The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Drill program has been expanded to support feasibility study North of 60 Mining News - July 29, 2022
Crews have already completed 26,800 meters of the originally planned 34,000 meters of drilling slated for Donlin Gold year.
Barrick Gold President and CEO Mark Bristow (left) and Novagold Resources President and CEO Greg Lang (right) during a 2021 visit to the Donlin Gold project site.
Novagold Resources Inc. and Barrick Gold Corp. July 28 reported intercepts of up to 52.3 meters averaging 14.63 grams per metric ton gold from the first batch of assay results from an expanded 2022 program at the Donlin Gold project in Alaska.
Being advanced toward a production decision by Donlin Gold LLC – a joint venture owned equally by Novagold and Barrick – this enormous mine project hosts 504.81 million metric tons of proven and probable reserves averaging 2.09 grams per metric ton (33.9 million oz) gold.
Earlier this year, Donlin Gold approved a $60 million budget for a 2022 program that includes roughly 34,000 meters of drilling to collect the final data for an updated feasibility study for the extraordinary gold project.
With 26,800 meters of drilling completed so far, this program is progressing ahead of schedule.
Assay results have been received from approximately 9,870 meters of the drilling. Highlights include:
• 18.65 meters averaging 10.78 g/t gold from a depth of 197.6 meters in hole DC22-2040.
• 52.27 meters averaging 14.63 g/t gold from a depth of 232.95 meters in hole DC22-2040.
• 73.98 meters averaging 4.21 g/t gold from a depth of 99.82 meters in hole DC22-2056.
• 12.1 meters averaging 22.15 g/t gold from a depth of 130.04 meters in hole DC22-2063.
• 44.58 meters averaging 4.5 g/t gold from a depth of 464.06 meters in hole DC22-2067.
"The 2022 drill program has been extremely exciting, not to mention rewarding. With the latest set of assays, we continue to enjoy some of the best gold intercepts in the mining industry," said Novagold Resources President and CEO Greg Lang.
In June, the Donlin Gold board approved an additional 43 drill holes and 8,380 meters for infill drilling in preparation for completing an updated feasibility study for the world-class gold mine project.
The previous feasibility study, completed in 2011, detailed plans for a mine at Donlin that would produce more than 1 million oz of gold annually over an initial 25 years of mining.
"As expected, the drill program for 2022 continues to enhance our understanding of the ore bodies that make up the Donlin project," said Barrick President and Chief Executive Mark Bristow. "Also encouraging is that this year's drilling campaign is ahead of schedule and results so far support the most recent modelling concepts as we focus on moving the project toward a feasibility study decision. I look forward to the Donlin Gold workshop in Alaska in September to advance these efforts."
The 150 employees, contractors, and student interns at the Donlin site – a majority of which are local hires representing 24 Yukon-Kuskokwim communities in Southwest Alaska – are working on a two-week rotation schedule and continue to advance the project activities rapidly and safely.
"Donlin Gold's top priorities continue to be the health and safety of our people following the best practices in environmental stewardship for the benefit of the people of Alaska," said Donlin Gold General Manager Dan Graham. "We could not be more pleased with the work of our 2022 Donlin Gold site crew. While exceeding productivity rates and running ahead of schedule, the overall morale of employees has been high and our safety record has remained strong."
In addition to drilling, the 2022 Donlin fieldwork includes the collection of additional data for Alaska Dam Safety Certifications and environmental studies.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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