The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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Adanac Molybdenum Corp. said Nov. 7 it has begun construction at its open-pit molybdenum mine site near the headwaters of Ruby Creek about 125 kilometers, or 78 miles southeast of Whitehorse, near Atlin, B.C. With a permit from the B.C. Ministry of Forests, work is under way on an access road and associated earthworks. Construction is expected to continue through the winter of 2007-08 on excavation of overburden, installation of a 550-person onsite camp and preparation of all construction infrastructures. "The years of prepar...
The U.S. Supreme Court Jan. 7 declined to accept Teck Cominco Metals Ltd.'s petition for review and reversal of a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Pakootas, et al. v. Teck Cominco Metals Ltd. The Government of Canada, the Province of British Columbia, and the Chambers of Commerce of both Canada and the United States had all joined Teck Cominco in arguing that diplomatic processes, and not the courts of the United States, are the forum in which to resolve cross-border issues of this nature. Several U.S. organizations,...
Years ago, Graham C. Dickson found himself in the difficult position of trying to clean up an environmental mess made by predecessors at the mining company where he worked. "I learned that the best way to address environmental issues is with sustainable mining," Dickson told Mining News in a recent interview. "So I've always tried to do better than what the regulators asked. Experience tells me you'd better do that from the start." Today, Dickson is president and CEO of Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp., a hardrock mining company with...
Tahera Diamond Corp., nearly 17 months to the day after the hopeful startup of its Jericho Diamond Mine in Nunavut Territory, said it would seek protection from its creditors under Canada's Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. A few hours later, the Toronto-based diamond producer announced that it had obtained an order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granting the company and its subsidiary protection until Feb. 14, 2008, with the period to be extended or terminated thereafter as the court deems appropriate. The co... Full story
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Jan. 3 in favor on all counts of a permit that allows NovaGold Resources Inc to develop the Rock Creek Mine Project near Nome. In a 29-page decision, a three-judge panel of the appeals court affirmed the June 2007 decision of the United States District Court for Alaska dismissing a lawsuit initiated by Bering Straits Citizens for Responsible Resource Development. Bering Straits and two individuals had challenged a permit issued for the mine project by the U.S. Army Corps of...
NovaGold Resources Inc. Jan. 16 announced the appointment of new senior managers for the Galore Creek copper-gold-silver project that it owns jointly with Teck Cominco Ltd. in northwestern British Columbia as the partners launch an effort to re-evaluate and optimize development of the property. The companies suspended construction activities at Galore Creek in November when an independent engineering firm estimated that capital costs for developing a proposed 65,000-metric-tons-per-day mine could climb to $5 billion, more... Full story
Sherwood Copper Corp., owner of the Yukon's Minto copper-gold mine, has offered to purchase Western Keltic Mines Inc. in a friendly stock-swap transaction valued at about $37.52 million. Acting with the blessing of Western Keltic's board of directors, Vancouver, B.C.-based Sherwood mailed its buyout bid to Western Keltic shareholders Dec. 24. Under the terms of the offer, Sherwood would acquire all of Western Keltic's nearly 80 million shares by issuing eight-hundredths (0.08) of a share of Sherwood stock for each share of...
High diamond counts from an exploration property in Nunavut Territory are raising hopes in Canadian investment circles of a new diamond mining district in Canada's far north. Diamonds North Resources Ltd. reported finds of 862 high-quality diamonds Jan. 8 and Jan. 14 from drill-hole samples of three kimberlites located on its 2 million-acre Amaruk property in the Pelly Bay Diamond District in northeast Nunavut. Diamond counts for two of the kimberlites averaged 2.5 diamonds per kilogram and 2 diamonds per kilogram. Diamonds... Full story
Bayswater Uranium Corp. Jan. 7 said results of its 2007 field program from the North and South Thelon Projects located in Nunavut and Northwest Territories, Canada respectively, successfully delineated high priority uranium targets that will be drill-tested in 2008. "The potential of Bayswater's properties in the Thelon Basin to host significant high grade uranium deposits has been confirmed by our 2007 surveys," Victor Tanaka, Bayswater's chief operating officer, said in a statement Jan. 4. Bayswater also entered an...
Nash Minerals Ltd. and its joint venture partner Mega Uranium Ltd. may have a tiger by the tail, but the beast these explorers are tracking is metallic in nature. Unveiling the most promising results to date from four years of exploring the Wernecke Uranium District in northern Yukon Territory, Cash Minerals Jan. 23 said it is moving into the resource definition stage at its Igor property with a goal of developing a resource estimate for the iron oxide copper-gold-uranium (IOCG-U) prospect by this summer. Igor is the most adv...
Rio Tinto Plc, parent of the company that owns a majority of the Greens Creek Mine, said it would like to sell the Southeast Alaska investment. The move, however, is not expected to affect the profitable zinc, lead and silver mine's operations on Admiralty Island, nor its 325 employees, according to Clayton Walker, the mine's general manager. London-based Rio Tinto, which owns a 70.3 percent stake in the mine, is one of the largest mining companies in the world. Rio Tinto has said it is looking to divest a number of its asset...
