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2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Fueled by trade tensions and foreign wars, a rush for an obscure mineral heats up in Alaska
A sign warns of a sled dog crossing along Old Murphy Dome Road outside Fairbanks. The road leads to a site where an Australian company called Felix Gold could begin mining antimony. (Max Graham/Northern Journal) Alaska hasn't produced antimony — a shiny mineral used in weapons, flame retardants and solar panels — in almost 40 years. That could change this summer, according to the executives of a Texas company that has snatched up more than 35,000 acres of mining claims in Alaska. Dallas-based U.S. Antimony Corp. is looking to the state as a new source of antimony for its smelter in Montana, the only plant in the United States that refines the mineral. Alaska's antimony, the company says, could help the U.S. overcome a recent ban on exports of the mineral from China, the world's top antimony producer. Antimony is among several minerals — many of which are used in renewable energy — that the U.S. has sourced primarily from China and other countries in recent decades. Efforts to build more mines in the U.S. have accelerated amid worsening trade tensions and growing demand. With no active antimony mines, the U.S. in recent years has imported roughly 60% of its antimony from China. Meanwhile, need for the mineral has surged as antimony-laden arms flow to wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. The price of the mineral has quadrupled in the past year, rising from around $13,000 to $55,000 per ton. U.S. Antimony is now expanding its Montana smelter and rushing to find more ore to supply it. Alaska is its 'primary focus' for boosting production, an executive said in an interview last week. In the past eight months, a U.S. Antimony subsidiary, Great Land Minerals, has acquired claims in three different areas of Alaska's Interior: outside Fairbanks; near the small town of Tok; and along the Maclaren River off the Denali Highway, a scenic road that runs outside the national park. U.S. Antimony says it's looking to truck antimony ore some 2,000 miles from Alaska to its processing plant in Montana. That operation could start as soon as September, executives said on a recent call with investors. 'We can't get that antimony from Alaska to Montana fast enough,' Joe Bardswich, U.S. Antimony's chief mining officer, said on the call. The company's plans coincide with a separate effort by an Australian company to start up its own small-scale antimony mine near Fairbanks. Felix Gold is seeking to restart production this year at a long-shuttered antimony mine that sits within a few miles of a residential subdivision, Hattie Creek. The company also is eyeing prospects near the hamlet of Ester on the outskirts of Fairbanks — where U.S. Antimony's subsidiary has claims, too. The potential developments are generating a mix of responses locally. Some residents worry about environmental impacts of mining and its potential to transform tranquil Fairbanks-area neighborhoods into noisy industrial sites. 'I don't want to be all NIMBY. But it literally is my backyard,' said Lisbet Norris, who lives in Hattie Creek, about 10 miles north of downtown Fairbanks. 'It's just so close.' Norris, a dog musher, runs sled tours on trails that cross Felix Gold's claims on state land, and she's concerned that mining might impede her business. She's also worried about heavy industrial use of the dirt road that connects her neighborhood — and Felix Gold's potential operations — to the rest of town. Other Fairbanks residents, however, say they support mining in the area; some cite the town's early history as a gold mining town and the potential economic benefits of new mines. 'It's because of mining that Fairbanks is what it is,' said Roger Burggraf, a local prospector who owns some of the claims that Felix Gold has leased to study the feasibility of antimony mining. Burggraf said he understands the concerns of people who live near gold and antimony prospects. But when they bought their properties, 'they should have realized that if a mine developed, that might change their lifestyle,' he added. Felix Gold has a permit only for mineral exploration, not active mining. The company aims later this year to apply for additional state permits, and to finish studying the profitability of developing a small antimony mine near the Hattie Creek subdivision. U.S. Antimony also has applied only for a permit to search for antimony, though it hopes to apply for more permits and start mining within a year. If its exploration efforts show a mine would be profitable, it would propose an underground operation, said Rodney Blakestad, U.S. Antimony's vice president of mining. The footprint would be small, more similar to the family-run placer mines in the area than to a large-scale hardrock mine, according to Blakestad. 