact statement (EIS) recommending development of Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd’s Pebble Mine will be released on Friday, with a notice scheduled to be published in the Federal Register, Dave Hobbie, regulatory chief for the Army Corps’s Alaska District, said in a Monday telephone news conference.
Release of the final EIS would mark a dramatic reversal in a nearly two-decade saga over a project that is widely opposed by Alaskans, especially those in the Bristol Bay region.
Hobbie said the Army Corps will make a final permit decision no earlier than 30 days after the release of the final EIS. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-alaska-mine/u-s-army-corps-poised-to-recommend-approval-of-alaskas-pebble-mine-idUSKCN24L2UC
Replay of excellent Ron Thiessen presentation on December 1, 2020:
Ron Thiessen is speaking in a few minutes at: https://journey.ct.events/view/2f567bdf-a617-435e-9a46-fee0b8ceefed
1. Question: I see a bunch of proposed litigations against NAK.
What would happen if a bunch of us (NAK shareholders) sued Col. Delarosa for monetary losses caused by his "Negligent Dereliction of Duty" in ignoring the FEIS facts, which are to be his sole basis in fact for issuance of his ROD?
If ten of us put up a thousand or two, maybe we could get something going?
Is this a possibility? At the very least, it would give visibility to the FACT that the ROD contradicts the FEIS.
Col. Delarosa is new to the Alaska Department, replaced Col. David Hibner on Aug. 14, 2020.
Hibner may have been (probably was) replaced due to political pressure from Murkowski and Sullivan because he was prepared to issue a positive ROD to NAK.
2. I understand that the switch from an Iliamna Barge Crossing to the Northern Land Road Route came out as a preferred choice during discussions with the USACE. If they encouraged it, and then said, "woops...this is horrible...your CMP must include donation of the rest of the planet in perpetuity...!!!" that's a problem! Makes zero sense. This ROD process is supposed to support responsible provision of the USA's needs (minerals and jobs) not place roadblocks; and be based on science, not subjective political opinions (Murkowski, Sullivan, North, Obama, NRDC, Delarosa). So, maybe a return to the Iliamna Barge Route was a better choice?
This really SMELLS a lot like the Obama/Phillip North/Bob Gillam CRAP!
Letter to public.affairs3@usace.army.mil: Hello,
Is there any chance that you forgot to read the Pebble Project FEIS prior to your flawed ROD?
Your ROD not only ignores the findings, it is in direct contradiction.
It verifies, as an issue of FACT, that the Pebble mine can be built and operated safely and to the huge benefit to the residents of Alaska, as well as the USA.
The mitigations that the USCOE are demanding are unfair, excessive, and were a hint of the entry of politics into what is by definition, a rule-of-law process based on FACT and SCIENCE.
The disallowance of the submitted NAK mitigations is neither objective, nor based on fact. It instead appears to be a weak, misguided, politically derived document...and as such is reversible (vs. fact, which is irreversible). Mud can be stirred all day, but until it hardens, it's just mud.
The USCOE has lost what was previously a respected adherence to the rule of law.
Just like so many US institutions of peace and governance. This one goes right on that trendline...for now.
But, in this case, because of the tenacity-on-steroids of T.C., J.S. and the rest of the exceptional Northern Dynasty Minerals stalwarts (resolute, determined, committed, unfaltering) the USCOE will not get away with this. You may have won a battle for your sponsors of this travesty of justice, but you are far, far from winning the war.
Don't kid yourself. The Bundrant's are no friend of NAK. "While the Canadian company was eager to extract riches from the ground, Chuck Bundrant, the billionaire founder of Trident Seafoods was apparently concerned about how the mine would affect his ability to extract riches from the sea. On August 24, the Trump administration changed tack, demanding that the mining firm fulfill a series of strict conditions to offset potential environmental issues.
Three days later Trump Victory, a joint-fundraising committee for the Republican Party and the president, received a combined $75,000 donation from Bundrant, his wife, and his adult son, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission. The Bundrants, who had given to Republicans in the past but never to Trump, made their first contributions to the president.
