The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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THISTLE CREEK, Yukon Territory - The Bell Jet Ranger helicopter just landed, while the A-Star unloaded passengers before powering down its engines on the other side of the creek. A third, smaller copter whined as its rotors buffeted bystanders with gusts of dust and debris during takeoff. Meanwhile, a small plane soared overhead. Welcome to the Dawson Mining District of central Yukon in early August. Or as one wag joked: "JFK West!" Visitors prepared to tour Kaminak Gold Corp.'s mining exploration camp here as a three-man...
DAWSON, Yukon Territory - "If we hold it, they will come," reasoned Mike Burke, head of Mineral Services at the Yukon Geological Survey. True to his expectations, some 70 prospectors, geologists and junior companies flocked to a Front Street meeting hall here Aug. 11 for the first-ever "Dawson Rocks," a one-day rock show/conference in what is fast becoming one of the world's hottest hardrock mining jurisdictions. A jovial crowd, attendees ranged from prospectors pedaling lucrative quartz claims to juniors touting new mineral...
DAWSON, Yukon Territory - Hardrock mining explorers are capitalizing on unprecedented investor interest and going after paying gold, silver, copper-rich porphyry, lead-zinc and other metal deposits here with uncommon gusto this summer. A few years ago, a multimillion-dollar, single-season exploration program would have been a rare commodity in the Yukon. But this year, at least a half-dozen juniors have joined one major, Kinross Gold Corp., and the Yukon's only producer, Capstone Mining Corp., in forking over megabucks to...
While intrepid juniors are busy pursuing another season of uranium exploration in Nunavut, the Government of Nunavut, in partnership with the federal government through the Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office are participating in a major collaboration between government, industry and academia in hopes of achieving similar objectives - gaining a better understanding of the region's prospectivity for the radioactive mineral. "In Nunavut much of this geology is poorly understood," says Peter Taptuna, Nunavut's Minister of Economic...
Thompson Creek Metals Co. Inc. and Terrane Metals Corp. said they have completed a definitive agreement for the Denver-based molybdenum producer to purchase Terrane Metals with cash and stock valued at about C$650 million. The deal, which won approval of both Thompson Creek and Terrane's boards of directors, will be proceed under a court-approved plan of arrangement under British Columbia law. Thompson Creek, meanwhile, signed over to Royal Gold Inc. one-quarter of life-of-mine gold production from Terrane's most advanced...
Though most of the gold fever sweeping northern Canada these days is focused on Yukon Territory's White Gold district to the west and near Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd.'s new Meadowbank Mine to the east in Nunavut, a growing number of explorers are trekking to the territory in between. Mining companies are returning to the Northwest Territories as gold prices set records, including a recent high of US$1,260 per ounce. But most of these explorers are targeting known deposits or previously identified mineralization rather than...
As we contemplate manned space flights to Mars, it may be hard to believe that there are still vast areas of the earth's surface that we have yet to explore. Believe it. The world's knowledge of the geology of Canada's Far North is very limited. To fill this knowledge gap, Canada's federal government embarked in 2008 on an aggressive C$100 million, five-year geological mapping program known as Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals, or GEM, that at its halfway mark this summer is beginning to yield significant dividends in the...
Evidence is mounting to support Kaminak Gold Corp.'s suspicion that its Coffee Project located in the White District of Yukon Territory is part of an emerging gold district with sizable gold deposits scattered over the wooded region. Kaminak reported assay results May 26 from the first two holes drilled this spring that "confirms the potential of the Coffee property to host large gold deposits," according to Kaminak President and CEO, Rob Carpenter. The holes, drilled in the Supremo zone, returned indications of significant...
As development of the long-awaited Northwest Transmission Line moves toward construction startup this fall, stakeholders in the C$404 million venture are making deals aimed at maximizing economic and environmental benefits of the project. British Columbia's Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources released details May 28 of agreements between BC Hydro, British Columbia Transmission Corp., Coast Mountain Hydro L.P., a wholly owned subsidiary of AltaGas Income Trust Ltd. and the Tahltan Nation that will help to create... Full story
Chinese companies are doing their homework and investing in base metals projects in northern and western Canada to take advantage of rising prices and to secure a future supply of the minerals for their operations back home. First on the scene were private Chinese companies, Jinduicheng Molybdenum Group and Northwest Nonferrous International Investment Co. In the summer of 2008, they purchased a 100 percent interest in Yukon Zinc Corp., which owns the Wolverine Project and other mineral assets in the Finlayson District of...
Chinese investors are finding a lot to like in Canada, especially two base metals projects in the eastern part of Yukon Territory. Jinduicheng Molybdenum Group and Northwest Nonferrous International Investment Co., two private Chinese companies, purchased a 100 percent interest in Yukon Zinc Corp. in 2008, acquiring the Wolverine Project and other mineral assets in the Finlayson District of southern Yukon Territory. Two years later, Yukon Zinc is ready to start up an underground mining operation at Wolverine that is expected...
Just as it entered the last lap of its race to develop an oxide copper deposit near Carmacks, Yukon Territory, Western Copper hit a bump in the road that could prove insurmountable for the Vancouver, B.C.-based junior mining company. In a decision released May 10, the Yukon Water Board refused to license the copper project, saying the company's proposed heap leach method for extracting the copper is unproven, not adequately explained and poses too many risks to the Yukon environment. But Western Copper, which has faced other... Full story
In its quest to become a self-funded gold mining company, Golden Predator Royalty & Development Corp. is making major changes this year and mounting an unprecedented exploration offensive in Yukon Territory during the 2010 summer field season. The Vancouver, B.C.-based junior unveiled a name change May 21 and the appointment of a new vice president of exploration for its Canadian assets. Golden Predator said it would become "Golden Predator Corp.," effective May 25. The company said the name change was made to reflect its man...
