unknown individuals posing as rep- resentatives of a Hong Kong-based investment firm with links to a Chi - nese State-Owned Enterprise (SOE). A Washington DC-based environ- mental group, the Environmental Investigation Agency, released the tapes online Monday after obscuring the voices and identities of the indi- viduals posing as investors. “The unethical manner in which these tapes were acquired does not excuse the comments that were made, or the crass way they were expressed,” said Ron Thiessen, Northern Dynasty President & CEO. “On behalf of the Company and our employees, I offer my unreserved apology to all those who were hurt or offended, and all Alaskans.” A former Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Re- sources, senior executive with NANA Regional Corporation, and current Alaska Railroad Corporation Direc- tor, John Shively said the Pebble Project is too important to the region and the state not to proceed, and for every effort not to be made to devel - op the project responsibly in the best interests of all Alaskans. “My priority is to advance our current plan through the regulato- ry process so we can prove to the state’s political leaders, regulatory officials and all Alaskans that we can meet the very high environ- mental standards expected of us,” he said. Thiessen said the two actors pos- ing as foreign investors on behalf of the Environmental Investigation Agency were clearly trying to entrap the two executives into stating there is a defined plan to expand Pebble beyond the 20-year mine life cur - rently being permitted. In this objective, he said, they clearly failed. “The mine development proposal currently being evaluated by the US- ACE, and for which we expect a final Record of Decision this fall, provides for 20 years of mining at an average daily throughput of 180,000 tons, and processing of 1.3 billion tons of mineralized material,” Thiessen said. “What we have said consis- tently, and is reinforced in the ‘Peb- ble tapes’ released this week, is the operator of the Pebble mine may de- cide at some point in the future to propose additional phases of devel- opment, but there exists no formal plan to do so today.”
Thiessen added that any exten- sion or expansion of the Pebble Proj- ect proposed in future would have to go through a comprehensive, multi- year federal and state permitting process. Northern Dynasty is a mineral exploration and development com- pany based in Vancouver, Canada. Northern Dynasty’s principal asset, owned through its wholly owned Alaska-based U.S. subsidiary, Pebble Limited Partnership (“PLP”), is a 100% interest in a contiguous block of 2,402 mineral claims in southwest
Alaska, including the Pebble deposit. PLP is the proponent of the Pebble Project, an initiative to develop one of the world’s most important min- eral resources. For further details on Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Project, vis- it the Company’s website at www. northerndynastyminerals.com or contact Investor services at (604) 684-6365 or within North Ameri - ca at 1-800-667-2114. Review Ca - nadian public filings at www.sedar. com and US public filings at www. sec.gov.
PROTECTING OUR MOST PRECIOUS RESOURCE
Usibelli Coal Mine produces more than one million tons of coal every year, helping energize Interior Alaska. Yet our most precious resource isn’t coal—it’s the people who mine it. We’ve worked hard to keep our employees safe, and the results are gratifying.
Employees surpassed their all- time safety record in April 2019 and by the end of the year, worked more than 1,000 days without a lost time accident. Our employees are committed to excellence in mining, and in practicing everyday safety—at work, at home and at play.
WWW.USIBELLI.COM
15
October 2020
The Alaska Miner
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