Mr. Ronald Thiessen reports

NORTHERN DYNASTY: ALASKA TAKES EPA TO THE SUPREME COURT OVER VETO

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. has noted that the State of Alaska filed today a motion in the United States Supreme Court. The motion for leave to file a bill of complaint forcefully argues that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) veto of the Pebble project breaches a contract (the Cook Inlet Land Exchange) involving Alaska and the United States and violates the federal statutory recognition and implementation of that land exchange. It also argues that the veto violates the Administrative Procedure Act because the veto is arbitrary and capricious. Finally, it argues that the veto -- which withdraws 309 square miles in the Bristol Bay region from use for mining purposes -- is an unconstitutional taking without just compensation. The bill of complaint seeks injunctive relief requiring EPA to withdraw its veto and seeks monetary damages for breach of contract and the unconstitutional taking without just compensation.

"The bill of complaint filed by Alaska is a welcome development in the long Pebble saga," said Ron Thiessen, president and chief executive officer of Northern Dynasty. "Northern Dynasty strongly, and I mean very strongly, supports all of the arguments set forth by the State and we congratulate the State for bringing these claims directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. Northern Dynasty intends to prepare and file with the Supreme Court appropriate briefs to support the State's case."

Mr. Thiessen continued: "In the mid 1970s, a three-way land exchange was negotiated between the U.S. government, the CIRI Native Alaskan Corp. (CIRI) and the State of Alaska. The U.S. government received land to create Lake Clark National Park. CIRI received land with valuable natural resources allowing it to become a profitable entity for its Alaska native shareholders. The State of Alaska received land in the Bristol Bay region -- where the Pebble project is located -- for the specific purpose of developing the mineral potential of that land. The EPA veto is the U.S. government reneging on that deal. Both the U.S. government and CIRI got the value they bargained for; if the EPA veto is not withdrawn, the U.S. government has taken back the value the State of Alaska bargained for."

The U.S. Constitution gives states the right to seek direct jurisdiction in the U.S. Supreme Court for complaints against the federal government. The court has interpreted this clause in the Constitution as giving it discretionary jurisdiction and set out several tests that must be met before the court will accept such a case. The papers filed by the State of Alaska clearly show that those tests are met and that the court should grant jurisdiction to hear the case. The State of Alaska also contends that such jurisdiction is not discretionary and the court must accept jurisdiction of this case. It is anticipated that the court could decide as early as October whether to hear this case.

"The litigation filed by Pebble in 2014 made many of the arguments the State makes in this Supreme Court filing," added Mr. Thiessen. "Unfortunately, the court never reached a ruling on the merits of that case; it was dismissed because the proposed EPA veto was not yet deemed final. We believed then, as we do now, that the facts and law relied upon by the State of Alaska make a powerfully persuasive case for forcing EPA to withdraw the Pebble veto now that it is deemed final. It is Northern Dynasty's intention to support the state in its claims before the Supreme Court and, if necessary, to file actions in the lower courts to raise these and other reasons why the EPA veto must be withdrawn."

About Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.

Northern Dynasty is a mineral exploration and development company based in Vancouver, Canada. Northern Dynasty's principal asset, owned through its wholly owned Alaska-based United States subsidiary, Pebble LP, is a 100-per-cent interest in a contiguous block of 1,840 mineral claims in southwest Alaska, including the Pebble deposit, located 200 miles from Anchorage and 125 miles from Bristol Bay. The Pebble partnership is the proponent of the Pebble project, an initiative to develop one of the world's most important mineral resources.

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