VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Joint venture (JV) partners Barrick Gold and Novagold announced on Thursday that their co-owned operating company Donlin Gold will undertake an $8-million drill programme to further optimise the Donlin gold project, located in the Yukon Kuskokwim region of Alaska.

Donlin already has compliant measured and indicated resources of 39-million ounces of gold at a grade of 2.2 g/t, making it one of the largest and highest-quality undeveloped gold deposits in the world.

After reviewing project parameters as outlined in a second updated feasibility study in 2011, the JV partners said they have concluded that the potential exists to enhance the project economics through a more cost-effective project execution plan that could substantially reduce upfront capital.

The companies have been focused on finding ways to capitalise on the flexibility inherent in Donlin’s unique characteristics of large, high-grade exploration upside.

The approved programme has been developed as a direct consequence of results achieved from a series of wide-ranging optimisation evaluations of the orebody, in parallel with completing the ongoing permitting activities, which are advancing as planned, the companies reported.

“We are encouraged by the prospects to further optimise the Donlin gold project, which has the potential to be the largest pure gold mine in the world – in one of the safest jurisdictions of the world. Donlin is a unique asset, which provides Barrick stakeholders with significant optionality,” stated Barrick president Kelvin Dushnisky.

The companies stated that they have seen “significant progress” as they work through the final stages of permitting and completing these activities in the most efficient manner possible.

The project’s lead permitting agency, the US Army Corps of Engineers, is working with the cooperating agencies to complete the final environmental-impact statement (EIS) by addressing public comments received on the Donlin draft EIS.

As disclosed in their latest schedule, the Corps expects to receive the final EIS in early 2018.

Work also continues with state and federal agencies to advance all other required permits, including the Clean Water Act Sections 404 and 10 permit, integrated waste management permit, water discharge permit, air quality permit, dam safety approvals, water use permits, and fish habitat permits, as well as the land and shoreline lease and right-of-way approvals.

The latest updated feasibility study for the project envisions a 1.1-million-ounce-a-year project, with initial output averaging 1.5-million ounces of gold a year, over an expected 27-year mine life.

The mineral resources are held in only 3 km of an 8 km gold mineralised trend, providing the owners with exceptional exploration opportunities.