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 395
For nearly two decades, the Fort Knox Mine in Interior Alaska has been a steady low-cost gold producer for owner, Kinross Gold Corp., and an economic driver for the nearby city of Fairbanks. A new technical report, however, outlines a mine plan that begins winding down operations in 2017. It is an important reminder that this Interior Alaska mine has an expiration date. Including the 387,285 ounces recovered in 2014, Fort Knox has produced 6.35 million oz of gold since the... Full story
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is again urging fellow lawmakers in Washington, D.C. to enact legislation that would restore America’s mineral security. “After years of inaction, it is time for Congress to recognize that our mineral policies need to be modernized as soon as possible,” said Murkowski, who is chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee CBS newsmagazine, 60 Minutes, provided a timely segue to Murkowski’s critical minerals bill by airing...
Tom Kizzia has written a biographical account of the life and times of Robert Hale, who some folks will recall was a high-profile figure in the fight of in-holders to secure their statutory right to access their property in the middle of the past decade. Although the relevance of Hale to the history of Alaska was his conflict with the National Park Service in the Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park, Kizzia, unfortunately, takes the reader on a long and torturous frolic and deto...
The Red Chris copper-gold mine in northwestern British Columbia has received final approvals necessary for commercial operation, marking the sixth new mine to open in the western province since 2011. “This is a significant achievement made possible through a tremendous amount of collaboration between Imperial Metals Corp., the Tahltan Central Council and this government,” B.C. Minister of Energy and Mines Bill Bennett said June 19 while announcing full production at Red Chr... Full story
Full Metal Minerals Ltd., a familiar name in the Alaska mineral exploration sector for the past decade, is being reborn as CopperBank Resources Corp. The formation of CopperBank will result from a three-way arrangement in which Full Metal offers up its Pyramid copper project in Alaska, International Enexco Ltd. delivers its Contact copper project in Nevada, and Choice Gold Corp. will serve as the vehicle for the emergent company. "Not only will shareholders be a part of a new,...
Permitting delays are becoming the bane of companies endeavoring to develop mines in the United States, a country that is otherwise considered a stable and richly endowed mining jurisdiction. SNL Metals & Mining has published a report that shows a notoriously lengthy process is resulting in U. S. mines losing up to half their value before receiving final approvals for development. "The longer the wait, the more the value of the investment is reduced, even to the extent that...
The world's mining industry has once again transmogrified itself in the face of changing global metals markets and investor expectations. In a recent Reuters report, several companies, including Newmont Mining Corp., Goldcorp Inc. and Yamana Gold Inc., were singled out as having taken steps to bring smaller, leaner, lower output projects into production to avoid the cost over-runs which have plagued the large multibillion-dollar projects in recent years. The same large mine... Full story
The United States is richly endowed with a broad range of metals and minerals critical to national security, green energy and modern technology but is often overly-reliant on foreign sources for these same commodities. This was the resounding message from miners, manufacturers, regulators and analysts who testified on U.S. Senate Bill 883, "The American Mineral Security Act of 2015." Introduced by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, S.883 aims to reduce the United States' heavy...
Alaska and Yukon Territory share more than a 750-mile border in the eyes of the 485 mining executives that participated in Fraser Institute's Survey of Mining Companies 2014. This group of miners, explorers and consultants ranked these northern neighbors as two of the richest mineral jurisdictions on earth but found certain mining policies in each a cause for concern. As a result, Yukon was ninth and Alaska was 10th on the survey's investment attractiveness index, a measure... Full story
The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority is asking state lawmakers whether it should move ahead with the Ambler Mining District Industrial Access Road, a proposed 200-mile transportation corridor that would link the Ambler Mining District in Northwest Alaska, with the Dalton Highway to the east. This question comes under the auspice of Administrative Order No. 271, a temporary suspension of all "mega-projects" being funded by the state, signed by Gov. Bill...
Greens Creek Mine is preparing for the next stage of its long-running tenure as a low-cost primary silver producing mine in Southeast Alaska. The underground mine, located on Admiralty Island about 18 miles southwest of Juneau, extracts ore from a volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit with an unusually high silver content. The mine produces silver, along with zinc, lead and gold as by-products. Idaho-based Hecla Mining Co. owns the mine, which has operated for most of the quarter-century since its operations began in 1989....
As the year winds down, financial information has begun to trickle in quantifying just how tough 2014 was on the mining industry. Industry analyst SNL Metals & Mining announced that the total estimated global budget for nonferrous metals exploration dropped another 25 percent in 2014, to US$11.36 billion, from US$15.19 billion in 2013. Perhaps even more arresting is the precipitous fall in just the past two years from an all-time high of US$21.5 billion in nonferrous metal exp... Full story
To further strengthen neighborly bonds, British Columbia Minister of Mines Bill Bennett met with miners, fishermen, legislators and state regulators during an early November trip to Alaska. "I hope, and I believe, that we will be able to continue to work closely with Alaska on all of the issues that we share," Bennett said during a Nov. 5 presentation at the Alaska Miners Association 2014 Convention. These shared issues are part and parcel of a common border that stretches...
