Billionaire investor Thomas Kaplan is nearing a long-held ambition: control of a big gold deposit in Alaska. The fact that he struck the deal as the precious metal is touching all-time highs only makes him more bullish on the project and gold’s trajectory.

Kaplan, chairman and the largest investor in the exploration company NovaGold Resources, this week unveiled an agreement alongside fellow gold enthusiast John Paulson to buy Barrick Gold’s 50% stake in the Alaskan Donlin project for $1 billion. Kaplan hopes that with Barrick’s exit development of one of the world’s largest unmined gold resources accelerates and restores NovaGold’s luster.