Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd (NAK)

[Middleborder]

Joe Kaplan, rugh, all; Edgar filing

http://archive.fast-edgar.com/20210517/AEBOQ62CZ222KZZP22262ZZD5M6KZS22Z232/

May 17, 2021 Vancouver – Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (TSX: NDM; NYSE American: NAK) ("Northern Dynasty" or the "Company") President & CEO Ron Thiessen said recent targets set by the United States government for America’s transition to clean, renewable energy will drive a massive increase in domestic copper demand and consumption over the coming decade.

“For many reasons – including its cost, conductivity, ductility and durability – copper is an irreplaceable metal for renewable and low-carbon energy and electrification technologies,” Thiessen said, noting the volume of copper used per unit of energy output in renewable energy systems (or copper intensity) can be 2 – 5 times greater than in conventional energy generation.

“The US imports more than 35%1 of its annual consumption of refined copper today. When you consider the vast amounts of additional copper metal required to achieve both President Biden and US Congress’ climate change adaptation goals, as well as the American Jobs Plan mandate to bring associated manufacturing jobs home to the United States, the increase in demand over the next decade will be truly staggering.”

Among the renewable energy sources prioritized by the US government is offshore wind farms, for which President Biden set a target of developing 30,000 MW of new generating capacity by 2030. Achieving this goal, which would deliver enough renewable energy to power 10 million American homes, means the country must achieve a 7,000%-plus increase in its current offshore wind farm capacity in under a decade.

According to the International Energy Association (“IEA”), offshore wind is the most copper intensive source of mass energy generation – requiring an estimated eight tonnes of copper per megawatt of installed capacity (“t/MW”) versus 2.9 t/MW for onshore wind, 2.82 t/MW for solar, 1.47t/MW for nuclear, 1.15 t/MW for coal and 1.1 t/MW for natural gas2.

Recent precedents demonstrate that offshore wind installations can have even greater copper intensity than eight t/MW. For instance, Germany’s 450 MW Borkum Riffgrund 2 offshore wind farm, commissioned in 2019, utilizes almost 15 tonnes of copper per installed megawatt of capacity – a copper intensity that could be surpassed in future as wind farms are built further from shore.

“What these numbers tell us is the United States’ goal to transition from carbon-intensive energy derived from conventional sources such as coal and natural gas to renewable energy from clean sources such as wind and solar will drive a step change in the country’s copper consumption,” Thiessen said.

“Based on the President’s 30,000 MW offshore wind generation target alone, the United States will have to source an additional 240,000 to 450,000 tonnes of refined copper metal between now and 2030. That represents about one-quarter to one-half of the country’s current annual production.” SNIP

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