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
A wide range of initiatives across Canada is bringing more members of aboriginal communities into the mining industry, especially in the far north. Different provinces and territories take different approaches, but there have been some positive results, according to the recently published 13th annual government report on the issue. Nevertheless, aboriginal participation in the industry remains low, even though aboriginal peoples are commonly the closest population to an exploration or mine development project, the report...
The game is afoot! The last month has seen the start of a number of field programs in Alaska, marking the beginning of the traditional "field season" in the Great Land. With demand for metals remaining extraordinarily high, Alaska's mining industry is operating at capacity but well below demand. An acute shortage of drills and drillers, geologists and engineers and helicopters to move them all around is affecting exploration, development and production plans around the state. For the first time in my career, money is not in...
Workers at the huge Ekati Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories may soon enter a third month on strike with no end to the walkout in sight. The Ekati mine is 186 miles Northeast of Yellowknife and 124 miles south of the Arctic Circle. It became Canada's first diamond mine when it opened in 1998 at a cost of C$900 million. Ekati currently produces 6 percent of the world's diamonds. The mine's 400 unionized workers walked off the job April 7 when last-ditch talks broke down. The Public Service Alliance of Canada, the union...
Fort Knox workers poured the 3 millionth ounce of gold extracted from the Interior mine May 10 as gold prices soared to a 25-year-high, above $725 an ounce. Production at Fort Knox started in 1997, when the mine produced 366,223 troy ounces of gold. At startup, the mine's operating life was projected for 10 years, but discoveries of additional deposits have stretched that timeline. Fairbanks Mining Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Toronto-based Kinross Corp. operates Fort Knox. Mine officials now say production will...
If you enjoy reading upbeat news, I draw your attention to an article in the May 2006 issue of Alaska Economic Trends by Susan Erben of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development that describes a mine training program being conducted in Southeast Alaska. In that program, 78 students, ranging in age from 18 to over 60, were afforded the basic training necessary to gain entry level jobs in Alaska's evolving mining industry. With new major mines coming on line in...
Teck Cominco's experience operating northern mines like Red Dog and Pogo in Alaska could serve it well if the Vancouver-based company's C$17.8 billion attempt to take over Inco is successful. Toronto-based Inco is the world's second-largest nickel producer and its properties include Voisey's Bay mine in Labrador. Inco is currently trying to acquire another Toronto-based mining company, Falconbridge, and the Teck Cominco offer for Inco is contingent on the bid for Falconbridge failing. Touting its offer as "A Better Deal,"...
AS the price of gold hit a 26-year high of over $725 an ounce in mid-May, it wasn't only hard rock miners who were celebrating. Placer miners in Alaska are raring to go this season, and so are all kinds of people who have never attempted mining before in their lives. Recreational mining is rapidly expanding, and long-time placer miners are seeing the opportunity to open up their claims to tourists. The Department of Natural Resources is still in the process of drawing up regulations to deal with the new permitting issues...
Efforts to restart the $300 million state-owned Healy Clean Coal Plant Project got a major boost recently when the Alaska Legislature earmarked $12.5 million for the project in this year's capital budget. Senate Bill 231, which is currently awaiting Gov. Frank H. Murkowski's signature, authorizes the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority to spend the funds on startup of operations at the 50 megawatt Healy project. The money is part of $74 million-plus in the Railbelt Utility Fund that lawmakers divvied up for cap...
Mining industry results for British Columbia in 2005 are "nothing short of spectacular," according to an annual survey by accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Strong global demand helped push net income for the mining industry to $1.84 billion from $871 million in 2004 - the highest levels reported in the 38-year history of the survey. The biggest driver of the results was metallurgical coal, while copper was also a strong performer. Metallurgical coal generated US$1.95 billion in sales for British Columbia miners in...
Vancouver-based Yukon Zinc engaged in a struggle to reassure shareholders in May after a feasibility report on its Wolverine property indicated that annual production would be lower than expected. The company's share price fell from $1 to around 50 cents on the Canadian Venture Exchange when the report was released. A conference call with President and CEO Harlan Meade was beset with technical difficulties, causing more frustration among investors as the company failed to mute background noise on the line. "The trading...
Niblack Mining Corp. announced a 2006 exploration program May 10 on its copper- and gold-rich Niblack property on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. The volcano massive sulphide deposit sits on 2,000 acres on the southern landward side of the island, near tidewater. Volcano massive sulphide, or VMS, deposits are rich in gold, silver, copper and zinc metals. The junior mining company believes Niblack is one of the higher-grade VMS systems in North America in a setting capable of hosting more than 40 million tons of...
The already successful mining engineering program at the University of British Columbia has received a further boost in the form of a $7.5 million gift from Vancouver-based Teck Cominco. The donation will create the Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering, in honor of the company's former president and CEO. One of the components of the $7.5 million is $650,000 from the family of the late Robert Hallbauer, a UBC mining engineering graduate, who helped make Teck Cominco the company it is today. That portion of the...
As oil prices continue to climb in tandem with global demand, policy makers are examining the potential of converting coal, one of America's most abundant fossil minerals, into a liquid or gas fuel to help meet the nation's growing energy needs. Committees in both houses of Congress have conducted several hearings on coal gasification and coal-to-liquids technologies this spring. The House Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held its third hearing in four weeks May 4 on domestic alternative energy, focusing...
Expanding its Alaska properties dramatically, Vancouver-based junior Full Metal Minerals announced in late May that it had acquired 811,000 acres in an option agreement with Alaska Native regional corporation Doyon. Full Metal Minerals may earn a 100 percent interest in the mineral rights of Doyon's conveyed and selected lands in eastern Alaska. The 40-Mile property covers numerous precious and base metal prospects, the most advanced of which is the Lead Creek high-grade silver target, located 12 kilometers west of the Taylor...
Vancouver-based NovaGold Resources has been waiting a while now for Coast Mountain Power to develop the Forest Kerr hydroelectric project. Nothing has happened, and NovaGold needs the power for its planned Galore Creek gold-copper-silver mine in northwestern British Columbia. So the mining company decided to make an offer for Coast Mountain Power and build the hydroelectric power plant itself. The value of the transaction is approximately C$40 million, representing a 42 percent premium to the one-month weighted average...
The Nome area in northwest Alaska is famous for its gold, but less well-known is the fact that it is also home to the largest uranium deposit so far discovered in the state. Abandoned by an oil company when the price of uranium plummeted along with other natural resources in the early 1980s, Boulder Creek (formerly known as Death Valley) is now being explored again by two Vancouver-based juniors in a joint venture, Full Metal Minerals and Triex Minerals. Full Metal Minerals is one of the most active exploration companies in...