Placer mining heated up in the Yukon Territory this year as mostly family owned outfits mounted more exploration programs. The value of gold produced in the Yukon's growing placer mining sector shot up 18 percent, according to William LeBarge, placer geologist for the Yukon Geological Survey. The territory had 107 active placer mines in 2007, plus 24 exploratory ventures. That compared with 106 active placer mines in 2006, and nine additional exploratory properties. With only two weeks left in the year, LeBarge reported an... Full story
A bold gambit to revive what was once Canada's largest and most profitable zinc-lead mine is still on track thanks to the tenacity and innovation of Tamerlane Ventures Inc., a Blaine, Wash.-based junior mining company led by some of the industry's savviest mining veterans. Located just across Great Slave Lake from Yellowknife about 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of the village of Hay River in the Northwest Territories, the historic Pine Point Mine produced some 4.5 million metric tons of zinc and 2 million metric tons of lead... Full story
Northgate Minerals Corp. of Vancouver has posted a loss of $11.9 million for the third quarter after dropping plans to develop the Kemess North project in northern British Columbia. The quarterly loss reflects a $32.35 million charge against the value of the Kemess North project, which a joint panel of the governments of British Columbia and Canada recommended be scrapped. The loss compared with a profit of $14.9 million, or 7 cents a share, in the third quarter of 2006. Northgate reports its financial results in U.S. dollars...
If you ever wondered how Canada's diamond mining boom got its start, then taking the time to read "Barren Lands: An Epic Search for Diamonds in the North American Arctic" by Kevin Krajick is a good idea. Published in 2001, this nonfiction treatise on the subject is technical enough for professionals and yet simple enough for laymen. In 388 pages, Krajick, a prizewinning journalist, transports the reader like some literary "Dr Who", through 464 years of diamond exploration in the Arctic and elsewhere around the globe. From...
Sultan Minerals Inc. is another Canadian junior with ambitious plans to cash in on higher prices by taking up where others left off in British Columbia. Sultan, a publicly held company in the Lang Mining Group, is hoping to revive tungsten and lead-zinc mining at the historic Jersey-Emerald property in southeastern B.C. The Vancouver, B.C.-based junior mining company is also eager to exploit a potentially larger molybdenum mineralization encountered beneath the other metals deposits. Incorporated in 1989, Sultan has focused... Full story
The government of Nunavut reported figures in early November suggesting the Canadian territory is heading for its eighth year of record spending on mineral exploration and development. A sector that injected about C$26 million into the economy in 1999 is now expected to pump in more than C$256 million in 2007. That's nearly one-quarter of Nunavut's entire gross domestic product and a 17 percent jump from last year. Over 65 exploration companies were active in Nunavut in 2006. With the Jericho diamond mine, operated by Tahera...
Between phase 7 of its exploration program, a new heap leach facility and an extended mine life, Fairbanks Gold Mining Inc. is ramping up activity to boost production more than 6,000 ounces annually at the Fort Knox gold mine in Interior Alaska. The "exciting" growth will mean new hires and major equipment purchases, Fairbanks Gold executive Dan Snodgrass told the Alaska Miners Convention in early November. Snodgrass said Fairbanks Gold, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Canadian mining giant Kinross Gold Corp., plans to hire... Full story
Though owners of the Greens Creek Mine on Admiralty Island 18 miles south of Juneau say the underground operation ore grades have begun declining after some 15 years of production, they estimate the mine will produce commercial quantities of gold, silver, lead and zinc for at least another decade. "We have 7.6 million tons of reserves left and it gives us 10 more years of production," said Mike Satre, mine technical superintendent at Kennecott Greens Creek Mining Co. Greens Creek Mine is a joint venture between Kennecott...
Coeur Alaska Inc., operator of the Kensington Gold Project near Juneau, has joined Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, Lynn Canal Conservation and Juneau's Sierra Club in drafting a new plan for disposing of tailings from the mine project. Juneau Mayor Bruce Botelho announced the agreement Nov. 15, saying Coeur Alaska and the groups "will ask the U.S. Forest Service to examine the use of a site near Comet Beach for disposal of the Kensington mine tailings." Two weeks earlier, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of... Full story
Steve Borell, longtime executive director of the Alaska Miners Association, sat down to discuss the state of the industry recently. Borell expressed optimism and excitement about the industry's future in Alaska. But he raised several red flags that Alaska officials and others should consider in future policy making discussions. The following is excerpted from his remarks during an Oct. 3 interview. Mining News: What do you see as the future of the mining industry in Alaska in the short term and the long term? Steve Borell:... Full story
If Newmont Mining Corp., the world's second largest gold producer, succeeds in its $1.52 billion takeover of Vancouver, B.C.-based Miramar Mining Corp., the major will gain control of one of the largest undeveloped gold projects in North America. Miramar owns the Hope Bay Project in Nunavut Territory, which has a 10.7 million-ounce gold resource about 99 miles north of the Arctic Circle and about 434 miles northeast of Yellowknife, NWT. Miramar planned to start construction this year and achieve annual output up to 600,000...
Tom Henderson has been promoted to general manager for Coeur Alaska as the operator of the Kensington Gold Mine moves toward production, parent company Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. said Oct. 18. Henderson, who has served as mine manager for Kensington since late 2006, will replace Tim Arnold effective Nov. 1. After overseeing construction of the Kensington Mine Project, Arnold is leaving his post as Coeur Alaska vice president and general manager to pursue other opportunities, the company said. Henderson previously worked as a...
Two of Canada's westernmost governments are moving forward with power transmission projects aimed at bringing lower cost energy and jobs to rural residents while spurring mine development in remote areas. British Columbia and Yukon Territory announced progress in October on separate public-private partnerships pursuing the power projects. B.C. government said Oct. 1 it would pursue the Northwest Transmission Line project, a C$400-million extension of B.C.'s electrical grid into the remote northwest region of the province... Full story
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Water said it submitted a revised application to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Oct. 15 for authority to permit wastewater discharges in Alaska in lieu of EPA's Seattle-based permitting program. The Alaska Legislature approved a measure in 2005 that authorized DEC to seek primacy in issuing the permits in the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program under provisions of the Clean Water Act. DEC submitted an initial application in June 2006...
