Page 23 - NG_AR_2016

distribute 50% of their 7(i) revenues to their village corporations. These sharing provisions have proven to be an e ective mechanism for redistribution of pro ts from resource wealth and development in Alaska to the shareholders of all the Alaska Native regional and village corporations.
Each corporation is associated with a speci c region in Alaska and the Natives who traditionally lived there – an innovative approach to land settlements that engaged the tribes in corporate capitalism. The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) believed that the Natives would need to take part in the capitalist system in order to survive and prosper. As shareholders of these Native Corporations, Alaska Natives would have the opportunity to earn some income while continuing to engage in traditional ways of life. The development of natural resources in the regions would provide local employment that would enable individuals to stay, rather than leaving their villages to nd work elsewhere. The Native Corporations need jobs for their shareholders, and they recognize mineral development as one of the best opportunities to improve the standard of living in the remote villages of rural Alaska. With ANCSA, all Alaska Natives stand to bene t from Donlin Gold.
What’s more, these local communities have already enjoyed tangible bene ts. During the exploration programs from 1996
to present, local residents formed 90% of the workforce at its peak. The proposed project would employ up to 3,000 workers during construction and up to 1,200 during operations. Through Donlin Gold’s support of scholarships for Calista and TKC youth, sponsorship of academic and trades fairs, and leadership in development of the Alaska Miners Association’s Mining Workforce Development Plan, we’re building a foundation that will enable Calista and TKC shareholders and their descendants to thrive as Donlin Gold prospers.
We’re proud of the relationships we have with our community partners. We’ve taken the time to listen to their concerns – and we’ve carefully designed our project to address every one of them.
How much risk is there of environmental litigation delaying the project?
There’s always a risk of environmental litigation, although we believe the risk has been mitigated through the extensive and transparent public engagement that began early in the life of the project. Should there be any delays, however, we are prepared to work through them and to keep the process moving forward.
With a planned mine life of almost 30 years, we maintain a long-term view on this issue. The key is to ensure that each step in the process is completed properly – even if that means taking a bit more time. While there are never any guarantees that no one will le a lawsuit to try to prevent development of a new mining project, we believe we have plenty of advocates throughout Alaska.
As shareholders of the Calista Corporation (Calista), the owner of the mineral rights, and The Kuskokwim Corporation (TKC), owner of the surface estate, most of the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) region’s residents have an important stake in the project’s success. For over 20 years, Donlin Gold has partnered with Calista and TKC, earning their trust by working together to develop the asset into a world-class, environmentally responsible mine that provides economic opportunity both to the Y-K region and to the entire State of Alaska.
December 2016 marked the 45th anniversary of the enactment of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), which enabled Alaska Native Corporations to select 44 million acres of land as part of the compensation for extinguishment of their native title claims. The opportunity to select lands known to be valuable for their natural resource, e.g. timber and mineral potential, was intended to provide a solid foundation for the 12 ANCSA regional Native Corporations to encourage economic development in rural Alaska where well-paying, year-round employment is scarce.
ANCSA was enacted to respond to “real economic and social needs of Natives...with maximum participation by Natives in decisions a ecting their rights and property.”The ANCSA section 7(i) sharing provision mandates that the regional corporations redistribute 70% of the proceeds from natural resource development to all regional corporations, who in turn, must
Q+A
21