Nov. 5, 2009 (PR Newswire) -- VANCOUVER, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. ("Northern Dynasty" or the "Company") (TSX: NDM; NYSE Amex: NAK) announces that the Pebble Fund for Sustainable Bristol Bay Fisheries and Communities ("Pebble Fund"), a community investment fund established by the Pebble Limited Partnership ("PLP" or "Pebble Partnership") in 2008, has distributed nearly $600,000 in grants to 18 nonprofit groups, school districts, youth projects, village and tribal council recipients in southwest Alaska this fall.
The second cycle of Pebble Fund grants follows a $1 million contribution made to 33 non-profit recipients in March 2009. It is estimated that grant monies provided through the Pebble Fund have leveraged nearly $10 million in additional funding to support community development projects throughout the Bristol Bay region.
"The Pebble Fund presents the Pebble Partnership with an effective means of working with local communities to strategically invest in projects that demonstrably improve socioeconomic opportunities and quality of life in southwest Alaska," said Ron Thiessen, President & CEO of Northern Dynasty. "Northern Dynasty is very pleased with both the quality of community initiatives funded and the decisions taken by the Pebble Fund advisory board in selecting 18 recipients from a worthy field of applicants."
The Pebble Fund is administered by the non-profit Alaska Community Foundation, with grant criteria and successful recipients determined by an independent advisory board of citizens representing communities from throughout the Bristol Bay region. Awards fall into four primary categories: renewable resources/fish; energy; education; and community and economic development.
Some of the projects receiving funding during the fall 2009 cycle of Pebble Fund grants include: the second phase of a Bristol Bay Elders Action Group Community Food Bank project to enhance dry goods storage and distribution of traditional foods; a project to increase access to safe drinking water and improve public health in the City of Nondalton; an economic development project of the Pilot Point Tribal Council to support local fishermen through the purchase of a dock crane for the Dago Creek Dock; among others.
The Pebble Fund was established in February 2008 as a five-year, $5 million commitment to support community-led initiatives that enhance the health of Bristol Bay fisheries and contribute to a sustainable economic future in southwest Alaska.
