Developer of Alaska's Pebble mine raises going concern doubts

(Reuters) -Canada's Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd on Monday raised doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern if the company is unable to raise the necessary capital for the Pebble copper and gold mining project in Alaska.

Northern added that it is in process of exploring and evaluating the Pebble project and has not yet determined whether the project contains mineral reserves that are economically recoverable.

The project has been through a roller coaster of regulations for the past 15 years. Former U.S. President Barack Obama opposed the project, and his successor Donald Trump ultimately did, too, after deciding it was too risky.

President Joe Biden has also long opposed the project and took steps upon taking office in 2021 to permanently protect Alaska's Bristol Bay.

To continue operations, Northern is entirely dependent upon the existence of these economically recoverable mineral reserves and its ability to obtain financing to complete the exploration and development of the project.

As of March 31, Northern and its units had C$9.4 million ($7 million) in cash and cash equivalents for its operating requirements and working capital of C$8.1 million.

The company would require additional financing in order to progress any material expenditures at the Pebble project and for working capital requirements.

In January the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it plans to take steps to block the proposed project by preventing Northern Dynasty from storing mine waste in the state's vast watershed.

($1 = 1.3372 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng and Varun H K)