The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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Rockhaven Resources Ltd.'s Klaza Project located at the end of the Nansen Road in central Yukon Territory may be coming into its own as an exciting precious metals property. After three years of exploration, the junior has amassed 460 claims, enough to comprise 90-square kilometers (35 square miles) within a highly prospective area of the Dawson Range. In addition, Rockhaven, a company spawned by the folks at Strategic Metals Ltd. and Archer, Cathro & Associates Limited, has gradually stepped out from its first drilling in...
Through its strategic alliance partnership with Nunavut Resources Corp., Transition Metals Corp. has acquired an additional 433 square kilometers (167 square miles) of high potential gold and base metal exploration properties in Nunavut. The alliance acquired the properties located along the Izok-Grays Bay road infrastructure development corridor in western Nunavut this summer through the execution of a mineral exploration agreement with Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., which manages the subsurface mining rights on Inuit owned lands...
The Supreme Court of Canada June 26 released its highly anticipated decision in "Tsilhqot'in Nation v. British Columbia." Called "ground-breaking" by observers, the judgment by Canada's highest court granted a declaration of Aboriginal title over a tract of Crown lands to the Tsilhqot'in Nation of the west central interior of British Columbia. It is the first time in Canadian history that Aboriginal title has been definitively established and affirmed. The civil action claim asserted by the Tsilhqot'in First Nation in 2002...
Mineral exploration activity held its own in Nunavut in 2013, despite a tough funding environment and stiff competition from other attractive mining jurisdictions around the world. Of the mineral projects edging closer to development in the territory, the Mary River iron project is likely the closest to startup. For the past two years, the venture, spearheaded by Baffinland Iron Mines Corp., has headlined mining news coming from the Qikiqtani, the territory's easternmost region. The Qikiqtani Region is Nunavut's largest...
Geo-political differences aside, the challenges facing those involved in mineral development in the North are remarkably similar. Whether lack of infrastructure, scarcity of skilled labor, or negative perceptions of mining, northern jurisdictions from Alaska to Greenland grapple daily with same aspects of issues created by their location in the Arctic. This uniformity of concerns brought together about 150 participants in the inaugural Northern Regions Mining Summit in Vancouver May 28-30. Facilitated by Alaska's Institute...
A group of presenters at the first annual Northern Regions Summit held in Vancouver May 28-30 addressed the nature of "social licenses to operate" and how mining companies should go about getting and keeping them. The dialogue, at the same time, allowed Alaska's Institute of the North, the summit organizer, to showcase young aboriginal leaders from Far North communities in Alaska and Canada. Jason Prno, Ph. D., a researcher and consultant from Waterloo, Ont., moderated a panel discussion titled, "Emerging Leaders Dialogue -...
Led by a few key projects, mineral exploration activity held its own in Nunavut in 2013, despite a tough funding environment and stiff competition from other attractive mining jurisdictions around the world. Although the Far North territory has only one operating mine, at least eight mineral projects are currently hurtling through development and the permitting process on their way to production. Of these, two projects - one gold and one iron - have project certificates, and six projects are advancing through the...
All exploration in the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut in 2013 was carried out in search of gold and base metals. Mid-tier and major companies conducted most of the work, with mineral exploration and deposit appraisal expenditures totaling an estimated C$121 million in the northern territory's westernmost region. MMG Resources Inc. continued work at its Izok Corridor and Hood zinc-copper projects. The Izok Corridor project includes the High Lake and Izok Lake volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits. Exploration on the Izok Corridor...
Kivalliq, located northwest of Hudson Bay and sharing a border with the Northwest Territories and Manitoba, is the heart of Nunavut's gold country. This central region of the territory is also the home of Nunavut's sole operating mine, Meadowbank. The region's diverse geology hosts a number of mineral occurrences and deposits, particularly gold, uranium, nickel, platinum group elements, base metals, rare earth elements, and diamonds. In 2013, exploration activity in the Kivalliq Region primarily involved gold and uranium,...
Scotiabank's Commodity Price Index, having lost steam in late 2013, is expected to bottom out this spring and rally in the second half of 2014 on stronger global growth, Scotiabank Vice President, Economics Patricia M. Mohr told an overflow crowd attending the 2014 Nunavut Mining Symposium in April. Mohr, a commodities market specialist at the Toronto-based international bank, again opened the 17th annual gathering, held April 7-10 in Iqaluit, NU, the northern territory's capital. She said growth in the global manufacturing...
Alaska's venerable Institute of the North has organized a mining summit for developing effective strategies for mining success in the northernmost regions of the Western Hemisphere. The Northern Regions Mining Summit, to be held May 28-30 in Vancouver, B.C., will address the social, cultural and economic impact and opportunity of mineral resource development for northern peoples in Alaska, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon Territory and Greenland. The Alaska-based think tank is co-sponsoring the summit in partnership...
The real-life scandal that helped shape modern gold mining and investment regulations for junior exploration companies has surfaced again. But this time, it comes to the fore in a new novel written by one of the peripheral players in the actual saga. Alfred Lenarciak, chairman of Minorca Resources Inc., recently released "Bre-X: Dead Man's Story," a largely autobiographical tale based on many actual events in the biggest Canadian stock scandal in the country's history. Lenarciak, a Poland-born emigrant to Montreal in 1975...
