Donlin Gold Project

1 December 2013 NATURAL GAS PIPELINE PLAN OF DEVELOPMENT Donlin gold Project Natural Gas Pipeline PLAN OF DEVELOPMENT Donlin gold Project Revision 1 December 2013 4720 Business Park Blvd. Suite G-25 Anchorage, Alaska 99503 Prepared By: SRK Consulting (US), Inc. 4700 Business Park Blvd. Suite E-12 Anchorage, Alaska 99503 Plan of Development Donlin gold Project Table of Contents Donlin gold i December 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ..1-1 Purpose and Need ..2-1 Purpose ..2-1 Need ..2-1 Background Information on Proposed Mine ..2-1 Expected Public Benefits ..2-2 Project Description ..3-1 Commodity to be Transported and Purpose ..3-3 Pipe to be used for Transportation of Natural Gas ..3-4 Timeline of Proposed Project ..3-5 Planned Commencement Date for Construction ..3-5 Estimated Construction Time ..3-7 Planned Commencement Date for Operation ..3-8 Duration of Pipeline Operation ..3-8 Estimated Employees.

2 3-9 Financing Requirements for the Proposed Project .. 3-10 Corporate Organization Structure .. 3-10 Natural Gas Transmission Line .. 3-11 Surface and Subsurface Attributes .. 3-12 Length/Width of ROW Area Needed for Related Activities .. 3-13 Ancillary to an Existing Right-of-Way .. 3-13 Route Description and Alternate Routes Considered .. 3-13 Pipeline .. 3- 13 Proposed Pipeline Route Description .. 3-15 Beluga Mountain Alternates .. 3-17 Little Mt. Susitna Alternates .. 3-17 Round Mountain Alternates .. 3-17 Goodman Pass Alternates .. 3-17 Egypt Mountain Alternate .. 3-18 St. John s Hill Alternate .. 3-18 Windy Fork Alternate .. 3-18 Big River Alternate .. 3-18 Tatlawiksuk River Alternates .. 3-18 Kuskokwim River Alternates .. 3-18 Moose Creek Alternates .. 3-19 Kuskokwim Hills Alternates .. 3-19 Rainy Pass Alternate .. 3-19 Jones Alternate .. 3-20 East Theodore Alternate .. 3-22 Beluga Alternate.

3 3-22 Pretty Creek 3- 22 Alternate Routes Assessment for the Electric Transmission Line .. 3-23 Safeguards for Persons, Property, Public and the Environment .. 3-39 Plan of Development Donlin gold Project Table of Contents Donlin gold ii December 2013 Safety of Workers .. 3-39 Public Health and Safety .. 3-40 Public or Private Property .. 3-42 Vegetation or Timber .. 3-43 Fish or Other Wildlife or Their Habitat .. 3-44 Restoring Areas of Vegetation or Timber .. 3-45 Erosion and Rehabilitation of Areas Eroded .. 3-45 Quality Control and Procedures for Inspecting and Testing the Pipeline .. 3- 47 Special Safeguards to Protect the Interests of Individuals Living in the General Area for Subsistence Purposes .. 3-48 Special Safeguards to Protect the Interests of Commercial Lodges .. 3-49 Right-of-Way Location (ROW) ..4-1 Legal Description ..4-1 Site-specific Engineering Surveys for Critical Areas ..4-1 River Crossings.

4 4-1 Calculation of Estimated Right-of-Way Acreage ..4-3 Pipeline Design Factors ..5-1 Technical Summary ..5-1 Toxicity of Pipeline Product ..5-2 Anticipated Operating Temperatures ..5-3 Depth of Pipeline ..5-3 Permanent Width or Size ..5-4 Temporary Areas Needed ..5-4 Additional Right-of-Way Components ..6-1 Connection to Existing Right-of-Way ..6-1 Existing Components on or off Public Land ..6-1 Possible Future Components ..6-1 Location and Description of Compressor Station ..6-1 Location and Description of Electric Transmission Line ..6-2 Location and Description of Fiber Optic Cable and Repeater Station ..6-4 Location and Description of Sand and Gravel Borrow Sites ..6-4 Location and Description of Pig Launcher/Receiver Facilities ..6-4 Location and Description of Metering Stations ..6-5 Location and Description of Mainline Block Valves ..6-7 Location and Description of Pipeline Location and Description of Pipeline Cathodic Protection Test Stations.

5 6-8 Government Agency Involvement ..7-1 Entities that have Regulatory Authority or would be affected by the Proposed Project ..7-1 Communications Protocol ..7-2 State Agency Coordination ..7-2 Federal Agency Coordination ..7-2 Plan of Development Donlin gold Project Table of Contents Donlin gold iii December 2013 List of Project Authorizations ..7-4 State ROW Lease Required Documents ..7-4 Construction of Facilities ..8-1 Construction Planning Considerations ..8-1 Iditarod Trail ..8-1 Remote Cabins/Residential Areas ..8-4 Active Faults ..8-4 Wetlands and Waterbodies ..8-5 Access and Existing Roads and Trails ..8-6 Susitna Flats State Game Refuge ..8-6 Construction Communications and Public Outreach ..8-7 Invasive Species ..8-7 Visual Resource Management ..8-7 Fish, Wildlife and Plant Concerns ..8-7 Paleontological and Cultural Resource Sites ..8-8 Encountering Unforeseen Conditions ..8-8 Blasting and Transport of Explosives.

