The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Barrick Gold and Novagold Resources have been given a key governmental green light to build a massive new gold mine in Alaska, but uncertain economics amid a weakening gold price mean it is unclear whether the capital-intensive project will see the light of day. The Globe's Niall McGee writes that in a joint release, Barrick and joint-venture partner Novagold said that they had received a number of U.S. federal government environmental permits that would pave the way for the development of the Donlin gold project, which the duo first teamed up on more than a decade ago. Donlin, in southwestern Alaska, is one of the world's biggest undeveloped gold projects with 39 million ounces of gold held in the economically uncertain "resources" category. The permitting process is not entirely finished with a number of state permits still needed. The bigger challenge would appear to be making the project work on a financial basis. According to a feasibility study last updated in 2012, Donlin would require a capital investment of $6.7-billion -- a level that is not economic at current gold prices. Gold was first discovered on the Donlin property by prospectors in 1909.