Donlin Gold leaders meet with Alaskans
Shane Lasley, North of 60 Mining News, August 22, 2025
Paulson, Kaplan meet Y-K residents, Native corp. partners, state leaders during Alaska tour.
With their sights set on developing Donlin Gold into the largest gold mine in the United States, senior leadership from Novagold Resources Inc. and Paulson Advisers LLC – led by billionaires Thomas Kaplan and John Paulson – met with state officials and local residents during a recent visit to Alaska.
“I was pleased to visit the site, spend time in Aniak, a middle Kuskokwim village, and engage directly with local stakeholders and the Alaska Native Corporations who are owners and stewards of the land where the project is located,” said John Paulson, a renowned mining investor who is chairman of Paulson Advisors. “We also held valuable and highly constructive discussions with government leaders and prospective contractors for key infrastructure components. These engagements underscore our shared dedication to progressing the project in a responsible, inclusive, and collaborative manner.”
In April, Paulson Advisors invested roughly US$800 million to acquire Barrick Gold’s 40% interest in Donlin Gold. Novagold raised its interest in the Donlin Gold joint venture from 50 to 60% through the buyout of Barrick’s remaining interest in the project.
With Barrick’s exit, both partners of the reshaped JV are firmly behind the development of a mine at Donlin Gold, a 40-million-ounce gold project that has been on the cusp of a development decision for nearly 15 years.
“More than ever before, with a beautifully aligned co-owner and the backdrop of a gold bull market, the company remains devoted to responsibly advancing the development of what would be, at present estimates, America’s largest gold mine – and, above all, honoring the enduring values of the region and respecting the long-term interests of all stakeholders,” said Novagold Chairman Thomas Kaplan, who is also renowned for his mining investments.
A first-hand look at Y-K life
With both companies firmly behind the responsible development of Donlin, Paulson, Kaplan, and senior management from both project partners met with residents in the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) region of Southwest Alaska, where Donlin Gold is located, as well as with state officials in Anchorage.
During their visit to the Y-K region, the Paulson and Novagold chairs met with leaders from Calista Corp. and The Kuskokwim Corp., Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) corporations that own the subsurface and surface lands at Donlin, respectively.
“Being on site for the second time in the last month and meeting directly with representatives from Calista Corporation and The Kuskokwim Corporation, which are the land resource owners of the Donlin Gold project, as well as local stakeholders, government officials, and infrastructure and logistics providers, reinforced both the strength of our collaboration as well as the renewed momentum behind this project”, said Kaplan.
During their tour of Donlin Gold, the project owners were invited to travel by boat on the Kuskokwim River and visit a local fish camp. This provided Paulson with first-hand insights into the subsistence lifestyle important to the Alaska Native residents and emphasized the residents’ reliance on the Kuskokwim River for food and travel.
While the Kuskokwim River offers a major transportation route that will support mine development and operations, the Donlin Gold JV is committed to minimizing barge traffic along this waterway, which is critical to the region’s subsistence lifestyle.
This includes building a 300-mile natural gas pipeline from Cook Inlet in Southcentral Alaska to the project, which will significantly reduce the amount of diesel that will need to be barged to the mine.
Paulson and Novagold said they look forward to ongoing and ever-closer exchanges with Calista, TKC, and their Alaska Native shareholders as the Donlin Gold project advances.
While in Alaska, the Paulson and Novagold leadership teams met with Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Department of Natural Resources Commissioner John Boyle, former Department of Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum, and other state leaders.
These meetings allowed Alaska leaders and the reformed Donlin Gold ownership to discuss specific focus areas important to the state and Donlin.
“As the second largest gold-producing state in the U.S., Alaska offers superb opportunities for the responsible development of employment-generating projects like Donlin Gold,” the Donlin Gold partners stated.
Clear shift toward mine development
The new Novagold-Paulson partnership marked a distinct turning point for Donlin Gold – from years of ongoing studies to a clear focus on a mine development decision.
“I am committed to the development of this truly magnificent project,” said Paulson.
This commitment was less clear with Barrick, which took Donlin to the cusp of an investment decision 14 years ago, but never pulled the trigger on mine development.
A feasibility study completed in 2011 outlined plans for a mine at Donlin that would produce 1.1 million oz of gold annually for 27 years.
This mine plan is supported by 541.3 million metric tons of measured and indicated resources averaging 2.24 grams per metric ton (39 million oz) gold and 92.2 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 2.02 g/t gold.
Novagold Resources Inc.
The results from drilling over the past four years are expected to significantly upgrade the resources at Donlin Gold.
The resources supporting the feasibility study do not include the results of any of the drilling completed since 2011, including some spectacular results from 220 holes drilled in 2021 and 2022. Highlights include:
• 92.02 meters averaging 7.8 g/t gold in hole DC21-1970.
• 52.27 meters averaging 14.63 g/t gold in hole DC22-2040.
• 19.74 meters averaging 34.17 g/t gold in hole DC22-2063.
• 42.28 meters averaging 30.68 g/t gold in hole DC22-2068.
• 48.96 meters averaging 20.61 g/t gold in hole DC22-2077
Despite these outstanding results, Barrick was not willing to update the more than decade-old resource and feasibility study in preparation for a mine development decision.
Prior to Barrick’s exit in April, the Donlin Gold JV had approved a $43 million budget for project activities in 2025 and initiated a roughly 15,000-meter infill drill program. The new Donlin Gold partnership immediately shifted the focus of drilling toward upgrading and expanding the world-class deposit in preparation for the feasibility study.
The results from this drill program, which is now complete, will be incorporated into a new resource calculation for an updated bankable feasibility study for the globally significant gold mine project.
An additional 3,000 meters of geotechnical drilling is being carried out at the deposit and along the 30-mile road that would connect a future mine to a port on the Kuskokwim River. This program will provide data critical to completing the feasibility study.
While in Alaska, Novagold and Paulson leaders met with natural gas pipeline developers and distributors to analyze opportunities for delivering natural gas to Southcentral Alaska. This could help bring near-term relief to Alaska’s Railbelt, which is dealing with natural gas shortages, and be beneficial for Donlin Gold and the Y-K area over the longer term.
The Donlin Gold JV is currently in the process of selecting top-tier engineering firms with the capacity to complete a feasibility study for a project on the scale of Donlin and its supporting infrastructure.