Canadian court approves NovaGold deal that would put Donlin Gold under one owner

A British Columbia court on Monday approved NovaGold's deal to take its partner's share of Donlin Gold, putting the proposed gold mine near Crooked Creek in Southwest Alaska on track to have a single owner when the deal is expected to take effect Dec. 1.

NovaGold and the investment firm Paulson Advisers have owned Donlin 60-40 since they bought out Barrick's half in 2025, but they've had equal say over the project, each naming two of Donlin Gold's four board members. When the deal closes, a new Delaware company, NovaGold Corporation, would own all of it.

Paulson would trade its 40% for stock and become the new company's largest shareholder, with about 39.7% of its economic interest. Its voting power would be capped at 19.99%. John Paulson and NovaGold Chairman Thomas Kaplan would be co-chairs.

NovaGold says one owner would widen its access to money for the mine, including from what it calls "official-sector capital," such as government agencies and sovereign wealth funds. Donlin Gold's general manager gave legislators a rough estimate in May of about $10 billion to build it, saying the final number would come from a feasibility study.

The deal doesn't decide whether it gets built. Donlin Gold expects to finish that study in the first half of 2027, the general manager said, and then be in a position to make an investment decision. NovaGold's filing on the court approval lists among its risks "whether or when a positive construction decision will be made."

If the mine goes ahead, construction would need 2,000 to 3,000 workers and run through 2031, and the mine would then employ about 750 people directly, the general manager said. NovaGold's 2025 technical report puts about 40 million ounces of gold in the deposit's measured and indicated resources and projects production averaging more than 1 million ounces a year over a 27-year mine life.

Much of the project sits on Alaska Native corporation land. Calista Corp. owns the mineral estate and some of the surface, and The Kuskokwim Corp. owns most of the surface. Calista supports the mine, saying it can coexist with subsistence. Several Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta tribes oppose it, citing threats to water, fish, wildlife, culture and health.

Tribes including the Orutsararmiut Native Council won a federal court ruling that the mine's environmental review should have considered a larger tailings spill. Federal agencies released a draft supplemental review in September that models what larger spills would do downstream and plan to decide by May 28, 2027, whether to modify, reaffirm or rescind the mine's federal permit and right-of-way.

NovaGold shareholders approved the deal Nov. 3, with more than 99.7% of the shares represented voting in favor. NovaGold and Paulson signed the agreement in July, after exploring and dropping a three-way deal with another gold company.

The new company's stock is expected to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Dec. 2 under NovaGold's existing ticker, NG. NovaGold's current shares would stop trading on NYSE American after Dec. 1 and are expected to come off the Toronto Stock Exchange shortly after.