The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 276 - 300 of 313
The newly rehabilitated Skagway Ore Terminal took delivery July 17 of its first ore concentrate shipments since early 1997. Sherwood Copper Corp. produced the concentrate at the Minto copper-gold mine in the Yukon Territory and hauled it to the terminal by truck. Sherwood is renting about 25 percent of the terminal to store and load its concentrate onto oceangoing bulk carriers bound for a smelter in Asia. Testing of the terminal's rebuilt load-out conveyor went well and the remainder of rehab work on the terminal is...
Vancouver-based Northern Dynasty, whose sole asset is the Pebble project in southwest Alaska, is the only junior mining company to remain in the top five on the TSX Venture Exchange or TSX-V by market capitalization for two years straight. The company's market capitalization was C$326.5 million in 2005, making it the fourth-largest in its sector, and C$657.4 million in 2006, making it the third-largest. These and other achievements by Canadian companies are highlighted in a report called Junior Mine by Pri...
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...
Ever since prospectors rushed to the Yukon seeking gold more than a century ago, miners have been guilty of extracting the mineral riches in the North and doing a vanishing act when the veins petered out or prices fell. These miners often left behind environmental messes that occasionally became regulatory nightmares. Now that modern-day prospectors are again venturing to the far North, many of them are seeking out old mining claims. But before new exploration can occur, the old mine sites often must be cleaned up. That's...
A proposed mine just across the border from Juneau could use barges for the transport of equipment, supplies and mineral concentrate, eliminating the need for a new 100-mile road to Atlin. Vancouver-based Redfern Resources' surprising plans for Tulsequah Chief were published at the end of January in a feasibility study by Wardrop Engineering. In May 2005 Redfern had put the project on hold because of economic concerns, and in August 2006 environmental groups filed a lawsuit in Canada opposing the road. The Tulsequah Chief...
Ontario-based Wolfden Resources rounded off 2006 by making progress in Nunavut - it received a land use permit and water use license for the Izok project, and submitted a Comprehensive Proposal for the High Lake project to federal and territorial regulators, including the Nunavut Impact Review Board or NIRB. Izok and High Lake are both copper-zinc projects. The permits for Izok will allow Wolfden to complete the construction of a new camp and to begin exploration work. "Filing of the project proposal with NIRB is the next...
The State of Alaska moved one step closer Dec. 15 to reopening the Skagway Ore Terminal in mid-2007 when the agency handling the reactivation project opened three bids for major construction work needed at the facility. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority bought the terminal in 1990 to bring stability to the business of shipping ore through the 6.7-acre waterfront facility, then a year-round industry. The terminal ceased operating in 1998 when soft metals prices forced the Yukon Territory's zinc mines to...
A plan to expand the remote Kemess copper-gold mining operation in northern British Columbia has met with significant opposition from members of First Nations communities in the area. The protests surfaced during a series of public hearings held by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency between Oct. 30 and Dec. 7. The hearings are part of the provincial and federal environmental assessment process. Northgate Minerals Corp., operator of the Kemess South Mine, wants to extend the life of its mining operation by developing...
An investor attending the Alaska Miners Association convention in Anchorage mentioned that he was listening intently to all the exploration talks because he was looking for the next Full Metal Minerals. In other words, a junior company that breaks out from the bottom of the stockpile, as it were, and builds a reputation for acquiring promising properties and working diligently on them. For Alaskans the rise of Vancouver-based Full Metal is doubly exciting, since all most all of the company's projects are located in the state....
As public and private interests in British Columbia move forward with cleaning up and reclaiming the old Britannia Mine site, Canada's Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn has weighed in with additional support. Lunn attended the opening Sept. 29 of the mine's renovated concentrator mill, now part of the BC Museum of Mining. Earlier, he told members of the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia at a breakfast meeting in Vancouver that he would instruct Natural Resources Canada to contribute another C$5 million...
If you have ever thought that the cost of manufactured goods is too low, and wondered what you can do about it, you might consider the case of the Tulsequah Chief prospect in nearby British Columbia. The Tulsequah Chief is an historic mine located up the Tulsequah River, a tributary to the Taku, about 40 miles north of Juneau and about 60 miles south of Atlin, British Columbia. The Tulsequah Chief was discovered in 1925 and it produced base and precious metals from 1951 to...
A Canadian mining exploration company with projects scattered throughout Alaska said it plans to seek coal in the sleepy community of Chickaloon. Full Metal Minerals (USA) Inc. was the sole bidder for about 35 square miles of coal leases put up for sale by the Alaska Mental Health Trust. The total number of leases offered for sale by the trust covered nearly 47 square miles off the section of the Glenn Highway about 40 miles north of Palmer. Some residents in the lightly populated area fear their backyard wilderness will be s...