Nunavut's landmass, including the internal waters and offshore lands as legislated by the "Nunavut Act," occupies roughly a quarter of Canada's land mass. With such a large amount of land and unexplored territory, there is a strong promise of abundant resources yet to be discovered. At present, at least half of Nunavut is unmapped at a detailed scale and geologically, is poorly understood. However, both the Government of Canada and Government of Nunavut are investing in geological mapping. This process allows Nunavut to compe...
Government policymakers in Canada and the Northwest Territories are joining mining companies in preparing for an employment boom that economists predict will swamp the North in the next three to five years. The anticipated surge in jobs is part of a nationwide wave of employment growth expected in the next decade. Canada will need 145,000 new workers in the mining sector along with 300,000 new workers in construction and 150,000 new workers in petroleum. The mining-driven Northwest Territories economy generates nearly 50...
The Dene First Nations of Northwest Territories has created what is likely Canada's first 100 percent aboriginal-owned exploration and mining company. Named DemCo Limited Partnership, the startup will celebrate one year in business in October, and is already making its mark in the industry. DemCo's mission is to enable the Dene to become owners of hardrock mines operating on their own lands. The new company is owned by Denendeh Investments Limited Partnership, which has a membership comprised of First Nations from the five...
WHITEHORSE, Yukon Territory - Quieter streets, emptier skies, shorter business hours and closed shops here are sure signs of tough times in the mining industry. Hours away by helicopter, one can find bare-bones exploration camps and skeleton staffs sprinkled like the occasional grain of visible gold across remote mountain vistas, which also reflect the return to the frugal times of the past. In the wake of more than two years of scarce capital, mineral exploration activity is a shadow of the booming times the territory...
At the recent Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada meeting in Toronto, Dr. Richard Schodde, managing director of MinEx Consulting, presented some key factors which affect the time span between a mineral discovery and start-up of commercial mining. The study reviewed about 3,500 nonferrous metal deposits discovered between 1950 and 2013. Dr. Schodde's findings suggest that only 45 percent of all discoveries made since 1950 have turned into mines. The rate is... Full story
Zinc is at a supply-demand tipping point that has miners and investors looking to cash in on an imminent shortage of this essential metal which has been in oversupply for nearly a decade. "We believe the outlook for zinc is the most favorable of the base metals. With recent and expected closures of a number of zinc mines, we believe that approximately 1.5 million metric tons of current zinc mine production will be closed by the end of 2016 in a 13 million (tpa) market," Teck... Full story
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. rang in 2014 with a new chief executive leading a streamlined Alaska-centric company focused on optimizing and safeguarding Livengood until a partner steps up to continue the advancement of the 20-million-ounce gold deposit. Tom Irwin, who ascended to the role of president and CEO of International Tower Hill Mines on Jan. 1, will lead the company's efforts to develop a mine at the world-class Livengood gold project that would contribute to...
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...
Nunavut's exploration and mining opportunities consistently have attracted the attention of the major global producers. Natural Resources Canada determined that C$422 million was spent on exploring for minerals in Nunavut in 2012, and estimates that C$313 million will be spent in 2013. Exploration is underway for many minerals in Nunavut and much of the territory remains largely under-explored. These realities suggest that Nunavut's mineral production will increase substantially in the next decade. Nunavut has one operating...
CUU: TSX-V Chairman, President and CEO: Elmer Stewart Chief Financial Officer: Catherine Henderson Senior Technical Advisor: Tom Schroeter In 2013, Copper Fox Metals culminated more than a decade of successful exploration of its Schaft Creek porphyry copper, gold, molybdenum and silver project in northwestern British Columbia by enticing Teck Resources Ltd. to enter a 75-25 joint venture with the junior and assume operatorship of the project. Schaft Creek is located due east-northeast of Petersburg, Alaska, about 61... Full story
From Kotzebue to Ketchikan, Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority is using its financial muscle and its ability to build and operate large infrastructure projects to help mining companies overcome the challenges of developing the often remote mineral riches that the Last Frontier has to offer. "We are working with local communities and mine developers on infrastructure projects throughout Alaska, including port facilities and energy supply," said AIDEA external...
Following an impressive decade-long run of consistent gains, has the price of gold reached its apex? Or, are the precious metal bulls taking a breather before stampeding to new historic highs in the months and years to come? This question of where gold prices are heading tends to perplex the most accomplished of economists. During a July 18 congressional testimony, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's admitted "that nobody really understands gold prices and I don't pretend... Full story
