Northern Dynasty re-acquires 100% ownership of Pebble Project

Northern Dynasty has now re-acquired 100% ownership and control of the Pebble Partnership. All Anglo American representatives have resigned from the Pebble Mines Corporation Board of Directors.

And the pipe dreams continue.

"During the course of the last six years and at a cost of US$556 million (as of September 30, 2013), substantial progress has been made toward our goal of permitting, constructing and operating a world-class, modern and environmentally responsible mine at Pebble that will co-exist with the fisheries resources of southwest Alaska," said Northern Dynasty President & CEO Ronald Thiessen.

LINK (via: Seeking Alpha)

Northern Dynasty has also launched a new website that includes this corporate presentation.

Fish Return To A Mining County River

The Cheat River runs through historic mining country in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. Coal has been an economic boost to the area, but often at a cost to the environment.

The Cheat was one such casualty.

LINK (via: NPR)

Pebble Lay Offs

The group behind the proposed Pebble Mine is laying off workers after one of the partners in the controversial project pulled out.

LINK (via: Anchorage Daily News)

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/10/07/3114104/pebble-lays-off-workers-after.html#storylink=cpy

Northern Dynasty Conference Call

A recording of a hastily called Northern Dynasty conference call post Anglo American's decision to pull out of the Pebble project.

Clearly Northern Dynasty was caught flat footed by Anglo's decision and are in full damage control mode.

And now a message from John Shively, CEO, Pebble Limited Partnership.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccccccccccccckkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“The American people have spoken: they simply do not want the Pebble Mine built on top of one of the world’s great sport and commercial fisheries”

The Pebble Partnership took a gigantic PR and stock hit yesterday with the news that Anglo American was pulling their investment in Pebble mine project.

Perfect timing to pour some salt on the wound.

ANCHORAGE, AK – Numbers released today show that nearly three in four Americans who commented on the EPA’s draft Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment supported protecting Bristol Bay, Alaska from harmful mining development in the form of the Pebble Mine. Approximately 654,000 of the over 895,000 total comments supported the EPA’s efforts to protect Bristol Bay, with numbers even higher among comments made by individuals (not mass mailed) and those coming from Alaska. The Bristol Bay region is a destination for sportsmen and anglers across the world and is known for its trophy rainbow trout, king salmon, and many other fish species.

“The American people have spoken: they simply do not want the Pebble Mine built on top of one of the world’s great sport and commercial fisheries,” said Tim Bristol, Director of Trout Unlimited’s Alaska Program. “The EPA should quickly finalize its Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment and use its Clean Water Act authority to ensure the long term protection of Bristol Bay and its fishery. The science supports it, Alaskans support it, and hunters and anglers across the lower 48 support the EPA as well.”
 
The comments coming specifically from Alaska were even more impressive, with nearly 5,000 people – or 84% of total comments – supportive of the EPA’s efforts to protect Bristol Bay. Those numbers were even higher in Bristol Bay, where 98% of over 1,200 comments are in favor of lasting protections for Bristol Bay. Among national individual comments, over 90% supported the EPA.

The EPA began its Watershed Assessment after 9-federally recognized tribes, commercial and sport fishermen, and others in Bristol Bay requested Clean Water Act protections from the proposed Pebble Mine. After two drafts, two rounds of public comments, and outside peer review, the EPA is preparing to finalize the Watershed Assessment later this year. In the draft assessment, the EPA determined that even without incident, a mine on the scale of Pebble could destroy up to 90 miles of salmon streams and 4,800 acres of wetland salmon spawning habitat.

Click here for more information and a breakdown on the comments.

Things That Make Us Go Hmm... Northern Dynasty

I recently set up an alert for Pebble Mine parent Northern Dynasty via Seeking Alpha, a platform for investment research which covers stocks and investment strategy. It didn't take long for the question of whether to invest in Northern Dynasty to land in the inbox.

Some say it might be just the right time to invest in Northern Dynasty.

Why, then, does the company have a valuation of just $190 million? The answer is that environmental groups worldwide vehemently oppose the project. They are concerned that the mine will disrupt the salmon fishing industry to a point of devastation, and that it will pollute Iliamna Lake and Bristol Bay. As a result investors have become fairly convinced that the Pebble Beach mine will not be built, and the stock is down 90% from its 2011 peak.

But a longer-term chart of Northern Dynasty Minerals suggests that a contrarian position might be warranted: the stock failed to make a new low recently, having bounced without breaching the 2008 trough.

Others call bullshit on that theory.

We contend that the analysis is flawed and apparently governed by poor understanding of underlying fundamentals and sloppy research; combined with an evaluation method that borders on the ridiculous. We would like to suggest that copper bulls are well advised to look for investment opportunities elsewhere. And check back with Northern Dynasty around 2020, provided the company is still around by then.