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The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Extraordinary intercepts belie bulk tonnage nature of deposit North of 60 Mining News – November 4, 2022
Geologist Dan Romanelli (foreground), geotechnician Justin Andrew (background left), and core yard coordinator Eddy Hoeldt (background right) in the core shack at Donlin Gold.
Click on image for larger map.
Novagold Resources Inc. and Barrick Gold Corp. Nov. 1 reported intercepts of up to 42.3 meters averaging 30.68 grams (0.99 ounces) per metric ton gold from the 2022 drilling at the Donlin Gold project in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region of Southwest 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 g/t (33.9 million oz) gold.
Earlier this year, Donlin Gold approved an expanded budget of $64 million for a 2022 program that included 42,331 meters of drilling to collect the final data for an updated feasibility study for developing a mine at this world-class gold deposit.
In August, the JV released the first batch of results from the 2022 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.
The latest batch of results is from 64 complete and nine partial holes this year; highlights include:
• 19.74 meters averaging 34.17 g/t gold from a depth of 162.2 meters in hole DC22-2063.
• 60.96 meters averaging 12.35 g/t gold from a depth of 236.2 meters in hole DC22-2063.
• 42.28 meters averaging 30.68 g/t gold from a depth of 117.5 meters in hole DC22-2068.
• 48.96 meters averaging 20.61 g/t gold from a depth of 150.1 meters in hole DC22-2077.
• 41.19 meters averaging 6.64 g/t gold from a depth of 116.1 meters in hole DC22-2092.
These extraordinary results, especially for a bulk tonnage open pit mine project, are part of tight-spaced grid drilling that began in 2021 to increase confidence in the extent and continuity of gold mineralization and structural controls over short-scale distances. This detailed drilling began in ACMA and Lewis deposit areas and the Divide domain.
"The latest set of assays reported have delivered outstanding gold intercepts, especially for an open pit deposit that include, among others, drill hole DC22-2068 that intersected 42.28 m grading 30.68 g/t gold, with a sub-interval of 23.16 m grading 54.22 g/t gold located in the Divide domain which overlaps both the ACMA and Lewis deposits, making it one of the most significant intercepts in terms of grade-thickness ever reported at the Donlin Gold project," said Novagold Resources President and CEO Greg Lang.
In addition to the expansive and successful drill program, the Donlin Gold owners carried out a workshop in September to help pave the way toward an updated feasibility study decision for the project.
"I am encouraged by the progress that we are making at Donlin and in particular the understanding that our teams are accruing with regards to the orebodies and associated mineralization," said Barrick Gold President and CEO Mark Bristow. "Our recent workshop in Anchorage which also involved meetings with our Native Corporation partners, and the visit to the project helped us to set priorities for the next steps towards optimization work and studies."
The 2022 program was carried out while continuing Donlin Gold's longstanding track record of advancing the project in a financially disciplined manner that emphasizes a strong safety culture, environmental stewardship, and community engagement.
"The 2022 Donlin Gold drill program has been a great success because of the truly remarkable work performed by the Donlin Gold team, including Calista and The Kuskokwim Corporation (TKC), and because of our collective dedication to the health and safety of everyone at site," said Donlin Gold General Manager Dan Graham. "We are thankful for our 150 contractors and employees, the majority of which are local hires from 24 Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) communities, as they exceeded productivity rates and were able to complete the drilling ahead of schedule."
Assays from roughly 70% of the holes from the 2022 Donlin Gold program have now been reported. The balance of the results is expected early in 2023.
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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