The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 101 - 121 of 121
Kutcho Creek is another copper-zinc project in the mineral-dense region of northern British Columbia that is rapidly headed toward development. Among the numerous mines and mining development projects in the area are NovaGold's Galore Creek and bcMetals' Red Chris. The 100 percent-owned Kutcho Project is the sole major asset of Western Keltic Mines Inc. which has spent about C$25 million in the past three years at the property. Well into a C$4.8 million field and construction program this season, the Vancouver-based junior...
The Government of the Northwest Territories and three diamond mines in the Northwest Territories entered a Memorandum of Understanding to further development and retention of the Arctic territory's diamond mining work force. The agreement was signed in Yellowknife Nov. 27 by Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment Bob McLeod; Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Jackson Lafferty; BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc. President Ricus Grimbeek; Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. President Kim Truter; and Chantal Lavoie, senior vice p...
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. Nov. 17 reported results of an independent valuation of the diamonds recovered from the Gahcho Kue Project during the exploration phase. The valuation was conducted by WWW International Diamond Consultants Ltd. and took place at the London offices of the Diamond Trading Co. Sept. 22-23. Subsequent to the valuation, WWW has revised its Price Book and all diamond values presented below are based on the WWW Price Book as of Oct. 13. Located on Kennady Lake 300 kilometers, or 186 miles, northeast o...
De Beers officially opened its first two mines outside of Africa in northern Canada in late July. The Snap Lake Mine in Northwest Territories and the Victor Mine in northern Ontario, together, are expected to produce 2 million carats a year. They are Canada's fourth and fifth diamond mines. Snap Lake is expected to employ 560 people and produce an average of 1.4 million carats a year for about 20 years. The Victor mine, which is close to the Attawapiskat First Nation, expects to employ 400 people and produce 600,000...
Mining exploration appears to be hotter than ever this season in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, but the Canadian Arctic region's few producers are getting hammered by the strong Canadian dollar. The discrepancy was particularly evident in the territories' mining production. The total value of metal and diamond shipments from the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Territory decreased to C$1.53 billion during the calendar year 2007 for the second consecutive year, down from C$1.63 billion in 2006 and C$1.79 billion in...
De Beers has written down the value of its Snap Lake diamond mine in the Northwest Territories by US$965 million in what management called a "prudent" move given the increased value of the Canadian dollar and higher costs and construction challenges at Canada's newest diamond mine. The South African company is the second diamond miner to report financial problems in Canada, with Tahera Diamond Corp. seeking bankruptcy-court protection in January after a failure to raise money for its Jericho Diamond Mine in Nunavut. De...
DeBeers Canada Inc. is exploring the Gahcho Kué project in the Northwest Territories this summer, hoping to confirm its potential to become the company's second major diamond mine in the Canadian Arctic. Of the four major mining projects De Beers is developing, two are in Canada, which has emerged in the past 15 years as one of the world's most prospective diamond mining regions. The two advanced Canadian developments are the Snap Lake Diamond Project in the Northwest Territories and the Victor Diamond Mine Project, in...
AFter years of exploration, permitting and construction, the day when a junior company brings its first mine into production should be a cause for celebration. Many juniors never even see such a day. But it is also the moment of truth, when all the wealth that has been promised must start to show itself. Some investors are already starting to wonder when Toronto-based Tahera Diamond Corp.'s Jericho mine in Nunavut will bring them a return. Jericho commenced operations in August 2006 and immediately experienced start-up...
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...
Where has never been a diamond mine in Alaska, but that may change if Golconda Resources has anything to do with it. The Calgary-based junior, in partnership with Shear Minerals and Shulin Lake Mining, is exploring for diamonds at the Shulin Lake property in central Alaska. Diamonds have been found across the border in Nunavut and Northwest Territories. But in Canada, diamonds are brought to the surface in kimberlite pipes, igneous structures that rise due to their high temperature and the extremely high pressures that exist...
A mention of the world's richest diamond mines conjures images of hot, steamy African jungles. Yet it is the frozen tundra of the Canadian Arctic that is yielding the latest treasure trove of diamonds and sparking a staking stampede that is bringing hundreds of prospectors to the far north. Between 1998 and 2002, 13.8 million carats have been mined in Canada, and the diamonds - precious stones of pure carbon - are worth $2.8 billion. That is roughly a 1.5-kilogram bag of rocks each day for five years, with each bag worth...
