NovaGold, the Canadian mining company that owns a 50% stake in the controversial Donlin Gold Project in Alaska, recently added an additional $25 million to its coffers by selling its interest in a separate mining project.
American mining company Newmont Corporation is buying NovaGold’s interest in the Galore Creek Project in British Columbia, Canada, and just made its third payment.
According to Globe Newswire, NovaGold’s exit from Galore Creek has provided it with a “strong financial foundation to advance its 50%-owned Donlin Gold project in Alaska.”
NovaGold has said that the Donlin Gold Project, located about 10 miles north of the village of Crooked Creek on the Kuskokwim River, has the advantage of being in “one of the safest mining jurisdictions in the world.” If developed, it would become one of the largest open-pit gold mines in the world.
Donlin opponents say that the catastrophic effects of a tailings dam failure for downriver communities have not been considered, and they are concerned about the impact of the project’s barge traffic. In April, tribal organizations for Bethel, Tuluksak, and Kwethluk sued the federal government, calling into question the final environmental impact statements for Donlin.
