The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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The financial meltdown of late 2008 and early 2009 was nearly the undoing of some junior exploration companies as well as some major companies. Many of the major mining companies had to drop prospects, lay off employees, institute serious cost-cutting measures, and sell assets to keep their companies viable. A key factor was company size and continued cash flow from operations. Junior exploration companies typically do not have operating cash flows and these companies are just now seeing investments return as metal prices inc...
The plunge of base metal prices and turmoil in the financial markets caused explorers and producers alike to scale back exploration budgets for 2009. North of 60 Mining News estimates this year's exploration spending in Alaska to be around US$125 million, down more than 60 percent from the US$328.6 million spent in 2008. Though the global financial meltdown played its role, it was not the largest factor in the dramatically scaled back exploration in Alaska. Alaska's two...
Despite the challenging economic times being faced worldwide, Yukon continues to be a hot destination for mineral exploration and investment. Yukon's mining economy remains strong, thanks to development work that continues at several projects in various parts of Yukon. Yukon's mineral production and mining development expenditures are expected to exceed C$200 million in 2009. Despite all the current activities and development work under way, Yukon has only just begun to tap into its natural resources. Just 4 percent of our...
Nunavut was created on April 1, 1999. The new territory and the public government, in which I am proud to be the Minister of Mines, was created as part of the largest aboriginal land claims settlement in Canadian history. The signing of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement in 1993 marked a historic agreement between the Inuit of Canada's eastern Arctic and Canada. One of the key outcomes of that agreement was the creation of a new territory for all the people of Nunavut. This is a large territory. It is three times the size of...
The Northwest Territories has a rich and diverse commodity base. There is significant interest in the development of strategic metals, base metals and precious metals. In 2008, exploration projects were active in all these areas. Of particular note are the Gahcho Kué Diamond Project, the Prairie Creek lead-zinc project, the Thor Lake rare-earth elements project, the Yellowknife Gold Project and the NICO gold-bismuth project. Mining in Canada's Northwest Territories continues to diversify even in the face of global...
Mining in northern British Columbia has a rich history dating back over 150 years, providing jobs, supporting families and stimulating investment and economic opportunities throughout the region. Last year, exploration expenditures in the North totalled more than C$242 million, with 184 projects. As we see the signs of recovery in our economy, we are keenly aware of the importance of mining for the northern part of our province and are working to ensure it remains strong. As one of the top jurisdictions in the world for...
AXI: TSX Venture Exchange President and CEO: John Gingerich Director and COO: Daniel Botes Vice President, Exploration: Steve Roebuck Advanced Explorations Inc. is focused on identifying, exploring and developing high-quality iron ore opportunities in Canada and in other countries. Currently, the company holds the option to earn 100 percent interest in the Roche Bay Magnetite Project located on the Melville Peninsula in Nunavut, after signing an earn-in agreement in April with its former joint venture partner, Roche Bay plc....
The arrival of 2009 was a milestone for NovaGold Resources Inc. Emerging from a tumultuous 2008, the Vancouver, B.C.-based explorer raised badly needed capital and positioned itself to move its three advanced projects toward production. "NovaGold weathered the considerable challenges of 2008 and has emerged well-positioned to take advantage of a rising gold market and build a premier growth-focused precious metals company," NovaGold President and CEO Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse...
AEM: TSX Vice chairman and CEO: Sean Boyd President and COO: Eberhard Scherkus Senior Vice President, Exploration: Alain Blackburn Agnico-Eagle is an international growth company focused on gold, with operations in Quebec and Finland, and exploration and development activities in four countries. Agnico-Eagle's LaRonde Mine in Quebec is Canada's largest operating gold mine in terms of reserves. The 37-year-old company is advancing the Meadowbank Gold Project in Nunavut to open-pit production to begin in the first quarter of...
AXR: TSX/AXU/NYSE-A President and CEO: Clynton R. Nauman Chief Operating Officer: Brad A. Thrall Vice President, Exploration: Stan Dodd Alexco Resource Corp., founded in 2004 in British Columbia, is a precious metals exploration company with a silver focus and a growing environmental services business. After completing an initial public offering in January 2006 on the TSX, Alexco has successfully established itself on two fronts. The company and two subsidiaries, Access Mining Consultants Ltd. and Alexco Resource US Corp.,...
The US$4.48 billion price tag to build a mine at the Donlin Creek gold project did not invoke sticker shock for Barrick Gold Corp. and NovaGold Resources Inc., co-owners of the enormous gold project. After reviewing the feasibility study for the Donlin Creek project in late April, the partners decided to move ahead with permitting a mine at the 40-million-ounce gold deposit located in the Kuskokwim Region of Southwest Alaska. NovaGold President Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse said the...
AMM: TSX; AAU: AMEX Chairman: Duane Poliquin President and COO: Morgan Poliquin Organized in 2002, Almaden is one of the few companies specializing in the generation of new mineral properties, particularly gold, silver and copper with world-class potential in the western half of North America. By courting joint ventures and maintaining a large portfolio of properties, Almaden retains interests in a larger number of properties than would be economically feasible otherwise. And by building such partnerships, Almaden...
North of 60 Mining News Editor Rose Ragsdale and I first set out to launch Mining Explorers in the fall of 2008, but, like many of the explorers featured in this inaugural magazine, decided to pull back and weather the global financial storm. Encouraged by the rise in base metal prices, strong gold prices and a rebound in the financial markets we once again studied the feasibility of the project. After completing a positive preliminary economic study, the decision was made to...
