The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 1 - 20 of 20
AngloGold (U.S.A.) Exploration filed exploration permits with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources in late May, requesting permission to drill up to 60 core holes this summer on two different properties near the Pogo gold project in Interior Alaska. The company plans to drill up to 30 holes on the ER project, just west of Pogo, in the upper Goodpaster River drainage. Vancouver, British Columbia-based Rimfire Minerals initially staked some of that property and has optioned its holdings to AngloGold. The two companies sta...
Results from a preliminary ground geophysical exploration program on the Black Lake diamond project in the Northwest Territories identified five high priority geophysical targets for drilling, the joint venture operating the project announced June 8. Kalahari Resources Inc. and joint venture partners SouthernEra Resources Ltd. and Island Arc Mining Corp. said the program tested two kimberlitic indicator mineral trains - North Margaret Lake and South One. The program has defined five high-priority geophysical targets with...
International diamond giant De Beers and Canadian junior mining company Tahera Corp. have signed an agreement to jointly explore and develop 36,000 hectares of de Beers' land adjacent to the Jericho diamond project in Nunavut. According to the terms of the agreement, Tahera will spend $11 million by 2008 to earn a 50 percent interest in the property. The agreement has been structured so that each company can act as operator, as the development grows, depending on the size of the project. "There is a natural fit between De...
NovaGold Resources and its Canadian subsidiary SpectrumGold are increasing spending this year for the company's Galore Creek property in remote northwestern British Columbia, kicking off a large, aggressive drilling and advanced exploration program in late May. Galore Creek, about 37 miles west of the Cassiar Highway and about 46 miles east of Wrangell, Alaska, is a large, well-defined gold-silver-copper resource previously worked by Kennecott. Three core rigs will work through the summer, completing more than 60,000 feet of...
NovaGold Resources plans to work on its other large metals deposit this summer, the Ambler property located in the remote part of northwestern Alaska, filing a permit with the state to drill up to 21 core holes. The company announced a $1.5 million budget for the property earlier this year, shortly after signing an agreement with Kennecott to acquire a 51 percent interest in the gold, silver, copper and base metals deposit. Helicopter-supported exploration work will take place between June 15 and Sept. 30, according to the...
Spending about $250,000 on its first phase of drilling this year, Bravo Venture Group hit the ground mid-May with a core drill to test three prospects on the Woewodski Island property in Southeast Alaska about 18 miles southwest of Petersburg. The 3,000 meter drill program will be completed mid-June, according to Jay Oness, vice president of investor relations for the Canadian junior, part of the Manex Group of mineral exploration companies. "We might increase that (drill work)," Oness told Mining News June 7. "We're getting...
The cutting and polishing sector of Canada's much-touted diamond industry needs some trimming and buffing of its own, suggests a new report from the mining industry that has angered the Northwest Territories government. The study, entitled National Diamond Strategy: An Industry Response, said efforts to build a value-added component to the thriving diamond mines has resulted in "short-term, unsustainable policies" that penalize primary producers and in money-losing ventures that employ too many foreign workers. "Clearly any...
In his first season as the Alaska and Russia exploration manager for Kinross Gold, Rich Harris will be spending about $2.5 million on exploration in 2004, mostly for early-stage prospects neighboring the company's Fort Knox and True North mines northeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. Final budgets for several projects, including three prospects neighboring True North and three others in the Fort Knox/Gil area, are still pending, Harris said in interviews June 1 and June 5. "Everything is being reevaluated locally. We're looking at...
Vancouver, British Columbia-based MAX Resource Corp. announced on May 17 its acquisition of the Gold Hill exploration property in central Alaska, near Cantwell. The company plans to begin an extensive exploration and drilling program in June, subject to acceptance for filing of the acquisition option and weather conditions in the area, MAX said in its press release. MAX entered into an option agreement with Zazu Exploration Inc., a privately held Texas corporation, which holds a lease on the Gold Hill claims from General...
Freegold Ventures and Pacific Northwest Capital announced plans June 1 to begin drilling mid-June at the company's Union Bay property about 35 miles northwest of Ketchikan, Alaska, a $1.2 million exploration program being funded by Lonmin Plc. "Exploration will commence immediately with a detailed geological mapping and sampling program and an airborne magnetic and electromagnetic survey," the company said in its press release. Crews will complete 9,000 feet of drill samples during this summer's season, according to...
