Name and Location
Donlin gold project, Alaska, US.

Client
Donlin Gold, which is equally owned by Canada-based miners Barrick Gold Corp and NovaGold Resources, while the land is owned by community organisation The Kuskokwim Corporation (TKC) and Alaska Native corporation for the Yukon–Kuskokwim region, the Calista Corporation, which owns the mineral rights.

Project Description
The Donlin gold (formerly Donlin Creek) project, as currently envisioned, will be one of only a handful of gold mines worldwide that produce more than one-million ounces of gold a year.

The 109 km² Donlin Creek property, which is part of the Kuskokwim gold belt, is one of the largest undeveloped gold resources in the world, containing estimated proven and probable reserves of about 504.8-million ounces of gold at a grade of 2.09 g/t, and measured and indicated resources of 541.3-million ounces, as well as inferred resources of 92.2-million ounces of gold.

The project is expected to be capable of producing 1.5-million ounces of gold a year in the first five years of operation, and an average of 1.1-million ounces of gold a year over its projected 27-year mine life.

The project is also being updated to include power generation, using natural gas delivered to the site through a 500 km pipeline from the Cook Inlet to the mine site.

Value
Initial capital costs for the project in April 2009 were estimated at $4.5-billion. This has now been revised upwards to $6.7-billion.

Duration
Production is expected to begin in late 2017 or early 2018.

Latest Development
Marking a significant permitting milestone in progressing the Donlin gold project, in Alaska, towards production, the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has published the project’s draft environmental-impact statement (DEIS), opening the process to public comment.

Following the filing of the DEIS, the Corps is now expected to issue a schedule for public meetings on the statement in the coming weeks, accept written comments until the close of the five-month comment period at the end of April 2016, and review and respond to all comments on the DEIS in a final EIS, which will be published in 2017.

NovaGold president and CEO Greg Lang, meanwhile, has encouraged the local community to take advantage of the public comment period.

“The project could create a unique incentive for people to return to their region by generating economic growth that is consistent with traditional ways of life. With this opportunity in mind, we encourage the local communities in the Yukon–Kuskokwim region and other interested parties to be active participants in the public meetings,” he has appealed.

In addition to further advancing the DEIS, Donlin Gold has also advanced several other key permits, including the Public Notice for the Clean Water Act Section permit application, which has already been issued by the Corps.

The Air Quality and Integrated Waste Management permit applications has been submitted to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, while lease applications have also been submitted to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.

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

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Barrick Gold investor relations manager Joyce Davies, tel +1 416 307 7354, fax +1 416 861 0727 or email jdavies@barrick.com.
NovaGold Donlin Creek, tel +1 888 225 7590, fax +1 907 273 0201 or email info@donlincreek.com.
SRK Consulting, tel +1 907 677 3520, fax +1 907 677 3620 or email anchorage@srk.com.