Resource Estimate Confirms Pebble As One of the Worlds Most Important Copper-Gold-Molybdenum Deposits

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. announces an updated mineral resource estimate for the Pebble deposit at the Pebble Limited Partnership’s project site in southwest Alaska.

Drilling during 2008 has substantiated the volume, grade and continuity of mineralization in the Pebble East area, leading to an overall estimate based on a database of results from 476 holes across the Pebble deposit. The deposit was previously split into a near surface resource for Pebble West and a deeper resource for Pebble East. This is the first time the entire Pebble deposit has been integrated into one estimate. The integrated model for the entire Pebble deposit allows for comprehensive mine planning and other deposit benchmarking.

The updated mineral resources are reported within a defined volume and at various cut-off grades as presented below in the Table of Pebble Deposit Mineral Resources – November 2008.

At a 0.30% copper equivalent (CuEQ)(1) cut-off, the Pebble Deposit Mineral Resources are:

– 5.1 billion tonnes of Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources grading 0.77% CuEQ, containing 48 billion pounds of copper, 57 million ounces of gold, and 2.9 billion pounds of molybdenum; plus
– 4.0 billion tonnes of Inferred Mineral Resources grading 0.55% CuEQ, containing 24 billion pounds of copper, 37 million ounces of gold and 1.9 billion pounds of molybdenum.

The estimate was prepared by the technical staff of the Pebble Partnership and audited by industry leading geological and mining consultants at Scott Wilson Roscoe Postle Associates Inc., under the direction of David W. Rennie, P. Eng., who is the Qualified Person for the estimate. Mr Rennie, an independent Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed this release. A technical report providing details of the estimate will be filed on www.sedar.com within 45 days.

“By virtually any measure – volumes and grade, continuity of mineralization, resource confidence, potential for expansion – Pebble must be considered among the most important mineral deposits in the world,” said Northern Dynasty President and CEO Ron Thiessen.

“A modern, long-life mine at Pebble could produce one-quarter of America’s domestic copper supply for 50-plus years, along with substantial volumes of gold, molybdenum and potentially other metals such as silver, rhenium and palladium. Along the way, it would generate thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in annual economic activity for the people and communities of Alaska.”

The Pebble Limited Partnership was established in July 2007 as a 50:50 partnership between a wholly-owned affiliate of Northern Dynasty and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anglo American plc. Under the terms of the agreement, Anglo American funds $1.425 to $1.5 billion of project costs to acquire a 50% interest, including expenditures of US$180 million in 2007/2008. The Pebble Partnership is currently preparing a Prefeasibility Study for the Pebble Project, and is expected to enter the federal and state permitting process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 2010.