The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 1 - 18 of 18
A bill being considered by the Alaska Legislature this session may put to rest, once and for all, recent controversy over proposed easing of certain restrictions on wastewater discharges in fish spawning areas of Alaska streams. House Bill 328, introduced by House Fisheries Chairman Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer, would set in statute Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation regulations that prohibit the use of so-called "mixing zones" in the state's natural waterways. The move is aimed at protecting the pristine image of...
The Alaska House Special Committee on Fisheries took up consideration Jan. 20 of House Bill 328, a bill that would prohibit mixing zones in freshwater spawning streams. (See related story on page 3 of this issue.) Mixing zones are used throughout the state, mainly by municipal wastewater treatment plants, seafood processors and some placer mines. State officials are confident newly revised, but controversial, Department of Environmental Conservation mixing zones regulations will protect Alaska's fish, including freshwater...
Usibelli Coal Mine in Healy, Alaska, has achieved an all-time safety record for no lost time injuries. The company said Jan. 17 that from Jan. 27, 2004, to the present, Usibelli's employees have collectively achieved more than 720 days of continuous operations without a lost time injury. "This is a significant accomplishment considering the challenging conditions we work in every day, while maintaining an impressive on-time delivery schedule to our customers," said Keith Walters, Usibelli's general manager. "We have produced...
Metals high: Gold up 77% from January 2002, silver 94%, platinum 87%, copper 206%, nickel 429%, lead 174%, zinc 141% - exploration and development plans for Alaska focused on all of these metals in projects stretching from the Brooks Range to far southeastern Alaska, from the Alaska-Yukon border to the Seward Peninsula n a welcome respite from the madness of most of 2005, the last month has seen a slowing of information from companies and individuals exploring and developing A...
Northern Dynasty may only be a junior mining company, but it has marshaled an army of contractors to conduct baseline environmental studies for its Pebble project in southwest Alaska. Companies that competed against each other to win the contracts are now working as a team taking samples, monitoring conditions and analyzing data that will eventually be used in the permit applications for the proposed copper-gold mine. In 2005 the Pebble project employed 45 consulting firms, with a total Alaska workforce of 457, plus another...
A Vancouver-based junior that has been conducting a drilling program on its sole property, Kutcho Creek in northern British Columbia, formally entered the environmental assessment process last summer with a view to developing a mine. Western Keltic Mines will soon start making presentations to local communities to ensure that First Nations are on board. The company is striving to catch up with the more advanced development projects in the area, NovaGold's Galore Creek and bcMetals' Red Chris. Near to all of those is Barrick...
Permitting, legislation, taxation and education are some of the key issues discussed by the Alaska Minerals Commission in its 2006 report, published in January. The report praises the state's continuing efforts to improve the climate for the mining industry, but also gives a number of recommendations on what else could be done in this period of unusually high activity. The commission has advised Alaska's leaders since its creation in 1986. "A cloud of uncertainty has been cast over the industry by the U.S. Army Corps of...
Teck-Pogo Alaska is back on track to achieve first production this quarter at the Pogo gold mine project near Delta Junction after clearing up a dispute that erupted last year with Golden Valley Electric Association over electricity rates. Teck-Pogo complained to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska in October that GVEA planned to renege on a contract the two companies entered in January 2005 in which GVEA agreed to provide up to 13 megawatts of power to Pogo during its operating life and binding the mine's owner to a yearly...
The new president of Alaska-focused exploration company Select Resources is ready to talk to any potential customer or joint venture partner if there is an opportunity to develop the business. That's the message from Henry "Rick" Sandri, who was promoted from executive vice president in December after Harry Noyes resigned his officer and director positions for family reasons. Select Resources is a mining subsidiary of Bakersfield, Calif.-based Tri-Valley, an oil and gas developer. "Every asset we have is for sale, lease,...
Fort Knox mine near Fairbanks is considering the construction of a heap leach pad to improve its recovery rate and take advantage of soaring gold prices. The project is still in the planning stages, but if mine owner Fairbanks Gold Mining - a subsidiary of Kinross - decides it is viable, the estimated capital cost would be $22 million. Operating costs would be approximately one-third of the current mill operating costs, and the heap leach would be used in addition to the mill processes. "Heap leaching is being evaluated to im...
Golden Valley Electric Association hopes to get help from a mediator to resolve its long-running dispute with the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority regarding the Healy Clean Coal Project. The electric cooperative, which serves Interior customers from Healy to Fairbanks and east to Delta Junction, filed a motion in Alaska Superior Court in Fairbanks, requesting mediation in the case, saying it has the best chance of a lasting resolution. "Golden Valley believes mediation will allow both parties to come to the...
As the mining industry booms and companies rush to develop new properties, there is often one major snag in remote northern regions: inadequate infrastructure. This is the case with the Red Chris property in British Columbia, which completed the province's environmental assessment process last August. Vancouver-based bcMetals is champing at the bit to obtain permits and start construction of its proposed copper-gold mine, but everything hinges on whether or not the British Columbia government will build a 37.5-megawatt power...
Tom Irwin has joined Golden Valley Electric Association as vice president of governmental and public affairs, a newly created position, GVEA said in a statement Jan. 16. Irwin, 59, is a mining industry veteran with more than 30 years of management experience. He stepped down from his job as commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources in October after disagreeing with Gov. Frank H. Murkowski about the direction of the state's natural gas pipeline negotiations with the North Slope producers. At GVEA, Irwin will...
Vancouver-based Sherwood Copper has acquired a second ball mill for its Minto copper-gold project in the Yukon, the company announced Jan. 5. The 10.5-foot by 12-foot Allis Chalmers ball mill was purchased from ASARCO for US$75,000, including a 900 horsepower motor, drive assembly, lubrication system and scoop feeder. This ball mill is a twin to the one that is already at the Minto site. Preliminary grinding studies indicated that the current plant design was capable of processing an average of 1,564 metric tons of ore per...
When I heard that Barrick Gold Corp. had made an unsolicited offer on Oct. 31, 2005, to purchase Placer Dome Inc. my first move was to purchase 100 Barrick shares. Although the acquisition was initially rejected, on Dec. 22 a follow-up offer was greeted more favorably. This appears to be a fortuitous marriage. In the 60 days I have held the stock it has gone from $25.05 per share to $29.48, an increase in value of 17.68 percent (106 percent annualized). I like that kind of...
Bob Loeffler, who resigned recently as director of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Mining, Land and Water, has joined Jade North LLC. Founded in 2000, the Anchorage-based company provides consulting services in a broad range of natural resource, Alaska Native and government sectors. In his new job Loeffler will represent clients with natural resource extraction and transport interests, as well as assist clients with land management projects and issues with government, Native and private land owners,...
Barrick Gold's takeover of Placer Dome could light a fire under the Donlin Creek project in southwest Alaska. Toronto-based Barrick, the world's No. 3 gold producer, mounted an initially hostile bid to purchase Vancouver-based Placer Dome late last year, but the two companies subsequently agreed on an offer of $10.4 billion that they believe will benefit them both. "One of the significant rationales behind the takeover bid was to build up the project pipeline," Vincent Borg, Barrick's vice president for communications, told...
Aerial surveys released by the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys could help identify areas worth exploring for minerals. Four surveys released Jan. 23 fall short of offering a bull's eye for exploration companies, but help pinpoint promising sites, according to state geologist Melanie Werdon. Werdon said a "pretty hot mineral target area" borders a previously studied section that includes the Pogo gold mine northeast of Delta Junction. The Black Mountain area contains rock formations and gold-related...
