Northern Dynasty Minerals reports that on September 20, 2012, the Pebble Ltd Partnership (PLP) surpassed one million feet (304,790 m) of core drilled at the Pebble project, one of the most important concentrations of copper, gold, molybdenum and silver in the world. The million foot milestone exemplifies the scope and scale of PLP’s many comprehensive technical and scientific work programs designed to fully understand the mineral resource, geological endowment and natural environment at Pebble. Located on Alaska state land designated for mineral exploration and development, the US Geological Survey has listed the Pebble resource lands as the most extensive mineralised system in the world.“Drilling to this footage is a milestone that very few projects achieve, and is indicative of the significance of the Pebble deposit and the extraordinary lengths to which Pebble is going to design a comprehensive mine plan at the highest level of confidence,” said Northern Dynasty President & CEO Ron Thiessen.

“Reaching one million feet is just one example of the Pebble Partnership’s methodical and ongoing efforts to advance intensive geological, environmental and engineering studies, and our continued belief in Pebble’s potential to become one of America’s great metal producers of the 21st century. It is also a reflection of the Pebble deposit’s importance as a globally significant resource of copper, gold, molybdenum and other key metals utilized by modern society.”

Since 1988, some 1,075 core holes have been drilled at Pebble. The one millionth foot of core comes from a mineralised granodiorite at a depth of 1,715 ft (523 m) in drill hole DDH-12551, where detailed hydrogeological monitoring within the Pebble deposit is ongoing. Equivalent to 305 km, the one million feet of core at Pebble includes drill programs led by Cominco (now Teck), Northern Dynasty and PLP.  The core drilling programs have been carried out across the Pebble property, with over 800,000 feet focused on exploration and delineation of the Pebble deposit as well as the collection of environment and engineering data related to its potential development.