The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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I always tend to look at the world through the wrong end of the telescope. For instance, many people regard the so-called political divisions in our country as being a problem, but for me, it is an expression of diversity. To be sure, Congress is divided, allegedly along "party" lines; however, the last time I checked, the Republican "party" is ensconced into two camps, which tend to vote together on most important issues. The Democrat "party" on the other hand consists of...
Advancing at a pace not typically seen in the mining industry, Australia-based Vital Metals Ltd. has surpassed several milestones during the first quarter of 2021 toward its goal of producing rare earth oxides from its Nechalacho project in Northwest Territories by mid-year. "Vital Metals is on its way to becoming Canada's first rare earths producer – and only the second in North America – within weeks following the mobilization of our mining fleet and I look forward to kee...
Alaska, Northern British Columbia, and the Yukon are home to a dozen advanced stage exploration and mine projects hosting billions of pounds of copper ready to deliver to a world demanding massive amounts of this conductive metal for the green energy and electric mobility transition envisioned over the next three decades. In its report, "Copper is the new oil," Goldman Sachs forecasts that the electrification of transportation and decarbonization of electrical generation...
Heatherdale Resources Ltd. April 20 announced a significant change by renaming the company to Blackwolf Copper and Gold Ltd., which is now listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol BWCG. "Our name change to Blackwolf Copper and Gold better reflects the company's spirit and vision, particularly with consultation and inclusion with indigenous people," said Rob McLeod, president and CEO of Blackwolf Copper and Gold. "Growing up in the Pacific Northwest on the border of...
From a world-class graphite deposit in the Northwest to rare earths on the Southeast Panhandle, Alaska has the potential to offer a sustainable and secure supply to meet the coming explosive demand for the minerals and metals crucial to the renewable energy and electric vehicle sectors in North America and around the globe. International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group, estimates that this shift to low-carbon energy and electric mobility will create nearly...
As the historian Murray Morgan once observed, Seattle residents "tend to look on Alaska as their very own... Seattle stores display sub-arctic clothing, though Puget Sound winters are usually mild; Seattle curio shops feature totem poles, though no Puget Sound Indian ever carved one." This perception is possibly one of the largest legacies of the Klondike Gold Rush, which links Seattle and the Last Frontier in the public mind. Yet, the success and brotherhood shared between...
Heatherdale Resources Ltd. March 16 announced the start of a drill program targeting the expansion of Lookout Zone, the largest deposit identified so far on the company's Niblack copper-gold-silver-zinc volcanogenic massive sulfide project in Southeast Alaska. According to a 2011 calculation, the Lookout deposit at Niblack host 5.64 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 0.95% (118.1 million pounds) copper, 1.75 grams per metric ton (317,220 ounces) gold, 29.5...
ATAC Resources Ltd. is focusing its 2021 mineral exploration program on the East Goldfield project in Nevada, a departure from more than a decade of primarily exploring its district-scale Rackla Gold property in the Yukon. Late last year, the Yukon government rejected ATAC's application to build a 65-kilometer (40 miles), private tote road that would have supported advanced exploration and potential mine development at Rau, the westernmost of three projects that make up the ex...
Restructured and under new leadership, Heatherdale Resources Ltd. is expanding the high-grade targets at its Niblack copper-gold-silver-zinc project on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. Heatherdale, which had advanced Niblack to the brink of considering the feasibility of mining the high-grade volcanogenic massive sulfide mineralization found there, became hampered by debt during the economic hardships endured by the junior mining sector in 2008 and again in 2012. Ro...
Heatherdale Resources Ltd. Jan. 6 reported that encouraging mineralization observed in the first four holes of the 2020 program prompted the company to drill all ten holes in the area of the historic Niblack Mine on the company's Niblack copper-gold-silver-zinc project in Southeast Alaska. Heatherdale, which had advanced the Niblack project to the verge of considering the feasibility of mining the high-grade volcanogenic massive sulfide mineralization found there, became...
Alaska mines produced roughly $3.16 billion worth of non-fuel minerals during 2020, a slight increase over the $3.13 billion during 2019, according to Mineral Commodity Summaries 2021 published by the U.S. Geological Survey on Feb. 2 The rise in Alaska mine production value is largely due to higher gold output at Alaska's large mines and record setting prices for the precious metal last year. According to early estimates by the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical...
Strong metal prices and an infusion of cash from notable resource investors helped to salvage much of a 2020 mineral exploration season in Alaska that became lethargic with disruptions, delays, and shelving of field programs infected by the COVID-19 pandemic early in the year. At its onset, 2020 was looking like it would be the best year for Alaska's mining sector in a decade. Australia-based mining companies were slated to invest nearly US$100 million in mineral exploration...
