Billionaire bets on Donlin to inject new life into Alaska gold project

For years, plans to develop Alaska’s largest gold prospect appeared to have stalled amid lawsuits and questions about costs. Now, a $1 billion deal could inject new life into the massive Donlin gold project in Western Alaska. That’s the message, at least, from the investors who are doubling down on Donlin, including two prominent East Coast billionaires. They say they’re more motivated to push the project toward production than the global mining giant that just pulled out.

In a sale announced this week, Barrick Gold Corp., one of the world’s most prolific gold mining companies, will give up its half of Donlin. Paulson Advisers, a Florida-based firm led by financier John Paulson, is paying Barrick $800 million for 40% of the project. The remaining 10% will go to Novagold Resources for $200 million. Novagold is a publicly traded company that already owned half of the project and has been working on it alongside Barrick for years.