The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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After decades of doggedly chasing the legendary allure of the gold-rich Chandalar District northern Alaska, Little Squaw Gold Mining Co. is showing signs of closing in on its recent goals. The Spokane, Wash.-based junior changed its name in May to Goldrich Mining Co. It also released findings April 30 from an independent, conceptual economic scoping study of its alluvial gold deposit discovery in the Little Squaw Creek drainage on the property. Goldrich controls key acreage in the Chandalar district, which is about 190 air... Full story
Redcorp Ventures Ltd., parent of Redfern Resources Ltd. which operates the Tulsequah Chief Mine Project near Southeast Alaska, has abandoned plans for developing an unusual tow vehicle in favor of more conventional vessels for moving shipments of zinc, copper, silver, gold and lead concentrates from the mine down the Taku River to Juneau. Redcorp President and CEO Terence Chandler May 15 said the company is completing an amendment to its existing environmental assessment certificate to permit the air cushion barge...
Building a power line into northern British Columbia could attract C$3.5 billion in mining investment to the area, according to preliminary findings of an independent study. The Northwest Power Line Coalition, an industry group that took up the idea when B.C. government officials dropped plans for the power line last fall, released the findings in April. They showed that not only would an electricity conduit along Highway 37 in northwest British Columbia help bring at least eight new mining projects to the region, it also... Full story
Sherwood Copper Corp., less than a year after commissioning its copper-rich Minto Mine in central Yukon, appears to be firing on all cylinders with production, expansion and exploration initiatives. The Vancouver, B.C.-based miner May 14 reported discovery of new areas of copper-gold mineralization in the first holes drilled in its 2008 exploration program in previously unexplored terrain west of the Minto and Area 2 reserves. Sherwood expects to spend C$4.4 million on exploration at Minto this year, including about 20,000...
If Alaska is the "Last Frontier," then Nautilus Minerals Ltd. surely must be exploring what can only be described as the ultimate frontier on earth - the bottom of the ocean. The Vancouver, B.C.-based junior exploration company earlier this year reported the first resource estimate for an undersea mineral deposit, ushering in what many call a new era in hardrock mining. The junior said it plans to develop substantial high-grade polymetallic (copper, gold, zinc and silver) massive sulphide deposits in 1,600 meters of water in...
The Yukon Government has earmarked more than $1 million in its fiscal 2008-2009 budget for programs aimed at supporting both hardrock and placer mining in the territory. The government budgeted $700,000 for the Yukon Mining Incentives Program, subject to legislative approval. The program is designed to promote and enhance mineral prospecting, exploration and development activities in Yukon by providing a portion of the risk capital required to locate and explore mineral deposits. "We are proud to support the independent...
Chinese investors are gradually building inroads into ownership of mining companies operating in Yukon Territory as part of a worldwide push to acquire reliable sources of precious and base minerals. According to a report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers in March, mining merger and acquisition activity in 2008 is set to top 2007's record $158.9 billion total as the number and size of deals escalate. The report also noted the emergence of Chinese and Russian companies as major players in the acquisition hunt. Companies from...
The City of Yellowknife has invoked a little-used federal law to force the Contaminants and Remediation Directorate (CARD) of Canada's Department of Indian and Northern Affairs to complete an environmental assessment of its remediation plans for 237,000 metric tons of arsenic stored within the city limits. CARD, in cooperation with the Government of the Northwest Territories, proposes to render harmless, mounds of arsenic trioxide dust left behind in 15 underground chambers by owners of the abandoned Giant Mine, once a...
Tonogold Resources Inc., in hopes of drawing attention to its search for an Alaska partner, released a geology, geochemistry and drilling report April 17 that covers exploration from 2005 to 2007 of its Nyac Porphyry Gold Project in southwestern Alaska. The Nyac property consists of 57,600 acres and is located at the western end of the Alaska-Yukon Tintina Gold Belt on lands owned by Calista Corp, the Alaska Native regional corporation for the Yukon-Kuskokwim region. Tonogold leases the Nyac property from Calista. During 2007... Full story
Anglo American plc, a 50-50 partner in the Pebble Project in Southwest Alaska, posted record earnings of $5.8 billion, or $4.40 a share, and $10.1 billion in operating profits in 2007. The results compared with $5.5 billion, or $3.73 a share, in earnings and $9.8 billion in operating profits a year earlier. Total group revenue, however, decreased 7.7 percent in 2007, dipping to $35.7 billion from $38.6 billion in 2006. "The strength of our performance was due to improved production volumes of ferrous metals, copper and zinc,...
THe Chuitna Citizens NO-COALition filed an appeal Mar. 19 in Alaska Superior Court challenging a decision by Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Irwin to reject its petition to designate all land within the Chuitna River watershed as unsuitable for coal mining. Irwin rejected the petition last summer on the grounds that the evidence submitted to support the petition's claims did not make a compelling argument and the petition itself was overly broad, arbitrary and did not give the petitioner credibility...
NovaGold Resources Inc. March 20 said it has priced a public offering of $95 million in convertible bonds due May 1, 2015 and net proceeds before deducting estimated offering expenses are expected to total $92.15 million. NovaGold said a day earlier that cash raised in the offering will be used to repay short-term debt, fund exploration and development projects and pay bills. J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., the underwriter, also received the option to issue another $14 million in notes to cover over-allotments, if any. If the...