'We're not Fort Knox,' he said, referring to Fairbanks' huge open pit gold mine. But before U.S. Antimony begins mining, it wants to buy antimony ore from existing placer gold mines. Antimony often appears alongside more-valuable gold, and gold miners have typically thrown it aside. Now that antimony prices are surging, though, U.S. Antimony representatives say every little bit is valuable. A 25-ton truck could carry some $600,000 worth of minerals, Bardswich said in an interview. That means small loads of antimony ore from shallow, exploratory trenches that the company intends to dig at its Alaska prospects this summer also could be worth driving 2,000 miles to the Montana smelter, company executives said. In the meantime, they intend to launch an advertising campaign to share their interest in buying the mineral from placer miners. 'People don't realize this: Gold is not the best mineral to be mining, if you're looking for really good value,' said Blakestad. 'Antimony is.' Northern Journal contributor Max Graham can be reached at max@ He's interested in any and all mining related stories, as well as introductory meetings with people in and around the industry. This article was originally published in Northern Journal, a newsletter from Nathaniel Herz. Subscribe at this link.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How a billionaire's bet on Donlin mine could inject new life into the huge, slow-moving Alaska gold project
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways Max Graham The Northern Journal 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 percent of the project. The remaining 10 percent 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. Barrick, which operates gold and copper mines in the U.S., Africa, South America and the Middle East, brought deep pockets to Donlin, along with expertise as a developer. But the company also had competing priorities and wasn't pressed to move Donlin from exploration into the multibillion-dollar construction phase, Novagold's chairman, Thomas Kaplan, said at a briefing this week. Donlin, which is one of the world's largest gold prospects, is gaining deeper backing from Paulson, a longtime investor in the metal who already owned shares in Novagold. He says he's poised to bring not only new cash to the project but also fresh intent to speed it along. 'Our goal is to immediately advance this project toward production,' Paulson said at the briefing. A coveted, contentious deposit Donlin has been studied for years and Novagold estimates that it contains deposits of gold worth more than $100 billion. Boosters consider the project to be one of Alaska's most promising deposits, given its sheer size. But it's also one of the most contentious. Its developers enjoy considerable support from elected officials and Alaska Native-owned corporations, which own the land where Donlin sits. They see the project as an opportunity to create hundreds of jobs and generate revenue for local governments and Indigenous shareholders. But Donlin faces staunch opposition from several tribal governments as well as regional and statewide conservation groups. They fear the effects of a large-scale mine in a remote region where people have long depended on salmon and other wildlife and traditional foods. Paulson's investment comes as four separate lawsuits over Donlin's state and federal permits work their way through the courts — and as questions linger about the economics and logistics of powering a sprawling, open-pit operation. The mine would be built on tundra near the upper reaches of the Kuskokwim River, far from existing roads and the electricity grid. The Donlin prospect sits on land owned by Alaska Native corporations. (Donlin Gold via The Northern Journal) Donlin is almost fully permitted but has not moved into construction in part, according to its new owners, because Novagold and Barrick weren't aligned on how quickly to proceed. Traditionally a gold company, Barrick has recently shifted its focus to copper — a key component for electric cars and other modern technologies that some investors consider a more strategic, long-term bet. Barrick has appeared more interested in developing copper mines in other countries than in advancing Donlin, according to industry observers. 'I think what held (Donlin) back in the past was Barrick, through no fault of their own,' Paulson said. 'They had many projects around the world. And Donlin was somewhat of an orphan asset.' Market analysts at Jefferies, a New York investment bank, echoed Paulson in their own review of the deal. 'From what we could tell, Donlin was not a priority in Barrick's portfolio — not anytime soon, anyway — and so we are not surprised by the sale,' the review said. The analysts added, however, that the deal appears to have come at the right time for Barrick because of rising gold prices — which likely boosted Donlin's value. Gold has hit repeated record-high prices in recent months and is now selling at more than $3,300 per ounce, up some 30 percent this year. Barrick appears poised to use cash from the sale to invest in its other mines. In a press release , the company's chief executive, Mark Bristow, said Donlin 'might be better suited in the hands of others, while we pursue our priority portfolio of Barrick-managed growth projects.' A Barrick spokesperson declined to comment further. Kaplan, Novagold's chairman, said he harbors no ill will toward Barrick and looks forward to celebrating the Donlin deal with Bristow 'over a bottle or two or three of very, very fine Bordeaux.' He also said at the briefing, perhaps jokingly, that he almost named one of his children Donlin. Kaplan himself is a billionaire investor, who, like Paulson, has long been known for his enthusiasm for gold. His firm, The Electrum Group, invested in Novagold over a decade ago and is now the company's largest shareholder. