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What steps remain in the permitting process before a construction decision can be made and ground can be broken?
All Donlin Gold EIS documents, including the Corps’ current timetable for the Donlin Gold EIS process, can be found on its website at www.donlingoldeis.com. Other federal cooperating agencies, such as the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and Bureau of Land Management, will issue separate Records of Decision with respect to the permits and approvals they are responsible for issuing. Concurrent with the EIS process, Donlin Gold continues to work with state and federal agencies to advance all other required permits and approvals, including the air quality permit, pipeline authorizations, water discharge and use, and sh habitat permits, as well as land and shoreline lease and right-of-way approvals.
Apart from the ongoing permitting process – which was initiated based on the project described in the second updated feasibility study dated November 18, 2011 and amended and led on January 20, 2012 – additional engineering work is required to advance the project design from feasibility to construction-ready level. Some eld work – e.g. drilling to further de ne geotechnical conditions in the area of the proposed tailings dam embankment – will be undertaken in support of the engineering e ort.
Field work will also take place along the natural gas pipeline right-of-way to nalize the pipeline alignment and locations of borrow sites and river crossings. As engineering speci cations
are nalized, orders will be placed for mine equipment, plant components (mills, crushers, motors, pumps, etc.), pipe, and
other materials. All of these actions will be identi ed in a well- thought-out project execution plan that the project team will use to manage the project scope and to reduce the risks inherent in project execution.
Prior to making a construction decision on Donlin Gold, permitting should be complete and feasibility-level and detailed engineering should be well underway. Permitting a venture that could potentially be the largest pure gold-producing mine in the world – in the safest national jurisdiction in the world – is a very big deal. Permitting activities at Donlin Gold are focused on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), the most time-consuming aspect of the process. In large part, the EIS drives the overall permitting timeline for the project.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the lead federal permitting agency, has now completed the public scoping process, worked with the cooperating agencies to identify
and select a reasonable range of alternatives to Donlin Gold's proposed action, published a draft EIS for public review, and completed a six-month public comment period which included numerous meetings throughout the Y-K region. The Corps is currently evaluating the comment submissions from the draft EIS and initiating work to complete the nal EIS.
Project permitting on track: Advancing toward final Environmental Impact Statement.
16 years ˜ 5 ˜ 4 27+ years
1.5 Moz/year
first five full years 1
1.1 Moz/year life of mine 1
Final EIS Record of Decision
Permit Applications
Submitted 08/12
Notice of Intent
Submitted 12/12
Public Scoping
Ended 03/13
Preliminary Draft EIS
Completed 06/15
Draft EIS
Published 11/15
Public Comment Period
Ended 05/16
Q+A
August 2012 2018
1) Donlin Gold data as per the second updated feasibility study. Projected average annual production represents 100% of which NOVAGOLD’s share is 50%.
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EXPLORATION & ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
PERMITTING
ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION
OPERATION