The hunt for diamonds is undergoing a reawakening in Manitoba, four years after the first wave of explorers failed to locate kimberlite. The province's far north has attracted interest from De Beers Canada, which has collected exploration licenses for almost 5 million acres, giving the gem giant the largest rights holding in the province. But the world's most famous diamond company doesn't have things to itself. Stornoway Diamond has picked up two sites in northeastern Manitoba, while a partnership of BHP Billiton and Nustar...
De Beers and Inco, world powers in the diamond and nickel industries, have linked up to explore for gems and base metals on Baffin Island in Canada's Far North. The two companies signed a precedent-setting, two-year agreement Jan. 19 to share exploration data and possibly property rights. Each is entitled to a 100 percent ownership of any discovery of either's core commodity: Diamonds for De Beers and base metals for Inco. Ownership of any other type of mineral find would be shared equally. De Beers, which has one diamond min...
Saskatchewan, Canada's so-called breadbasket because of its seemingly endless grain fields and also the country's second-largest oil and gas producing province, has hopes of adding diamonds to the portfolio. After years of probing beneath the Prairie and studying the results, two mining companies are inching closer to deciding whether they have the resources to go commercial. Claiming to have control of the world's largest diamond deposits, Victoria, British Columbia-based Kensington Resources and its joint venture partners...
Global diamond mining giant De Beers has optioned properties in northern Canada to two junior explorers. Vancouver-based Pure Gold Minerals has negotiated an agreement covering 6,300 square miles north of Norman Wells in the Northwest Territories, while Montreal-based Ditem Explorations, with a mere stock market value of C$1.4 million, has gained access to 1,684 square miles on Southampton Island in Nunavut Territory. South Africa's De Beers through its Canadian subsidiary holds rights to more than 42,000 square miles in...
Canada's diamond industry has had its wings clipped, just as it was taking flight. The Yellowknife operations of Sirius Diamonds and Arslanian Cutting Works NWT, holding a combined C$17.2 million in government loan guarantees, were forced into interim receivership in mid-June, triggering an emergency response from the Northwest Territories government. The plants employed about 90 people. The territorial government said June 23 it would continue to backstop Arslanian, by introducing new partners and ensuring that the firm's...
International diamond giant De Beers and Canadian junior mining company Tahera Corp. have signed an agreement to jointly explore and develop 36,000 hectares of de Beers' land adjacent to the Jericho diamond project in Nunavut. According to the terms of the agreement, Tahera will spend $11 million by 2008 to earn a 50 percent interest in the property. The agreement has been structured so that each company can act as operator, as the development grows, depending on the size of the project. "There is a natural fit between De...
The cutting and polishing sector of Canada's much-touted diamond industry needs some trimming and buffing of its own, suggests a new report from the mining industry that has angered the Northwest Territories government. The study, entitled National Diamond Strategy: An Industry Response, said efforts to build a value-added component to the thriving diamond mines has resulted in "short-term, unsustainable policies" that penalize primary producers and in money-losing ventures that employ too many foreign workers. "Clearly any...
Northwest Territories Native leaders have thrown a roadblock in the path of plans for Canada's third diamond mine - the Snap Lake project by De Beers Canada that was expected to open in 2008. Akaitcho and Deh Cho chiefs in the lower Northwest Territories have ruled out another diamond mine until the settlement of their self-government claims is in sight. Chief Peter Liske said the communities are more focused on treaty deals than mine development. Although the First Nations have supported the existing Ekati and Diavik mines,...
Tahera Corp. is within sight of operating the first diamond mine in Canada's Nunavut Territory. The Nunavut Impact Review Board has recommended approval by Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Andy Mitchell of the Jericho project, about 210 miles southwest of Cambridge Bay, near the Northwest Territories border. Toronto-based Tahera has indicated construction of the C$50 million mine will begin in 2005 and the first diamonds will be produced later that year. Based on proven reserves, the mine and processing plant will have an...
With diamond production soaring in the Northwest Territories, prospectors are ready to flood the region as Canada works its way into third place among world's producers. The Northwest Territories and Nunavut governments have issued more than 2,000 permits covering more than 70 million acres, the bulk of them stemming from exploration work done last spring and summer. Nunavut, which issued permits only once a year in February, has logged a record 1,518 permits covering 64 million acres, compared with a mere 190 permits and 9 m...
