The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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Home to deposits and prospects enriched with 49 out of the 50 minerals deemed critical to the United States, Alaska is the single best state in the nation to explore for the minerals and metals needed for clean energy, electric vehicles, high-tech devices, and military hardware. To gain a better understanding of the 49th State's critical minerals potential, the U.S. Geological Survey is investing an additional $5.8 million to explore specific regions of the state in 2023....
American West Metals Ltd. May 23 that assays have confirmed the strong copper mineralization observed in the core from the first hole of its 2023 drill program at the Storm Copper project on Somerset Island in the northern reaches of Nunavut, Canada. Since optioning the Storm Copper and adjoining Seal Zinc from Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. in 2021, Australia-based American West has focused largely on defining areas of near-surface, high-grade copper mineralization that could be upg...
The North of 60 Mining area hosts billions of pounds of copper ready to be delivered to a world craving this metal in sky-high demand for wiring the electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure that would enable the envisioned low-carbon future. Whether enough of these copper-rich projects are developed in time to circumvent a short circuit of the clean energy transition remains to be seen. Global Market analysts such as S&P Global have predicted that copper... Full story
American West Metals Ltd. May 5 reported strong copper mineralization in the first four holes of its 2023 drill program at the Storm Copper project on Somerset Island in the northern reaches of Nunavut, Canada. Since optioning the Storm Copper and adjoining Seal Zinc from Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. in 2021, Australia-based American West has been systematically exploring the high-grade, near-surface copper and deeper stratabound sedimentary hosted copper on this land package along...
Let's talk about electric car batteries, their mineral content, the source of the minerals, and where those minerals are refined. Generally speaking, according to a recent piece in the Washington Post, electric car batteries weigh about 900 pounds – 900 pounds of minerals that have to be mined, refined, combined and shaped, fitted and installed into cars – cars that are being pushed onto the American public because they don't require polluting gasoline. We are told that electr... Full story
While the journey west during the frontier days often paints a picture of strife and hardship, not every tale was filled with sorrow and loss. Although covered wagons were definitely a thing, the journey toward greener pastures became much less arduous as steamboats and stagecoaches followed routes mapped by the earliest pioneers. However, it was the coming of the railroad that increased the speed of the trek, and its effectiveness in travel persists even today. For much of... Full story
American West Metals Ltd. March 30 announced that it is mobilizing for an April start of the 2023 exploration program on its Storm Copper project on Somerset Island in Northern Nunavut. Since optioning the project from Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. in 2021, American West has been systematically exploring the high-grade, near-surface copper and deeper stratabound sedimentary hosted copper on this property. This year, the company plans to complete up to 10,000 meters of reverse circul...
Gold dominates Alaska mineral exploration, but a critical shift arises. Since the discovery of gold in what is now the Alaska capital city of Juneau, prospectors, geologists, and fortune seekers have spent more than 140 consecutive summer seasons exploring The Last Frontier's golden potential. With these endeavors turning up rich aurum lodes in every corner of the state, except for the oil-rich North Slope, the nearly century-and-a-half tradition of seeking and discovering wor... Full story
Whether it is expanding its zinc-lead-silver resources on its flagship Macmillan Pass project in the Yukon, gaining a better understanding of its newly acquired Mactung tungsten project straddling the Yukon-Northwest Territories border, or carrying out reconnaissance exploration of its newly added Gayna River zinc-lead-gallium-germanium project within NWT, appropriately named Fireweed Metals Corp. decided Fireweed Zinc just would not cut it and changed accordingly. Comprised...
As an Alaska-based mineral explorer that is listed on the NYSE American stock exchange and involved with advancing two gold mines toward production, Contango ORE Inc., commonly referred to simply as CORE, is unique in the realm of junior mining companies. Led by president and CEO Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, CORE has assembled a pipeline of Alaska gold projects along the highway system in Alaska that span the gamut from discovery to mine development. "I have spent a good part of my... Full story
American West Metals Ltd. capped its first season of exploration drilling in Nunavut with the discovery of substantial copper mineralization at depth at Storm Copper, a development that the explorer believes will be a "game-changer" for the early-stage project. Initial assays from drill hole ST22-10 confirm the presence of sediment-hosted copper and zinc sulfide mineralization that indicates the potential for a major mineralized system lying below the very high-grade copper... Full story
While a small group of dedicated explorers returned in 2022 to advance production and development projects in Nunavut, a growing number of newcomers fanned out across the northern territory in search of a variety of minerals. Some came seeking gold deposits like those being explored and mined by Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd., while others chased historical occurrences of newly designated critical metals, especially copper and certain base metals, now in high demand for... Full story
Mining activity in Northwest Territories held steady in 2022 despite constraints imposed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as a cadre of mainly junior mining companies took up the international challenge to seek out large deposits of critical minerals. Early in the year, government officials noted that industry interest in diamonds, gold, and especially critical minerals boded well for the NWT economy in the coming year. "An exciting new chapter is emerging for mining in the... Full story
PhotonAssay tech offers a modern, faster alternative to fire assaying for gold analysis. Assays are the very crux of mineral exploration – timely results returned from the lab help guide the search for orebodies and let investors know that the dollars being poured into drilling and sampling is money well spent. With assay lab turnaround times in a post-COVID world being measured in months instead of weeks, mineral exploration geologists are without an important tool for v...
