Pebble keeps proving itself (October 15, 2007)

Vancouver — Pebble project owners Northern Dynasty Minerals (NDM-V, NAK-X) and Anglo American (AAUK-Q, AAL-L) are hitting lengthy, high-grade copper-gold-molybdenum intercepts at Pebble East.

Pebble East is one of two immense deposits on the porphyry project in southwestern Alaska. Seventeen new drill holes from Pebble East attest to the size and strength of the deposit, especially through an arcuate region of higher-grade mineralization that trends north-south for almost 3 km, and still open.

In the southern end of the higher-grade zone, hole 7359 intersected 679 metres grading 0.92% copper, 0.49 gram gold per tonne and 0.035% molybdenum. In the northern end of the trend, hole 7370 returned 681 metres of 0.71% copper, 0.23 gram gold and 0.031% moly.

Three holes stepped out to the north of the current resource boundary. Hole 7358 was collared north of the eastern extension of the resource boundary and returned anomalous results, but the other two holes, which were collared some 700 metres west and therefore on the higher-grade arc, hit good grades. Hole 7357, for example, intersected 512 metres grading 0.61% copper, 0.5 gram gold, and 0.021% molybdenum, including 156 metres grading 0.78% copper, 0.79 gram gold, and 0.036% moly.

Pebble East contains an inferred resource of about 3.4 billion tonnes at 0.57% copper, 0.36 gram gold and 0.036% moly, using a 0.6% copper-equivalent cutoff grade. The zone, which remains open to the north and south, holds about 42.6 billion contained pounds (19.6 million tonnes) copper, 39.6 million oz. gold and 2.7 billion lbs. molybdenum.

Northern Dynasty and Anglo are studying potential development of Pebble East as a bulk-tonnage, underground operation, due to its depth.

The adjacent Pebble West deposit hosts a measured and indicated resource of 3 billion tonnes grading 0.28% copper, 0.32 gram gold per tonne and 0.015% molybdenum using a 0.3% copper-equivalent cutoff, with contained metal at 18.8 billion lbs. (8.5 million tonnes) copper, 31.3 million oz. gold and 993 million lbs. moly. The deposit also holds 1.1 billion inferred tonnes averaging 0.25% copper, 0.3 gram gold and 0.015% moly using the same cutoff grade.

The near-surface deposit is viewed as a potential open-pit operation.

In late July, Anglo, through a wholly owned subsidiary, became a 50% partner in the Pebble project. To maintain the interest, Anglo committed to provide the next US$1.425 billion in project development costs. Northern Dynasty and Anglo formed Pebble Limited Partnership to manage the project.

Shares of Northern Dynasty moved up on the news from Pebble East, closing up 54, or 5.1%, at $11.19.