The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 1 - 14 of 14
One of British Columbia's largest advanced exploration projects has taken a leap forward this summer, with the camp at Galore Creek expanding from 75 people to 175 people. Vancouver-based NovaGold Resources, well-known in Alaska with its Donlin Creek and Rock Creek projects, now has seven core drillings rigs and two geotechnical rigs in operation at Galore Creek. The 74,000-acre property is located within the historic Sitkine Gold Belt of northwest British Columbia, about 90 miles east of Wrangell, Alaska. "The program has...
There was hardly time to pour the champagne before putting on the hard hats. Within days of receiving their final permit in late June, Coeur d'Alene was moving equipment to start work on construction of the Kensington gold mine near Juneau. The first task is to make sure the ecology is taken care of, according to Tim Arnold, Coeur Alaska's vice president and general manager of the project. Coeur is currently mobilizing all the clearing and grubbing equipment and installing silt fences for sediment control. Next on the list...
In the waning days of his administration, then President Jimmy Carter passed through Anchorage en route to a meeting in Asia. His shocking and draconian use of the Antiquities Act to implement his vision of how Alaskans should be concentrated in isolated parcels surrounded by inaccessible, withdrawn lands had already been implemented. His execution of ANILCA was yet to be. Mr. Carter took a few minutes to meet with several business leaders during his brief stopover, and in...
Full Metal Minerals Ltd. has launched an eight-hole drilling program covering 1,200 meters at the Lucky Shot Gold Project, about 40 miles north of Anchorage. The program - the initial phase of exploration at Lucky Shot by the Vancouver, British Columbia-based company - will target an extension to the Coleman Vein at the Lucky Shot Mine. The mine is in the second largest historic lode-gold producing region in Alaska. From 1908 to 1951 Lucky Shot operated as one of the richest in Alaska, producing 252,000 ounces of gold at an...
U.S. energy legislation currently working its way toward finalization in Congress provides $200 million in aid for programs that develop ways to convert coal into synthetic fuels such as clean diesel, along with billions in loans and incentives to encourage environmentally friendly methods of burning coal to generate electricity. A huge federal transportation bill still in the U.S. House also promises assistance for those seeking to convert coal into clean-burning transportation fuels. These funds could spur existing...
Tri-Valley Corp. said July 18 that its wholly owned subsidiary Select Resources Corp. has purchased the Admiral Calder Calcium Carbonate Mine and associated assets from Sealaska Corp. and SeaCal LLC. Bakersfield, Calif.-based Tri-Valley said the calcium mine is on the northwestern coast of Prince of Wales Island. It was discovered around 1905 and mined from 1907-10 for high white and statuary grade marble. Current mining operations began in 1999. Tri-Valley said the mine has 13.9 million tons of drill-proven and probable...
Kinross Gold and Teryl Resources are advancing their Gil Joint Venture Project from exploration to the development stage in hopes of identifying a viable source of new high-grade gold ore for production. The joint venture plans to permit the deposit once sufficient baseline data has been collected. A $793,800 budget has been approved this year for permitting and engineering work. A full feasibility study is expected to be completed by the end of the year, and a production decision by Kinross, which holds an 80 percent interes...
Anglo American Exploration (USA) Inc. completed phase 2 program of its exploration on Area 1 (Fish Lake-Dunite Hill Area) of the MAN Alaska property June 20, according to owner Nevada Star Resource Corp. A total of 7,330 feet of drilling was completed in eight holes. The MAN Alaska property is 164 miles southeast of Fairbanks and 248 miles northeast of Anchorage. Exploration by Nevada Star began in 1995 in this large area which is characterized by its extremely anomalous nickel, PGE, and gold concentrations. Exploration...
Anyone who owns mining claims - from grizzled old prospectors to multinational companies - struggles to make a profit. So one particular kind of prospect may be particularly attractive to them: having people pay for the privilege of mining on the claims, with the search itself often turning out to be more rewarding than the discovery of a tiny gold nugget or a pinch of fines. Recreational miners come in all shapes and sizes, and they're bringing new life to land that might otherwise have been abandoned. To make the most of...
Part of the fun of recreational mining is being outdoors in a beautiful landscape. At Crow Creek mine near Girdwood, 38 miles south of Anchorage, the mountain backdrop is enhanced by the presence of wooden buildings and rusty pieces of equipment that have been preserved from the mining operation that began here in 1898. The Toohey family, who own the mine, have lived here for more than 30 years with no electricity, telephone or running water. From May to September they welcome recreational miners for a $5 fee, or $10 if you...
An ambitious plan by Canadian junior Cash Minerals could bring 1.2 million tonnes of coal per year to Southeast Alaska's Skagway Ore Terminal for export to Pacific Rim markets. Cash has begun talks with the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, the contractual owner of the ore terminal, about the logistics that would be involved in using the facility. The coal would be mined over a 20-year period at Cash's Division Mountain deposit in Yukon. The Skagway Ore Terminal was constructed in the 1960s by the White...
In case you have not heard, Alaska's mineral industry is cooking! Over the last month two new companies have acquired mineral properties in Alaska and most of the existing projects kicked off their summer programs in earnest. One of Alaska's major mining projects received its final permits to allow mine construction to begin and several others are conducting preliminary and final feasibility studies. Drilling rigs are scarce as hen's teeth and the helicopters to lift them and the people who run them are booked from now until...
A reclusive prospector panning for gold in the Quesnel River in British Columbia found something far more rare, the fossilized cannon bone of a deer, and kept it a secret for years, experts say. The artifact found by Ben Miller, a fossilized support bone from the shank, is jet black and hard as a hammer, said Norm Canuel, a local archaeologist who has been on digs from Peru to Alaska. "It is rare to find anything like that," Canuel said. "Once I found the fossil of a shrimp in the Nechako (a valley in far northern British...
Environmentalists and indigenous groups have long been calling for a clean-up of the acid mine drainage at the former Tulsequah Chief zinc-copper-silver-gold mine in British Columbia, just across the border from Juneau. Vancouver-based Redfern Resources wants to do a full clean-up of the site, but only if it can reopen the mine. So mine critics find themselves in the dilemma of opposing the very process that could solve some of the environmental troubles. The mine has been polluting the Taku and Tulsequah rivers with acid...