The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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A federal court judge has ruled that Teck Cominco Ltd., owner and operator of the Red Dog Mine in Northwest Alaska, violated the federal Clean Water Act by discharging treated wastewater into a nearby stream. U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick in Anchorage found that Red Dog exceeded limits set by the federal law in 618 claims in a lawsuit filed by a half-dozen residents of the nearby Arctic village of Kivalina. However, Sedwick denied the lawsuit's 1,300-plus other pollution claims in his July 28 ruling. The six...
Higher metals prices contributed to record earnings in the second quarter across the mining spectrum. Three companies heavily invested in Alaska, Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp., Hecla Mining Co. and Kinross Gold Corp., posted stronger financial results for the period and noted how their Alaska properties fared. Fort Knox battles escalating costs with high gold output Kinross, owner of the Fort Knox mine near Fairbanks, posted record earnings of $65.6 million, or 19 cents per share for the second quarter of 2006, compared with a...
As federal regulators plan the opening of the 9.2 million acres in the southern part of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to oil and gas leasing, one Alaska industry group is urging them to broaden their outlook. The Alaska Miners Association is advocating that the Bureau of Land Management, which oversees all activity in the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, cast a wider net in search of energy development opportunities. "For several decades, the mining industry has been aware of the mineral potential...
As coal mine safety leaped into the national spotlight this year, miners in Alaska and Canada thankfully have been left out of the loop. That's because Canada has only two underground coal mines and Alaska has none. The only underground coal mine in Western Canada is on Vancouver Island and is a mostly mechanized operation with just 17 employees. Canada's other mine that fits the profile is located in Nova Scotia. "It's primarily underground coal mining at issue, and we don't have any, right now," said Steve Borell,...
A U.S. appeals court ruled July 3 that a lawsuit can proceed against Canadian mining company Teck Cominco Metals Ltd. over the release of hazardous waste in Canada that reached the United States. Teck Cominco, the world's biggest zinc producer, had argued the lawsuit should be dismissed because U.S. environmental laws don't apply to a Canadian company that dumped waste in Canada. The lawsuit was filed by two members of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington state who claimed Teck should be...
City officials in Seward are entertaining the idea of using coal to fuel an electricity generation plant in the Southcentral Alaska coastal town. But Seward's city council is also investigating the merits of tidal waves and wind and other possible sources of power to replace all or part of the electricity Seward currently purchases from Chugach Electric Association, an Anchorage utility. Chugach's power has proven to be unreliable when winter avalanches knock down power lines and cause blackouts. To address the problem, city...
Diamond production in Canada's North is delivering more than vast profits to mining companies and millions of carats to eager consumers around the globe. Since its first diamond was discovered in 1991, Canada's North has emerged as a world-class diamond producer. Three of the biggest diamond mines, all in the Northwest Territories, are expected to generate $26 billion in gross domestic product over their lifetimes and provide around 125,000 person years of employment. Diamond mining also has spawned a support industry of...
The British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office is seeking public comment on an application for an environmental assessment certificate filed by NovaGold Canada Inc. in May. The Vancouver, B.C.-based junior mining company proposes to construct and operate a $1.1 billion open-pit mine operation at its Galore Creek Project in northwestern British Columbia east of the Alaska Panhandle. NovaGold Canada is 100 percent owned by NovaGold Resources Inc, which is also developing the Donlin Creek and Rock Creek mining projects in...
Fairbanks Gold Mining Inc. is moving ahead with plans to build a heap leach facility at the Fort Knox gold mine that could reduce its gold ore processing costs by as much as two-thirds. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Alaska departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation released applications, draft permit, public notice and decisions June 29, relating to Fort Knox and the proposal for a 30-day public review and comment period. Fairbanks Gold is a subsidiary of Kinross Gold Corp. Fort Knox is an...
When Margaret "Peggy" Kent corralled partners and a core staff in 2003 to launch Century Mining Co., it was a package of nine groups of promising mining claims near Juneau in Southeast Alaska that she waved in front of investors to incite a stampede of capital to the startup. Kent knew properties such as the Treadwell Mine and surrounding claims in the historic Juneau Gold Belt had a venerable reputation for rich deposits of precious metals. The belt, after all, did produce 6.8 million ounces of gold and 3.1 million ounces...
After several years of legal wrangling and negotiations, Teck Cominco Metals Ltd., the world's largest zinc producer, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have reached an international agreement to investigate contamination in the Upper Columbia River in northeast Washington. Under the agreement, which EPA hailed June 2 as a "landmark" settlement, Teck Cominco will fund and perform EPA-monitored scientific studies of decades of past pollution in the river running downstream about 150 miles from Canada into U.S....
After staking 25,600 additional acres in the Nyac Gold District earlier this year, Tonogold Resources Inc. has embarked on Alaska exploration it hopes will yield a big payoff. The California-based junior mining company began drilling June 7 at Bonanza Ridge, one of six gold prospects it aims to explore with a drill this summer. "We are very excited to begin drilling operations at Nyac. Our exploration activities of 2005 delineated extensive drilling targets with great mineralization and our 2006 exploration program calls for...
Sherwood Copper Corp. dashed out of the starting gate this spring, racing not only to bring the Minto project in northern Yukon Territory to production as early as the second quarter of 2007, but also to boost anticipated copper production from the tri-mineral deposit to 40 million to 50 million pounds per year. Sherwood, a Vancouver, B.C.-based junior mining company, is eager to capitalize on high metals prices, especially for copper, and a projected worldwide shortage of at least 100,000-120,000 tons a year of that...