Chuck Bundrant has been fishing the Alaskan waters since 1961, and today has a fleet of 41 vessels that trawl frigid seas and 16 processing plants, mainly spread across the Pacific Northwest. As far north as an island chain 750 miles from Anchorage, his family’s Trident Seafoods employs some 5,000 during peak season in Alaska to wrangle in all the salmon, cod and halibut their nets can hold. They are the main supplier to national fast food chains, including McDonald’s, Burger King and Long John Silvers, whom Bundrant secured in the 1980s with Alaskan pollock, which he was able to sell more cheaply than the more commonly used cod. Forbes estimates sales of the closely held private company at roughly $2 billion, and Bundrant a billionaire, worth $1.3 billion."
So, if you follow the money, a top 10 contributor to Lisa Murkowski's "gravy train" is Trident Seafoods ($2.6 bil. ann. rev.) and low and behold, Trident Seafoods JUST HAPPENS HAPPENS TO HAVE OPERATIONS IN CHINA. So, if you are wondering how an Alaska "public servant" can oppose a solution for $12/gallon milk, $.40/kw electricity, no jobs, ultimate poverty, and population exit from bankrupt SW Alaska...well, you don't need to look too hard. Follow the money. If you are a supporter and respecter of "rule of law" in what used to be the UNITED states of america, figure out how to object to YOUR US House of Representatives elected officials, tell them each that you want them to honor the established Rule-of-Law permitting processes in the US, and keep politics out of the ultimate Pebble Project permitting decision!
Updated Fact sheet is up at: https://www.northerndynastyminerals.com/investors/fact-sheet/
Who bought 5.5 M shares the close yesterday?
But, as of 7:30 AM CST Trump leads by <1% in MI, and by just over 1% in NC; so hanging in the balance. Those 2 states are going to decide this.
Recalculated: As long as Trump carries MI,PA,NC,GA,AK he's at 283. If also WI then 293.
So at 5:47 AM CST Trump (213 EV's) needs 57 EV's to hit 270. If he wins MI (16), PA (20), GA (16), WI (10) that's 62 and he wins. Doesn't need the only 2 states where Biden is ahead (NV and AZ). So, final EV's should end up Trump 275, Biden 244. Correct?
Margie, could you share your valuable insights and info also over at https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NAK/community?p=NAK I think a lot of folks there would also really appreciate your insight, and fair opinions. Thank you.
Donny Trump Jr. also said, "One little (Pebble) slip, and it will eliminate an entire species (salmon)." Donny just earned the title, "Poster Boy of Dis-information". He just permanently lost all credibility, destroyed whatever future career in politics or anything else he may have hoped for (other than a job w/Gore, or the NRDC). too bad, but Donny is done.
Annual production is estimated at:
Copper $1.0 Bil.
Gold: $.47 Bil
Silver: $.03 Bil
Moly: $.02 Bil
Total $1.52 bil
Re: Recent negative inaccurate Bloomberg / Earhworks article:
On initial review of the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP) claims and the technical opinion provided by paid Pebble opponent David Chambers, we note that if Northern Dynasty (NDM) has never disclosed the total volume of mineralized material to be processed at Pebble over 20 years of mining as JCAP has alleged, how is this figure so accurately reported in the JCAP complaint?
It is absolutely disingenuous and incorrect for JCAP to allege that NDM has never disclosed the volume of mineralized material at Pebble to be processed over the 20 years of mine operations proposed in its current permitting application.
It is also disingenuous and incorrect for JCAP to allege that Northern Dynasty has sought to mislead investors about the proportion of Pebble's total mineral resource to be developed over 20 years of mining. We have been clear and consistent that the permit application currently being evaluated by the US Army Corps of Engineers only seeks to develop a portion of the total Pebble mineral resource.
Northern Dynasty has not had an opportunity to fully review and respond to JCAP's allegations. However, on initial review we find them to be baseless and untrue, and meant only to damage the reputation of Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.
For background:
It is very clear that Northern Dynasty has consistently disclosed the volume of mineralized material to be processed at Pebble over the proposed 20-year mine life since initiating the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) permitting process in late 2017.
On page 12 of the Project Description filed with the US Army Corps of Engineers as part of the federal permitting process we explicitly state the following:
“The Project will mine approximately 1.3 billion tons of mineralized material (measured, indicated,
and inferred) over the 20-year mine life containing 7.4 billion pounds of copper, 398 million
pounds of molybdenum, and 12.1 million ounces of gold. The metal content of the reported total
resource and the 20-year open pit is presented in Table 1-1.”
