Barrick Gold Corp. and Novagold Resources Inc. secured various permits from regulators to advance their Donlin gold joint venture project in Alaska, according to an Aug. 13 release.

The project received a single Federal Record of Decision from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Bureau of Land Management following the completion of a multiyear federal environmental review process.

Additionally, the Corps issued a combined permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, while the BLM issued the Offer to Lease for the right of way to Donlin for portions of a natural gas pipeline that would cross federal lands.

The companies will now focus on completing optimization studies to reduce initial capital outlays and improve project economics. An updated feasibility study on Donlin is expected in the fourth quarter.

The previous feasibility study for Donlin estimated that the project contains measured resources of approximately 8 million tonnes grading 2.52 g/t of gold and indicated resources of approximately 534 Mt grading 2.24 g/t of gold, each on a 100% basis.