Name of the Project
Donlin Gold project.

Location
Alaska, in the US.

Project Owner/s
Precious metals company Novagold Resources and global investment management advisory firm Paulson Advisers.

Project Description
The project has the potential to become one of the largest gold-producing mines in the world, producing an estimated 1.5-million ounces a year of gold in the first five years of operation and about 1.1-million ounces a year over its 27-year life.

The project is expected to be a conventional openpit, truck-and-shovel operation.

Peak production rates are expected to reach 155-million tonnes a year. The mining equipment required includes large hydraulic shovels, front-end loaders, ultra-class haul trucks, rotary blast-hole drills, and various support equipment, including track and wheel dozers, graders, water trucks, and excavators.

The process plant will be fed with stockpiled low-grade ore for two additional years following the completion of mining. 

Donlin Gold is proposing to build a subterranean natural gas pipeline to serve as the energy source for on-site power generation. The 507 km, 356-mm-diameter steel pipeline would transport natural gas from the Cook Inlet region to the project site.

Potential Job Creation
Up to 3 000 jobs will be created during construction and up to 1 400 jobs during operation.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
According to the 2021 technical report, the project has an after-tax net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of $3.4-billion using a gold price of $1 500/oz, and internal rate of return of 9.2%, with a payback of 7.3 years.

Capital Expenditure
The total estimated initial capital cost to design and build the Donlin Gold project is $7.4-billion according to the National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report on the project, effective June 1, 2021, and the S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary effective November 30, 2021.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Development
Novagold Resources has reported further high-grade drilling results and secured a favourable ruling from the Alaska Supreme Court.

The company has said assays from the 2025 drill campaign have returned significant intercepts, including 4.38 m at 26.22 g/t gold and 41.09 m at 3.06 g/t, across multiple zones. The 2025 drill programme comprised infill, in-pit exploration and geotechnical drilling, totalling more than 18 000 m. Recent work has focused on resource conversion, pit wall stability studies and site investigations for the access road.

The data will feed into a bankable feasibility study that Novagold expects to start by the first quarter of 2026.

“The 2025 drill programme continues to exceed expectations,” CEO Greg Lang has said, adding that strong grades, progress on permitting and the court ruling are positioning Donlin Gold for its next stage of development.

The Alaska Supreme Court has affirmed the project’s water rights permits and the state right-of-way lease for Novagold’s proposed 508 km natural gas pipeline, upholding decisions by the Department of Natural Resources and allowing for state permitting to continue. 

The project still faces one remaining state-level challenge on a Clean Water Act certification.

Separately, the project was formally accepted into the US federal FAST-41 programme in October, signalling an intention to improve coordination and predictability in the supplemental environmental review ordered by a federal court. The project already holds most of its state and federal permits.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
SRK Consulting (technical report); and AMEC Americas (lead feasibility study consultant).

Contact Details for Project Information
NovaGold, tel +1 604 669 6227 or email info@novagold.com.
Paulson Advisers, Michael McKeon, email mmckeon@actumllc.com