The Pebble mine project test drilling is shown in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska near the village of Iliamma, Alaska on July 13, 2007. Shares of Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. lost as much as a third of their value in early trading after First Quantum Minerals Ltd. walked away from a proposed deal with the company. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Al Grillo
Republished May 25, 2018 - 2:12 PM
Original Publication Date May 25, 2018 - 7:16 AM
VANCOUVER - Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. shares lost about a third of their value Friday after First Quantum Minerals Ltd. walked away from a proposed deal with the company.
The company's stock on the Toronto Stock Exchange closed at $0.61 down, $0.29 or 32.22 per cent.
Northern Dynasty says it was unable to reach an agreement on an option and partnership deal with First Quantum.
A framework agreement between the two Vancouver-based mining companies was announced in December, and the deadline for concluding a transaction was extended twice, most recently to May 31.
The deal had contemplated First Quantum acquiring an option to earn a 50 per cent stake in Northern Dynasty's controversial Pebble copper-and-gold mine project in Alaska.
Northern Dynasty has struggled to advance the project in the Bristol Bay area of Alaska, home to a major salmon fishery that environmentalists and Indigenous people have fought to protect.
It has been looking for a partner since 2013, when a subsidiary of London-based Anglo American PLC announced it was withdrawing from the project.
Companies in this story: (TSX:NDM, TSX:FM)
News from © The Canadian Press, 2018