NYBob
5 years ago
Giant Donlin Gold project obtains more necessary permits
Allen Sykora Allen Sykora
Thursday February 06, 2020 08:21
Kitco NewsShare this article:
(Kitco News) -
Novagold Resources Inc. (NYSE American, TSX: NG) announced Thursday that its flagship Donlin Gold project has received more of the necessary permits to begin construction, this time from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.
https://www.kitco.com/news/2020-02-06/Giant-Donlin-Gold-project-obtains-more-necessary-permits.html
The project, co-owned by Novagold and Barrick Gold Corp., got final state right-of-way authorization for a buried pipeline for natural gas. The Department of Natural Resources has also given final authorization of easement, land leases, land use permits and the material site OK for proposed transportation facilities, as well as an easement for a fiber-optic cable on state lands. Also, by denying an appeal, the Department of Natural Resources affirmed the January 2019 approval of Donlin Gold’s reclamation plan and accompanied permit, Novagold said.
“We are very pleased to see the issuance of key transportation and energy infrastructure approvals for Donlin Gold,” said Greg Lang, president and chief executive officer of Novagold. “These final state land authorizations are important for the advancement of Donlin Gold.”
The company said a proposed 316-mile natural-gas pipeline would be 14 inches in diameter, typically buried at three to six feet deep, providing a reliable natural-gas supply regardless of weather or season to support power generation at the site.
Donlin Gold is considered one of the largest known open-pit gold deposits in the world. Once in production, Donlin Gold is expected to produce an average of more than 1 million ounces annually over a 27-year mine life.
By Allen Sykora
For Kitco News
JohnCM
5 years ago
NOVAGOLD
Located in Western Alaska, in the Yukon Kuskokwim region, Donlin Gold is one of the largest known, undeveloped gold deposits in the world, with probable reserves estimated at 33.8 million ounces of gold.
Based on exploration results, the Donlin Gold project will be an environmentally sound, open-pit gold mine. Located about 10 miles from Crooked Creek Village, the project would process approximately 59,000 short tons of ore per day.
The Donlin Gold project would provide thousands of jobs during construction, which is estimated to take three to four years. Throughout the estimated 27+ year operational phase, a variety of positions and shift work will be available.
Infrastructure plans call for a power-generation plant, water-treatment plant, access roads, housing, two ports, a natural-gas pipeline and an airstrip.
Donlin Gold estimates that the proposed mine could produce an average of 1.3 million ounces of gold annually during operation. This production level would make Donlin Gold one of the world’s largest gold mines.
PROJECT DETAILS
How big would the Donlin Gold mine be?
As per the second updated feasibility study, Donlin Gold has the potential to become one of the largest gold-producing mines in the world; slated to produce approximately 1,500,000 ounces of gold annually during the first five years of operation and approximately 1,100,000 ounces per year over its 27-year life.
With approximately 34 million ounces of gold (504.8 million tonnes at an average grade of approximately 2.1 grams per tonne) in the proven and probable reserve categories, Donlin Gold is one of the largest and highest-grade gold projects in development today. At the end of the project’s mine life, Donlin Gold’s open pit would be about 1,550 acres, its tailings storage about 2,350 acres, and its waste rock storage about 2,300 acres.
The EIS states that the Donlin Gold project would have a total footprint of approximately 16,300 acres.
What lands would be affected and for how long?
The Donlin Gold project has three main project components: the Mine Site, the Transportation Corridor, and the Pipeline.
The Mine Site includes the pit, processing facility, Waste Rock Facility (WRF), Tailings Storage Facility (TSF), and power plant. Development of the open pit, the waste rock disposal area, and the TSF would permanently alter the landscape at the Mine Site. At the end of operations, other Mine Site facilities, such as the power plant, the process facilities, the camp, roads, and fresh water storage ponds, would be decommissioned and the land reclaimed.
The Transportation Corridor includes improvements to the Knik Bethel Yard Dock, annual barging on the Kuskokwim River from Bethel to a new upriver port at Angyaruaq (Jungjuk), construction of a 30-mile access road and a 5,000-foot dedicated airstrip.
The Pipeline includes a 316-mile, 14-inch, buried natural gas pipeline to support power generation at the Mine Site, to be built from Cook Inlet to the Mine Site. Most of the Pipeline would be installed underground, so the project would affect the lands only during the construction period, after which the affected areas would be reclaimed. The pipeline-related land disturbance total 14, 038 acres.
How long will it take to build Donlin Gold?
Construction is expected to take approximately 3-4 years due to the extensive infrastructure requirements, limited access, and variable weather conditions.
What components, facilities and infrastructure are needed to support the mine?
