Northern Dynasty – Pebble core

ALASKA – Northern Dynasty Minerals of Vancouver is taking its wholly owned Pebble copper-gold project 380 km from Anchorage into the permitting stage. It must meet requirements under both the U.S. Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. Toward that end, the company has hired a regulatory consultant, HDR Alaska, to initiate the permitting process by the end of this year. HDR will undertake select environmental baseline field studies and analyses at Pebble, and will also provide strategic regulatory guidance for finalization of the engineering design, environmental planning and documentation required to file a CWA 404 permit application with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In 2014 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency used its veto power to shut down the Pebble project based on a third party’s report that mining would adversely impact the waters of Bristol Bay. Litigation on the matter was later turned over to a mediator, and earlier this year a U.S. Congressional committee called on the EPA to withdraw its veto. The Pebble deposit is gargantuan – with measured and indicated resources of 57 billion lb. of copper and 70 million oz. of gold in 6.44 billion tonnes. Complete details about the project are available at www.NorthernDynastyMinerals.com.