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Kaplan made multiple attempts to buy Barrick's half of Donlin over the past 15 years. 'Donlin for me was the Holy Grail,' Kaplan told the Journal. Novagold's stock has jumped nearly 60 percent since the sale was announced, in a sign that investors view it as a good deal. Along the Kuskokwim River, downstream of the Donlin prospect and thousands of miles from Wall Street, the deal elicited a range of opinions. Some said they hadn't heard about the project's change in ownership. Others said it made no difference to their opposition. 'It's scary and frustrating,' said Beverly Hoffman, an elder in Bethel, a Kuskokwim River town and regional hub. As someone who 'depends on the food resources to sustain our way of life,' Hoffman said in a phone interview, 'it angers me that this money can just be thrown around." The Donlin prospect sits above Western Alaska's Kuskokwim River, pictured here. (Nathaniel Herz, Northern Journal) Hoffman co-founded Mother Kuskokwim Tribal Coalition, a regional advocacy group that's fighting Donlin. She said she'd like Paulson, the investor, to come visit her in Bethel. 'I'll take him out in a boat,' she said. 'I would love to talk salmon with him. I would love to talk birds and berries." Like many Bethel residents, Hoffman is a shareholder of the regional, Indigenous-owned company Calista Corp., which owns rights to the minerals at Donlin. The corporation, which selected those lands for their mineral potential under the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, has strongly supported Donlin, given its potential to pay royalties to Calista and create jobs for shareholders. 'Although there's this news about a planned ownership change, our vision and our priorities at Calista have not changed,' said Vice President of Corporate Affairs Thom Leonard. Calista periodically meets with Donlin's owners, has had a 'very positive' history with Novagold and doesn't expect that to change, Leonard added. 'We're ready to move forward when it's proven and we believe that it's safe to do so.' A politically connected investor It still might be too early to say exactly how the sale will affect the mine's prospects, according to Brett Watson, an economist at University of Alaska Anchorage who follows the industry closely. Watson is waiting to see what changes Novagold and Paulson make to Donlin's operations this year, and how quickly the owners move to update their economic analysis of the project. Before Barrick's sale, Donlin had announced plans to spend $43 million on exploratory drilling and other operations this year. As soon as the deal closes, the new ownership team aims to begin a key step toward construction: an $80 million, two-year update of an existing economic study of Donlin, said Novagold's chief executive, Greg Lang. Donlin is already halfway done with its planned drilling for the year, he added. Once the sale is finalized, Lang said in an interview, Novagold and Paulson will look to expand Donlin's budget, 'if appropriate.' Paulson originally gained fame by making billions of dollars in a bet against the U.S. housing market leading up to the 2008 financial crisis. Since then, Paulson has poured large sums into mining, becoming one of the country's highest-profile gold investors. His firm holds a roughly 35 percent stake in Perpetua Resources, which is building a large mine in Idaho with support from the Trump administration. That project targets gold and antimony — an element that's surged in value amid a trade war with China — and it recently has progressed quickly from the study phase toward construction . 'We want to repeat that success we've had with Perpetua, with Donlin,' Paulson said. 'It was a similar mine development as we have here. Only Donlin is much larger.' Paulson & Co., Paulson's family investment office, has other mining interests in Alaska, though the billionaire has largely stayed behind the scenes. They include a one-third stake in International Tower Hill Mines, a small company looking to develop a gold deposit north of Fairbanks. The firm also owns nearly 9 percent of Trilogy Metals, which is seeking to build a copper mine near the end of the controversial, state-proposed Ambler Road in remote Northwest Alaska. Beyond investing, Paulson is known for his ties to President Donald Trump. He donated millions of dollars to Trump's presidential campaign and hosted a fundraiser last year at his home in Palm Beach, Florida. He was floated last year as a potential U.S. treasury secretary pick. A spokesperson for Paulson referred a request for comment to Novagold.
