Northern Dynasty gets Pebble East resource

Vancouver – Initial resource estimates on the deeper, eastern section of Northern Dynasty Minerals’ (NDM-V, NAK-X) Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum deposit shows a boost in grade over its contiguous western portion. The project is situated in southeastern Alaska near the community of Iliamna.

Using a 0.6% copper equivalent cut-off grade, the Pebble East deposit hosts an inferred resource of 1.8 billion tonnes grading 0.6% copper, 0.37 gram gold per tonne and 0.038% molybdenum (or a 1.05% copper equivalent grade). The contained metal tally comes in at 24.3 billion pounds (11 million tonnes) of copper, 22.1 million oz of gold and 1.55 billion pounds of molybdenum.

Boosting the cut-off grade to 1% copper equivalent drops the inferred tonnage estimate to 947 million tonnes, albeit at higher grades of 0.77% copper, 0.48 gram gold and 0.04% molybdenum (a 1.28% copper equivalent grade).

Pebble East’s inferred resource shell is based on data from 22 drill holes testing the deeper portion of the large porphyry intrusive system. The east deposit occurs at a depth in excess of 500 metres, well beyond open pit feasibility, and is being reviewed for its amenability to bulk underground mining. An integrated open pit-underground operation is being contemplated in the project’s development plans.

Northern Dynasty is gearing up for an upcoming US$20-million, 30,000-metre drill program on Pebble East aimed at expanding and upgrading the deep resource. In unison, permitting and feasibility studies at Pebble West are modeling proposed open pit operations on the shallower, lower grade deposit.

The more advanced Pebble West hosts a measured and indicated resource of 3 billion tonnes grading 0.28% copper, 0.32 gram gold and 0.015% molybdenum (a 0.56% copper equivalent) using a 0.3% copper equivalent cut-off grade. Increasing the cut-off to 0.5% copper equivalent almost halves the resource tonnage to 1.6 billion tonnes at 0.35% copper, 0.39 gram gold and 0.018% molybdenum (0.69% copper equivalent).

The company’s planned mega-project hosts one of the world’s larger copper and gold resources. Development will require significant power and transportation infrastructure. It is situated about 95 km from tide water on Cook Inlet and nearby natural gas fields.

With 60.1 million shares outstanding, the company posts a $445-million market capitalization based on its recent $7.40 per share trading level.