The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 60
Those of you that attended the recent Cordilleran Roundup Convention in Vancouver can attest to the exuberant, upbeat atmosphere that pervaded the conference and was very much in evidence at the standing-room only festivities at our annual self-hosted Alaska Night meet and greet. But digging down under this veneer of optimism, many of the junior explorers and most of the producers admitted to their expectations of challenging times in 2019. Putting words to this apparent... Full story
With nearly indistinguishable physical and chemical properties, niobium and tantalum are almost always found together in nature. Both are also critical to the defense, energy and high-tech sectors in the United States, but neither are mined domestically. For these reasons, the United States Geological Survey considers these transition metals "indispensable twins" that are critical to America's economic and strategic wellbeing. "Niobium and tantalum are transition metals that...
Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Oct. 30 published major-oxide and trace-element geochemical data from rocks collected from the Northeast Tanacross project in 2018. From June 19 through July 15, 2018, geologists from the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) carried out a geologic mapping and geochemical sampling project in the Northeast Tanacross map area – Tanacross D-1 and parts of C-1 and D-2 quadrangles – adjacent to the For...
While claim staking and mineral exploration has rocketed in Yukon's famed White Gold and Klondike districts, this prolific action nearly comes to a halt at the territory's western border with Alaska. This has given rise to a tongue-in-cheek theory that there must be a major fault separating the mineral rich lands in western Yukon from the barren lands west of the border. This "Border Fault" apparently does exist. It is not, however, a major geological structure separating... Full story
One of the most common complaints I hear from companies and individuals working in the mineral industry in Alaska is our deplorable lack of modern, usable-scale digital geophysical and geologic maps. How bad is it? Consider this: the U.S. Geological Survey has estimated that less than 2 percent of Alaska has acceptable geophysical data coverage, and less than 20 percent has been geologically mapped at a scale useful to evaluate the state's mineral resources. Nobody will deny... Full story
Cobalt is an essential ingredient to optimizing the performance of batteries in the growing number of electric vehicles on global highways, yet essentially none of this battery metal is mined in the United States. With at least one advanced stage exploration project in Alaska looking into the potential of producing cobalt alongside its copper, America's 49th State could provide a domestic source for this critical metal. In its annual report, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2018,...
The six platinum group elements – platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, and osmium – are amongst the rarest metals on Earth. This scarcity, coupled with PGEs' uses in the automotive, petrochemical and electronics industries, has this group of metals firmly planted on the United States Geological Survey's critical minerals list. "PGEs are indispensable to many industrial applications but are mined in only a few places," USGS inked in a 2017 report on platinum gro...
Primarily associated with cans, cups and roofs, tin may not be the flashiest metal on the market, but it has been a strategic metal that has defined human progress since the onset of the Bronze Age around 5,500 years ago and is on the list of minerals critical to the security of the United States even today, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. "In a congressionally mandated U.S. Department of Defense study of strategic minerals published in 2013, tin was shown to have...
Before color televisions hit the markets in the 1960s, rare earths where a curious group of elements that had the distinction of occupying their own separate section at the bottom of the periodic table but had very few practical applications. Over the ensuing 50 years, however, this group of 15 lanthanides plus yttrium and scandium have been discovered to possess unique properties that make them key ingredients in a wide range of modern products such as terabyte hard-drives...
Exploration companies familiar with Alaska already know the Far North State is great place to look for critical minerals such as rare earth elements, platinum group metals, cobalt and tin. A new report published by the U.S. Geological Survey, however, indicates that Alaska may be richer in these and other minerals vital to the United States than previously realized. Working alongside the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, USGS developed a new geospatial tool... Full story
The State of Alaska’s mining industry continues to be a bright spot for Alaska’s economy during difficult fiscal times. Thanks to our world-class natural resource endowment, investors continue to be interested in new exploration and development opportunities in Alaska, and our large mines are still running strong. Recently, our new Natural Resources Commissioner, Andy Mack, had the opportunity to visit the Fort Knox mine. This visit was a great opportunity for Commissioner Mack to become familiar with the operations of a lar... Full story
Though lower metals prices weighed on the value of Alaska’s mining sector, the production of minerals, not including coal and oil, in the 49th State topped US$3 billion for the sixth year running. According to the United States Geological Survey’s annual report, “Mineral Commodity Summaries 2016,” Alaska mines produced roughly US$3.09 billion worth of non-fuel minerals during 2015. This reflects roughly a 12 percent decrease compared with the US$3.51 billion that USGS reporte... Full story
Having outlined 1.26 million ounces of gold, 5.11 million oz of silver and 39.6 million pounds of copper in the measured and indicated resource category at the Peak deposits, Royal Gold and Contango Ore are now looking for new zones of similar high-grade gold mineralization at other prospect across theTetlin gold project near Tok, Alaska. “Having discovered and now defined a substantial body of ore, our drilling plans for the summer of 2017, which commenced in mid- May, are ta...
