The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 1 - 12 of 12
The U.S Supreme Court heard oral arguments Jan. 12 in a case that challenges Coeur Alaska Inc.'s federal permit to dispose of tailings from the Kensington gold mining project into a nearby lake. Though the wet disposal plan had won approval from federal and state regulators, environmental groups sought to block it, arguing that it violated provisions of the federal Clean Water Act. Coeur Alaska's parent, Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp., took the case to the nation's highest court af...
Despite the strong price and increasing investment surge for gold, Gold Fields Mineral Services reported in it's Gold Survey 2008 summary that global gold mine production dropped 4 percent in 2008 to reach its lowest level since 1995. Australia, Indonesia and South Africa experienced the most significant declines in production with Mexico and Russia seeing increases in production. South African production plummeted by an estimated 14 percent, the sharpest percentage fall...
On Jan. 12, 2009, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, generally referred to as the Kensington case. Like all complex issues, this case defies simple explanation, but there is a kernel issue which can be held up to the light for examination. Since 1972, when the Clean Water Act was overhauled, there has been a split in the responsibilities for the management of our national waterways. Those...
Provinces, territories and at least one mining leader are appealing to the Canadian federal government to offer up substantial assistance to the beleaguered industry in its new annual budget due out Jan. 27. The proposals range from various provisions for tax relief to implementing major infrastructure projects aimed at spurring resource development as well as altering monetary policies to ease credit and free up capital for miners nationwide. The reason: Canada, unlike most Western nations, relies heavily on its natural...
Australian Mineral Fields believes it is onto a world-class gold discovery in Interior Alaska. The Perth, Australia-based junior considers its innovative exploration techniques, used to uncover high-grade gold deposits in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia, uniquely suited for locating high-grade mineralization at the Tushtena gold project about 20 miles west of Tok. The Western Australia-focused exploration company was not looking to expand its operations to the...
Alaska is rich with minerals and considered a safe place to do business. As a result, investment has flowed into the state. Today, a variety of mines and mining projects are scattered across the vast Alaska landscape, from the Greens Creek silver mine and Bokan Mountain uranium project in Southeast Alaska to the world-class Red Dog zinc-lead mine and Northwest Arctic Coal Project in Northwest Alaska; and from the giant Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum project and the Donlin...
Alaska saw robust mining activity in 2008 across the full spectrum of the industry, from small placer operations to major producers, and from exploration programs to advanced development projects. Here is a look at companies reporting significant progress during the year. Placer mining Silverado Gold Mines Ltd. has recovered 26,879 ounces of placer gold from channel and bench deposits in the Nolan Valley through 2007. The largest nugget recovered from the property, located about 280 miles north of Fairbanks, weighed 41.35...
Yet another junior exploration company prospecting for precious and base metals in the mountains of central Yukon has come home with a shiny new prize. ATAC Resources Ltd. struck gold last summer in the mineral-rich hills of the Tombstone Mountains. In August ATAC reported a significant discovery on the Rau property in the Keno Hill District at the northern edge of the prolific Tintina Gold Province, a banana-shaped belt of mostly intrusion-related gold deposits that stretches more than 1,000 miles across Yukon and Alaska....
Zazu Metals Corp. is exploring what it believes is one of the largest undeveloped zinc-lead deposits in the world. Lik, the zinc-lead-silver-rich property that the Vancouver B.C.-based junior is lauding, is located about 22 kilometers, or 14 miles, northeast of Red Dog, the world's largest zinc mine. Zazu said the high-grade deposit at Lik is an ideal fit in the company's business model of identifying high-quality, low-risk properties in an advanced exploration, or...
Growing numbers of thieves are seeking out vulnerable public and private structures for easy sources of lucrative copper used in wiring and other products for relatively quick and anonymous sales. The theft problem is getting so bad that communities across the country are encountering not only economic but also public safety dangers. A recent Federal Bureau of Investigation assessment highlighted the impact of copper theft on critical infrastructure nationwide. Through May 2008, the federal law enforcement agency reported...
NovaGold Resources Inc. is beginning 2009 with an infusion of cash. In two separate deals, the Vancouver B.C.-based miner sold enough of its equity to raise $75 million, funds it will use to pay debt and to advance three projects. During a Jan. 12 interview, NovaGold President and CEO Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse told Mining News that moving its huge gold project at Donlin Creek in southwestern Alaska into permitting will be the company's focus in 2009. NovaGold is a 50-50 partner wi...
When Greg Beischer and Phil St. George teamed up to form Millrock Resources Inc. nearly two years ago, they set out to make big discoveries that would attract the interest of the world's mining giants. These two exploration geologists now think the Estelle high-grade gold property in Alaska's Rainy Pass district, about 160 kilometers, or 100 miles, northwest of Anchorage could be one such property. The Millrock team has the background to know what global mining companies are...
