The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 1 - 13 of 13
In its largely misunderstood and frequently misrepresented Toxic Release Inventory report, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ranked the Red Dog zinc mine in Northwest Alaska as the largest entity in the nation in releases of TRI reportable materials. The EPA report, released in March 2009, reported that the world's largest zinc mine released 533.4 million pounds of primarily zinc and lead compounds into the environment in 2007 (the latest figures available), down 81.9...
Last month we talked about economic impacts of the Alaska mining industry. This month, the world mineral exploration industry is in our crosshairs. Halifax-based Metals Economics Group reported that 2008 worldwide nonferrous mineral exploration reached $13.2 billion, more than 2.5 times the previous peak exploration spending level reached in 1997. Add uranium exploration expenditures, and the total expands to $14.4 billion. Exploration spending would have been even higher...
In high school civics we all learned about separation of powers and the concept that under our system of government Congress enacted the law, the Executive Branch carried out the law and the Supreme Court interpreted the law. Where the education system failed many of us is in leaving us with the impression that the judiciary is independent of the other two branches. Although the Supreme Court is nominally independent, the inferior courts (please note that I use the word "infer...
While many people are familiar with the 30-million-ounce-plus gold deposit discovered at Donlin Creek in Southwest Alaska, the world-class gold resource boasts another less known but equally impressive statistic. Nearly 90 percent of the 200-plus people working at the Donlin Project are shareholders of the Calista Corporation, the Native regional corporation that owns the land where the deposit is located. "Calista Corp. has had great success with Barrick (Gold Corp.) and...
As mineral-rich Nunavut Territory celebrates its 10th anniversary, Canadians and others are assessing changes made in the past decade and debating what the future will hold for Canada's newest territory. Nunavut, which means "our land," is a vast, frozen expanse of tundra laced with lakes, inlets and bays in the eastern Arctic. Spanning three time zones, it covers 1.9 million square kilometers, or one fifth the land mass of Canada. It also dwarfs Alaska by nearly 200,000 square miles. The territory is home to only 31,000...
To understand Nunavut today, we must look back a bit further than 10 years. We must recall the settlement of the Nunavut Land Claim in 1993; where Nunavut was conceived before its birth on April 1, 1999. The claim was a far-reaching document, but I will look mainly at the provisions that relate to exploration and mining. Probably one of the most significant aspects of the claim was that it gave Inuit ownership of vast tracts of known mineral potential. This land was carefully chosen by the Inuit for its socioeconomic...
Nunavut Territory's next mine appears to be a winner. On track to begin initial gold production in early 2010, the Meadowbank Project promises to deliver the best of what those who pressed for the creation of the territory had in mind - a mining venture capable of doing the heavy lifting needed to improve the local standard of living by providing steady, good-paying jobs along with significant public revenue. The Meadowbank property is located in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut and lies in the Third Portage Lake area, about...
Training the locals to work at the Meadowbank Project near Baker Lake in Nunavut Territory and pouring dollars into the community by purchasing services from local contractors is a big part of the commitment that Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. made to gain the right to produce the estimated 3.5 million ounces of gold it has identified so far on the property. "We anticipate a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship with citizens and government of Nunavut, much like our experience in Quebec," Agnico-Eagle Vice Chairman and CEO...
China has been importing copper and zinc at a record-setting pace since the beginning of 2009. This unprecedented level of buying comes at a time when the Far East country is experiencing the slowest growth in a decade, causing analysts to speculate on what is driving the country's stockpiling of these base metals. The good news for the mining industry is that China's hunger for copper and zinc has, at least for the short term, caused healthy gains in the prices of these...
Chinese firms are securing potential future base metal sources. In two separate deals, China metal companies are moving ahead with investments in zinc projects in northwest Canada. In July 2008 two China mining companies - Jinduicheng Molybdenum Group Ltd. and Northwest Nonferrous International Investment Company Ltd. - acquired Yukon Zinc Corp. By buying up all of Yukon Zinc's outstanding shares for C 22 cents per share, the two Shaanxi Province-based companies became owners...
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. wrapped up a winter drill program at the Livengood gold project about 70 miles north of Fairbanks April 20. The 10,000-meter program that began in February encountered an unexpected area of higher-grade mineralization to the southwest of the 6.7 million-ounce gold resource outlined by previous drilling. "We are having some good luck in the southwest extension of the deposit. We have run into another higher-grade portion of the deposit," Inte...
A first-of-its-kind core-driller apprenticeship program is providing rural Alaskans with the training and certifications that will enable them to work at mining projects close to their homes in the bush. "This training is for Alaskans who live in the remote areas where our natural resources are being developed," said Alaska Labor Commissioner Click Bishop. "Once trained, these Alaskans will be employed in high-paying, high-skilled jobs in their towns and villages." The...
Yukon Zinc Corp. moved closer to startup of the Wolverine Project in Southeast Yukon Territory recently by gaining regulatory approval of its tailings and infrastructure design and construction plan. Two Chinese companies, Jinduicheng Molybdenum Group Ltd. and Northwest Nonferrous International Investment Co. Ltd., acquired all of the public shares of Vancouver, B.C.-based Yukon Zinc last summer. Since then, the private company has quietly advanced the development of Wolverine. The Yukon government April 14 said it approved...
