VANCOUVER, May 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - The US National Marine Fisheries
Services (NMFS) has announced it will conduct a 12-month assessment of
the biological status of harbor seals in Southwest Alaska's Lake
Iliamna, in response to the Center for Biological Diversity's (CBD)
November 2012 submission of a "Petition to List Iliamna Lake Seal, a Distinct Population Segment of
Pacific Harbour Seal (Phoca vitulina richardsi) under the Endangered
Species Act".
NMFS is the lead federal agency responsible for research, management and
conservation of seals and other sea mammals in the United States. Under
the US Endangered Species Act (ESA), any party can petition the
government to list a species as threatened or endangered. In response
to the CBD's petition regarding Lake Iliamna seals, the NMFS has agreed
to conduct a status review and consider the best scientific and
commercial information available to determine whether a threatened or
endangered species listing or designation of critical habitat is
warranted.
In today's notice, NMFS stated "We have reviewed the petition, the literature cited in the petition,
and other literature and information available in our files; we
identified numerous factual errors, misquoted and incomplete
references, and unsupported conclusions within the petition. Our review
indicates that there is uncertainty and conflicting information
specific to harbor seals in Iliamna Lake."
"In the past, NMFS has stated that it is not known whether Lake Iliamna
seals are genetically isolated from other harbor seals in Bristol Bay," said Ron Thiessen, President & CEO of Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.
("Northern Dynasty" or the "Company") (TSX: NDM; NYSE MKT: NAK). "Now they have agreed that the question justifies additional assessment.
"Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Limited Partnership (the "Pebble Partnership" or "PLP") have invested a great deal of time and money studying environmental
conditions in the Lake Iliamna area. and we support the research and conservation efforts of the US federal
government. Ultimately, whether the Lake Iliamna seals are considered
to be a distinct population segment or not, Northern Dynasty is
confident that development of the project by the Pebble Partnership
will not affect their habitat or their numbers."
Lake Iliamna is located on the Alaska Peninsula approximately 15 miles
south of the Pebble Project, and is connected to Bristol Bay via the
Kvichak River. It is not known how long harbor seals have inhabited the
lake or whether they are permanent residents, as harbor seals are known
to migrate from salt water to fresh water in other parts of North
America. The Pebble Partnership has collected scientific data on harbor
seals in Lake Iliamna as part of its 27,000 page Environmental Baseline
Document (EBD), which suggests that the seals experience no
geographical barriers to movement between Lake Iliamna and Bristol Bay.
PLP has submitted its technical review of the CBD's Lake Iliamna seal
petition to NMFS and will continue to engage in public comment
opportunities associated with the agency's 12-month status review
process.
"The fact is, whether or not this local seal population warrants a
listing, they will not be affected by the Pebble Project," Thiessen said. "We appreciate that Lake Iliamna, its harbor seals and all the aquatic
life it supports are important food and cultural resources for the
Alaska Native people of the region. Pebble is developing a mine plan
that will ensure these resources are protected for the use and
enjoyment of future generations, regardless of whether the Lake Iliamna
seal population is considered distinct or not."
To begin the status review, NMFS has opened a 60-day comment period
ending on July 16 in an effort to collect information that addresses
biological and other information that is known about the species,
conservation efforts currently in place, whether the known threats (if
any) rise to the level of supporting a listing, and ultimately whether
Lake Iliamna harbor seals qualify as a distinct population segment.
The NFMS status review of Lake Iliamna seals is due to be published in
the Federal Register by November 2013. If the NFMS warrants a
threatened or endangered listing for Lake Iliamna harbor seals under
the ESA, the federal agency must then define critical habitat for the
species within one year. A 'critical habitat' designation does not
establish a preserve or refuge, but is defined as a specific geographic
area that contains the physical and biological features essential to
the conservation of a species. Before critical habitat is designated,
careful consideration is given to impacts on specific areas, including
potential economic impacts.
About the Pebble Project
The Pebble Project is an initiative of the Pebble Partnership to
responsibly develop a globally significant copper, gold and molybdenum
deposit in southwest Alaska into a modern, long-life mine, which will
benefit not only the proponent, its partners and the people and
culture of the State of Alaska, but also industries, suppliers and
consultants locally and in the Lower 48 United States of America. The
project is located 200 miles southwest of Anchorage on state land
designated for mineral exploration and development. It is situated in a
region of rolling tundra approximately 1,000 feet above sea-level, 65
miles from tidewater on Cook Inlet and presents favourable conditions
for successful mine site and infrastructure development.
The Pebble Project consists of the Pebble deposit, surrounding mineral
claims and a stream of financing provided by Northern Dynasty's project
partner Anglo American US (Pebble) LLC. The Pebble Partnership was
established in July 2007 as a 50:50 partnership between a wholly-owned
affiliate of Northern Dynasty and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anglo
American plc. Both Northern Dynasty and Anglo American have equal
ownership and direction of the Pebble Partnership.
Under the terms of the Pebble Limited Partnership Agreement, Anglo
American is required to elect to commit $1.5 billion in staged
investments in order to retain its 50% interest in the Pebble Project.
Funds provided by Anglo American are currently being invested in
comprehensive exploration, engineering, environmental and socioeconomic
programs toward the future development of the Pebble Project.
About Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.
Northern Dynasty is a mineral exploration and development company based
in Vancouver, Canada, which holds indirect interests in over 600 sq.
miles of mineral claims in southwest Alaska, USA. Northern Dynasty's
principal asset is a 50% interest in the Pebble Partnership, owner of
the Pebble Project. The Pebble Project is an advanced-stage initiative
to develop one of the world's most important mineral resources.
Ronald W. Thiessen
President & CEO
________________________________________________
Sole Responsibility
No regulatory authority accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release. Northern Dynasty is solely and entirely
responsible for the contents of this news release. No other party,
including any parties which have an interest in the project, are in any
way responsible for the contents hereof.
Forward Looking Information and other Cautionary Factors
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed
"forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other
than statements of historical facts, especially those that address
estimated resource quantities, grades and contained metals, are
forward-looking statements because they are generally made on the basis
of estimation and extrapolation from a limited number of drill holes
and metallurgical studies. Although diamond drill hole core provides
valuable information about the size, shape and geology of an
exploration project, there will always remain a significant degree of
uncertainty in connection with these valuation factors until a deposit
has been extensively drilled on closely spaced centers, which has
occurred only in specific areas on the Pebble Project. Although the
Company believes the expectations expressed in its forward-looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should
not be in any way construed as guarantees of the ultimate size, quality
or commercial feasibility of the Pebble Project or of the Company's
future performance. The likelihood of future mining at the Pebble
Project is subject to a large number of risks and will require
achievement of a number of technical, economic and legal objectives,
including obtaining necessary mining and construction permits,
completion of pre-feasibility and final feasibility studies,
preparation of all necessary engineering for underground workings and
processing facilities as well as receipt of significant additional
financing to fund these objectives as well as funding mine
construction. Such funding may not be available to the Company on
acceptable terms or on any terms at all. There is no known ore at the
Pebble Project and there is no assurance that the mineralization at the
Pebble Project will ever be classified as ore. The need for compliance
with extensive environmental and socio-economic rules and practices and
the requirement for the Company to obtain government permitting can
cause a delay or even abandonment of a mineral project. The Company is
also subject to the specific risks inherent in the mining business as
well as general economic and business conditions. For more information
on the Company, Investors should review the Company's annual Form 40-F
filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and
its home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com.
SOURCE Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.