The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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Earlier this month Reuters reported that several agencies within the U.S. Federal government were "rapidly assessing" our domestic ability to mine and refine rare earth elements and utilize those 17 super cool elements in value-added products needed for a wide and ever-growing array of consumer and national defense products. Not surprisingly, mining industry officials demurred when quizzed about supplying information on where rare elements might be mined in the U.S. and how...
Earlier this month S&P Global put out a summary indicating that during the first quarter of 2019 metals like copper, zinc and nickel were up quarter over quarter by 11 percent, 22 percent and 25 percent, respectively. More recently gold has skyrocketed beyond the $1,400-per-ounce mark for the first time in many months. Correspondingly, the mining industry's aggregate market cap also rebounded strongly in the period after four bearish quarters, rising 12 percent to $1.43...
Nova Minerals Ltd. June 21 announced the start of drilling at the Oxide gold prospect on the Estelle project about 100 miles northwest of Anchorage, Alaska. The Australia-based explorer plans to complete 5,000 meters of drilling in two phases. The second phase will be decided by the 2,500-meter phase-1 results. "It's great to be back drilling at the district-scale Estelle gold project," said Nova Minerals Managing Director Avi Kimelman. "A great deal of work has gone into...
Nova Minerals Ltd. June 3 said it is looking into the potential of selling or bringing on a partner to advance exploration of its Windy Fork rare earth elements (REE) project in Southwest Alaska. During recent meeting in New York City, Nova directors received strong interest in Windy Creek and the placer REE occurrences identified on the property. Bulk sampling at Windy Fork in the 1990s indicates that the placer deposit there contains roughly 17 million cubic meters of...
As is usually the case this time of year, news about Alaska mineral activities is a bit sparse this month as planning activities are at flank speed ahead of next month's surge in field activities. That said, there has been a blizzard of mineral industry data released recently that has both direct and indirect applications to the Alaska mineral industry. First off, some internally generated data. Current public and private budget announcements suggest Alaska's exploration...
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...
As the year waned, Alaska's mining industry reported some of the last of its 2018 seasonal field results while the University of Alaska and state of Alaska released some current and projected state-wide economics. At the same time, some macro-economic data was released for the global mining industry. Combined, these figures show a mix of encouraging and not so encouraging trends facing the Alaska mining industry. At the global scale, things for the mining industry are looking...
As Alaska's mining industry nears the end of another hectic year during which metals prices and investor sentiments rose and fell as precipitously as the world's major stock exchanges, the industry is naturally looking into its crystal ball trying to anticipate what the new year will bring. EY Global Mining and Metals does this sort of forecasting by putting out an annual "risk radar" for mining and metals. The idea is to find out what the industry perceives as the top ten...
Following a couple of quiet months where Alaska's mining industry focused on its work, the last month has seen an explosion of new info come out regarding that effort, some of it profound in its potential immediate, near-term and long-term implications. For example, one of Alaska's largest mines was sold to a new owner at a surprisingly low cost per ounce. The results of a robust new preliminary economic analysis were tabled by an advanced gold-silver exploration project...
Nova Minerals Ltd. (formerly Quantum Resources Ltd.) July 31 said it plans to complete at least 8,000 meters of drilling over the next six to eight weeks at the Estelle gold-copper-silver project about 100 miles northwest of Anchorage. The Australia-based explorer optioned Estelle late in 2017 as part of a larger deal that included four other Southwest Alaska properties – Chip-Loy, a nickel-copper-cobalt-gold-silver-platinum group element project; Bowser Creek silver-zinc-lead...
An early spring coupled with low snow fall in many parts of Alaska have combined to enable companies large and small to start their summer field programs early this year. As expected, competition is stiff for people, drills, helicopters, heavy equipment and related services, awarding those who committed budgets early and penalizing those who did not or could not commit early. For the first time in half a decade, projects with money at hand may not be able to get the services t...
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...
Geologists familiar with Alaska already know the Far North State is a great place to explore for critical minerals and metals such as graphite, rare earths, platinum 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 and metals vital to the economy and security of the United States than previously realized. Working alongside the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical...
Alaska is rich in rare earth, a unique group of elements that are so distinctive that most are placed in their own separate section at the bottom of the periodic table. While scientist have long realized that rare earths possessed distinctive characteristics that set them apart from their fellow elements, it wasn't until the advent of the color television in the 1960s that these unique properties had any sort of widespread practical application. Over the ensuing five decades,...