Partners in the Pogo gold project northeast of Delta Junction, Alaska, have officially approved the final feasibility study and production program, announcing plans on June 4 to complete construction and begin initial gold production in March 2006. Production will ramp up to commercial rates by the end of August, 2006, the three partners said in a joint press release. Development partners in the Pogo project, 40 miles northeast of Delta Junction in the upper Goodpaster River valley, include Teck Cominco Ltd., Sumitomo Metal...
Long the symbol of a "dirty" economy and seemingly destined for oblivion in the age of global warming, coal is making a resurgence in the United States and Canada, propelled by the big blackout last summer and the volatility of natural gas prices. It is a small advance, but 4,900 megawatts of coal-fired generation is under construction or in advanced development in the United States and another 11,000 megawatts is in early development, according to a Standard & Poor's report in March. Beyond that, 90 new coal-fired power...
Vancouver, British Columbia-based Yale Resources Ltd. announced its option on the Golden Revenue property in southwestern Yukon Territory, accessible by a secondary highway branching off of the Yukon Highway. In a May 17 press release, Yale said it is currently planning its drilling program to test both high-grade and bulk tonnage gold occurrences on the property in June and July. The company plans to spend a minimum of $400,000 on the property in 2004, and has already obtained exploration permits, according to Yale's...
Expatriate Resources says it has struck a deal with Atna Resources to purchase Atna's 39.4 percent interest in the Wolverine joint venture in the Yukon Territory. The deal, if approved by regulators, gives Vancouver-based Expatriate 100 percent ownership in the precious metals deposit and surrounding exploration properties. Under the terms of the agreement, Expatriate will pay C$2 million in cash, issue 10 million shares and 5 million share-purchase warrants and provide a royalty on silver and gold production from the propose...
Developers of the Kensington gold project in Southeast Alaska received a solid vote of confidence from Alaska's state government, with nearly unanimous legislative approval of a bill that would allow up to $20 million in tax-exempt bonding for port and tailings impoundment facilities. The bill was passed by the Alaska Legislature in early May and signed into law in early June. It's the first step in a six-month to year-long process of approving bonds issued by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority for Coeur...
British Columbia's mining sector continued its five-year recovery trend last year and is on the brink of an Asia-fueled boom, according to an annual British Columbia mining study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers. An increase in coal, copper, silver, gold and lead prices helped to push total industry net income up 166 percent in 2003, reported the study, which was released in May. The Mining Industry in British Columbia - 2003, an annual survey and assessment of the mining industry's overall performance, summarized the...
Freegold Ventures Ltd. said June 16 it has entered into an agreement with Nautilus Alaska Inc. that allows it to acquire Nautilus's rights to a 20 year lease on the Tolovana Gold property in the Fairbanks mining district of eastern Interior Alaska. The lease may be extended for an additional 10 years on the same terms, Freegold said. The Tolovana Gold property lies southwest of the historic Cleary Hill Mine and will form part of the Golden Summit property under the Freegold/Meridian Joint Venture, Freegold said. Previous...
Little Squaw Gold Mining Co. released results in early May from an independent geological analysis of the company's holdings in the Chandalar Mining district, which include both lode and placer prospects. Recommendations for future lode exploration includes targeting a potential bulk tonnage deposit, based on including lenses of multi-ounce gold quartz veins with auriferous splays and subparallel, sheeted quartz vein systems. Placer development recommendations suggest targets in the lower Big Squaw Creek and the Little Squaw...
Work began this spring on a three year, $60 million capital project at the Fort Knox gold mine northeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, a project that will ultimately access 1 million ounces of deeply buried gold, ensuring production at Alaska's largest mine through 2010. Called Phase 6, the mine expansion entails removing 55 million tons of non-gold bearing rock, or waste rock, in order to access an estimated 1 million ounces of gold already included in the mine's reserve used to estimate the remaining amount of production life....
Placer mining and lode exploration activity in Alaska is picking up this year, according to applications filed with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. A total of 299 permit applications have been filed with the department's Division of Mining, Land and Water in 2004, an increase of 43 applications compared to the number filed in 2003, according to geologist Brent Martellaro, in the department's Northern Regional office in Fairbanks. "We're projecting (the number of permits filed) it will be 17 percent higher. We're...