Areva Resources Canada Inc. is working away at its plan to develop the Kiggavik Project in Nunavut within the next decade. A subsidiary of France-based Areva, the world's largest uranium producer with output of 22 million pounds in 2009, Areva Canada considers the 10-year plan very good news. That's because a decade in the world of uranium mining is a relatively brief interlude. "Uranium mining is a long-term business," said Areva Canada executive Richard Gladue told a crowd at the 2010 Nunavut Mining Symposium in Iqaluit in...
Victoria Gold Corp. is heading into its second season of exploring its Dublin Gulch gold property 85 kilometers north-northeast of Mayo in central Yukon Territory in hopes of expanding the Eagle Gold Project and following-up on promising 2009 trenching results in the Olive and Shamrock zones. Nearly one year after acquiring StrataGold Inc., the former owner of Dublin Gulch, Victoria is still happy with the deal. "We acquired StrataGold because we liked their Yukon assets," said Victoria President and CEO Chad Williams. "There... Full story
IQALUIT, Nunavut - Canadian mining companies can expect to see continued upward movement in prices generally for precious and base metals and coal, along with increasing volatility during the next 18 months to 2 years, a top economist told a gathering here April 13. Patricia Mohr, vice president, economics and commodity market specialist for The Scotiabank Bank Group offered delegates attending the 13th annual Nunavut Mining Symposium her expert view of current global economic conditions and how they will likely impact... Full story
IQALUIT, Nunavut - Now that Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. is producing three or four 8-kilogram bars of gold every week at the newly opened Meadowbank Mine in the central region, government, business and mining industry officials here are beginning to look ahead toward the territory's next big challenge. "Meadowbank's startup is a small step for us in Nunavut," said Paul Kaludjak, president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the Inuit organization that co-administers the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement with the Government of Canada. "We... Full story
IQALUIT, Nunavut -Mayors and representatives from six Nunavut communities offered feedback on the effects of mining exploration and development activities in their respective areas during a forum at the 13th annual Nunavut Mining Symposium held April 14 at the Frobisher Inn and Conference Centre. The panel members voiced concerns about potential detrimental effects of mining activities on the environment. "How will the companies make the land like it was before?" asked Mayor Ernie Bernhardt of Kugluktuk, a community in... Full story
As investors clamor for bigger stakes in exploration projects in the White Gold District of Yukon Territory, one astute explorer is shifting part of its focus farther south and eastward. In early April, Northern Tiger Resources Inc., a spin-out of Firestone Ventures Inc. in 2008, reported optioning the 3Ace Property - located about 270 kilometers, or 167.4 miles, north of Watson Lake in southeast Yukon Territory - from longtime Yukon prospector Alex McMillan. The junior formalized terms outlined in a March 5 letter of...
No discussion of opening Canada's Far North to mineral resource development could get far without the focus turning to Nunavut, the nation's newest and least-explored territory. At one-fifth the size of Canada, Nunavut contains 1,994,000 million square kilometers, or 770,000 square miles, (nearly three times the size of Texas). Much of the territory is underlain by Archean-aged rocks similar to those found in the most productive geology in Ontario, Quebec, South Africa, Australia, and Brazil. But much of this geology is...
Kinross Gold Corp. is making good on its promise to return to Canada. The gold producer entered into a definitive agreement with Underworld Resources Inc. March 16 to acquire 100 percent of the junior's outstanding common shares not already owned by Kinross for stock and cash valued at C$139.2 million. Kinross already owns 8.5 percent of Underworld's shares (on a fully-diluted basis). Underworld is the owner of the highly prospective White Gold property, which hosts a substantial new gold discovery 95 kilometers south of...
Meadowbank, Nunavut's newest gold mine, produced its first gold bar Feb. 27, marking an important milestone for owner Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. Workers poured the gold bar, which weighed 8,134 grams or 287 ounces (nearly 18 pounds), at the mine near Baker Lake. "The target is to produce about 300,000 ounces per year, so we should pour, once a week, a few bars," the mine's manager, Denis Gourde, said March 1. The 39,000-hectare, or 96,330-acre, Meadowbank property is located about 110 kilometers, or 68 miles, by road north of... Full story
While the White Gold Project continues to grab headlines, at least four other substantial gold projects in central Yukon Territory are quietly striding toward potential development. Yukon officials say it's all part of the plan. The gold projects reporting recent advancements include Victoria Gold Corp.'s Eagle gold project, Atac Resources Ltd.'s Rau Gold Project, Northern Tiger Resources Inc.'s Sonora Gulch Project, and Northern Freegold Resources Inc.'s Freegold Mountain Project. Global mining hot spot Yukon Energy, Mines...
Mineral exploration activity in British Columbia fell 58 percent to $154 million in 2009 from C$367 million a year earlier, but one B.C. government official said the outcome still was the sixth-highest for exploration spending in the past 20 years and the province has reason for optimism. "Despite a difficult economic climate in 2009, the mining industry is helping lead the provincial economic recovery," said Randy Hawes, B.C. Minister of State for Mining. Hawes made the announcements during a keynote address at the opening...
A large abandoned underground gold mine just south of the City of Yellowknife could provide the Northwest Territories community with geothermal power, an environmentally friendly resource to help meet the Far North community's energy needs. But the immediate challenge facing Yellowknife officials in bringing the project to life is not "how," but rather "how much." Yellowknife is in advanced stages of project engineering and planning to install a district heating system by extracting geothermal heat from the abandoned Con... Full story
