The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 1 - 12 of 12
Canadian junior mining companies are increasingly the targets of friendly (and occasionally not-so-friendly) takeover bids, but it's more unusual for the purchaser to be located on the other side of the planet. That is the case for Ontario-based Wolfden Resources, which has agreed to a buy-out by Australia's Zinifex. Wolfden is developing projects in Nunavut, while Zinifex operates two mines and three smelters in Australia, as well as a smelter in the Netherlands and another in Tennessee. Zinifex offered Feb. 19 to acquire...
The trials and tribulations of Alaska's mining industry continued in the last month with one challenged mine given the green light to proceed, the other halted in midstride by the same legal system. In the background, exploration programs quietly began at several locations across the state as the busy 2007 mining season started in earnest. Alaska's global rank dropped from 13th to 24th position in the most recent Fraser Institute survey of mining jurisdictions worldwide. At...
Should the mining industry's tax rate in Alaska be compared with that of the much larger oil and gas industry, because they both deal with non-renewable resources, or is it fairer to align mining with industries like fishing and tourism, which generate comparable amounts of revenue? That's one of the questions raised by Rep. Paul Seaton's bill in the Legislature, House Bill 156, which would reform mining taxes for the first time in decades. Significantly, the bill changes the calculation of the royalty for mineral mining on...
For a change, Alaska's large mines received praise from an environmentalist during public testimony in the legislature about House Bill 156, the mining tax bill, March 21. Kate Troll, executive director of the Alaska Conservation Alliance, which is a coalition of 40 groups, said that both Greens Creek and Fort Knox are in compliance with all the environmental regulations. Her comments were made in an effort to demonstrate that it is possible to support a tax increase without wishing to kill the mining industry. "Greens Creek...
Vancouver-based NovaGold Resources got some encouraging news on all three of its major projects recently. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reissued its permit for Rock Creek; Galore Creek received its British Columbia Environmental Assessment Certificate; and Donlin Creek expanded its resources by an impressive amount. But progress has come at a cost: the company had a net loss of $30.5 million in 2006, compared with a net loss of $5.8 million in 2005. Most of the additional expenditures - $21 million - went to fighting off...
With startup of the Minto advanced stage copper-gold project in the central Yukon just around the corner, Sherwood Copper Corp. has already embarked on a plan to add to reserves and extend production at the site. Minto, a relatively small project by industry standards, is a standout because of its exceptionally high grade copper reserves. Its reserves currently exceed 356 million pounds of copper, with estimated recovery rates of 95 percent for copper and silver and 75 percent for gold. Sherwood, a Vancouver, British...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit is preparing to rule against construction of the tailings facility at Kensington gold mine near Juneau. The court made the announcement March 16 in a separate ruling that denied the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permission to construct an interceptor ditch for Kensington. Idaho-based Coeur d'Alene Mines must now decide what to do about its half-finished project. "We are surprised and disappointed in the court's announcement and what it might mean for the over 400 Kensington...
A bill in the Alaska Legislature that would place severe restrictions on water use in the Bristol Bay area is undergoing revision by its sponsor, Rep. Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham. House Bill 134, was motivated by concerns about the possible development of Northern Dynasty's Pebble mine, but many of those who testified to the House Special Committee on Fisheries said it could block all other forms of development and even subsistence activities. New additions to a committee substitute version of the bill exempt unincorporated...
Strong markets and solid production powered hardrock mining companies with large operations and investments in Alaska to outstanding performances in 2006. Teck Cominco, operator of the Red Dog zinc-lead mine near Kotzebue and the Pogo gold mine in the eastern Interior near Delta Junction; Kinross Gold Corp., owner of the Fort Knox gold mine near Fairbanks, Hecla Mining Co., part owner of the Greens Creek silver mine in Southeast Alaska; and Coeur D'Alene Corp., developer of the Kensington Gold Project near Juneau, reported...
Western Copper Corp., the spinoff from Western Silver Corp. charged with bringing the Yukon Territory's Carmacks copper deposit into production, cleared a significant regulatory hurdle recently. The Yukon Environmental and Socioeconomic Assessment Board notified Western Copper in February that its proposal for the Carmacks Copper Project was adequate, under terms of the Yukon Environmental and Socioeconomic Assessment Act and opened the review to public comments on the proposal. Carmacks, which is 100 percent owned by...
Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. of Cranbrook, B.C., has both breadth and depth when it comes to mineral exploration in western Canada. The aggressive junior has acquired more than 36 properties in a dozen years, including 22 in British Columbia; nine in the Yukon Territory; two in Northwest Territories (one project is 5,500 square kilometers); and three in Saskatchewan. Properties controlled by Eagle Plains offer exploration opportunities for gold, uranium, silver, copper, molybdenum, zinc, lead, rare earth minerals including...
Inscribed on the Peace Arch over the international border near Blaine, Wash., are the words, "Children of a Common Mother." I have long felt that Canadians are just like Americans, except that they are just a little bit different. When it comes to mining in Alaska, we all owe our Canadian siblings a great debt of gratitude, because over the past two decades they have spent well over $800 million in our state on exploration alone, seeking to develop our vast mineral potential....
