Published: September 7, 2023 |

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Northern Dynasty Minerals has released an independent technical report and the preliminary economic assessment for its Pebble Project in Alaska.

“The proposed mine for the Pebble Project would provide good-paying, year-round employment for thousands of Alaskans, something desperately needed in Southwest Alaska. The mine would mean substantial tax revenues for Alaska, including contributions to the Alaska Permanent Fund, which will be important for the future economic sustainability of the region,” said Ron Thiessen, president and CEO of Northern Dynasty.

“New infrastructure developed to support the proposed project would offer the additional benefit of potentially lowering energy costs for the region. The July 2020 environmental impact statement of the Pebble Project (FEIS) states that the proposed mine can be developed and operated without harming the fishery, and so, with Alaska’s excellent track record of managing all its resources for the benefit of its people, it can have both the mine and the fishery,” added Thiessen.

The 2023 PEA was prepared to accomplish several objectives. The report is an independent review of the project that provides cost and price estimates to reflect current economic volatility. It includes an infrastructure plan that uses the southern route for project access as defined in the original permitting application for the Pebble Project. In addition, the 2023 PEA updates the status of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) final determination and United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) record of decision appeal processes.

The 2023 PEA provides production, financial, and cost estimates for a proposed 20-year, 180,000 tons per day (Tpd) open pit operation with conventional processing producing two concentrates for the Pebble Project in Southwest Alaska as described in the Pebble Project permit application and its amendments.

In June 2021, Pedro Bay Corporation (PBC) signed an agreement where a fund had obtained an option to buy portions of their land to create a conservation easement. PBC and the fund announced the exercise of the option in December 2022. While the Pebble Partnership has not explored the full range of options available to it with this announcement, its current assumption is that the northern route defined in the FEIS is no longer practicable and thus does not qualify as an alternative as defined by the Clean Water Act (CWA). Accordingly, the 2023 PEA analyzes the amended version of the southern transportation alternative proposed by the Pebble Partnership for the transportation route in its original 2017 permit application.

The total initial capital cost for the design, construction, installation, and commissioning of the proposed project is estimated to be $6.77 billion, which includes all direct and indirect costs, as well as a contingency. Northern Dynasty believes it is most likely that, if approved, the proposed project would be developed with partners who will provide the primary infrastructure (marine terminal, access road, ferry, natural gas pipeline, mine site power plant) in return for lease payments or tolls at rates which provide a return on investment to the developers of the infrastructure. The capital cost of this infrastructure which may be provided by third parties is estimated at $2.64 billion, which would reduce Northern Dynasty’s portion of the cash outlay required for construction. The financial results also include anticipated metal streaming, which would provide proceeds of approximately $1.2 billion towards the initial capital cost.

The 2023 PEA also evaluates potential mine expansion scenarios, which are presented to demonstrate optionality inherent in the polymetallic Pebble deposit and a possible pathway for future mine development. The study also assesses the potential of the future addition of a gold plant. Any future development option beyond the proposed project would require extensive federal, state, and local permitting processes and approvals before proceeding, which would be in addition to the initial permits and approvals required for the proposed project and, very importantly, in consultation with the people and communities of Western Alaska, as well as state agencies.

Northern Dynasty is a mineral exploration and development company based in Vancouver, Canada. Northern Dynasty’s principal asset, owned through its wholly owned Alaska-based U.S. subsidiary, Pebble Limited Partnership, is a 100 percent interest in a contiguous block of 1,840 mineral claims in Southwest Alaska, including the Pebble deposit, located 200 miles from Anchorage and 125 miles from Bristol Bay. The Pebble Partnership is the proponent of the Pebble Project, an initiative to develop one of the world’s most important mineral resources.

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