Northern Dynasty target boosted by TD after study

33 minutes ago by Thomson Reuters

* Raises price target to C$44 from C$26

* Shares jump 10.2 pct to C$19.22 in early trade (In U.S. dollars unless noted)

TORONTO, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Brokerage firm TD Newcrest boosted its price target on shares of Northern Dynasty <NDM.TO> on Thursday, after the Canadian exploration company offered promising data on its Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum project in Alaska.

Report Here: http://www.northerndynastyminerals.com/ndm/NewsReleases.asp?DateRange=2011/01/01...2011/12/31

The project, which is 50-50 partnership of Northern Dynasty and diversified miner Anglo American <AAL.L>, contains roughly 55 billion pounds of copper, 67 million ounces of gold and 3.3 billion pounds of molybdenum, in the measured and indicated categories.

Pebble, which is expected to cost roughly $4.7 billion to build, has the potential to produce more than 500 million pounds of copper and more than 600,000 ounces of gold annually, according the Northern Dynasty's preliminary economic study.

The company, which counts Rio Tinto <RIO.AX><RIO.L> and Mitsubishi Corp <8058.T> among its largest shareholders, said the latest study confirms both Pebble's viability and its long-term potential.

In a note to clients, TD analyst Craig Miller said the preliminary assessment outlines robust economics for the Pebble project. He raised his price target on shares of Northern Dynasty to C$44 from C$26.