Cases

Challenging the Donlin Gold Mine

The massive industrial operation will destroy thousands of acres of wetlands and streams, create billions of tons of waste, cause permanently elevated levels of dangerous metals in local waters, require permanent water treatment, and pose an enduring threat to the communities who have subsisted in the region for millennia.

Clients

Chevak Traditional CouncilCook InletkeeperNative Village of EekNative Village of KwigillingokOrganized Village of KwethlukOrutsararmiut Traditional Native CouncilTuluksak Native Community

Regional Office / Program

Alaska Office

Case Overview

Tribal governments from the Kuskokwim River region, represented by Earthjustice, are fighting the Donlin Gold mining project.

If it is constructed, the proposed Donlin Gold mine will be one of the world’s largest open-pit mines.

Located 10 miles north of the village of Crooked Creek on a tributary of Alaska’s Kuskokwim River headwaters, the project will dramatically change the Yukon Kuskokwim region, threatening the health and well-being of residents, communities, and wildlife for generations.

Construction of the mine may permanently damage water, fish and game resources, and the subsistence lifestyle of the Yukon Kuskokwim River Delta. Donlin’s proposed reclamation and closure plan is of great concern to Tribal leaders, who demand a plan that protects future generations who will have to live with the consequences of the Donlin project for all time.

Many residents across the Yukon-Kuskokwim region practice a subsistence lifestyle, and see Donlin’s mining development as a major threat to their way of life.

Kuskokwim River, in southwest Alaska.
Kuskokwim River, in southwest Alaska. The Donlin mine's massive industrial operation will destroy thousands of acres of wetlands and streams and cause permanently elevated levels of dangerous metals in local water. (Peter Griffith / NASA)

Case Updates

From left: Walter Jim, Chair of the Orutsararmiut Native Council (ONC), Ray Watson, an ONC Council Member, and William Igkurak, Council President of the Native Village of Kwigillingok, presented at the 2025 Public Interest Environmental Law Conference in Eugene, Oregon, on the threat of the Donlin Gold mine to their Kuskokwim River communities.
May 15, 2025 feature

Mining Makes No Sense to the Southwest Alaska Tribes Challenging the Donlin Gold Mine

Alaska Native tribal leaders explain how a massive gold mine proposed in their region poses grave risks to villages, food security and continued tribal traditions

An aerial view of the Kuskokwim River.
May 8, 2025 Press Release

Court Hearing: Southwest Alaska Tribes Challenge Donlin Gold Mine’s Federal Permits

Tribal plaintiffs are asking the court to vacate federal authorizations for the mine while federal agencies redo the flawed and illegal environmental study

January 7, 2025 In the News: The Daily Yonder

Along the Kuskokwin River, Gold Mining Likely Comes at a High Price

Hannah Payne Foster, Attorney, Alaska Office, Earthjustice: “In this kind of major extractive project, the barriers to entry to the legal process is high even for engaged, smart advocates. Our clients care so much about their communities, but with thousands of pages to review it is really hard to track what is happening, access resources, and be heard.”

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Case page created on July 1, 2021.