FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

OCTOBER 19, 2022

Contact:
Sophie Swope, Director of Mother Kuskokwim Tribal Coalition Cell: 907.545.4764
Gavin Phillip, President, Native Village of Kwigillingok Cell: 907.588.2447

Y-K Tribes: Donlin EIS is deficient. Corps should withdraw permit, require SEIS
Tribal leaders cite lack of climate analysis, incomplete human health impacts study, fisheries
collapse and inadequate Tribal consultation as basis for permit withdrawal and new analysis.

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA – Tribal leaders from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta traveled to

Anchorage today to formally ask (again1) the Alaska District Office of the US Army Corps of
Engineers to revoke the Clean Water Act 404 2 permit for the proposed Donlin Gold Mine and
conduct a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

An enormous open pit pure gold mine, Donlin is proposed in the headwaters of the Kuskokwim
River, which supports a vibrant and intact subsistence-based culture that has thrived in the
region for hundreds of generations. Donlin is officially opposed by more than 14 individual tribal
governments in the region as well as the Association of Village Council Presidents, which
represents 56 Tribal governments in the region; the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation; and
the National Congress of American Indians. If constructed, Donlin’s corporate owners Barrick
Gold Corporation (“Barrick”) (TSX: ABX) (NYSE: GOLD) and NOVAGOLD RESOURCES INC.
(“NOVAGOLD”) (TSX, NYSE American: NG) claim it would be one of the world's largest open-pit
gold mines. The project would dramatically change Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim region,
threatening the health and well-being of residents, communities, and wildlife for generations.
Construction of the mine would undeniably (as the US EPA noted in attached 2016 letter) and
permanently damage water, fish and game resources, and the subsistence lifestyle of the Yukon
Kuskokwim River Delta.

Anaan’arar Sophie Swope, Director of the Mother Kuskokwim Tribal Coalition, reflected:

1
https://yubanet.com/enviro/major-gold-mine-decision-ignores-local-voices-of-yukon-kuskokwim-tribes-an
d-residents/
2
https://www.eenews.net/articles/army-corps-shrugs-off-epa-approves-alaska-wetland-damage/
“Today’s opportunity to meet with the Alaska District Office of the Army Corps, which has the
authority to determine whether or not Donlin is allowed to contaminate our lands, waters and air
with mercury and other poisons, was significant. As Tribal nations we are calling on the Army
Corps to put in place the protections the majority of Yukon-Kuskokwim residents are calling for,
and to protect our ways of life by rejecting this ill-conceived, outdated proposal. We are hopeful
that the Biden Administration will uphold its promise for environmental justice — which means to
support the wishes of those closest to extraction projects, instead of sacrificing traditional ways
of life for gold jewelry — and uplift Tribal sovereignty by revoking the Trump-era 404 permit
under the Clean Water Act.”

In their letter to the Corps formally requesting that the permit for Donlin be withdrawn and a
Supplemental EIS process be initiated, the tribes wrote, “The final EIS itself is nearly five years
old and critical data on which it relies is much older and was gathered without adequate tribal
consultation. New information about current threats to Tribes, including climate change, erosion,
and decimatedsalmon runs underscore the need for the Corps to address these factors now, to
meaningfully engage with Tribes, and to ensure its analyses and decisions are based on the
best information possible.”

“In the five years since the EIS was finalized, salmon runs on the Kuskokwim River have
crashed. Donlin further threatens our salmon at their most vulnerable time in our history by
directly destroying 12 miles of salmon habitat and threatening many more through the potential
for mercury releases, major increases in barge traffic and the potential for catastrophic tailings
dam failure like we saw at the Mount Polley mine” said Gavin Phillip, President of the Native
Village of Kwigilingok. “Furthermore, climate change and erosion are occurring much faster in
our region than Donlin’s old data predicts. We must take another look at how the proposed
Donlin mine and its infrastructure will impact our environment.”

In 2020/2021 the Biden Administration issued Executive Order 13175 3 which “charges all
executive departments and agencies with engaging in regular, meaningful, and robust
consultation with Tribal officials in the development of Federal policies that have Tribal

3
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/26/memorandum-on-tribal-consul
tation-and-strengthening-nation-to-nation-relationships/
implications” as well as Executive Order 14008 to address Environmental Injustice and Climate
Change4.

“Meaningful Tribal Consultation on this project has yet to occur,'' said Swope. “It is our hope that
the Corps and the Biden Administration will make good on their promise to strengthen Nation to
Nation relations with our Tribes and to work with us to fortify climate resilience for our
communities by protecting our subsistence resources that depend on intact watersheds and
unpolluted lands and waters in the Kuskokwim Region.”

The full list of Tribes formally opposed to Donlin Gold by adoption of resolution includes:
Orutsararmiut Native Council, Native Village of Eek, Kasigluk Traditional Council, Native Village
of Kwigillingok, Chuloonawick Native Village, Native Village of Kongiganak, Native Village of
Tununak, Chevak Native Village, Native Village of Napakiak, Chefornak Traditional Council,
Nightmute Traditional Council, Native Village of Nunapitchuk, Kwinhagak Tribal Council,
Tuluksak Tribal Council, Organized Village of Kwethluk, Aniak Traditional Council

###

4
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-th
e-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/