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DONLIN GOLD PROJECT MOVES TOWARD FINAL LAP
Donlin Gold: Fluor Corp. to lead Bankable Feasibility Study
confident that Fluor is the right partner at the right time to help move the project forward.” A detailed schedule and budget are ex- pected to be shared in the coming months as scope alignment with specialist contractors is finalized. Requests for proposals for specialist contractors covering major infrastructure and processing components were issued in late 2025 and will be incorporated into the BFS as selections are finalized. In parallel, Donlin Gold continues to build its owner’s project team and advance site activities that support the next phase of development. This work includes geotechnical drilling and materials assessments along the planned upriver port and access road to support detailed engineering and constructability. These efforts are being advanced concur- rently to support an integrated BFS and posi- tion the project for the next phase following completion of the study and project financing.
engineering design, cost accuracy, construc- tion planning and schedule development to support a high-quality, investment-grade study. Fluor was selected following a compet- itive bidding process that included multiple engineering firms. Fluor will be responsible for integrating several specialist workstreams into a coordinated project framework, including key infrastructure and processing elements such as the power plant, natural gas pipeline, pressure oxidation circuit and oxygen plant. “Fluor’s selection reflects their global leadership in engineering and their capa- bility to manage complex, multidisciplinary projects in remote locations,” said Frank Arcese, Donlin Gold Project Director. “Their expertise in front-end engineering design, integrated EPCM execution, project controls and risk management brings the rigor and precision needed at this stage of the BFS. I am
Donlin Gold has selected Fluor Corp. as the engineering firm to lead the project’s Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS), a key step as the Donlin Gold project advances toward financing and a financial investment decision (FID). The BFS is a comprehensive evaluation of engineering, cost, schedule and execution planning, ensuring the project is techni- cally sound, responsibly planned with the long-term interests of communities in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region. “Launching our BFS with Fluor marks an exciting new chapter in the Donlin Gold story,” said Todd Dahlman, general manager of Donlin Gold. “We’re looking forward to a dynamic and productive year as we lay the groundwork for a FID.” Donlin Gold is advancing the study using a disciplined, execution-focused approach informed by experience delivering large, com- plex projects. The emphasis is on integrating
Mine developers plan for Final Investment Decision to be made BY TIM BRADNER AFTER DECADES OF EXPLORATION, PLAN- NING AND PERMITTING, AND OWNERSHIP, THERE COULD BE A FINAL INVESTMENT DECISION COM- ING FOR THE BIG DONLIN GOLD PROJECT. With an estimated resource of 39 mil- lion ounces of resources, this is one of the biggest undeveloped gold projects in the world. There have been hiccups, including two changes of ownership over the years. There have been lawsuits, too, from those who don’t want the mine to be built despite the huge benefits it would bring to the Yu- kon-Kuskokwim Region in southwest Alas- ka, one of Alaska’s most economically chal- lenged regions. Here’s the latest: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a new study underway of the environmental effects of a spill of tail- ings that would be stored at the mine if it is built. A Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) is being prepared by the Corps that will describe the impacts. This is being done in response to an Alaska federal district court decision in a lawsuit brought by local tribes. Public comments on the early phase of the corps’ study were accepted through late February. Another round of public com- ments will be accepted when the draft of the analysis is released this fall. The final SEIS decision is expected in May 2027. In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs argued that an earlier analysis by the Army Corps involved a tailings spill that was too small. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason agreed and ordered the Army Corps to redo its analysis, assuming a larger spill. That is the work now underway. What is
Photo Courtesy Donlin Gold
significant is that the judge did not tell the agency what size of a larger spill it should assess for the analysis. That was left to the agency. Gleason also did not void the fed- eral permits that were issued several years ago, particularly the Army Corps’ Section 404 dredge and fill permit. The Donlin Gold developers, at the time led by Barrick Gold but including NOVA- GOLD, had been working on its permits for years. A detailed Environmental Impact Statement prepared by the Army Corps to support the permits was five years in the making. However, the decision to assess a smaller spill of tailings, which seemed reasonable at the time, providing mine opponents with an opening for their legal challenge. However, Gleason’s decision was narrow, telling the defendants, the mining companies, just to fix the defect. The rem- edy was to assess a larger spill for analysis and issue an SEIS, which is required under federal law. The mine developers, now NOVA- GOLD Resources, a Vancouver, B.C.-based
exploration firm, and Paulson Advisors, a mining investor, have separately made sig- nificant new progress toward a Final Invest- ment Decision, which they hope will now come in 2027. The litigation hiccup aside, the companies have made major invest- ments in new drilling to confirm the gold resource estimates and conducting geo- technical work on the siting for mine facil- ities. The ground is now laid for the mine feasibility study, a detailed look at the eco- nomics of the project that will also produce an updated cost estimate. Mine developers also do preliminary feasibility studies to provide an early look at project economics but it is the final feasibil- ity study that is done after all the geologic resource work and engineering is complete. Usually, the final investment decision fol- lows the final feasibility work, assuming it shows positive results. With the final study on track for late 2027 and the SEIS on the corps’ new spill risk assessment due early that year, the stage could be set for the in- vestment decision after decades of work.
GROWING OPPORTUNITY. ROOTED IN RESPECT.
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ALASKA RESOURCE REVIEW MARCH 2026
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