A shortage of the graphite required for the lithium-ion batteries powering the transition to electric mobility is elevating the criticality of Graphite One Inc.'s plans to develop a mine in Alaska and advanced graphite processing and recycling facility in the Pacific Northwest. "Our strategy is to build a complete graphite anode supply chain – from mine to battery – located in the United States," said Graphite One CEO Anthony Huston. "And to complete the circular economy for...
American West Metals Ltd. Sept. 28 reported that assays confirm that its deep discovery drilling at Storm has encountered a new style of sediment-hosted copper-zinc mineralization below the high-grade copper at this northern Nunavut project. In August, the Australia-based exploration company reported that hole ST22-10 cut 68.8 meters of mineralization from a depth of 277 meters. This hole was drilled to test a deep electromagnetic geophysical anomaly below the high-grade...
Lack of domestic critical mineral supplies weakens US clean energy ambitions The White House and lawmakers on Capitol Hill are becoming increasingly aware that a lack of secure supplies of critical minerals and metals may be the kryptonite that weakens America's economy, national security, and clean energy ambitions. "The more we dive into this topic of critical minerals, the more I'm certain Superman isn't the only one who can be brought to his knees by rare minerals,"...
Tesla and other automakers clamor for nickel suppliers with low CO2 footprint Tesla CEO Elon Musk's 2020 appeal to "please mine more nickel" served as a rallying cry for mining companies with projects positioned to deliver this critical battery metal into global markets. Going into 2022, however, the electric vehicle trailblazer's words were echoing in nearly empty warehouses as the lithium-ion batteries that power EVs are demanding more nickel than global miners can supply....
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, America's tenuous relationship with China, and global competition for the enormous volume of mined materials needed to build the envisioned clean energy future has elevated the urgency for the United States to bolster domestic critical mineral supply chains. For many, these geopolitical and economic realities have elevated the development of Alaska's incredible critical mineral resources to a national imperative. The urgency of this matter is why... Full story
The White House's bold clean energy ambitions, which are intricately linked to the availability of reliable supplies of the metals needed to build electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure, are being slowed by a tug-o-war between departments within the Biden administration. While the departments of Commerce, Defense, and Energy are forging ahead with programs and investments aimed at ensuring America has the minerals and metals needed to support the clean energy...
Russia and China's control of global supplies worry DC lawmakers From its uses in flame retardants that have saved countless American lives to being an important ingredient in batteries poised to be the answer to the challenge of storing intermittent renewable energy, few metals are more critical to the national security and economic wellbeing of the United States than antimony. Described as a metalloid, which means it falls somewhere between metals such as zinc and solid...
American West Metals Ltd. Sept. 8 reported additional high-grade assay results from shallow drilling at the Storm Copper project on Somerset Island in northern Nunavut. American West's primary goal at Storm is to build a high-grade copper resource that can be upgraded to direct shipping ore with simple and low-cost ore sorting technology. Toward this objective, the Australia-based company launched its inaugural drill program at Storm with holes testing the 2750N zone, where...
American West encouraged about direct shipping copper ore American West Metals Ltd. Sept. 1 announced spectacular copper grades from the first assays of its 2022 drill program at the Storm Copper project in Nunavut. Since optioning Storm from Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. last year, American West has been pursuing the idea of upgrading shallow high-grade copper mineralization identified in several zones on this northern Canada project to direct shipping ore with simple and low-cost...
Alaska is known to be a trove of the minerals and metals critical to every segment of the American economy. This critical mineral richness is despite the fact that Alaska is a vast state that remains largely underexplored. To help gain a better understanding of the Last Frontier State's potential to provide domestic supplies of the 50 critical minerals, the U.S. Geological Survey has allotted $6.75 million to explore specific regions of the state for 29 critical minerals. The...
American West Metals Ltd. Aug. 23 announced that its drilling to test deep electromagnetic anomalies at Storm cut 68.8 meters of strong copper mineralization on this high-grade project on Somerset Island in the northern reaches of Nunavut, Canada. "This is a game changing discovery at the Storm Copper Project," said American West Metals Managing Director Dave O'Neill. "Exploration drilling has intersected stratiform copper sulphide mineralisation at depth which supports our ge...
