Inside Alaska Business
Donlin Gold
Vancouver-based NOVAGOLD Resources upped its investment in Donlin Gold. Its joint venture partner, Toronto-based Barrick Mining Corporation, sold its 50 percent stake in the Middle Kuskokwim project for $1 billion in cash. NOVAGOLD becomes a 60 percent partner, and New York hedge fund billionaire John Paulson bought the bulk of Barrick Mining’s stake, to hold the other 40 percent. Paulson also owns a one-third stake in Vancouver-based International Tower Hill Mines, which is developing the Livengood gold project north of Fairbanks.
Petroleum Equipment & Services, Inc.
Federal loans are helping Anchorage-based Petroleum Equipment and Services, Inc. (PESI) expand its business and invest in new technology and logistics for oil field services. PESI received a $1.3 million loan this spring from the US Small Business Administration, facilitated by Thomas Financial Group. The company closed on a $3.7 million loan from the Small Business Administration last December and more than $8 million from the US Department of Agriculture in April 2024. PESI says the capital will support more than thirty employees, strengthen operations, and boost business activity, creating a ripple effect for local suppliers, contractors, and service providers.
The Wildbirch Hotel
As the summer visitor season began, the former Holiday Inn at Third Avenue and C Street in Downtown Anchorage was still operating as the Aviator Hotel. The refurbished property hung a new shingle when it officially joined the JdV (“joie de vivre”) by Hyatt brand, under the name The Wildbirch Hotel. Aleut Real Estate, a subsidiary of Aleut regional corporation, signed on as a strategic partner in exchange for a goal of hiring 10 percent of the hotel’s workforce from Aleut shareholders and descendants. Alaska Hotel Group, co-led by former US senator and mayor Mark Begich, also received $25 million in loan participation from the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, for cheaper financing.
Wayland Baptist University
Leveraging the reach of its WBUOnline network, Wayland Baptist University is ending in-person classes for Alaska students. The school’s campus in Anchorage will be sold, its leased location in Wasilla vacated, and classrooms at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Fort Wainwright, and Eielson Air Force Base returned to military service. “In recent years, we’ve seen a growing preference for online learning,” says Vice President of External Campuses David Bishop. Texas-based Wayland Baptist set up its Alaska branch in 1985; current enrollment in Anchorage is eighty-two students, mostly online. Bishop says just twenty-four students took a face-to-face class in the current term.
American Pacific Mining Corp.
When Japanese smelting company Dowa Metals and Mining America, the biggest backer of the Palmer mining project near Haines, gave up its 70 percent stake late last year, Vancouver-based American Pacific Mining Corporation was left with full ownership. In May, American Pacific decided to exit, too, announcing that it would “transact” the zinc, copper, gold, and silver prospect, possibly to an Alaska-based buyer.
Vitus Energy
The Vitus Energy family of fuel delivery companies secured $37 million in US Department of Agriculture loans, adding to previous federal financing for infrastructure expansion. Phoenix Lender Services facilitated the loans with Community Bank and Trust. Vitus received a total of $25 million in three US Department of Agriculture Business and Industry loans in June 2024. The company says the investments support existing jobs, improve access to energy resources, and bolster remote Alaska economies.
Hilcorp Alaska
Exploration that began in 2019 at the Whiskey Gulch unit in Anchor Point is beginning to pay off for Hilcorp Alaska. The company is installing gas production infrastructure on the pad at the end of Cape Ninilchik Avenue. Hilcorp previously tapped gas in Anchor Point from its Seaview Unit in 2021, but production there ended in 2022.
Anchorage Chamber of Commerce
The Anchorage Chamber of Commerce hosted its Young Professionals Summit in April and recognized some entrepreneurial excellence. Nathan Bentley, owner and executive chef of Altura Bistro, was named Alaska Entrepreneur of the Year. Other finalists for the award were Elizabeth Freeman, founder of internet marketing service NUNA LLC, and Joey Barranco, owner of video marketing studio Mary’s Rose Creative. The chamber also named Celeste Earley, philanthropy officer for the Alaska Community Foundation, as its Alaska Young Professional of the Year.
The Alaska Club
Anchorage Project Access, a nonprofit that facilitates access to healthcare for low-income, uninsured individuals, presented its Mt. Huntington Award to The Alaska Club, honoring the fitness network for its commitment to the cause. The Alaska Club is only the third business in fifteen years to receive the Mt. Huntington Award. The Alaska Club’s Executive Director of Fitness Services, Janet Warner, was also given the Health Care Champion Award.
ChemTrack Alaska
Environmental services firm ChemTrack Alaska came home a winner from the Associated General Contractors of America convention in Ohio in April. The company was honored with a 2025 Baldwin Group Build America Merit Award in the Specialty Contractor category for removing debris from a former US Navy station at Cape Prince of Wales, the westernmost point on the North American mainland. “A community elder relayed that they never thought that they would see this project completed in their lifetime,” says ChemTrack Alaska President Carrie Jokiel.