The opinion from Kerrisdale Capital Management drew an immediate response from Northern Dynasty, in Vancouver, British Columbia, which said the company would issue a rebuttal by week’s end exposing the inaccuracies and outright misstatements in the Kerrisdale report.
The Pebble deposit of copper, gold and molybdenum, was discovered decades ago but has not been mined due to issues related to its location near the Bristol Bay watershed, home of the world’s largest run of wild sockeye salmon. Concerns from Alaska Natives in Southwest Alaska prompted efforts by the US Environmental Protection Agency to research whether development of the mine would adversely impact salmon habitat in the watershed, and conclude, after extensive testimony, that there was great potential for adverse impact.
Meanwhile the national law firm of Levi & Korsinsky LLP announced on Feb. 14 that it has commenced an investigation of Northern Dynasty Minerals concerning possible violations of federal securities laws. The law firm cited the Kerrisdale report, which notes that Northern Dynasty stock has risen in value since the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, fueled by hopes that a more mining-friendly Environmental Protection Agency will allow the Pebble mine project to move forward. Trump’s promise to reduce environmental regulatory barriers fueled investor optimism about prospects for the Pebble project and since Trump’s election Northern Dynasty stock rose dramatically. The Kerrisdale report says such optimism is misplaced, that the stock is worthless.
Northern Dynasty disagrees, and says there are mining companies who are potential investors who are in due diligence on the project, which it describes as “one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper/gold deposits with a potential mine life which is measured in decades.
Those engaged in the fishing industry in Bristol Bay maintain that the best investment in the region is fisheries, which supports more than 14,000 jobs related to commercial and sport harvests.
The Kerrisdale report is online at http://seekingalpha.com/article/4045672-northern-dynasty-minerals-ltd-pebble-deposit-commercially-viable.