Alaska's miners have powered their way to No. 2 among the state's top exporting sectors in the past two years. Overall, the value of Alaska's exports fell 3.8 percent in 2007 to $3.9 billion from $4.1 billion in 2006. Last year's results reflect record-setting totals for mining exports and the second best year ever, overall. "This is great news for Alaska, and I commend all of the Alaskans whose hard work benefits our state and its trade and foreign investment," said Gov. Sarah Palin in announcing U.S. Census totals for... Full story
Thompson Creek Metals Co. Inc., one of the world's largest publicly traded, pure molybdenum producers, plans to expand the processing capacity at its Endako Mine in British Columbia in hope of more than doubling the mine's output over the next five years. Thompson Creek March 12 said the expansion will boost the amount of ore processed at Endako to 50,000 metric tons per day by 2010. Currently, the mine processes 28,000 metric tons of ore daily. "Our estimates show that the Endako expansion will add to Thompson Creek's...
In a move aimed at maximizing the value of its Canadian assets, Firestone Ventures Inc. March 3 said it will spin out the Sonora Gulch gold project in Yukon Territory into a new public company, Northern Tiger Resources Inc. The aggressive junior also signed a memorandum of understanding with Sherwood Copper Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Minto Explorations Ltd., to help guide the fledgling enterprise in exploring Yukon's Dawson Range. The moves will allow Vancouver, B.C.-based Firestone to focus its resources and effo...
Alaska would be a great place for mining companies to do business if not for the state's increasingly onerous regulatory and fiscal policies, according to the latest results of a well-respected industry survey. The state lost significant standing in comparison with 67 other jurisdictions around the world in the 2007-2008 Annual Survey of Metal Mining and Exploration published by the Fraser Institute in February. "When you consider current regulations, Alaska goes down in the rankings considerably," said Fraser Institute...
Bravo Venture Group Inc. March 17 said it has acquired 100 percent interest in the Woewodski Island volcanic massive sulphide project in southeast Alaska following successful renegotiation of certain terms in an underlying agreement with vendors of the property. Bravo said its ownership of the property is subject to a 3 percent net smelter royalty on all metals, of which 1 percent can be purchased for US$1million anytime prior to production and another 1 percent can be purchased anytime for US$1.5 million. The property would...
Hammered by several significant reverses in the fourth quarter of 2007, Teck Cominco Ltd. managed to still turn a substantial profit and deliver $1.6 billion in full-year earnings. Earnings plummeted to C$280 million, or 64 cents (Canadian) per share, in the fourth quarter, down nearly four-fold from C$866 million, or C$2.01 per share, during the final quarter of 2006.Year-over-year earnings also fell, dipping about one-third to C$1.62 billion from C$2.43 billion a year earlier. Fourth-quarter revenues fell 26 percent to...
De Beers has written down the value of its Snap Lake diamond mine in the Northwest Territories by US$965 million in what management called a "prudent" move given the increased value of the Canadian dollar and higher costs and construction challenges at Canada's newest diamond mine. The South African company is the second diamond miner to report financial problems in Canada, with Tahera Diamond Corp. seeking bankruptcy-court protection in January after a failure to raise money for its Jericho Diamond Mine in Nunavut. De...
The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing Jan. 24 on legislation that the U.S. House of Representatives approved last year that would impose stiff new royalties on hardrock mining companies. The full committee heard testimony on reform of the Mining Law of 1872 from a range of witnesses, primarily from western states, including Henri Bisson, deputy director of the Bureau of Land Management; and Randy Wanamaker, deputy mayor of Juneau and executive director of the BBC Human Resources Development Cor...
Mineral exploration activity in British Columbia climbed to an all-time high of nearly $416 million in 2007, up 57 percent from the previous record of $265 million in 2006. B.C. officials reported 472 exploration stage projects across the province, with British Columbia steadily gaining a larger share of Canada's exploration activity. Last year, 23 new mine development proposals were in the works for 13 metal mines, seven coal mines and three industrial mineral mines, the B.C. government said in a statement Jan. 22....
Five of the nation's leading jewelry retailers - Tiffany & Co., Ben Bridge Jeweler, Helzberg Diamonds, Fortunoff, and Leber Jeweler, Inc. - pledged their support Feb. 12 to efforts to permanently protect the Bristol Bay watershed from large-scale metal mining, including the massive proposed Pebble gold mine. The retailers, who reported $2.2 billion in sales in 2006, spoke out just before Valentine's Day, one of the biggest jewelry shopping seasons of the year, to highlight their opposition to the mining project. They said the...
With metals prices riding high, Yukon Territory government officials are excited about prospects for increased exploration and development activity by mining companies in the coming season. "We are optimistic about industry's continued interest in Yukon," said Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Archie Lang, who joined a government delegation attending the 25th annual Mineral Exploration Roundup in Vancouver the week of Jan. 27. More than 6,000 delegates, including geologists, prospectors, junior and senior mining and...
Hecla Mining Co., longtime minority share owner of the Greens Creek Mine, Feb. 12 said it agreed to purchase for $750 million the remaining 70.3 percent interest in the Southeast Alaska operation that is owned by Rio Tinto subsidiary Kennecott. The cash deal will give Hecla of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 100 percent control of the world's fifth largest silver mine and will nearly double the company's silver output to about 11 million ounces annually. Greens Creek also produces commercial quantities of gold, zinc and lead. The...
The Alaska mining industry issued a report Jan. 21 that outlines in graphic detail the considerable and growing impact that mining activities are having on the state. Mining companies spent an estimated $1.25 billion in Alaska in 2007 on everything from drilling rigs to rents and royalties. "Mining companies strengthen Alaska communities by employing Alaska residents from more than 100 Alaska communities and purchasing supplies and services from hundreds of Alaska companies," the report said. A banner year for the industry,... Full story
