Bone crushing news for shareholders in Northern Dynasty Minerals (TSX:NDM) today, Anglo American is backing out of the Pebble Partnership, dashing near term development plans for the massive copper, gold and molybdenum deposit.

pebble1 Mark Cutifani, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said: "Despite our belief that Pebble is a deposit of rare magnitude and quality, we have taken the decision to withdraw following a thorough assessment of Anglo American's extensive pipeline of long-dated project options. Our focus has been to prioritise capital to projects with the highest value and lowest risks within our portfolio, and reduce the capital required to sustain such projects during the pre-approval phases of development as part of a more effective, value-driven capital allocation model."

Northern Dynasty CEO Ron Thiessen commented, "Northern Dynasty will again own 100% of one of the world's most important copper & gold resources and will have the benefit of $541 million worth of expenditures, which opens the door to a number of exciting possibilities for Northern Dynasty and its shareholders and the Pebble Project and its stakeholders. Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Partnership have both the expertise and resources necessary to advance the Pebble Project."

Shares in NDM fell nearly 40% by press time, last at $.145. Here's the 5 year NDM chart:

ndm

Ouch (Stockwatch)

News release: Anglo American Withdraws from Pebble Project

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