The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 1 - 9 of 9
Preliminary estimates released by NovaGold Resources Inc. in early September plants an anticipated US$7 billion price tag on building the facilities needed to mine the 38-million-ounce Donlin Creek gold deposit. That is about US$2.5 billion more than was calculated for a feasibility study completed in 2009. Though the preliminary capital costs seem staggering, both NovaGold and its equal partner in Donlin Gold, Barrick Gold Corp., seem confident the feasibility study...
A recent article in the Newsletter of the Society of Economic Geologists discussed ways of addressing an arresting trend in the mining industry that affects Alaska's mining future. Authors N. Stephen Enders of the Colorado School of Mines and Cliff Saunders of Too Serious Unlimited, showed that the discovery rate for gold has been dropping steadily since 1999, while the gold mined by operating mines worldwide has remained essentially unchanged at about 80 million ounces per year. The low for ounces discovered coincided with...
I know not what others may say, but as for me, the competition for the Republican nomination for president of the United States is a major giggle. One can only wonder how it is that we have gotten so deep into the soup. In the background, we have an incumbent who must be regarded, in the vernacular, as totally clueless. Arguably, there is nothing wrong with his safety nets and health care programs for the dependent underclass - the concept of noblesse oblige had been around...
Could thorium oust uranium as the fuel of choice for nuclear power plants in a post-Fukushima era? Nuclear experts and environmental leaders alike are touting the metal commonly associated with rare earth elements as a safer, more abundant and environmentally friendlier alternative to its infamous cousin. According to the World Nuclear Association, "Thorium continues to be a tantalizing possibility for use in nuclear power reactors; though for many years India has been the...
The quest for uranium that led to the creation of Uranium North Resources Corp. to explore Nunavut five years ago continues today, despite plummeting demand for the mineral after the partial meltdown of Japan's Fukushima Dai-Ichi power plant in March. But the nimble junior, having noted soaring demand for gold in recent years, had already seized the initiative to also hunt for the precious metal on many of the very same Nunavut properties where it sought uranium. As a result, Uranium North is one of a few exploration-stage co...
As gold prices soared in 2011 along with demand for silver and base metals, droves of mineral explorers fanned out across remote areas of Yukon Territory, seeking lucrative hardrock deposits. Lured by news of recent gold discoveries in the White Gold district of the Dawson Range and the Carlin-type mineralization found in the Rackla Gold Belt to the east, the horde of juniors, along with the occasional major, turned up with a frenzy of new claim-staking that started early in the year. Many returned to projects they first...
A mine-builder's dream" is how James Komadina, the new CEO of International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. characterizes the enormous Livengood gold project in Interior Alaska. An updated preliminary economic assessment released by Tower Hill in August - which outlines a 91,000-metric-ton-per-day mill churning out more than a half-million ounces of gold yearly for 20-plus years -paints a clearer picture of the operation Komadina envisions. "There are not a lot of 20-million-ounce (gold...
While Advanced Explorations Inc. is focusing mainly on its two massive iron ore projects in Nunavut this summer, the aggressive exploration company is also continuing to explore promising West Melville Peninsula nickel and copper showings and to study an iron sands project it recently optioned in Alaska. The Toronto-based junior plans to produce iron products initially from the C Zone, one of four zones on the 3,730-hectare (9,213 acres) Roche Bay property, which is located in one of the world's largest developing iron ore...
Ocean Park Ventures Corp. - which emerged on the mineral exploration scene in 2010 with a US$6.2 million exploration program at the Chisna gold-copper project in eastern Alaska - has returned to the north with another aggressive exploration program in 2011. While the Vancouver B.C.-based junior investigates an exciting new gold trend at Chisna with a C$2.4 million program, the explorer's primary focus is on Trapper, a previously disregarded gold property located in northern...
