Northern Dynasty Minerals has announced that Anglo American Pebble LLC, a wholly owned US subsidiary of Anglo American has given notice under the Pebble limited partnership agreement that it is withdrawing from the Pebble copper project in Alaska. Northern Dynasty is a mineral exploration and development company based in Vancouver, Canada, which holds indirect interests in over 600 miles2 of mineral claims in southwest Alaska, USA. Northern Dynasty’s principal asset is the Pebble project, an advanced-stage initiative to develop one of the world’s most important mineral resources.
Mark Cutifani, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said: “Despite our belief that Pebble is a deposit of rare magnitude and quality, we have taken the decision to withdraw following a thorough assessment of Anglo American’s extensive pipeline of long-dated project options. Our focus has been to prioritise capital to projects with the highest value and lowest risks within our portfolio, and reduce the capital required to sustain such projects during the pre-approval phases of development as part of a more effective, value-driven capital allocation model.”
As of June 30, 2013, AA Pebble has funded $541 million of expenditure on the Pebble project. Following the AA Pebble withdrawal, PLP will proceed under the sole ownership of Northern Dynasty. In light of the parties’ shared desire to ensure an orderly exit, the detailed aspects of AA Pebble’s withdrawal from the Pebble project are being developed and implemented.
Northern Dynasty CEO Ron Thiessen commented “Northern Dynasty will again own 100% of one of the world’s most important copper and gold resources and will have the benefit of $541 million worth of expenditures, which opens the door to a number of exciting possibilities for Northern Dynasty and its shareholders and the Pebble Project and its stakeholders. Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Partnership have both the expertise and resources necessary to advance the Pebble project.”