Thanks to its own rich mineral endowment, Australia is a juggernaut in the world of mining, especially across the Southern Hemisphere. Over the past couple of years, however, a growing number of Aussie mining companies are looking north to Alaska, another minerals-rich land way north of the Equator. At least four Aussie juniors – White Rock Minerals Ltd., PolarX Ltd., Nova Minerals Ltd. and Riversgold Ltd. – and three Australia-based metals producers – South32 Ltd., North...
Thanks largely to increased investments from Aussie mining explorers, mineral exploration spending across Alaska topped US$100 million in 2018. This is well above the roughly US$95 million invested last year and nearly double the US$58 million spent at the bottom of the market in 2015. "Canadian and Australian companies continue to be the source for the bulk of funds spent in Alaska in 2018, together comprising well over 80 percent of the exploration expenditures earmarked...
Nova Minerals Ltd. (formerly Quantum Resources Ltd.) completed an inaugural drill program in 2018 at its newly acquired Estelle gold-copper-silver project about 100 miles northwest of Anchorage, Alaska. The Australia-based explorer optioned Estelle late in 2017 as part of a larger deal that included four other Southwest Alaska properties – Chip-Loy, a nickel-copper-cobalt-gold-silver-platinum group element project; Bowser Creek silver-zinc-lead project; Windy Fork, a rare e...
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...
Quantum Resources Ltd. Nov. 20 announced that it has entered into an option five Alaska projects prospective for gold, silver, zinc, nickel, copper, cobalt and rare earth elements. The primary property optioned by the Australia-based junior is Estelle, a district-scale gold-copper-silver project about 100 miles northwest of Anchorage. The other four properties, collectively known as the Farewell group are located northwest of Estelle and include: Chip-Loy-Roberts, a...
For the first time in five long years, the mood at the recently held Alaska Miners Association Convention in Anchorage was buoyant, the result of a slow but steady turnaround on mineral investments in the state. Additional new corporate interest in the state emerged during the past 30 days, and sources of exploration funds coming to Alaska continue to shift, with estimates for 2017 suggesting that 62 percent of this financing comes from Canadian concerns, 18 percent from...
Although there is plenty of Alaska mining industry news this month, the big dog in the pen is the dramatic and unexpected run-up in the price of gold, which moved from a low of $1,078 per ounce to a high of $1,246/oz., most of which occurred after Feb. 1. Although profit-taking and other factors have caused the price to back off a bit, the move was both dramatic and unexpected. As you might guess, the ether is full of talking heads telling us why it went up, why it either won'...
Millrock Resources Inc. Jan. 29 reported that partnership agreements on its Alaska Peninsula and Estelle copper-gold exploration properties in Alaska have been allowed to lapse. After reviewing the results from the first round of drilling, First Quantum Minerals has elected not to renew its option to acquire a joint venture interest in the Alaska Peninsula property. No mineralization of significance was discovered in drilling at the Mallard Duck Bay prospect. Mineralization...
FM: TSX / FQM: LSE Chairman and CEO: Philip Pascall President: Clive Newall Principal geologist, generative projects: Tim Ireland With seven mines in operation and five mineral projects under development, First Quantum Minerals Ltd. is a growing, diversified miner with a particular focus on copper. Its operating mines and development projects are located in Africa, Australia, Finland, Spain, Turkey and Latin America. Yet the company has no foothold in North America. Carrying forward a relationship built between Inmet and...
MRO: TSX.V President and CEO: Gregory Beischer Chief Exploration Officer: Philip St. George Through careful execution of the project generator model, Millrock Resources Inc. has built a portfolio of grassroots mineral prospects in Alaska, New Mexico and Mexico. In finding joint venture partners to help fund exploration, the project generator model lessens Millrock's need to raise money in tight equity markets, minimizes the risks involved with grassroots exploration and exposes shareholders to a larger amount of exploration e...
It has been nearly four years since any significant exploration has been carried out at the Whistler property, but a preliminary deal for Kiska Metals Corp. to sell it could mean a renewed focus on this copper-gold project in Southcentral Alaska. Under a non-binding agreement reached April 9, Alternative Earth Resources Inc. would acquire full ownership of Whistler in exchange for issuing Kiska 24.5 million of its shares, which would represent half of the company's shares upon...
