Name and Location
Pebble copper/gold/molybdenum project, Alaska, US.

Client
Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP), wholly owned by Northern Dynasty Minerals.

Project Description
The project proposes to construct a large openpit mine; an on-site milling facility; on-site storage for rock, ore and tailings; a port facility; an access road connecting the mine site to the port; an on-site water supply for the mill; and to provide electrical power for the mine site, in south-west Alaska.

In addition, the project plans to include an on-site 378 MW gas-fired turbine plant, a 138 km transportation corridor to Cook Inlet for road and pipeline rights of way and a new deep-water port at Cook Inlet.

The current resource estimate includes 6.44-billion tonnes in the measured and indicated categories containing 57-billion pounds of copper, 70-million ounces of gold, 3.4-billion pounds of molybdenum and 344-million ounces of silver; and 4.46-billion tonnes in the inferred cate-gory, containing 24.5-billion pounds of copper, 37-million ounces of gold, 2.2-billion pounds of molybdenum and 170-million ounces of silver. Quantities of palladium and rhenium also occur in the deposit.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
Capital expenditure on Pebble will reach between $6-billion and $8-billion.

Duration
Commercial production was expected by 2015.

Latest Developments
Director and president of diversified mining group Hunter Dickinson Ron Thiessen believes that PLP is close to resolving its dispute with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), after which PLP will be free to undertake a “normalised” permitting process for its flagship Pebble mine. PLP last year filed a federal legal action arguing that, without a permit application outlining plans to develop the Pebble polymetallic deposit in hand, the EPA’s stated intention to pre-emptively veto the Pebble project – under a rarely used Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 (c) regulatory process – exceeded the federal agency’s authority and violated federal laws.

The EPA had the authority under the CWA to veto Section 404 ‘dredge’ or ‘fill’ permits issued by the US Army Corps of Engineers if it determined that the permitted activity had posed an unacceptable risk of adverse effects to aquatic resources. However, it had to do so based on an actual mine permit appli-cation specifying both a specific disposal site and specific fill material.

Thiessen argued that the EPA had erred in its actions and decision to conduct an assessment of Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed, on which its veto was based.

With litigation against the EPA pending, a preliminary injunction prohibiting the EPA from acting on its right to veto, and several US Congressional committees pursuing investigations into EPA misconduct, Thiessen has expressed confidence that PLP’s standoff with the EPA will be resolved this year. Thiessen has advised that PLP has enough cash to see the litigation process through, until it embarks on a normalised permitting process.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Wardrop Engineering (preliminary assessment report).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
PLP, tel +1 907 339 2600, fax +1 877 450 2600 or email receptionist@pebblepartnership.com.
Wardrop media and public relations, email media@tetratech.com.