Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. said the Pebble Limited Partnership Board of Directors has approved up to US$72.9 million in spending at the Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum project for 2010, primarily toward finalizing a prefeasibility study and preparing the Pebble Project for permitting in 2011.
In addition to engineering work needed to complete the feasibility study, this year’s budget will fund the ongoing environmental and socioeconomic study program, and complete an environmental baseline document in preparation for project permitting.
The partnership plans to conduct a geology and site investigation program in 2010. The program will include ongoing exploration drilling, engineering and environmental studies.
The Pebble explorer also will carry out a public affairs program to engage project stakeholders and local communities. The program will include key initiatives in the areas of work force development, business development and public consultation.
“The Pebble Project in Southwest Alaska is recognized as the most important undeveloped copper-gold-molybdenum deposit in the United States and among the most significant accumulations of metal ever discovered,” said Northern Dynasty President and CEO Ron Thiessen. “Not only does Pebble have the potential to be one of the great metal producers of the 21st Century, it could also redress a growing gap between US domestic copper supply and demand, while providing a new employment and economic engine for the State of Alaska. It’s a critically important project for the United States, and that’s why the Pebble Partnership has been so methodical and deliberate about engineering the optimal project design to initiate permitting next year.”
Between 2001 and 2007, Vancouver, B. C.-based Northern Dynasty invested some US$180 million to acquire and advance the Pebble Project, including vastly expanding known mineral resources and discovering high-grade mineralization in the eastern part of the deposit.
Since the formation of the Pebble Partnership, a 50-50 partnership between London-based Anglo American plc and Northern Dynasty, Anglo has invested some US$250 million to advance project engineering and prepare for project permitting. A project engineering team comprised of 20 senior engineers and technical specialists from Anglo American and Northern Dynasty, as well as 58 leading engineering firms and specialized consultancies from around the world, has been working toward the completion of a prefeasibility study for the Pebble Project. Once finalized, the Pebble Partnership will share its proposed development plan with project stakeholders in Alaska prior to initiating permitting under the National Environmental Policy Act.
“The engineering program underway at the Pebble Project today, and the comprehensive environmental and socioeconomic studies that have informed that effort, represent the most exhaustive pre-permitting planning exercise in the history of U.S. mineral development,” Thiessen said. “By the time we apply for development permits next year, some US$500 million will have been invested to ensure we have designed the best possible project from a technical, financial, environmental and socioeconomic perspective. We fully expect the quality of that work to be reflected in the outcome and efficiency of the permitting process.”
Northern Dynasty said the partners will complete a full engineering technical review in May 2010, at which time the engineering budget required to move the Pebble project forward toward a timely completion of a prefeasibility study will be further assessed.
