MINING NEWS: 29.4 million ounces of gold and growing

NovaGold, Barrick boost Donlin Creek deposit’s resource estimate by 77 percent; geologic trend may host another 10 million ounces

By Shane Lasley

Mining News

NovaGold Resources Inc. and Barrick Gold Corp. have incorporated more drilling results into their estimate of recoverable gold at the Donlin Creek deposit and boosted that number by 77 percent to 29.4 million ounces.

Donlin Creek is situated on Calista Corp. lands in the northern part of the Yukon-Kuskokwim region in western Alaska.

The estimate of measured and indicated resources was prepared by Barrick geologists, and compares favorably with an October 2006 projection of 16.6 million ounces.

Barrick’s Technical Service Evaluation Group constrained the resource within a conceptual pit, based on a $650-per-ounce gold price. Geologists also took into consideration recent estimates of mining costs, processing costs, selling costs and royalties in updating the estimate, Vancouver, B.C.-based NovaGold said Feb. 7.

By incorporating results of a 2006 exploration program and nearly three quarters of results from the 2007 drill season, a majority of the inferred resource at Donlin Creek was converted to measured and indicated resources. The estimate is likely to increase again when assay results from the remaining 20,000 meters or so of drilling are incorporated into the modeling, the junior said.

Barrick geologist Rich Harris told members of the Alaska Miners Association and Society of Mining Engineers Feb. 13 that the major believes nearly 30 million ounces of gold lies in an 80 percent intrusive and 20 percent sediment-hosted deposit at Donlin Creek that averages nearly 2.5 grams per metric tons gold. He also said the proposed mine sits in a geologic trend that most likely hosts another 10 million ounces of the yellow metal.

NovaGold President and CEO Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse said in the Feb. 7 statement that NovaGold believes excellent potential remains to define additional resources in the other major target areas at Donlin Creek.

Deeper drilling completed in 2007 shows mineralization in the Acma and Lewis zones in the deposit descends as much as 260 meters deeper than previously believed.

With the drilling completed to date, the waste-to-ore strip ratio at Donlin will be about 6-to-1, Harris said.

Further drilling could improve that ratio, but the partners “would probably go broke” if they completed the amount of drilling needed to fully delineate the deposit’s massive ore body, he said.

When asked what type of recovery system would be used on the project, Harris said the most likely scenario would be a combination of flotation, autoclave, and cyanide.

The partners envision producing nearly 1 million ounces of gold annually from their Donlin Creek project. This estimate could change as they study power options, logistics, processing and production levels in preparation for a final feasibility study.

With that study in hand, they hope to move on to mine planning and beginning the permitting process for the project by mid-2008.