Northern Dynasty Minerals’ 100%-owned US subsidiary Pebble Limited Partnership has received notice of approval of a Miscellaneous Land Use Permit (MLUP) from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for its ongoing activities at the Pebble project in southwest Alaska.

Northern Dynasty’s principal asset, owned through its wholly-owned Alaska-based US subsidiary Pebble Limited Partnership and other wholly-owned subsidiaries, is a 100% interest in a contiguous block of 2,402 mineral claims in southwest Alaska, including the Pebble deposit. The Pebble Partnership is the proponent of the Pebble Project, an initiative to develop one of the world’s most important mineral resources.

“The Alaska Department of Natural Resources and other state agencies have had an active oversight presence at the Pebble Project site for more than a decade, and have confirmed that Pebble is a well-managed exploration project,” said Tom Collier, Pebble Partnership CEO. “We will continue our site operations in 2017 in full compliance with the State’s permit conditions, and in a manner that protects the broader public interest in the lands and resources surrounding the Pebble property.”

The Pebble Partnership is in the process of reviewing in detail the state land use permit received. However, Collier confirmed Pebble will be advancing a program of work in Alaska in 2017 to prepare the project to initiate permitting under the Clean Water Act and National Environmental Policy Act.

Given the extensive work undertaken at the Pebble Project over the past decade or more, and anticipated future activity, the 2017 MLUP includes a requirement for a performance guaranty in the amount of $2 million related to any potential reclamation liability.

The Pebble Partnership maintains an operations base in Iliamna, Alaska with full-time staff responsible for care and maintenance of Pebble Project equipment, facilities and installations. Each year, Pebble staff undertake a program of inspections, and where necessary make repairs to ensure public safety and enhance reclamation, at the 1,300+ borehole sites on the property.

The Pebble deposit is one of the greatest stores of mineral wealth ever discovered. The current resource estimate includes 6,440 Mt in the measured and indicated categories containing 57 billion lb copper, 70 Moz gold, 3.4 billion lb molybdenum and 344 Moz silver; and 4,460 Mt in the inferred category, containing 24.5 billion lb copper, 37 Moz gold, 2.2 billion lb molybdenum and 170 Moz silver. Quantities of palladium and rhenium also occur in the deposit.

Northern Dynasty reports key project strengths including:

• Mineral resource with the tonnes, grade, metallurgy and geometry to potentially support a modern, long-life mine
• One of the most extensive environmental databases ever assembled for a resource development project in America
• A stable and predictable regulatory environment in Alaska and the US
• Broad public support for responsible resource development in Alaska.