For many mining companies eyeing prospects in Canada's far north, 2020 presented insurmountable challenges. But for the few explorers and producers focused on Northwest Territories, the year proved to be quite productive, even as a global coronavirus pandemic added expensive restrictions to already costly campaigns. Rigorous restrictions imposed by local and federal officials to quell potential outbreaks of the disease at mining camps and prevent its spread to local...
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair." I cannot help but to reflect on this famous opening passage in Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities when considering the dichotomy of mineral exploration across Alaska and Canada's North...
Blue Star Gold Corp. is focused on expanding the high-grade gold resources on its Ulu and Hood River properties in Nunavut. The Ulu property hosts an advanced gold project that has historically been the target of significant exploration and development by BHP Minerals, Echo Bay Mines, and others. The past work includes roughly 97,820 meters of drilling and 1,700 meters of underground development. According to a 2015 calculation, the Flood and Gnu zones on the Ulu property...
Whether it is the exponential growth in electric vehicles traveling global highways, the massive need for storing energy at solar and wind electrical generating facilities, or cutting the cords on our electronic devices, the world is becoming increasingly dependent on lithium-ion batteries. And this is driving up the demand for cobalt, a critical safety ingredient in the cathodes of these energy storage cells. "Globally, the leading use is in the manufacture of cathode materia...
Cans, cups, roofs, and foil hats are likely the first things that come to mind when thinking about tin – none of which conjure images of a metal that should be considered critical to a modern country like the United States. According to a study carried out by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, however, tin is the metal expected that be most impacted by new technologies. Commissioned by Rio Tinto, the MIT study found that tin beat out more likely technology metals candidate...
With 2020 in the rearview mirror, now is a good time to reflect on and prognosticate about Alaska and things mining. First, with regard to things past, from the impeachment to the election, 2020 was not a great year. Despite the incessant sniping at the President's heels, the Administration almost survived for another term. Due to the weighting of the Electoral College system, some analysts tell us that a shift of only 22,000 votes would have changed the outcome. While the...
In what could be the best outcome of Ottawa blocking Shandong Gold Mining's bid to acquire TMAC Resources Inc., Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. has agreed to buy out its fellow Nunavut gold miner for C$286.6 million. TMAC Resources, which got off to a rocky start of operations at its Hope Bay gold mine in Nunavut, has been looking for a company with the financial wherewithal and mining expertise to make the northern Canada operation a success. Under an agreement reached in May,...
As the price of silver hovered around US$25 per ounce in 2020, Alexco Resource Corp. took the final lap in its race to production at its Keno Hill Silver Project in central Yukon Territory. One of the mining industry's few primary silver producers, Alexco set its sights in June on commissioning its renewed Keno Hill mine and mill in the fourth quarter and shipping silver-rich concentrates to market by year's end. This operation culminates more than a decade of exploration by...
When Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. acquired the Back River gold project in Canada's far north in 2009, the junior set out to tame a baby elephant. More than a decade later, the project has tripled in size and is still growing. Located in remote southwestern Nunavut in the Kitikmeot Region, the Back River Property is located some 520 kilometers northeast of Yellowknife, NT, and 95 kilometers (58 miles) southeast of Bathurst Inlet. The project is named for the nearby Back River,...
Kinross Gold Corp. has rolled out a strategy to double gold production at its Fort Knox Mine by feeding higher grade ore into the underutilized 14-million-metric-ton-per-year mill at the open-pit operation about 20 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska. "We have enhanced our production profile, ramping up from approximately 200,000 ounces per year to approximately 400,000 ounces per year," Fort Knox General Manager Jeremy Brans told Mining News. While some of this new mill feedstoc...
Peak Gold LLC, a joint venture between Kinross Gold Corp. (70%) and Contango ORE Inc. (30%), have agreed to invest US$18 million during 2021 to carry out the work needed to complete a feasibility level study for establishing a mine at Peak Gold project in eastern Alaska. Toward a new strategy of acquiring high-grade gold from projects across Alaska to provide feedstock for the mill at its Fort Knox Mine about 25 miles north of Fairbanks, Kinross acquired a 70% JV interest in...
In a major setback for building a mine at the largest undeveloped deposit of copper, gold, and rhenium known to exist on Earth, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has denied federal permits for the Pebble project in Southwest Alaska. Pebble has been roiled in controversy, largely due to its proximity to the Bristol Bay watershed, which hosts a world-class salmon fishery. Pebble proponents have said a modern mine could be developed that co-exists with fishery, while opponents...
Resting on the eastern fringe of the Misty Fjords National Monument, at the head of Portland Canal, the Southeast Alaska mining town of Hyder survives through a symbiotic relationship with Stewart, a British Columbia mining town that lies just two miles (3.2 kilometers) to the east. Persisting for over a century as a town that identifies more closely with its Canadian neighbor than distant Alaska towns, Hyder found its lifeline being nearly cut off by the coronavirus...
