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Weekly UpdatesAmbler contains a historical inferred resource based on 70 wide-spaced drill holes reported to the state Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, containing 3.2 billion pounds of copper, 4.2 billion pounds of zinc, 817,000 ounces of gold and 62.1 million ounces of silver. This historical estimate does not comply with the current Canadian stock market reporting standards, NovaGold noted, and the company plans to release a mineral resource estimate that does so this fall.
"The critical issue at Ambler is getting NANA, the Northwest Arctic Borough, the villages and the state to agree on a plan to develop," Van Nieuwenhuyse said. "We're continuing dialogue ... to find agreement on a plan the region is happy with."
Lack of transportation and power infrastructure has kept Ambler from being developed, despite its discovery more than 30 years ago. "It's one of the largest massive sulfide deposits in the world ... among the largest and the highest grade," Van Nieuwenhuyse said. "You don't see 4 percent copper sitting around undeveloped except in the Congo, and there's good reasons why that is not developed."
Resolving such infrastructure needs in remote regions populated by a Native culture is nothing new for NovaGold. The company faced that at Galore Creek and has worked on those infrastructure needs at Donlin Creek with local and regional Alaska Native organizations.
"You can get it done," Van Nieuwenhuyse said. "You just set your vision and make a plan, and work with the stakeholders to come up with a plan that benefits others impacted by the development."
OTHER EXPLORATION IN ALASKA, BRITISH COLUMBIA
As an exploration company, NovaGold's geologists continue to look at and work on new projects that "represent the next generation of discovery and growth," the company said, announcing a budget of $8.5 million for early stage exploration in 2007.
NovaGold acquired an interest in 2004 in the Khotol project, located about 60 miles southwest of Galena on the Yukon River, and about three miles from the closed and reclaimed Illinois Creek mine. Crews drilled at Khotol in 2005 and 2006, but did not release results from last year's program. The project is dormant this year, Van Nieuwenhuyse said.
Other early stage projects include the company's Baird Mountains property in the western Brooks Range. NovaGold holds 55,000 acres of claims that contain multiple high-grade copper-zinc and precious metal targets identified through historical work.
NovaGold performed airborne geophysical surveys on the property in 2006 and announced a planned exploration program for 2007 to include mapping, sampling and a 5,000-foot core-drilling program. Drilling work was not completed at Baird, Van Nieuwenhuyse said, due to lack of available drill crews.
NovaGold also controls 118,000 acres of state mining claims and leases in the Independence mine area on the northern Seward Peninsula, north of Nome. Called Kugruk, the property shows widely distributed copper and high-grade silver-lead-zinc mineralization. The company completed an airborne electromagnetic survey on the property in 2006 and is completing follow-up work in 2007 to identify drilling targets.
Grassroots prospecting led to NovaGold staking more than 90,000 acres of claims in the Kuskokwim region, south of Donlin Creek. Called the Tintina Gold Belt properties, the area shows similar characteristics to Donlin, the company reported. Work in 2007 focused on identifying and prioritizing targets with the geological, geochemical and geophysical characteristics that could host large-scale mineral systems.
NovaGold also holds the Shiko Lake project in central British Columbia. Cres completed about 10,000 feet of drill samples in 11 holes earlier this summer.
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