The startup of Cameco's Cigar Lake uranium mine in Saskatchewan is one more link in a recent chain of events that has observers predicting a significant comeback for the industry in 2014. Beginning last fall, industry analysts began to forecast rising uranium prices in 2014, citing a number of reasons, from the development of more nuclear reactors to a return to imminent shortages of reactor fuel. They also greeted news of the March 13 startup of the new Athabasca Basin uranium mine with further optimism. "The long-term...
The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada bestowed its prestigious "Viola R. MacMillan Award" on Capstone Mining Corp., owner and operator of the Minto Mine in central Yukon Territory at its annual convention in Toronto on March 3. The award is named in honor of the PDAC's longest-serving president and is given to a person or company demonstrating leadership in management and financing for the exploration and development of mineral resources. Capstone, a Vancouver-based base metals miner focused on copper, won the...
After more than five years of review, the Yukon Environmental and Economic Assessment Board has recommended approval of a proposed underground mine for development of the Mactung tungsten deposit in east-central Yukon Territory. Mactung, located near Yukon Territory's border with Northwest Territories to the east, is being advanced by North American Tungsten Corporation Ltd., one of the world's largest suppliers of tungsten concentrates outside China. The company, which submitted a project proposal for Mactung to the board's...
The Government of Yukon released a final land use plan for the Peel River Watershed region Jan. 21, sparking sharp criticism in recent weeks from the major stakeholders in the agreement and at least one appeal. In unveiling the plan, Yukon Premier Darrell Pasloski touted the "balanced approach" the government took to protect the natural environment while respecting all sectors of the territory's economy. Roughly the size of Ireland, the Peel River Watershed sprawls over 77,000 square kilometers (30,000 square miles) of...
British Columbia Premier Christy Clark ordered a review of the Canadian province's environmental assessment process in January, saying the current system has become too cumbersome. Clark provided few details when she announced the initiative at the Mineral Exploration Roundup in Vancouver Jan. 27. She said environmental reviews of major projects are crucial, and while the current process is rigorous and transparent, the B.C. environmental assessment office can "do better." "In my view, it is better to do the hard and...
Despite a surge in economic activity in recent years, Nunavut still has considerable work to do for its residents to achieve prosperity. That's the conclusion of the 2013 Nunavut Economic Outlook, a report based on research conducted by Impact Economics on behalf of the Nunavut Economic Forum last summer and fall. The forum released the 98-page report at the North Lights Trade Show in Ottawa in January. Subtitled "Nunavut's Next Challenge: Turning Growth into Prosperity," it details recent socioeconomic developments in the...
Striving to mix up a batch of lemonade from the unrelenting string of lemons dished out recently by the chronically depressed capital markets, three junior mining companies with promising assets in Yukon Territory are joining forces to protect those interests and pave the way for continued exploration. Redtail Metals Corp. and Northern Tiger Resources Inc. are merging their interests and acquire the Yukon assets of Americas Bullion Royalty Corp. (formerly Golden Predator Corp.) in a multifaceted transaction that will produce...
Like 2013, this year is expected to be another banner year for mining in British Columbia. An increasingly important industry in Canada's westernmost province, mining takes up a very small portion of British Columbia's vast 944,735 square kilometers (364,764 square miles) land mass - less than one percent - but the industry makes a tremendous impact on the province's economy. Today, British Columbia has 19 operating mines (nine coal and 10 metal). By comparison in 2001, the province had 15 operating mines (seven coal and...
With devolution around the corner and a well-reasoned mineral development strategy in place, government and industry officials in Northwest Territories are making a concerted effort to alert the world to the mineral resource and investment opportunities to be found in Canada's Far North, especially in the jurisdiction that boasts the third-richest diamond resources in the world. In addition to three operating diamond mines and the sole tungsten producer in the West, NWT currently has six well-advanced mine projects working...
Like most mining jurisdictions worldwide, Yukon Territory encountered numerous challenges in 2013, including the prolonged drought in the capital markets. But the territory still managed to attract investment in more than 100 mineral exploration projects, most of which were follow-ups to campaigns in earlier seasons. The Yukon Geological Survey, in its annual exploration overview to be released Jan. 26, estimates exploration expenditures throughout the territory in 2013 to total about C$45 million, down dramatically from...
After two seasons of exploration, Prophecy Platinum Corp. envisioned building a conventional, diesel truck-shovel open pit mine at its 64.5-square-kilometer (25 square miles) Wellgreen Project in southwestern Yukon Territory. The junior released a preliminary economic assessment in 2012 that happily outlined plans for a 32,000-metric-tons-per-day operation with a 37-year of mine life. With initial capital expenditures of C$863 million and an average strip ratio of 2.57:1, the company anticipated producing a suite of highly...
The Government of Northwest Territories has adopted a new mineral development strategy as it prepares for the advent of devolution in 2014. The strategy, released Nov. 19, establishes a comprehensive plan aimed at ensuring long-term growth of a robust and sustainable mining industry the northern territory that will create jobs and economic opportunities for its residents. Strengthening and diversifying the NWT economy was identified as a priority of the territory's 17th Legislative Assembly, and officials have worked since...
The Government of Yukon has bestowed the prestigious Robert E. Leckie awards for 2013 on two small mining operations in honor of their exceptional mining practices, especially in a year when they were plagued by scarce capital and tough financing conditions. Placer miners Ben Warnsby and Alex Seely, owners of recently acquired claims in the Dawson mining district of central Yukon, and Ryan Coe and Jeff Bridge of Regent Ventures Ltd. accepted the honors Nov. 18 at the 41st Annual Geoscience Forum banquet in Whitehorse. "The...