As currently envisioned, the Donlin Gold mine will require an expanded port in Bethel where cargo and fuel will be transferred from ocean barges to river barges, and an upriver port in Angyaruaq (Jungjuk) for offloading river barges and transferring cargo and fuel to the site over a 30-mile access road using trucks.
Other infrastructure and mine facilities would include a 315- mile natural gas pipeline from Cook Inlet, power generation plant, process plant, wastewater treatment plant, as well as a new airstrip and camp. Donlin Gold will be a fly-in/fly-out project for staff and crew.
How long do you anticipate the mine will be operational?
Donlin Gold’s mine life is estimated to be at least 27 years. The project has significant exploration potential as its current mineral endowment covers only three kilometers of an eight- kilometer-long mineralized corridor. Even after operations cease, site care and maintenance will continue.
What are the mine site features?
Open pit mine: where mining would occur to remove ore (rocks that contain gold) from the ground.
Waste rock facility: to access the ore, ore with no gold content (“waste rock”) would be removed from the open pit and stored in an engineered facility onsite.
Ore processing facility: ore would be reduced in size to fine particles by crushing and grinding, then flotation would separate the gold-bearing sulfide minerals from non- mineralize rock. The floated material would be treated using pressure oxidation technology in autoclaves, and the gold would be recovered from the floated material in a carbon-in-leach (CIL) circuit. Gold dore´ bars would be produced at site, and then shipped to a custom refiner for further processing.
Tailings storage facility: left over ground rock, water and chemicals from ore processing would be stored in a state-of-the-art, lined onsite facility.
What is Donlin Gold doing to protect the environment during construction, mining and closure?
Environmental planning and protection is a fundamental element of the Donlin Gold project. The EIS describes the proposed action and reasonable alternatives, evaluates the potential environmental impacts of the proposed action and alternatives, and considers potential mitigation measures. The federal agencies will use the EIS to inform the decisions on the permits Donlin Gold has applied for and is working with the agencies to establish the conditions under which those permits would be issued.
The State of Alaska will issue numerous permits that will impose operational performance and monitoring requirements on Donlin Gold. Most importantly, by taking the steps today to carefully design the project to prevent and mitigate environmental impact, we are reducing both near- and long-term risk during construction and operation, and after closure.
Donlin Gold’s extensive environmental evaluations and baseline data collection, combined with the owners’ collective experience, are all key factors in being better prepared to plan, avoid, mitigate and respond should an event/incident occur. Moreover, the State of Alaska also has an experienced staff with a strong track record in regulating large mining projects.
The best available technologies will be utilized to meet or exceed all air and water quality standards with extensive environmental monitoring and reporting during all project phases. Best practices will also be carefully implemented for safe management of water, waste rock, tailings, fuels and chemicals and for control of dust. Adaptive management practices will use the results of monitoring to modify operating practices, develop mitigation measures, and take other appropriate action to protect the environment.
How will you ensure proper closure of the mine?
Financial assurance will be proposed by Donlin Gold and approved by the State prior to the commencement of construction. The State will then hold the financial assurance to ensure that there would always be sufficient funds in place to treat and reclaim the land to a chemically and physically stable condition following the operating period. The financial estimates on which the assurance is based are reviewed at least every five years to ensure that the funds set aside to pay for long-term care and maintenance remains sufficient.
Once operations are completed, the structures would all be removed from the property and water would be pumped out of the tailings storage facility to the open pit. The waste rock would be regraded, covered with soil and revegetated. The pit would begin to fill with water over a long period of time; approximately 50 years. The managed water level in the pit will be 30 feet lower than the water level in Crooked Creek to prevent pit water from discharging to Crooked Creek.
When the pit lake reaches the managed level, water from the pit will be pumped to a closure water treatment plant to maintain this water level. The water will first be treated to meet State water quality standards, and then will be discharged to Crooked Creek in a controlled manner during the summer. Monitoring will continue post-closure to ensure that all environmental standards are met.
NYBob
5 years ago
NEWS - NOVAGOLD Announces Election of Directors and Voting Results from 2019 Annual Shareholder Meeting
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
NOVAGOLD RESOURCES INC. (TSX, NYSE American: NG) (“NOVAGOLD” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce the detailed voting results on the items of business considered at its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on May 16, 2019 (the “Meeting”).
https://www.novagold.com/investors/news/index.php?content_id=1474
All proposals were approved and all nine director nominees were elected. A total of 262,216,970 or 80.62% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares were represented at the Meeting. Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, NOVAGOLD’s former President and Chief Executive Officer, retired from the Board after 20 years of service to the Company and Ethan Schutt was newly elected to the Board.