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.'s Livengood gold project can best be compared to the proverbial snowball. As positive drill results continued to roll in so did investment cash, in turn funding an evermore expansive exploration program that has revealed a multimillion-ounce gold resource lying in the shadow of the appropriately named Money Knob. Raising about C$37 million in 2009, the explorer increased its 2009 drill program at Livengood from 16,000-meters at the onset of...
Consolidating its name to CBR Gold Corp. and its shares on a 5-to-1 basis, 2009 was a transitional year for the Vancouver B.C.-based junior formerly known as Committee Bay Resources Ltd. With the transition complete in February, CBR Gold management began brainstorming for the best approach to move forward at its two advanced exploration projects in North America; the Niblack gold-copper rich volcanogenic massive sulfide prospect on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska,...
ATC: TSX-V President and Director: Robert C. Carne Chief Executive Officer: Graham N. Downs Chief Operating Officer: Ian J. Talbot Atac Resources Ltd., organized in 1998 in British Columbia, is a closely held junior exploration company aggressively exploring for gold in Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories and British Columbia. The company's corporate philosophy is to maximize shareholder value by identifying and acquiring grassroots and early-stage gold prospects. It currently has more than 16 exploration projects. The...
AUU: TSX-V President and CEO: Robert Boaz Chairman: Jeffrey Klenda Vice President, Exploration: Eric Craigie Formed in 2003, Aura Silver Resources Inc. is a Canadian exploration company engaged in the discovery of precious metal deposits with a focus on silver. The Company has concentrated its search on precious metal districts in North America. Aura Silver has two active projects in North America, one in Oaxaca, Mexico and one located in an under-explored Archean greenstone belt in Nunavut, Canada. Aura Silver's Greyhound...
Ucore Uranium Inc., a junior based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has shifted its primary focus at the Bokan Mountain Granite complex in Southeast Alaska from uranium to rare earth elements. Ucore changed the name of its U.S. subsidiary from Bokan LLC to Rare Earth One LLC to reflect its evolving focus at the heavy rare earth element-rich prospect on the southern end of Prince of Wales Island about 60 kilometers, or 37 miles, southwest of Ketchikan. "The property goes well beyond its superficial prospects as a prior high-grade...
Recession, what recession? That could have been the cry of some gold exploration companies in Yukon Territory in 2009. Thanks to several very impressive gold discoveries in 2008 at a time of unprecedented highs in gold prices, momentum lost in other sectors of Canadian mineral exploration seemed to hardly touch the gold-rich hills of this mining-friendly jurisdiction. Some 63 companies started 2009 with planned exploration programs in Yukon, but before all was said and done, a horde of additional gold seekers poured into the...
AVL: TSX President and CEO: Donald S. Bubar Vice President, Finance and CFO: R.J. (Jim) Andersen Vice President, Exploration: William Mercer Formed in 1991, Avalon Rare Metals is a mineral exploration and development company primarily focused on the rare metals and minerals that are in increasing demand for environmentally beneficial high technology applications. These include lithium, tantalum, cesium, indium, and gallium; rare earth elements, such as neodymium, dysprosium and terbium; and rare minerals such as calcium felds...
Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. President and CEO Garfield MacVeigh and the Vancouver B.C.-based junior's Vice President of Exploration Darwin Green returned to Southeast Alaska in 2009 to explore the Palmer project. A copper-rich deposit found in the same belt of late-Triassic volcanic massive sulfide that hosts the precious-metal-rich Greens Creek Mine to the south and the enormous copper-laden Windy Craggy deposit about 35 miles to the northwest. Raising C$3 million in...
In a few short months in 2009, Fire River Gold Corp. , the newest member of the International Metals Group, transitioned from a new junior with one grassroots gold property to a near-term producer of high-grade gold in Alaska. Raising about C$500,000 during its initial public offering that closed in May, Fire River began an early phase exploration program at its Draken gold property, located in the Fortymile District of eastern Alaska. By September the newly formed junior had...
BIM: TSX President and CEO: Gordon A. McCreary Executive Vice President: Michael T. Zurowski Vice President, Operations and COO: Rodney A. Cooper Baffinland owns 100 percent interest in five high-grade iron deposits located approximately 160 kilometers south of Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet), Nunavut. Known as the Mary River Project, the iron deposits were discovered by Murray Watts and Ron Sheardown in 1962, and intensively explored from 1963 to 1965. To date five deposits have been identified with most of the initial...
Full Metal Mineral Ltd., like many juniors, battened down the hatches in 2009 to ride out the financial storm that sank many explorers and caused others to climb aboard ships better suited to the turbulent weather. The explorer emerged in January to raise money and test the financial winds with assay results from its 2008 drilling at the Nadaleen silver-lead-zinc project in the Yukon Territory, and again in March with results of from the OG project, another silver-lead-zinc...
BCG: TSX-V President and CEO: Brian P. Fowler Chief Financial Officer: Larry M. Okada BCGold Corp., organized in 2006 in British Columbia, is a Vancouver-based resource company focused on copper and gold exploration in underexplored mining and exploration districts in British Columbia and Yukon Territory. BCGold Corp. acquires and develops conceptual, early and mid-stage, exploration opportunities and advances them toward resource development by using internal expertise, engaging preferred joint venture partners, and...