Alaska is rich in mineral potential but poor in the critical infrastructure needed to fully realize this potential, that was the message Alaska Division of Geological and Geological Surveys Director Steve Masterman delivered to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. During a March 30 hearing, Masterman informed member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources that Alaska could be the answer to the United States growing dependence on foreign suppliers for minerals....
Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Nov. 15 published a new report on mineralization in the Tok River area, a relatively underexplored region of Alaska's Interior about 25 miles southwest of the town of Tok. The report, which describes rock samples collected by DGGS and University of Alaska Fairbanks geologists earlier this year, provides geochemical data for a wide variety of elements, including gold, silver, copper and zinc. The new report includes findings... Full story
White Rock Minerals Ltd. June 9 reported that it has begun compiling historical geochemical and geophysical surveys in order to define new high-grade zinc -silver exploration targets at the Red Mountain volcanogenic massive sulfide project in the Bonnifield District of central Alaska. The company believes there is significant potential to discover other VMS deposits similar to the Dry Creek and West Tundra Flats deposits that have already been identified on the property.... Full story
Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys March 10 published a preliminary report on mineral occurrences observed during a 10-day preliminary geologic reconnaissance of the Tok River area in preparation for a proposed 2016 mapping project. This work included sampling of Hona, a gold-copper target about 17 miles southwest of the community of Tok; a previously undocumented lode gold occurrence about five miles southwest of Hona; and a placer deposit about 3.5 miles to...
The Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys July 16 published preliminary results of geologic mapping conducted in the Talkeetna Mountains during 2014. The resultant map presents new, detailed information about bedrock geology, surficial deposits, and faults for a 450-square-mile area about 50 miles east of the town of Talkeetna. DGGS says the results have implications for platinum, gold, and copper exploration in the region, and for the proposed Susitna-Watana...
The Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys April 8 issued a report from the 2014 Tok electromagnetic and magnetic geophysical survey, which covers roughly 2,500 square kilometers (965 square miles) centered roughly 56 kilometers (35 miles) west-southwest of Tok. The west and northeast portions of the survey area contain numerous known copper, gold, and gold-silver-copper-lead-zinc prospects, some with drill-identified precious and base-metal resources documented... Full story
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys is considering instating a fee schedule for services offered at the Alaska Geologic Materials Center in Anchorage. Fees would help offset increased operational costs of the newly renovated, larger facility and benefit the public by improving sample accessibility and ensuring a higher quality and increased number of services provided. DGGS is seeking the public's ideas, views, and opinions to make a proposed fee schedule that is...
Primarily associated with cans, cups and roofs, tin is not the flashiest metal on the market. Despite its lowly ranking, even among base metals, this lackluster commodity fetches around US$8.00 per pound - substantially more than copper, zinc, lead, or even nickel - and Alaska has plenty of it. Strongbow Exploration Inc., a company primarily focused on exploring for nickel in Northwest Territories, is working on a deal that would allow it to acquire two Alaska tin properties...
The Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Jan. 2 published data from a 2014 Tonsina electromagnetic and magnetic geophysical survey, which will better define the extent and location of platinum group element-bearing ultramafic rocks in areas lacking outcrop, increase structural knowledge of the area, and improve geologic mapping. The survey covers about 690 square kilometers (266 square miles) of the Valdez Quadrangle with high-quality, 400-meter-line-spacing...
The increasing crush of complex issues and decisions facing state land managers has a silver lining for Alaskans and our mining industry. It means things are happening. The busier we are at the Department of Natural Resources, the better Alaska is doing, in terms of jobs, revenue and overall economic health. Much already has been said in this publication about the difficulties facing large mining projects in Alaska. On many fronts, the State is engaged in a continual battle to maintain and protect a state and federal permitti...
I recently attended the 119th Annual Meeting of the Northwest Mining Association in Reno and came away feeling better about Alaska than when I arrived. Alaska Miners Association Director Deantha Crockett chaired and spoke in a session that covered everything from small mining operations and new exploration discoveries to advanced exploration projects and operating mines. The 8 a.m. session was surprisingly well-attended, despite the fact that the hotel was host to 1,000 explor...
It's been deceptively quiet - with a few notable exceptions - within Alaska's minerals sector this year. Thanks to low metals prices and risk-averse investors, we haven't seen much new mineral exploration in Alaska in 2013. That's after a series of gangbuster years - 2011 set a record for investment in mineral exploration in Alaska. But at the Department of Natural Resources, we remain very bullish on the magnitude of Alaska's exploration potential and the future of Alaska's minerals sector. And we are working hard to make... Full story
