Anchorage Daily News

The world-class Donlin Creek gold project in Southwest Alaska keeps growing.

Results from recent drilling have upped Donlin's estimated quantity of gold by 77 percent, according to NovaGold Resources Inc., a partner in the project.

The deposit on Native land 270 miles west of Anchorage holds at least 29.5 million ounces of gold, and Donlin's developers said they have "excellent potential" to increase their estimate later this year.

"We expect the numbers will go up again" as new drilling results are confirmed, said Rhylin Bailie, a spokeswoman for NovaGold Resources Inc., a partner in exploring Donlin.

That amount of gold is worth $26.5 billion at today's prices. Gold has reached its highest price ever in the past year, and recently hovered around $900 per ounce.

If built, Donlin would be the largest open-pit gold mine in Alaska, producing up to 1 million ounces of gold per year. That's almost double the amount of gold currently mined from Alaska.

Mining the Donlin gold would result in royalties to the Native corporations that own the land the mine sits on -- the Kuskokwim Corp. and Calista Corp.

Though Donlin is billed as one of the world's largest undeveloped gold deposits, it has a bigger brother to the south: The Pebble project, also being explored in Southwest Alaska, near Iliamna, is estimated to contain even more gold than Donlin, though the gold at Donlin is at higher concentrations in the rock than at Pebble.

The richest part of Pebble, in the eastern portion of its mine leases, contains an estimated 39.6 million ounces of gold, according to recent results published by Northern Dynasty Mines Ltd., a British Columbia-based company.

Copper remains the biggest commodity at Pebble. At 42.6 billion pounds and growing, the copper at Pebble East is worth an estimated $138 billion at today's prices.

Donlin is at a more advanced planning stage than Pebble.

NovaGold and Alberta-based Barrick Gold Corp. are working on studies to determine how to develop Donlin into a mine, and the company could begin applying for permits from the state this year or next, Bailie said.

Find Elizabeth Bluemink online at adn.com/contact/ebluemink or call 257-4317.

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