The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 1 - 15 of 15
Production and sales at the Fort Knox Gold Mine dipped slightly in the first two quarters of 2007. The mine northeast of Fairbanks produced 176,644 ounces of gold over the first six months of the year for a decline of about 1.5 percent from the same period last year, according to preliminary figures released Aug. 2 by the Toronto-based Kinross Gold Corp., the parent company of Fairbanks Gold Mining Inc., which operates Fort Knox. The mine earned $63.7 million in revenue in the second quarter of 2007, down 8 percent from the...
I want you to tear this article out of the paper and save it. I'll explain why in a minute, but the point is that you will want to refer to it often over the next several months if you have any interest in federal mining claims; and, more to the point, if you have any friends or family who have an interest in federal mining claims and have not seen this article, you will want to show it to them. The reason? Pending in Congress as we speak is legislation that, if it becomes law...
Nunavut's first diamond mine, Jericho, operated by Toronto-based Tahera Diamond Corp., is still undergoing technical improvements aimed at increasing output and turning losses into profits. The value of the mine's production for the second quarter of 2007 was US$6.4 million, for a total cash operating cost of $16 million, Tahera said in a release Aug. 7. Jericho processed 95,500 metric tons of ore in Q2 at an average grade of 0.78 carats per ton, resulting in production of 74,000 carats. Overall, total tons processed at...
Almost six months after the Orca quarry on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, began production of sand and gravel, owner Polaris Minerals is looking back with pride on its early achievements and looking forward to an expansion of operations in the future. The quarry is on schedule to start seeing positive cash flow after its first year in production, Vancouver-based Polaris's management said in a second-quarter results conference call Aug. 17. "The Orca quarry continues to perform extremely well and productivity is improving...
Like a magnet, Pebble's inferred resources of 42.9 billion pounds of copper, 39.6 million ounces of gold and 2.7 million pounds of molybdenum attracted Anglo American to the southwest Alaska project. What this adds up to is a potential mine life of 50 years or more, which was Pebble's biggest draw for the London-based major, representatives of the company told Mining News. In late July Anglo emerged as a 50-50 partner in Pebble with Vancouver-based Northern Dynasty, promising an investment of $1.4 billion. Unwilling to...
Mining assets in the Yukon that formerly belonged to bankrupt company BYG Natural Resources have been sold to a privately held company, Saskatchewan Ltd., for $3.1 million. Ontario-based BYG's interim receiver, PricewaterhouseCoopers, announced the sale Aug. 9. The 199 claims and leases at the Mount Nansen property near Carmacks had been under the joint care of the governments of Yukon and Canada. Saskatchewan Ltd says it intends to begin developing an exploration program for the Mount Nansen site. The Vancouver-based...
As the late, great Phil Rizutto used to say when something amazing happened on the baseball field: "Holy Cow!" The last month has seen an explosion of activity across Alaska with companies working in virtually every region on a diverse package of metals including gold, platinum group elements, silver, molybdenum, lead, zinc, copper and nickel. Several new companies have entered the exploration field in Alaska and several new partners have joined forces with previously active...
Indicator Minerals Inc. is that most fortunate of Canadian junior exploration companies, one with a prospect so enticing that a major has signed on to do some heavy lifting. The three-year-old Vancouver, British Columbia-based venture is well into its third season of exploration, poring over more than 4 million acres of mineral claims in the Far North's Nunavut Territory in search of Canada's next big diamond discovery. Indicator's most promising prospect to date is the Darby property, located on nearly 700,000 acres of...
DeBeers Canada Inc. is exploring the Gahcho Kué project in the Northwest Territories this summer, hoping to confirm its potential to become the company's second major diamond mine in the Canadian Arctic. Of the four major mining projects De Beers is developing, two are in Canada, which has emerged in the past 15 years as one of the world's most prospective diamond mining regions. The two advanced Canadian developments are the Snap Lake Diamond Project in the Northwest Territories and the Victor Diamond Mine Project, in...
The expansion of Vancouver-based Taseko's Gibraltar mine in south-central British Columbia is progressing rapidly and the company's revenues are up, Taseko announced in its third-quarter report Aug. 14. Cash flow from operations was C$14.6 million in the third quarter of this year, an increase of $2.2 million over the same period last year. Gibraltar produced 12.7 million pounds of copper in the third quarter, an increase of 2.6 million pounds over the same period last year. "We are very happy with the progress of operations...
Vancouver-based Teck Cominco has almost made enough money at Red Dog mine to start paying Alaska Native corporation NANA a 25 percent net proceeds of production royalty, the company announced in its second-quarter report July 30. Teck Cominco currently pays NANA an annual advance royalty equal to 4.5 percent of Red Dog's net smelter return. At a certain point specified in the royalty agreement, NANA must pay the 25 percent royalty, which increases in 5 percent increments every fifth year to a maximum of 50 percent. Advance...
A coroner's jury at an inquest in Kimberley, British Columbia, in mid-July decided that the four deaths at Teck Cominco's decommissioned Sullivan mine last year were accidental. Two workers and two paramedics died when they entered an airless water-sampling shed on the site. The paramedics weren't prepared for entering a mine building because they thought they were dealing with a drowning, the inquest found. The jury handed down 16 recommendations to revamp mine safety rules. It recommended that the British Columbia Mines Min...
Greg Beischer is a familiar face in Alaska's mining industry, but he's wearing a new hat now. For the past few years he's played a peripheral role, working for Bristol Environmental and Engineering Services, advising parent company Bristol Bay Native Corp. on mineral, oil and gas developments in the Bristol Bay region, including the Pebble project. He's also the outgoing chairman of the Alaska Miners Association's Anchorage branch. This summer Beischer has gone back to breaking rocks in an entirely new job. Beischer is now...
Owners of the Kensington mine announced in mid-August that it has finished building nearly all the facilities that it needs to begin operations. But plans for a disposal facility for a slurry containing millions of tons of mine waste into a small lake are still on hold, the Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. said. The federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in May that the Idaho-based company's plan to pour the waste into Lower Slate Lake violates the Clean Water Act. The 23-acre lake is in the Tongass National Forest and drains...
Not all parents are sure that their kids appreciate them. But when they follow you into the family business and one of them writes an article describing you as a role model and all-around great guy, you can relax with a beer, put your feet up and think, "I've done OK." This is precisely the case for 43-year-old John Usibelli, father of Elizabeth and Vincent, all of whom are currently working at the coal mine in Healy that was founded by John's great-uncle, Emil. "He is a very talented, low-key man; a working man's man; a...
