Activity will continue at the proposed Donlin Gold mine site this summer now that the project’s exploratory drilling program has been approved.
Beginning in July, a company contracting with Donlin Gold will drill two dozen holes into the ground at the proposed mine site near Crooked Creek. Each hole will be about four inches wide, a little less than the length of your average iPhone, and could run up to 1,600 feet deep.
“The more holes you drill,” said Donlin Spokesperson Kurt Parkan, “the more information you get.”
According to Parkan, the project is drilling these holes to better understand the exact location and grade of the gold-bearing ore deposit. Donlin plans to use any new data they collect to test the models they developed through their previous research. In 2006 and 2007, Donlin drilled about 1,800 of these holes to figure out exactly where the gold is located and exactly how much of it there is.
The new drilling program will last several months and cost $8 million. Parkan says that between 25 and 30 workers will be involved in the project and that Donlin wants to hire locally.
“We’re contacting Calista and some of our former employees,” he said. “We’re doing the best to find folks that are trained and available.”
The Donlin Gold mine could become one of the biggest gold mines in the world. According to NOVAGOLD and Barrick Gold - the two corporations behind the project - the mine could average 1.1 million ounces of gold production a year for 27 years.
According to Parkan, Donlin Gold received a permit to pump water out of Crooked Creek and use it in the drilling process. The company expects to receive a final Environmental Impact Statement on the project from the Army Corps of Engineers in March 2018. Agencies will decide whether or not to issue permits for Donlin’s mining operations after that release.