Paulson doubles down on Livengood project
come one of the largest gold producers in the Americas once constructed. Cur - rent projections anticipate construc - tion beginning in 2027, with commer - cial production targeted for 2031 and a projected 27-year mine life. By strengthening its position in Livengood while maintaining major exposure to Donlin, Paulson is build - ing a concentrated portfolio of long- life Alaska gold assets that are highly leveraged to gold price upside. For Alaska’s mining industry, the financing is notable for several reasons: n Capital is returning to large- scale projects previously sidelined by gold price volatility. n High metal prices are re-rating long-life assets that struggled under conservative price decks. n Critical mineral co-products like antimony add strategic value be - yond traditional gold economics.
tional security interests. Recent metallurgical work suggests flotation circuits could potential - ly recover antimony alongside gold, though significant additional testing is required to determine recoverabil - ity rates, concentrate characteristics, viable flowsheets and resource esti - mates for antimony While the economic contribution of antimony would be secondary to gold, its strategic value could improve proj - ect positioning amid growing federal interest in domestic critical mineral supply chains. Paulson’s increasing ownership in Tower Hill aligns with its broader Alas - ka gold strategy. The hedge fund already holds a substantial stake in the Donlin Gold project, one of North America’s largest undeveloped gold deposits. The Donlin project — majority owned by NOVAGOLD Resources — is located in southwest Alaska’s Kuskok - wim gold belt and is expected to be -
operation at the Livengood mine project that would produce about 6.4 million ounces of gold over 21 years, an average of about 304,750 ounces annually. The PFS elevated 430 million met - ric tons of the Livengood resources averaging 0.65 g/t (9 million ounces of gold) to proven and probable re - serves. At a $2,500-per-ounce gold price and cost inputs under the 2021 study, the mine would generate an after-tax net present value (5% dis - count) of $2.35 billion, an after-tax internal rate of return of 18.5%, and a capital payback period of almost four years. With $5,000-per-ounce gold figures of today, the total value of gold in Livengood’s reserves rests at about $45 billion. The increased value has all signs pointing to the building and operation of the mine. Beyond gold, Livengood contains meaningful antimony within its stib - nite veins — a metalloid designated as critical to U.S. economic and na -
ing, metallurgical testing, environ - mental baseline work and permitting activities for the Livengood project, located about 70 miles north of Fair - banks along the Elliott Highway. Livengood’s Money Knob deposit hosts more than 700 million metric tons of measured and indicated re - sources averaging 0.6 grams per met - ric ton (13.6 million ounces of gold). A prefeasibility study complet - ed in 2021 has detailed plans for a 65,000-metric-ton-per-day mining
shares in the United States while Paulson completed a $40 million pri - vate placement at the same price. The hedge fund then injected another $3.3 million to increase its stake to 35%. The financing underscores re - newed investor confidence in large- scale, price-leveraged gold assets — and reinforces Alaska’s position as a jurisdiction capable of hosting world- class, long-life mines. The proceeds will fund feasibili - ty-level engineering, additional drill -
As gold prices hover near historic highs, financing is once again flow - ing into Alaska’s development-stage gold sector. International Tower Hill Mines recently announced that it se - cured more than $100 million in new capital to advance its flagship Liven - good gold project north of Fairbanks — with hedge fund Paulson & Co. sig - nificantly increasing its stake. The Vancouver-based company raised $118 million including $74.8 million in its offering of common
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THE LINK: The Official Magazine of the Alaska Support Industry Alliance | SPRING 2026
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