6 8-8 Fire and Wildfire Response ..8-9 Fueling ..8-9 Dust Control ..8-9 Snow Management and Storage ..8-9 Safety and Security .. 8-10 Construction Execution .. 8-11 Overview of Construction Execution .. 8-12 Construction Execution Sequence .. 8-14 Preparation for Construction .. 8-17 Land Requirements and Construction Variances .. 8-17 Land Requirements .. 8-17 Flagging or Staking the Construction Area .. 8-20 Barrier Delineation .. 8-20 Vegetation Clearing and Grading .. 8-20 Make-up Area, Working Side and Travel Lane .. 8-21 Temporary Stormwater 8-26 Pipe Delivery and distribution .. 8-27 Transportation of Equipment and Materials .. 8-28 Construction Labor Requirements .. 8-29 Personnel to Support Construction .. 8-29 Ancillary Support Facilities .. 8-31 Mainline Camps and Camp Locations .. 8-32 HDD Camps and Camp Locations and Work Pads .. 8-37 Airstrips .. 8- 37 Roads .. 8-39 Material Sites.

7 8-47 Pipe Storage Yards .. 8-51 Water Use and Potential Water Extraction Sites .. 8-53 Fuel .. 8-58 Barge Landings and Ports .. 8-59 Pipeline Facilities Installation .. 8-60 Plan of Development Donlin gold Project Table of Contents Donlin gold iv December 2013 Beluga Tie-In to Beluga Pipeline .. 8-60 Terminus at Mine Site .. 8-60 Compressor Station .. 8-60 Electric Transmission Line .. 8-65 Fiber Optic Communication Line .. 8-66 Clean-up and Reclamation .. 8-66 Pipe Installation .. 8- 68 Areas Requiring Blasting .. 8-68 Stringing .. 8-69 Bending and Set-up .. 8-70 Lineup and Welding .. 8-70 Inspection (Nondestructive Examination) .. 8-71 Field Joint Coating .. 8-71 Trenching .. 8-71 Bedding .. 8- 73 Lowering In .. 8-73 Buoyancy Control .. 8-74 Trench Breakers .. 8-74 Padding .. 8- 74 Backfill .. 8-74 Tie-ins .. 8-75 Waterbody and Wetland Crossings .. 8-75 Residential Areas (primarily remote cabins).

8 8-82 Iditarod .. 8-82 Fault Crossings .. 8-82 Snow Avalanche Hazards .. 8-85 Unsuitable Soils .. 8-85 Permafrost .. 8-86 Mainline Block Valves and Launchers/Receivers .. 8-86 Cathodic Protection .. 8-87 Cleanup, Erosion Control and Reclamation Crews .. 8-87 Cleaning, Pressure Testing and Drying .. 8-89 Pipeline Commissioning .. 8-90 Engineering Drawings and Specifications .. 8-91 Waste Management .. 8-91 Safety and Training Requirements .. 8-91 Environmental, Safety and Project Orientation/Training .. 8-91 Environmental and Quality Control and Procedures for Inspection .. 8-93 Signs and Markers .. 8-94 As-Built Survey .. 8- 94 Contingency Planning .. 8-94 Contacts .. 8-94 Holder Contacts .. 8-94 ROW Granting Contacts .. 8- 95 Resource Values and Environmental Concerns ..9-1 Location with Respect to Existing Corridors ..9-1 Anticipated Conflicts with Resources or Public Health and Safety.

9 9-1 Plan of Development Donlin gold Project Table of Contents Donlin gold v December 2013 Air ..9-1 Noise ..9-3 Geologic Hazards ..9-4 Mineral and Energy Resources ..9-5 Paleontological Resources ..9-6 Cultural Resources ..9-7 Regional Setting ..9-8 Water Resources .. 9-17 Wetlands and Vegetation .. 9-19 Fisheries Resources .. 9-22 Wildlife Resources .. 9-24 Special Status Species .. 9-28 Visual 9-30 Social and Economic .. 9-32 Subsistence .. 9-32 State or Federal Projects .. 9-33 Recreation Activities .. 9-34 9-35 Stabilization, Rehabilitation and Reclamation .. 10-1 Soil Removal and Replacement .. 10-2 Trench/Right-of-Way .. 10-2 Drainage and Erosion Control, Clean-up and Reclamation .. 10-2 Stabilization of the Backfilled Trench .. 10-4 Streambank Protection .. 10-4 Reclamation of Waterbody Crossings .. 10-4 Clean-up Crew Functions .. 10-5 Reclamation Crew Functions .. 10-6 Natural Revegetation/Seeding Specifications.

10 10-7 Fertilizer .. 10-7 Invasive Species Prevention and Management .. 10-8 Limiting Access to ROW .. 10-8 Status of Temporary Roads, Culverts and Bridges following Construction .. 10-8 Status of Temporary PSYs and Campsites .. 10-8 Status of Temporary Camp Facilities following Construction .. 10-8 Status of Temporary Airstrips following Construction .. 10-9 Status of Material Sites following use for Construction .. 10-9 Status of Barge Landings and Port Facilities following Construction .. 10-9 Disposition of Salvageable Materials at Completion of Construction .. 10-9 Status of Temporary Land Needs following Construction .. 10-9 Pipeline Maintenance Activities .. 10-10 Inspection and Monitoring .. 10-10 Unconditional Guaranty for Duties and Obligations .. 10-10 Operation and Maintenance .. 11-1 Operation and Maintenance Plan/Manual .. 11-1 ROW Maintenance Schedules .. 11-1 Plan of Development Donlin gold Project Table of Contents Donlin gold vi December 2013 Safety.