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Drilling is good for the partners, and we will follow Barrick’s lead with gusto. The more the merrier. To drill, of course, one really has to have a shared vision of what can be done. It is now the case with the new management team.
We ourselves know of no better way to add long-term value than through the drill bit. The drill results that Donlin Gold delivered in 2018 certainly exceeded our expectations. With intercepts including 130 meters of 6 grams per tonne, and 64 meters of 5 grams per tonne1, we reckon these constituted some of the best drill results reported by any development project for quite a while. In a bull market for gold stocks, these intercepts would have been met with a very different reaction than they were a couple of years ago when nobody cared. People now care. So watch this space!
13 As a successful entrepreneur, historian, wildlife conservationist, and art collector, how do these passions mesh with your interest in NOVAGOLD?
There are several aspects to answering this question. The first is very straightforward in that my predisposition to environmentalism derives from a personal belief that the greatest imperative in life is to give back, and that conservation activism represents the most impactful way in which I have expressed this creed. Indeed, it is a well-known fact in my circle that, had I the talent, I would have wished to become a field zoologist
and spent my career in wild cat conservation. But alas, my strength was in applying history, not science. Nonetheless, I rarely ever let go of my interests and I never lost my youthful passion for the subject. At the first opportunity, I took advantage of my good fortune in the natural resources business to pivot to creating conservation organizations (enabling the practitioners who possessed those aptitudes that I lacked) with the capabilities and freedom to save the species and ecosystems that are one of our generation’s most precious endowments. To the extent that wildlife conservation impacts my professional sensibilities, it is reflected in my team’s placing the greatest emphasis possible on selecting projects that I believe can and should be built – yes, there have been those that I felt strongly should not be developed, for environmental and cultural reasons – and, when taken up the value chain, exemplify the very best practices in environmental standards. That’s a given. I should also
add that I take our social license at least as seriously. The support of one’s local stakeholders is a gift that should not be taken for granted. Ever.
On a more subliminal level, I believe that, like many people, I am most particularly attracted to the iconic. The big cats are generally the most charismatic megafauna in their environment. And Rembrandt, whose work I collect with both fervor and rigor, represents one of the greatest luminaries in history – his name evoking a revolution in the conveyance of freedom to the artists that followed him. As with cats and Old Masters, much of my professional track record over the past 25 years has been built around sublime creations that are more often than not characterized by scarcity as well as some slew of superlatives. I am told that the passion with which I
1) These represent two significant intervals from the 2017 Donlin Gold drill program. Refer to the media release dated February 20, 2018 titled “NOVAGOLD’s Donlin Gold Project Reports Excellent Results from 2017 Drill Program,” for remaining significant intervals and additional information.
The Economic Benefits of Mining in Alaska
Source: Alaska Miners Association – The Economic Benefits of Alaska’s Mining Industry, March 2019.
9K
total direct and indirect jobs attributed to the Alaska mining industry
$34M
local government revenue through property taxes and payments in lieu of taxes
$358M
payments to
Alaska Native Corporations
$715M
total direct and indirect payroll
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