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Q:
Community relations and outreach are essential to the success of a mining project. What has Donlin Gold achieved in this regard?
David Deisley
executive vice president and general counsel NOVAGOLD
Maver Carey
president and CEO
The Kuskokwim Corporation
A:
A:
Yukon-Kuskokwim Region Outreach
22
Local communities are our neighbors – and at Donlin Gold, they’re the owners of the minerals and land on which
the project will be built and operated. Over the 20 years that activities have taken place at the project, Donlin Gold has consistently sought to build strong community partnerships, reach equitable participation agreements, and maintain
good communications with our Alaska Native Corporation stakeholders, local communities, and state and federal regulators. At the same time, we’ve collected extensive environmental baseline data to facilitate permitting of the project – and developed training and employment programs to engage the local population and businesses in its advancement.
Investments in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region are
focused on opportunities to improve community and
regional sustainability, education, cultural preservation, and environmental stewardship. In 2015, the Donlin Gold team visited more than 60 villages, fish camps, fairs, and associations throughout the Yukon-Kuskokwim region. The visits included presenting project updates to the communities in both English and Yup’ik, encouraging participation in and feedback at the upcoming draft EIS public meetings, as well as school visits to speak to students about education, training, future employment opportunities, and overall workforce development needs.
We’re very proud of the relationships that we have with our community partners. We’ve taken the time to listen to their concerns, and carefully designed our project to mitigate
those concerns.
Our families have lived off this land for generations and we want to make sure it is developed both responsibly and in a way that benefits the shareholders of The Kuskokwim Corporation. I regularly visit our shareholders in each village, and have recently noticed that local residents no longer have questions on the Donlin Gold project like they did 15 years ago. Many are already well-informed on the scope of the project, a testament to the open and transparent approach taken by the Donlin Gold team (who continues to play an active role in the region). With a working relationship spanning over 20 years, a solid foundation of trust has been established among the residents of the area, the ANCSA corporations, and Donlin Gold.
Provided 545 dictionaries to third graders in 50 schools as part of the National Dictionary Project
Sponsored the Clean Up Green Up Initiative which took place in 52 Y-K villages
Distributed life vests and safety messages to over 50 villages as part of the Kids Don’t Float Campaign
Held over 30 community meetings throughout the year
Sponsored or participated in over
12 local fairs, festivals, and camps