The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 1 - 16 of 16
An Alaska mine located in one of the nation's most unique ecosystems has received the prestigious ISO 14001 certificate for its environmental management practices. Greens Creek silver, gold, zinc and lead underground mine is on Admiralty Island National Monument in southeast Alaska's Tongass National Forest. The old growth temperate rainforest on the island provides habitat for about 1,700 brown bears - more than in the Lower 48 states combined - as well as around 2,500 bald eagles, black-tailed deer, salmon and a host of...
The report of the 2005 Alaska Minerals Commission, published in January, stresses the urgent need to overcome the twin obstacles of permitting and lawsuits at a time when the mining industry is experiencing a dramatic upsurge in activity. Since its creation in 1986 the commission has made annual recommendations to the governor and Legislature on ways to mitigate constraints on the development of minerals, including coal, in the state. "Despite the improvements in 2004, the industry continued to be dogged by an array of...
The Northwest Territories government has been forced to resume its search for a buyer to take over its troubled diamond cutting and polishing plant. Hopes that the Lev Leviev Group of Cos. would take over the operation collapsed earlier in February when the Israeli-based conglomerate was unable to strike a deal with the Diavik and Ekati mines to supply rough diamonds. The challenge of establishing a cost-effective, competitive diamond cutting factory in Yellowknife, where labor costs are much higher than in Russia or Africa,... Full story
An easing of China's overheated economy and a rapid rise in costs could sap some of the vigor from the mining industry, says Canaccord Capital's global metals and mining analyst Gary Lampard. In an early-February research report he said that rather than being at the "start of a long-lasting commodity boom driven by China," the industry is "facing the tail end of a strong cyclical recovery." Lampard said the 11 global firms he studied are investing US$24 billion over three years until 2006 on expansion projects, a 23 percent... Full story
Diamonds and energy are generating some spinoff benefits in the Northwest Territories, fueling house prices and creating some fertile ground for union organizers. The Canadian Real Estate Association has credited the industry with stimulating a 21 percent hike in house prices last year to C$246,716, making the far-flung Northwest Territories Canada's second hottest market behind British Columbia's average C$289,107. A fired-up economy that is currently drawing most of its momentum from the diamond sector has led to a housing...
Alaska's attorney general, Gregg Renkes, resigned in February following an investigation into his role in promoting the sale of coal to Taiwan. The Bundy report concluded that Renkes had not violated the state ethics code, but added that it was a "close question," and there were immediate calls from lawmakers to tighten up the ethics code. While negotiating the sale of Alaska coal to Taiwan on behalf of Gov. Frank Murkowski, Renkes owned stock worth $126,125 in KFx, the Denver-based company that is developing an experimental...
Alaska's Usibelli Coal Mine began talks in January with Matanuska Electric Association about the possible construction of a coal-fired power plant. Usibelli is looking for a customer in the Railbelt and MEA serves nearly 50,000 people in the Matanuska and Susitna valleys north of Anchorage. The Mat-Su location would be an alternative to Usibelli's proposed 200 megawatt Emma Creek project, a power plant close to the mine at Healy. "If our talks are successful, we could have a plant in service as early as January 2015," MEA spo...
A new North American gold powerhouse is in the making following the merger of Goldcorp and Wheaten River Minerals, two mid-size Canadian producers, whose combined entity now ranks No. 5 on the continent. With the champagne still flowing and the ink still drying on the deal, Ian Telfer, president and chief executive officer of the new Goldcorp, wasted no time talking about expansion. He said Goldcorp's objective will be to double production and attain what he views as the benchmark 2 million ounce mark sometime in 2005. He...
While KFx struggles to prove that its K-Fuel process can dry Alaska's sub-bituminous coal in an economical manner, another company wants to convert the coal into liquid fuel. Like KFx, Vancouver-based Silverado Gold Mines has a checkered history and is having trouble bringing its ambitious project to fruition. Silverado has previously been involved in placer gold mining on its Nolan properties, north of the Arctic Circle. With little to show for that, the company is now enthusiastically promoting its "green fuel" process. Sil... Full story
Nearly half a decade after embarking on development of the huge Pogo gold resource in Interior Alaska, operator Teck-Pogo Inc. is eyeing light at the end of the tunnel - first production in early 2006. The company is also gearing up for additional exploration near the known deposit later this year. Pogo, 85 miles southeast of Fairbanks near the town of Delta Junction, is estimated to contain 7.7 million tons of ore that should yield just under a half-ounce of gold per ton. Karl Hanneman, the project's manager of public and...
Canadian junior Rimfire Minerals is expanding its horizons yet again, this time by clinching a deal with one of the world's largest gold mining companies. In December Mining News reported on Vancouver-based Rimfire's promising results at the Tide property in British Columbia. In January the company announced a partnership with Barrick Gold to explore another British Columbia gold-silver property called Kizmet. Under a memorandum of understanding between the two companies, Barrick has agreed to make a $60,500 cash payment to R...
Northern Dynasty Minerals will defer its permit applications for the planned Pebble gold mine in southwestern Alaska until 2006, the company's chief operating officer, Bruce Jenkins, said at an Alaska Miners' Association meeting Feb. 9. Previously Northern Dynasty had been hoping to file the applications by the end of 2005, but it will wait until the feasibility study by international project management and services company AMEC is complete, Jenkins said. AMEC will undertake the feasibility study out of its Vancouver office.... Full story
December, January and February are normally a time when the mining industry can stop and catch its collective breath, look into its often cloudy but well-used crystal ball and prepare for the coming year. Not so the last December, January and February! While 2004 results continued to pour in from projects large and small, plans for 2005 are well advanced and in some cases, already in full swing. Metals prices remained strong and even the most pessimistic prognosticators...
Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski said conserving natural gas could help save Agrium's Kenai Peninsula fertilizer plant and suggested reopening the Healy clean coal plant, a $300 million experimental power generation facility that was shuttered in 2000 after failing to meet the expectations of its proposed operator, Golden Valley Electric Association of Fairbanks. (See related stories in Petroleum News this week.) The plant can deliver 50 megawatts of power, and would relieve the consumption of 10 million cubic feet of gas per day,...
Mining giant Placer Dome Inc. announced a 24 percent growth in earnings in 2004 to $284 million, partly due to "a number of tax items resulting in a net tax recovery of $130 million," the company said in a press release in mid-February. Sales revenue increased 7 percent to $1.89 billion on gold production of 3.65 million ounces and copper production of 413 million pounds. Gold cash and total costs were $240 and $298 per ounce, respectively, while copper cash and total costs were 55 cents and 70 cents per pound, respectively....
The Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys released new airborne geophysical data and maps for the Goodpaster River area in Interior Alaska on Jan. 24. The survey covers approximately 210 square miles in the western Goodpaster mining district, which is home to the Pogo deposit. (See map on page 15.) Several mining companies, including AngloGold, Rimfire, Freegold and Teck Cominco, are active in the area. "We use these data all the time and have found more and more uses for the geophysical data since (the...
