Northern Dynasty's U.S. unit denies report Alaska mine project to be blocked

Northern Dynasty Minerals

23/08/2020 05:05

By Kanishka Singh
    Aug 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. unit of diversified Canadian
miner Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd  NDM.TO  on Saturday denied
a media report that said the administration of U.S. President
Donald Trump plans to block its proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska
early next week.
    Politico reported https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/22/trump-set-to-block-alaska-pebble-mine-400206
 earlier on Saturday that Trump was planning to block the
proposed Pebble Mine, which environmentalists argue would damage
the surrounding salmon-rich habitat, and the people and wildlife
that depend on it. 
    "We firmly believe that the implication pushed by Politico
that the White House is going to kill the project is clearly in
error, likely made by a rush to publish rather than doing the
necessary diligence to track down the full story", Pebble
Limited Partnership said in a statement.
    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) office in Alaska is
planning to hold a conference call on Monday with groups
connected to the proposed mine to discuss its decision, Politico
reported, citing people familiar with the plans.
    "It appears that the normal process continues to move
forward", Pebble Limited Partnership said, adding the USACE was
going to publish a letter on Monday. 
    "Based upon our ongoing interaction with the USACE, we
believe the letter will discuss the need for a significant
amount of mitigation for the project's wetlands impacts," it
said.
    Politico, which included Pebble's response in its report,
did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the
company's denial.
    The Trump administration in July proposed approving a permit
for the mine near an Alaska salmon fishery, boosting a project
the administration of former President Barack Obama tried to
block on environmental grounds.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2FC312
    Earlier this month, Democratic presidential candidate Joe
Biden opposed the project, saying that if he was elected in the
November election, his administration would stop the proposed
mine. 

 (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln
Feast.)
 ((Kanishka.Singh@thomsonreuters.com; +91 8061822801;))