NOVAGOLD Thanks Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse for his Service
“On behalf of the Board of Directors of NOVAGOLD, I would like to express sincere appreciation to Rick for his vision in endowing NOVAGOLD with great assets which formed the foundation for value creation for our shareholders,” said Dr. Thomas Kaplan, NOVAGOLD’s Chairman. “Rick was the one who identified Donlin Gold as an exceptional deposit and shepherded its initial advancement into one of the world’s largest and highest-grade known open pit gold deposits. Just as importantly, his unwavering commitment toward improvement of living conditions in the remote communities of both Alaska and British Columbia has become an integral part of NOVAGOLD’s corporate culture. We wish him all the best in both his personal life and professional endeavors.”
Ethan Schutt joins the Board of Directors of NOVAGOLD
The Company is also pleased to announce the election of Ethan Schutt to its Board, effective May 16, 2019. Mr. Schutt is the Chief of Staff of Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC). ANTHC provides health services as well as training, health education, disease and injury prevention and rural water and sewer construction for Alaska Native people. In his current role, Mr. Schutt executes coordination and support activities to ensure proper prioritization and alignment of ANTHC resources. Prior to joining ANTHC, Mr. Schutt served as General Counsel, later becoming Senior Vice President of Land and Energy Development for Cook Inlet Region Inc. (CIRI). In that capacity, he led a team of professionals managing application of CIRI’s Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) lands toward exploration for oil and gas as well as mineral and other natural resource development. Mr. Schutt holds a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in mathematics from Washington State University and a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School.
“We are delighted to welcome Ethan to the Board,” added Dr. Kaplan. “His firsthand knowledge and appreciation of issues affecting Alaska and its Native communities is an important part of our day-to-day operations. NOVAGOLD is truly fortunate to have Ethan on its team and we are looking forward to his valuable counsel and advice.”
Shareholder Voting Results
The Shareholders voted on the following matters at this year’s Meeting.
Proposal 1 – Setting the Number of Directors
The vote was carried to adopt an ordinary resolution setting the number of Directors at ten. The votes according to proxies received were as follows:
Votes For 207,556,811 99.52%
Votes Against 992,264 0.48%
Proposal 2 – Election of Directors
The nominees listed in NOVAGOLD’s Management Information Circular were elected as Directors of the Company. Detailed results of the votes are set out below:
Proposal 1 Outcome of the
Vote Votes by Ballot
Election of Directors Votes For Votes Withheld
Sharon Dowdall Carried 206,423,961
(98.96%) 2,160,292
(1.04%)
Dr. Diane Garrett Carried 203,613,351
(97.62%) 4,970,902
(2.38%)
Dr. Thomas Kaplan Carried 207,860,882
(99.65%) 723,371
(0.35%)
Gregory Lang Carried 207,930,854
(99.69%) 653,399
(0.31%)
Igor Levental Carried 205,356,831
(98.45%) 3,227,422
(1.55%)
Kalidas Madhavpeddi Carried 207,156,041
(99.32%) 1,428,212
(0.68%)
Clynton Nauman Carried 206,606,096
(99.05%) 1,978,157
(0.95%)
Ethan Schutt Carried 207,686,980
(99.57%) 897,273
(0.43%)
Anthony Walsh Carried 207,360,165
(99.41%) 1,224,088
(0.59%)
Proposal 3 – Appointment of Auditors
The vote was carried for the Appointment of the Auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. The votes according to proxies received were as follows:
Votes For 260,738,373 99.45%
Votes Withheld 1,443,419 0.55%
Proposal 4 – Say-On-Pay Advisory Vote
The vote was carried on the Say-On-Pay Advisory Vote. The votes according to proxies received were as follows:
Votes For 173,946,528 83.41%
Votes Against 33,572,353 16.10%
Abstentions 1,030,194 0.49%
NOVAGOLD Continues its Shareholder Engagement Program
During the 2019 proxy season, NOVAGOLD placed calls to or met in person with its shareholders owning 40,000 or more shares, representing more than 85% of the Company’s issued and outstanding common shares entitled to vote at the Meeting.
Following the Meeting, the Board met and appointed Ethan Schutt to serve on the Audit and Corporate Communications Committees, replacing Kalidas Madhavpeddi and Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, respectively. Mr. Madhavpeddi replaced Mr. Van Nieuwenhuyse on the Environment, Health, Safety, Sustainability and Technical Committee.
Full details of all proposals are fully described in the Company’s Management Information Circular dated March 26, 2019 available on the Company’s website at www.novagold.com, on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov, and the detailed results of voting on each proposal are included in the Report of Voting Results filed on SEDAR and on EDGAR.
NOVAGOLD Contact:
Mélanie Hennessey
Vice President, Corporate Communications
Allison Pettit
Manager, Investor Relations
604-669-6227 or 1-866-669-6227
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