Cantwell asks SEC to review Northern Dynasty statements

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., has called for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate Northern Dynasty Minerals (NDM) for what she calls “contradictory statements” about a preliminary assessment of the economic feasibility of the proposed Pebble mine that NDM filed with the SEC in February 2011.

The 529-page preliminary assessment, also called the “Wardrop Report,” gives insight into some preliminary plans for Pebble’s development. The study includes information on mining types (open pit and underground); infrastructure needs such as port site, access roads, warehouses and water systems; and tailings impoundment design.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in drafting its Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment, relied on content from the Wardrop Report as a basis for the “hypothetical mine scenario” it used to assess risks of large-scale mining in Bristol Bay. According to Sen. Cantwell, NDM later referenced the report as a “fantasy proposal” in official testimony to the EPA, leading her to conclude that NDM is saying one thing to investors and another to the EPA.

Read an overview at Alaska Public media.

Read Sen. Cantwell’s press release.

Read Northern Dynasty Minerals’ press release.

Download the Northern Dynasty 2011 Preliminary Assessment. (32 mg, PDF)