The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 1 - 11 of 11
Stretching some 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) off Southwest Alaska into the Pacific Ocean, the Alaska Peninsula and trailing Aleutian Islands host among the oldest gold discoveries ever made in Alaska, yet it is the only island arc environment in the Pacific Ring of Fire without a major producing mine. Though no mines are currently operating in this region rich with epithermal gold, and porphyry copper-gold mineralizing systems, the arc has a prominent entry in the annals of...
As a busy year in the Alaska and global mining industry starts to slide closer to its end, I figured now was a good time to gaze into my crystal ball (rutilated quartz, of course) to see what next year might bring. While strong metals prices promise another busy year for Alaska, a dose of global reality was provided by the financial giant Ernst & Young, who recently published a list of the top 10 business risks for the mining and metals industry for the coming year. Resource n...
The winter convention season is upon us, and the first of many such events is sponsored by the Alaska Miners Association each November. This year's convention was filled with the customary excitement. The papers were excellent and well received. Attendance was at record levels. The conversations were focused on the successes of the past season and the plans for next year. In brief, the convention was similar to all recent ones, save the banquet, which was unique. After 22...
As cold weather wraps up the 2011 field season, mining in Yukon Territory appears to be getting hotter, with exploration and development activities throughout the year living up to all of the pre-season hype and then some. Early in the year, explorers laid the groundwork for grassroots exploration seemingly in every corner of the territory. No sooner than the meeting rooms emptied at Roundup in Vancouver in late January, than a frenzy of claim staking erupted in the Yukon. Golden Predator Corp. snatched up all of the...
A second wave of mining exploration swept across Yukon Territory in 2011, bringing with it new mineral discoveries, record employment and myriad other changes, large and small. Roughly 100 companies, including a score of newcomers, mounted an array of mineral exploration programs with most of them stalking gold and silver deposits. Some came away with early success and excitement about their results, while others sifted the tea leaves, looking for clearer signs of the elusive mineralization they seek. "The impact of this...
For Yukon geologist Jean Pautler, the busy 2011 field season also may end up being one for her personal record book. "I was lucky to spend a week in one place," she told Mining News in a recent interview. Pautler, a geological consultant through her company, JP Exploration Services, has spent more than 30 years tramping through the Canadian bush in search of mineral deposits. A sprite of a woman with a cheerful smile, Pautler works alone, except for her German Shepherd mutt, Shadow, who accompanies her into the field....
While geological and engineering savvy have always been important components of advancing a promising prospect into viable operation, building a modern mine also requires a working knowledge of the complex social, biological and economic systems surrounding a project. "There is only one entity in Alaska that has any depth in all the broad technical areas that span mineral resource extraction - the University of Alaska," said Rajive Ganguli, chairman of the Department of Mining...
The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency has agreed to invest C$3.275 million over three years (2012 to 2014) to support continuing geoscience research and data analysis in the Northwest Territories. The Government of the Northwest Territories' Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment and the private sector will invest a further C$1.1 million and C$900,000, respectively, for a total project value of C$5.275 million. The Hon. David Ramsay, newly elected minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment and...
The implementation of Alaska's anti-degradation policy is an emerging battlefield in the ongoing conflict between environmental groups seeking maximum protection for waterways in the state and resource development companies hoping to prevent added layers of red tape and too stringent water quality guidelines. While strict water quality standards have been established on state and federal levels, many streams, rivers and lakes in Alaska have naturally occurring waters that...
Droves of exploration companies have rushed to Yukon Territory in recent years to hunt for sizable deposits of gold, silver, copper, rare earth elements and base metals. Employing the most advanced geophysical and geochemical techniques available, along with their best hunches, these explorers, like others around the globe, are pulling out all the stops to find commercial quantities of the minerals currently riding the winds of strong demand and high prices. But noticeably absent from the list of lucrative commodities being...
Is the "Yukon Gold Rush" about to spill into Alaska? Since the 1896 discovery of gold on the aptly named Bonanza Creek sparked a stampede of fortune seekers to the rivers and streams of the Klondike, these world-class mining jurisdictions that share a common geological and mineralization history have been engaged in a cross-border rivalry of drawing prospectors and miners to their mineral-rich deposits. While 19th Century miners seeking their fortunes in Alaska's Fortymile...
