Partnership to spend $140 million in 2008 on Alaska mine

Northern Dynasty [AMEX:NAK; TSX:NDM] and Anglo American [Nasdaq:AAUK; LSE:AAL] have set a budget of more than $140 million this year for work on the Pebble project, according to a joint statement on Monday.

More than $61 million will be spent on the drilling program to test for the full extent of the Pebble East deposit; more than $30 million will be spent on engineering; another nearly $25 million will go toward an environmental study program; nearly $15 million will be spent on a public education program to increase support for the mine.

The environmental baseline document is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2009, and will be used to evaluate various mine design alternatives prior to the submission of a proposed development plan for permitting.

And there lies the challenge. Environmental opposition has plagued the project since its inception. Read RI’s most recent coverage.

April 21, 2008, Vancouver, BC - Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. ("Northern Dynasty" or the "Company") (TSX: NDM; AMEX: NAK) reports on progress made toward 2008 technical and corporate objectives to advance the Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum project, located in southwestern Alaska, USA.

In mid 2007, Northern Dynasty and Anglo American plc ("Anglo American") established an Alaska-based partnership (Pebble Limited Partnership) to engineer, permit, construct and operate a modern, long-life mine at the Pebble Project. Northern Dynasty holds a 50% interest in the Pebble Limited Partnership through a wholly owned subsidiary, and the other 50% is held by a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Anglo American. To maintain its 50% interest in the Pebble Partnership, Anglo American must make staged cash investments, totalling $1.425 billion, to advance the Pebble Project.

In early April 2008, the Pebble Partnership announced the appointment of John Shively as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Mr. Shively is a former Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, a former Chief of Staff to Alaska Governor Bill Sheffield and sitting President of the Resource Development Council for Alaska, Inc. He played a key role with NANA Regional Corporation in its efforts to acquire and develop Alaska's Red Dog zinc mine in partnership with Teck Cominco, and was awarded the prestigious Denali Award by the Alaska Federation of Natives in 1992 for his contributions to the Native community. His initial objectives as CEO will be to recruit the Pebble Partnership's senior management team and oversee the 2008 program and budget.

The Pebble Partnership Board has approved a $140.1 million budget to advance the Pebble Project in 2008. Planned activities include:

• a $61.6 million drilling program to upgrade a portion of the mineral resources in the Pebble East deposit to an indicated category to support the completion of a pre-feasibility study and also to test for the full extent of the deposit;
• a $30.2 million engineering program to support the completion of a pre-feasibility study, including detailed metallurgical testwork and infrastructure studies;
• a $24.9 million environmental study program to complete the Environmental Baseline Document for the Pebble Project, to support the completion of a pre-feasibility study and undertake ongoing monitoring; and
• a $14.8 million community engagement and public affairs program to advance stakeholder relationships, public education and project support.

The 2008 site program began in February. Some 157,000 feet of resource drilling is planned, focused on the Pebble East deposit. Six rigs are currently deployed, with over 22,500 feet drilled to date this year. About $220 million has been invested in the development of the Pebble Project since 2002, including $87 million on environmental and socio-economic studies. The environmental baseline document is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2009, and will be used to evaluate various mine design alternatives prior to the submission of a proposed development plan for permitting.

Once begun, permitting for the Pebble Project will proceed under a rigorous and transparent process set out under the National Environmental Policy Act, including the completion of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

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The Pebble Partnership -- a group formed last summer to increase support for development of the Pebble Mine in southwest Alaska -- has selected John Shively as its chief executive officer.