I think the market might be missing how much value has been...

I think the market might be missing how much value has been added to Alaskan assets simply by virtue of the Trump presidency and his growing confirmation that he is going to make mining in Alaska as easy as possible.

Northern Dynasty (NAK US) rallied from $1 to $3.50 in the months after Trump was elected, as the market digested his plan to smooth approvals in the state. Last night the company confirmed that the EPA had fully approved their mine (in an environmentally sensitive area), showing that Alaska is fully open for business in a mining sense. Have a look at the chart for the Trump bumps in Nov '16 and May '17.

This will surely kick off a round of M&A in Alaska, as majors move to secure prime exploration and development projects, now that there is some certainty around the fact that Trump's words have translated into action. These early stage projects will continue to increase in value as more money is spent exploring, building and buying mines.

Another reason we should believe some of the 6c/SHARE valuation argument, presented in the IIR report this week, for Red Mountain (Alaska) alone...

Article from May:

Trump’s EPA Opens Door to Northern Dynasty’s Alaska Project (1)
2017-05-12 17:31:49.329 GMT


By Natalie Obiko Pearson
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. reached an
agreement with U.S. regulators to lift restrictions on an
Alaskan project that were imposed when President Barack Obama
was in office. Shares surged after the announcement, before
retreating.
A settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
announced Friday, clears the way for the Vancouver-based company
to apply for permits to develop copper and gold deposits at its
Pebble project in the Bristol Bay watershed.
“In our view, there are no longer any extraordinary
development restrictions at Pebble,” Chief Operating Officer
Thomas Collier said on a conference call Friday. The company
must file a permit application within 30 months and an
environmental impact statement within four years under the terms
of the agreement with the EPA, he said.
Northern Dynasty shares have more than doubled since the
U.S. elections as investors speculated that Pebble would move
ahead under a Trump administration. On Friday, the stock was
down 15 percent at 1:18 p.m. in Toronto after jumping as much as
19 percent.
The company wants to bring in a partner before submitting
its permit application, and a consortium may end up developing
the project, Chief Executive Officer Ronald Thiessen said on the
call. Interest from potential suitors is increasing amid rising
metal prices and a lack of exploration in recent years, he said.

Asia Proximity

"We’re in close proximity to tidewater and Asian markets,"
Thiessen said. "This is the kind of long-life asset that most
major mining companies covet."
In 2014, the EPA moved to impose restrictions on the Pebble
project, blocking it from applying for a permit, citing
potentially destructive impacts to the world’s largest sockeye
salmon fishery. President Donald Trump’s pick to head the
regulator, Scott Pruitt, is a self-described opponent of the
“EPA’s activist agenda” and has called for regulatory rollback.
The EPA has agreed to initiate a process to consider
withdrawing its 2014 restrictions in return for Northern Dynasty
dropping two lawsuits against the agency.
“From the outset of this unfortunate saga, we’ve asked for
nothing more than fairness and due process under the law -- the
right to propose a development plan for Pebble and have it
assessed against the robust environmental regulations and
rigorous permitting requirements enforced in Alaska and the
U.S.," Chief Executive Officer Ron Thiessen said.