NORTHERN DYNASTY MINING

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Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.: Metallurgical Samples for Feasibility Studies Shipped from Pebble Gold-Copper-Molybdenum Deposit, Alaska
Monday November 22, 10:00 am ET

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 22, 2004--Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:NDM - News; AMEX:NAK - News)

Ronald W. Thiessen, President and CEO of Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. is pleased to announce that approximately 85 tons of samples from 27 recently-completed PQ (3.35-inch diameter) and HQ (2.5-inch diameter) drill holes in the Pebble gold-copper molybdenum deposit have been shipped to SGS Lakefield Research Limited ("Lakefield") in Ontario, Canada for metallurgical test work. The core logging and staging site is located south of the Pebble Property near Iliamna in southwestern Alaska. A photograph of the samples at the staging site is posted on the Company's website.

Lakefield is one of the world's pre-eminent metallurgical laboratories for the determination of production-scale mill design criteria. At Lakefield's research facilities, the drill core will be prepared into a number of composite samples for testing variability in the crushing, grinding and processing properties of the mineralization and different rock types in the Pebble deposit. These composites will be selected to accurately define the metallurgical variances across the deposit in rock masses of sufficient tonnage to impact daily, monthly and yearly production schedules. These detailed studies will provide a thorough understanding of the Pebble deposit in terms of power requirements for crushing and grinding as well as the expected metal recoveries and product quality during flotation. All reject products from the process will be characterized for the most suitable manner of disposal so that appropriate conventional waste management facilities can be designed.

The Company's metallurgical consultants assessed the amount of material required for the planned test work. The 85 tons of material shipped is considered to be an adequate tonnage to allow for accurate definition of the metallurgical characteristics of the Pebble deposit and will permit the metallurgical testing to closely resemble what would be encountered in the actual full-scale operation.

These metallurgical studies are part of ongoing testing of drill core material that has been underway since mid 2004. Work on the new composite samples will commence upon receipt by Lakefield, and is expected to continue through the first quarter of 2005. Planning and design of the crushing and grinding circuits for the Project is being directed by Mr. Derek Barratt, P.Eng., and development of the flotation process is under the direction of Dr. Morris Beattie, P.Eng., both of whom are Qualified Persons as defined under National Instrument 43-101.

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 [phone] or within North America at 1-800-667-2114. Review Northern Dynasty's Canadian public filings at www.sedar.com and US public filings at www.sec.gov.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Ronald W. Thiessen, President and CEO