Northern Dynasty comments on recent statements by President Biden regarding ‘Made in America’ and mining in the U.S. March 15, 2022 Vancouver – Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (TSX: NDM; NYSE American: NAK) ("Northern Dynasty" or the "Company") comments on President Biden’s “Made in America” announcement made on Friday, March 4, 2022, and statements made at a previous event on February 22, 2022, both at The White House. All currency numbers are USD unless otherwise specified. In his speech, President Joe Biden said, “…But we also need a resilient supply chains [sic] of our own so that we’re never at the mercy of other countries for critical goods ever again…Our manufacturing future, our economic future, our solutions to the climate crisis: They’re all going to be made in America1.” “Global events over the past several years have demonstrated the fragility and insecurity of the global supply chain, further underscored the need for America to achieve security over important commodities, be it oil & gas or minerals such as copper, a key part of the energy transition. The Pebble Project in Southwest Alaska would help the U.S. to achieve the goal of mineral security,” said Ron Thiessen, President and CEO of Northern Dynasty. “For example, one large 10-15 MW windmill, such as found in an offshore windmill farm, uses about 50 tonnes of copper to generate electricity, including the connection to the shore 2. The U.S. imported nearly half of its 2 million tonnes of annual domestic requirements for refined copper in 2021, according to the U.S. Geological Survey3. Copper from the Pebble Project could substantially reduce this reliance on foreign suppliers, keeping the jobs, and the economic benefits, in the U.S.” "We can't build a future that's made in America if we ourselves are dependent on China for the materials that power the products of today and tomorrow," President Biden said at a White House event on February 22, 2022, according to a Reuters report4. “Environmental protections are paramount…We have to ensure that these resources actually benefit folks in the communities where they live, not just shareholders.” “We have made deliberate choices when designing the Pebble Project that demonstrate our commitment to protecting the environment. Just a few examples include choosing to minimize the footprint in the first 20 years to allow Northern Dynasty an opportunity to demonstrate to the public that the mine could be operated safely, in an environmentally responsible manner, and while benefitting the community economically, investing almost $600 million (total capital) into water treatment plants to ensure discharge water meets Alaska’s stringent requirements, using specially designed tailings storage facilities (“TSF”) that are a significant improvement over traditional designs because they don’t retain water in perpetuity and not using cyanide for additional gold recovery in the Proposed Project,” Mr. Thiessen added. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) for Alaska’s Pebble Project, published in 2020, describes a modern, environmentally sound mine that can co-exist with clean water and healthy fisheries. The executive summary of the Final EIS can be found on the Pebble Partnership’s website at the following link https://pebblepartnership.com/executive-summary. The Company is currently appealing a negative Record of Decision from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “Our Economic Contribution Assessment, prepared by a globally renowned, third-party expert firm and published on February 28, 2022, is available on our website. It showed that the Pebble Mine would support thousands of high-paying jobs and billions of dollars of economic activity, much of which is focused in Southwest Alaska, one of the most economically disadvantaged regions in the U.S. It would also help the U.S. reduce its reliance on foreign suppliers of copper and other metals,” Mr. Thiessen added. “For example, the annual State taxes during construction are expected to be $30 million, State royalties and taxes of $126 million per year, and Lake and Penn Borough severance taxes of $25 million per year. Then there is the Pebble Performance Dividend which will pay out $3 million per year during construction and capital recovery and projected at $11 million annually or $2,175 per person if all eligible people were enrolled, during operating years.” More information on the Economic Contribution Assessment study can be found on the Company’s website at the following link: https://www.northerndynastyminerals.com/responsible-mining/economic-benefits/. |