With gold prices near historic highs, Little Squaw Mining Co. is busy laying the groundwork for exploring its vast mining property for gold in the highly prospective Chandalar district about 200 miles north of Fairbanks. The Spokane-based junior mining company launched a $1.7 million exploration program this spring that includes more than 10,000 feet of drilling in 30 or more holes on at least 10 gold prospects where Little Squaw said it previously established the presence of rich gold values. The program also calls for...
As a worker strike drags on at the huge Ekati Diamond Mine in Northwest Territories, local businesses are beginning to worry whether the dispute could have a detrimental effect on the territory's image as a good place for mining companies to do business. The Ekati mine, one of three diamond producers in the region, is 186 miles northeast of Yellowknife and 124 miles south of the Arctic Circle. About 375 members of the local bargaining unit of the Public Service Alliance of Canada walked off the job April 7 when talks broke...
Hanson Industries Inc., the Spokane, Wash.-based development company, has asked the State of Alaska for permission to explore areas of the historic Goodnews Bay Platinum Mine, which it has owned since 1980. The move comes in the wake of rapidly soaring prices for the rare metal, and coincides with an exploration program being undertaken in the same mining district by Pacific North West Capital Corp. Pacific North West, a Vancouver, B.C. junior mining company, announced in April that it had acquired an option from Calista Corp...
True North Gems said results of the 2005 exploration program at its sapphire property near the village of Kimmirut, along the south coast of Baffin Island, Nunavut, reinforces the company's belief that the seven-square-mile Beluga property could become a world-class gem district. The results, announced May 16 by company officials, include the discovery and confirmation of 12 gem sapphire occurrences as well as a gem-quality cobaltian spinel, the recovery of a 110-tonne mini-bulk sample and nearly 700 feet of diamond core...
Fort Knox workers poured the 3 millionth ounce of gold extracted from the Interior mine May 10 as gold prices soared to a 25-year-high, above $725 an ounce. Production at Fort Knox started in 1997, when the mine produced 366,223 troy ounces of gold. At startup, the mine's operating life was projected for 10 years, but discoveries of additional deposits have stretched that timeline. Fairbanks Mining Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Toronto-based Kinross Corp. operates Fort Knox. Mine officials now say production will...
Efforts to restart the $300 million state-owned Healy Clean Coal Plant Project got a major boost recently when the Alaska Legislature earmarked $12.5 million for the project in this year's capital budget. Senate Bill 231, which is currently awaiting Gov. Frank H. Murkowski's signature, authorizes the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority to spend the funds on startup of operations at the 50 megawatt Healy project. The money is part of $74 million-plus in the Railbelt Utility Fund that lawmakers divvied up for cap...
Niblack Mining Corp. announced a 2006 exploration program May 10 on its copper- and gold-rich Niblack property on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. The volcano massive sulphide deposit sits on 2,000 acres on the southern landward side of the island, near tidewater. Volcano massive sulphide, or VMS, deposits are rich in gold, silver, copper and zinc metals. The junior mining company believes Niblack is one of the higher-grade VMS systems in North America in a setting capable of hosting more than 40 million tons of...
As oil prices continue to climb in tandem with global demand, policy makers are examining the potential of converting coal, one of America's most abundant fossil minerals, into a liquid or gas fuel to help meet the nation's growing energy needs. Committees in both houses of Congress have conducted several hearings on coal gasification and coal-to-liquids technologies this spring. The House Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held its third hearing in four weeks May 4 on domestic alternative energy, focusing...
Kinross Gold Corp., owner of the Fort Knox gold mine 25 miles northeast of Fairbanks, posted a loss for 2005 of $216.0 million, including a $154.3 million deficit in the fourth quarter. The Toronto-based gold producer blamed the bulk of its fourth quarter loss on non-cash impairment charges of $147.2 million, including a charge of $141.8 million related to Fort Knox. During a thorough review of its assets and investments in 2005, Kinross said it examined the Fort Knox operation to determine the impact of higher operating...
Alaska lawmakers, grappling with a requested $36 million hike in the University of Alaska budget this year, could end up axing about $3 million aimed at training young Alaskans for the thousands of new jobs expected in the state's mining, oil and gas, process and construction industries during the next decade. The sharply higher fiscal 2007 budget proposed in January by UA President Mark Hamilton and later endorsed by Gov. Frank Murkowski reflects unusually high fixed costs. These expenses include an estimated $30 million due...
Silverado Gold Mines Ltd. has completed its winter excavation program at the Nolan Placer Gold Project, where it installed a new portal to access virgin placer deposits in the gold-rich Swede Channel. Having completed the first important leg of the project, company crews said they had stockpiled more than 5,500 bank cubic yards of frozen pay gravel by March at the Nolan property, which lies within the Arctic Circle about 280 miles north of Fairbanks in the historic Koyukuk Mining District. Nolan is 100 percent owned by...
As Barrick Gold Corp. announced completion of its multibillion-dollar acquisition of Placer Dome in mid-March, managers of the Donlin Creek project charged forward with work on several fronts at the southwestern Alaska gold deposit. Toronto-based Barrick launched a hostile takeover of Placer Dome on Halloween, but later won approval from Placer Dome's board for a $10.4 billion deal that created the world's biggest gold miner. The combined company owns 26 active mines and is the world's largest gold producer. It expects to...