In addition slide 11 in the 'Corporate Presentation' document housed on the Northern Dynasty website in the 'Investors' section (see https://www.northerndynastyminerals.com/investors/presentations/) clearly specifies that Pebble, as proposed, will process 180,000 tons per day of mineralized material over a 20-year mine life. This totals to 1.3 billion tons, which is precisely the number JCAP cites on p. 2 of its letter to the SEC and BCSC.
Be aware that the NRDC is about nasty work. Be sure to let people know how it operates. The NRDC had a lot to do with First Quantum bailing on their NAK commitment.
https://www.biggreenradicals.com/group/natural-resources-defense-council/
Dear Sirs,
I am writing in support of the Pebble mine project for three simple reasons, all obvious and self-evident:
1. Modern civilization requires copper. When one says it’s not necessary via the smart phone in their hand, they’re not very smart.
2. Each viable source of copper blocked from development in a developed country simply pushes mine development down to an underdeveloped 3rd world country.
3. Underdeveloped 3rd World countries have far fewer environmental and human protections than developed countries, and so catastrophic environmental and human suffering is an order of magnitude worse.
The selfish NIMBY (not in my back yard) attitudes of those opposing Pebble are parochial, narrow-minded, and un-grounded environmentally.
Please stick to the rule of law, the solid science of safe resource development, and expedite Pebble’s development as fully as you possibly can.
Hey FCX, here's some #'s to consider regarding buyout of the Northern Dynasty Pebble Mine Project (current market cap of NAK is just $302 million:
A similar story is a property acquired by First Quantum with similar infrastructure requirements.
First Quantum bought Inmet Mining through a hostile takeover a few years (late 2012 early 2013) ago for 4.8 billion dollars. Inmet Mining’s main asset was the Cobre Panama deposit As a result of the takeover First Quantum acquired 80% of the Cobre Panama deposit. The Cobre Panama deposit was similar to the Pebble deposit with copper, gold , moly, and silver reserves. It had at that time 4.2 billion tons of measured and indicated resources. Pebble has 6.5 billion tons of measured and indicated resources. If you do the math the First Quantum acquisition cost for Inmet would be equivalent to an acquisition cost for Northern Dynasty at 100% of $9.29 billion or approx. $25.66 per fully diluted shares (362 million). If they partner again for $1.5 billion for 50%, this would imply a value of at least $3 billion for NAK or $8.28 per share.
This is a huge upside potential from where the stock price stands now but it is only a small fraction of the potential for this immensely strategic deposit. The deposit east of the graben fault has only one core sample associated with it. It measured 1.98% CuEQ over 289 meters implying that the Pebble deposit might extend significantly eastward and may contain as much or more copper, gold, moly and silver than that already reported. If this wasn’t enough, there are several other potentially significant areas as large as Pebble on their lease that haven’t been significantly explored. Whoever acquires Pebble will have resources that could last well over 100 years of mining, providing immense economic benefits to Alaska as well as the rest of the United States.
I can't believe Freeport isn't after NAK. They need a Tier 1 copper play, and Pebble is the most opportunity for the least $$ in N America (where somewhat of a rule of law exists). I'm selling my FCX is they don't jump on a "Pebble Scale" one pretty soon.
Hello Freeport, are you there? The Alaskan Pebble Project (NAK) just released their DEIS! The mine is a "go". A true Tier 1 copper play, and still DIRT CHEAP! Come on. Get some new blood (copper) in your vains! Or, I'm gone (as an investor).
Well, on Feb 6, 2017 NAK hit $3.60 on the premise of a partner financing the permitting process. Since that time, generally speaking, many variables are more positive. Largest negative is copper $$, but easy to see it pop in < a year. We may not see that price for six months, but within that time frame is likely. IMO
Rainy Rivers make gold grow!
A new leaf for New Gold! Very exciting to see Rainy River up and running...25k oz AU / mo. Q4 is right on target, and exactly what we needed to see. Good job, congratulations to the new leadership.
According to NAK, it is "...in full compliance with disclosure and permitting laws. Period!"