Mr. Ronald Thiessen reports

NORTHERN DYNASTY: PEBBLE PARTNERSHIP COMMENTS ON PENDING RELEASE OF FINAL EIS FOR ALASKA'S PEBBLE PROJECT

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.'s 100-per-cent-owned United States-based subsidiary Pebble Limited Partnership released a public statement in Alaska today, commenting on the pending release of the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Pebble project, calling it a major project milestone.

Pebble Partnership chief executive officer Tom Collier quoted: "It is our understanding based on conversations with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) that the final EIS will be published in the federal register on July 24. This will mark one of the most significant milestones for the Pebble project. Following the final EIS, the USACE will use this document as it prepares the record of decision (ROD) for Pebble -- a step expected to follow the publication of the final EIS.

"The USACE has been thorough and transparent with their work to date as they have undertaken this objective, technical review of our proposed plan for a mine at the Pebble site. They have worked through a range of technical issues that came from the public comments and agency reviews of the draft EIS. These issues have been the subject of meetings, conversations and correspondence between the co-operating agencies as the USACE has worked to resolve them to the satisfaction of all participants. As part of their commitment to transparency, the USACE held regular calls with interested members of the media to help add important context about their review of Pebble with the next media round table on July 20, the eve of the publication of the final EIS. We have been informed that the final EIS publication date will be confirmed during this regularly scheduled call.

"The work undertaken by the USACE and the co-operating agencies to resolve these issues gives us confidence that the final EIS will demonstrate why we believe the project can be done without harm to the Bristol Bay fishery. This was confirmed earlier this year via the draft of the final EIS, which noted no harm to the fishery and that the project can be developed in line with federal environmental requirements.

"Some have expressed concern that failure to publish the final EIS today, as was earlier targeted by the USACE, is evidence of a major delay to the final EIS. This is not the case. Throughout this review process, the USACE has closely tracked their timeline and public projections for process milestones. Our project team looks forward to reviewing the final document next week and then getting ready for initiating state permitting.

"Additionally, the draft of the final EIS shows the tremendous economic opportunity a project like Pebble could mean for the residents of southwest Alaska. It shows that the communities closest to Pebble could have year-round employment and increased economic activity. We also know the project will make significant contributions to Alaska's overall economy -- something that is even more important, given today's time of tremendous economic uncertainty."

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 U.S. subsidiary, Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP), is a 100-per-cent 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 mineral resources.

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