A U.S. appeals court ruled July 3 that a lawsuit can proceed against Canadian mining company Teck Cominco Metals Ltd. over the release of hazardous waste in Canada that reached the United States. Teck Cominco, the world's biggest zinc producer, had argued the lawsuit should be dismissed because U.S. environmental laws don't apply to a Canadian company that dumped waste in Canada. The lawsuit was filed by two members of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington state who claimed Teck should be...
After several years of legal wrangling and negotiations, Teck Cominco Metals Ltd., the world's largest zinc producer, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have reached an international agreement to investigate contamination in the Upper Columbia River in northeast Washington. Under the agreement, which EPA hailed June 2 as a "landmark" settlement, Teck Cominco will fund and perform EPA-monitored scientific studies of decades of past pollution in the river running downstream about 150 miles from Canada into U.S....
Mining industry results for British Columbia in 2005 are "nothing short of spectacular," according to an annual survey by accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Strong global demand helped push net income for the mining industry to $1.84 billion from $871 million in 2004 - the highest levels reported in the 38-year history of the survey. The biggest driver of the results was metallurgical coal, while copper was also a strong performer. Metallurgical coal generated US$1.95 billion in sales for British Columbia miners in...
Vancouver-based Yukon Zinc engaged in a struggle to reassure shareholders in May after a feasibility report on its Wolverine property indicated that annual production would be lower than expected. The company's share price fell from $1 to around 50 cents on the Canadian Venture Exchange when the report was released. A conference call with President and CEO Harlan Meade was beset with technical difficulties, causing more frustration among investors as the company failed to mute background noise on the line. "The trading...
The Nome area in northwest Alaska is famous for its gold, but less well-known is the fact that it is also home to the largest uranium deposit so far discovered in the state. Abandoned by an oil company when the price of uranium plummeted along with other natural resources in the early 1980s, Boulder Creek (formerly known as Death Valley) is now being explored again by two Vancouver-based juniors in a joint venture, Full Metal Minerals and Triex Minerals. Full Metal Minerals is one of the most active exploration companies in...
The sound of boots, hammers, drills and helicopters is starting to drown out the sounds of "we are planning," "we hope to" and "later this year" that we've been hearing for the last few months. Despite a late spring through most of Alaska, a number of projects kicked off recently and more are gathering steam as the short, hectic Alaska summer season approaches. Companies counting on an early spring due to Global Warming have been disappointed and Plan B options are being formulated however, the end result will be the same:...
Two Alaskans prominent in the mining industry have spent years nurturing dreams of railroads. Both presented their visions at the Arctic International Mining Symposium in Fairbanks the week of March 13. Professor Paul Metz, a geologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, wants to see a rail link from Alaska to Canada. Steve Borell, executive director of the Alaska Miners Association, hopes that one day a railroad from the Brooks Range to Norton Sound will be built, providing access to the vast reserves of coal on the...
A Vancouver-based junior that has been conducting a drilling program on its sole property, Kutcho Creek in northern British Columbia, formally entered the environmental assessment process last summer with a view to developing a mine. Western Keltic Mines will soon start making presentations to local communities to ensure that First Nations are on board. The company is striving to catch up with the more advanced development projects in the area, NovaGold's Galore Creek and bcMetals' Red Chris. Near to all of those is Barrick...
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...
It's widely understood that Canada is Alaska's third-largest market with exports of $242 million in 2004. But our next-door neighbor is an even bigger source of goods and services imported to the state, $289 million last year. That's right. Canada accounted for 2,600 direct jobs in Alaska in 2004, while direct and indirect employment generated by Canadian enterprises totaled 7,500 positions in the state with a $330 million payroll. These are among findings of a new report, "Canada's Impact on Alaska," prepared for the...
Canada's mining industry could face a labor shortfall of more than 27,000 workers over the next 10 years - and that is the best case scenario, with no industry growth over the period, according to a report by the Mining Industry Training and Adjustment Council. "Prospecting the Future: Meeting Human Resources Challenges in the Canadian Minerals and Metals Industry" is an analysis of the situation that was published Aug. 24. In the worst case, with high growth in Canadian mining, the workforce shortage could reach almost...
One of British Columbia's largest advanced exploration projects has taken a leap forward this summer, with the camp at Galore Creek expanding from 75 people to 175 people. Vancouver-based NovaGold Resources, well-known in Alaska with its Donlin Creek and Rock Creek projects, now has seven core drillings rigs and two geotechnical rigs in operation at Galore Creek. The 74,000-acre property is located within the historic Sitkine Gold Belt of northwest British Columbia, about 90 miles east of Wrangell, Alaska. "The program has...
An ambitious plan by Canadian junior Cash Minerals could bring 1.2 million tonnes of coal per year to Southeast Alaska's Skagway Ore Terminal for export to Pacific Rim markets. Cash has begun talks with the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, the contractual owner of the ore terminal, about the logistics that would be involved in using the facility. The coal would be mined over a 20-year period at Cash's Division Mountain deposit in Yukon. The Skagway Ore Terminal was constructed in the 1960s by the White...
