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THE JOURNAL - AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION BY THE ALASKA MINERS ASSOCIATION
MARCH 2026 | WWW.ALASKAMINERS.ORG
Paulson & Co. increases its stake in Tower Hill's Livengood Project
over 21 years, an average of about 304,750 ounces annually. The PFS elevated 430 million metric tons of the Livengood resources averaging 0.65 g/t (9 million ounces of gold) to proven and probable reserves. 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% discount) 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 oper- ation of the mine. Beyond gold, Livengood con- tains meaningful antimony within its stibnite veins — a metalloid designated as critical to U.S. economic and national security interests. Recent metallurgical work sug- gests flotation circuits could potentially recover antimony alongside gold, though significant additional testing is required to determine recoverability rates, concentrate characteristics, viable flowsheets and resource estimates for antimony While the economic contribution of antimony would be second- ary to gold, its strategic value could improve project positioning amid growing federal interest in domestic critical mineral supply chains. Paulson’s increasing ownership in Tower Hill aligns with its broader Alaska 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 Alas- ka’s Kuskokwim gold belt and is
expected to become one of the largest gold producers in the Amer- icas once constructed. Current projections anticipate construction beginning in 2027, with commercial 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 building 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-rat- ing long-life assets that struggled under conservative price decks. n Critical mineral co-products like antimony add strategic value beyond traditional gold economics.
COURTESY OF INTERNATIONAL TOWER HILL MINES
A s gold prices hover near historic highs, financing is once again flowing into Alaska’s development-stage gold sector. International Tower Hill Mines recently announced that it secured more than $100 mil- lion in new capital to advance its flagship Livengood gold project north of Fairbanks — with hedge fund Paulson & Co. significantly increasing its stake. The Vancouver-based compa- ny raised $118 million including $74.8 million in its offering of common shares in the United
States while Paulson completed a $40 million private placement at the same price. The hedge fund then injected another $3.3 million to increase its stake to 35%. The financing underscores renewed 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 feasibil- ity-level engineering, addition- al drilling, metallurgical testing, environmental baseline work and
permitting activities for the Liven- good project, located about 70 miles north of Fairbanks along the Elliott Highway. Livengood’s Money Knob depos- it hosts more than 700 million metric tons of measured and indicated resources averaging 0.6 grams per metric 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 operation at the Livengood mine project that would produce about 6.4 million ounces of gold
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