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
Alaska's newest large mines, such as Pogo, will benefit from some of the most advanced equipment on the market, including drill rigs with computer consoles and rock bolts that expand to the right strength whether they are in an ore body or waste rock. Much of this equipment is being provided by a distributor with branches across the state, Construction Machinery International. Ken and Chad Gerondale of CMI gave details at a presentation to the Alaska Miners Association in Anchorage Dec. 14. CMI represents major manufacturers...
The government of Yukon announced the annual Robert E. Leckie award winners for outstanding quartz and placer reclamation practices Nov. 24. The awards are for companies and individuals who go above and beyond the call of duty in responsible mining and reclamation. This includes adding features to the land that notably enhance the area; returning mined land to a condition that is both structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing; or cleaning up properties mined prior to mining land use regulations coming into effect. Gimlex...
De Beers, the world's largest diamond company, is rapidly making itself at home in snow-bound Canada, thousands of miles from its base in South Africa. On the heels of its Snap Lake mine in Northwest Territories and the Victor mine in northern Ontario, De Beers filed permit applications in late November for the Gahcho Kué mine, also in Northwest Territories. The latest large-scale project will be a partnership with Mountain Province Diamonds (44.1 percent) and Camphor Ventures (4.9 percent). Construction at the Snap Lake...
It is business as usual at Red Dog, the world's largest producer of zinc concentrates. But a new general manager is in charge of guiding operations at the huge production facility 90 miles north of Kotzebue. John Knapp, 49, took on the top job at Red Dog earlier in December, when his boss, Robert G. Scott, was appointed vice president of base metal mining at Teck Cominco Ltd., the mine's owner. Knapp came to work as mill manager at Red Dog in January after 25 years at other Teck Cominco lead/zinc operations, most recently...
No one knows Alaska's Golden Zone better than Chuck Hawley. Since 1967, when he first saw the property near Denali Park while working for the U.S. Geological Survey, Hawley has devoted years of his life and a couple of million dollars to exploration at Golden Zone. He has worked with a string of companies, but now, at age 76, Hawley believes Vancouver, British Columbia-based Piper Capital might be the one to prove up the gold reserves that he is convinced are there. Hawley himself, a director emeritus of the Alaska Miners...
A young prospector stopped by the Vancouver, British Columbia, offices of Firestone Ventures Inc. last winter, enthusiastically promoting a diamond property he had explored in Alberta. But Lori Walton, Firestone's president and chief executive, looked past recent hoopla over evidence of kimberlites in Alberta. With rare insight, she snatched up something else in the young man's portfolio. "I took a look at his uranium property in southern Alberta and liked what I saw," said Walton in a recent interview. The longtime...
Some of Alaska's mines are taking full advantage of Gov. Frank Murkowski's Roads to Resources program. But for others, building a private road may be more economical than letting the state take care of the infrastructure. With public roads, mines not only have to deal with the issue of public access, they must also pay additional taxes and comply with numerous regulations that restrict the size and weight of vehicles. Northern Dynasty is weighing up the options for its Pebble project in southwest Alaska. The Vancouver-based c...
Skagway Ore Terminal, located at one of the most popular destinations in Alaska for cruise ships, could be modified to receive shipments of coal, according to a review commissioned by Vancouver-based Cash Minerals. The company hopes to develop a mine at its Division Mountain property in Canada's Yukon and ship the 1.2 million metric tons of coal per year through Skagway to Pacific Rim markets. Cash Minerals engaged Canadian consulting company Sandwell Engineering to conduct the review of the ore terminal. The review suggests...
Coeur Alaska has provided detailed information to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation on measures taken to control erosion at the Kensington mine near Juneau. The company was cited by DEC Nov. 10 for violating the turbidity standard due to sediment discharges into Johnson Creek from construction activities at the mill site, upper bridge and topsoil stockpile areas. The problems were caused by heavy rainfall. Construction of the mine is also under scrutiny from the Corps of Engineers, which suspended its...
Although results from 2005 activities have finally slowed to a trickle, don't equate this lack of news with lack of activity. Behind the holiday season façade there is a mad scramble going on with companies already jockeying for personnel, drill rigs, helicopters, geochemical services, field camps and all manner of field supplies. While wishing each other season's greetings over a cup of grog, competitors are quietly trying to steal the jump on each other to get the best...
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has published a draft Environmental Impact Statement for navigation improvements to the DeLong Mountain Terminal, the port that serves the Red Dog Mine in Northwest Alaska. The public review period continues until Dec. 27. The corps' "tentatively recommended" plan is to construct a 1,450-foot-long trestle from shore to a new off-shore loading platform and a 3.5-mile channel from the loading platform to allow navigation by bulk freighters and tanker ships. Management of the project from the sta...
Vancouver, British Columbia-based Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. will defer permit applications for its Pebble project near Iliamna on the Alaska Peninsula for at least one year while it evaluates the ramifications of its adjacent new east zone discovery, according to Bruce Jenkins, chief operating officer of Northern Dynasty Mines Inc. (Alaska). The company will pursue a new feasibility study that includes the new porphyry copper-gold system discovery it announced in September, Jenkins told Mining News Dec. 8. "Why permit a...
