The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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After four years of declines, global minerals exploration spending rose roughly US$1 billion in 2017 and is expected to see further growth this year, according to a March 5 report by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The 1,535 companies that answered a survey put out by the research firm reported US$7.95 billion of investment in the search of nonferrous metals in 2017, a 14 percent increase from the US$6.95 billion spent in 2016. Taking into account data that could not be...
Seven days of near-continuous rain did nothing to dampen the mood at the recently concluded Cordilleran Roundup Convention in Vancouver. The event was buoyed by a realistic optimism we have not seen in over five years. This change from half-empty to half-full glasses is due to a number of things including strong commodities prices, increasing global demand for metals and current or looming supply shortfalls in many of the metals produced by this industry. The event was...
The 1-millionth ounce of gold was poured from the Walter Creek Arctic Heap Leach facility at Kinross Gold Corp.'s Fort Knox Mine in Interior Alaska on Jan. 24. "This is a great milestone for Fort Knox and has been an instrumental part of extending the life of the property. I see our Arctic Heap Leach as a testament to our commitment to innovation as a company," said Fort Knox General Manager Eric Hill. "My thanks goes out to the many folks that have helped achieve this...
As we transition from 2017 into 2018, the weight of evidence pointing to a long-awaited mining industry up-tick is being trumpeted from every financial institution, brokerage house and mining pundit across the globe. For example, RBC Capital Markets' newly released "2018 New Year Preview" has this to say: "We are in the mid-stages of a stock market recovery and the early stages of an economic cycle recovery. Gold is already in a phase where it out-performs other financial...
With the price for an ounce of gold pushing back above US$1,300 to ring in the new year – along with zinc and copper selling at multi-year highs and trending higher – 2018 is shaping up to be a good year for Alaska's mining sector. Together, zinc and gold account for more than 80 percent of the value of metals mined in Alaska – silver and lead account for most of the balance. While there is currently no significant copper production in Alaska, the Far North state hosts signi...
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management May 8 announced that its Eastern Interior Field Office is considering a proposal to relinquish 709 acres of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration land adjacent to Kinross Gold Corp.'s Fort Knox gold mine near Fairbanks. This land is a priority for acquisition by the state. In October, NOAA filed a notice of intent to relinquish this 709-acre parcel that lies about three miles northeast of NOAA's Fairbanks Command and Data Acquisition Station, commonly known as the Gilmore Creek...
Kinross Gold Corp. May 2 reported that its Fort Knox Mine near Fairbanks, Alaska, produced 93,038 ounces of gold during the first quarter, a nearly 6 percent increase over the 87,800 oz recovered there during the first three months of 2016. The company attributes the 5,238-oz increase to higher grade ore being fed through the mill. The mill at Fort Knox processed 2.93 million metric tons of ore averaging 0.75 grams per metric ton gold during the first quarter, compared to 3.2 million metric tons averaging 0.66 g/t during the...
Kinross Gold Corp. Aug. 2 reported that its Fort Knox Mine near Fairbanks, Alaska, produced 91,848 ounces of gold during the second quarter, a nearly 6 percent decrease from the 97,221 oz recovered there during the same period last year. The company attributes the 5,373-oz decrease to a colder spring that affected heap leach performance, which was partially offset by an increase in mill grades. "Fort Knox had a solid quarter as higher mill grades largely offset heap leach...
Mining's contribution to Alaska's economy starts with the hefty paychecks being issued to the some 4,350 miners that work in the state, according to recent study completed by the Alaska Miners Association and McDowell Group. The report, "The economic benefits of Alaska's mining industry," found that the average miner working in Alaska during 2016 received a whopping US$108,000 for the year, about double the average income across all sectors in the state. That is nearly US$470...
Earlier in November, the Alaska Miners Association held its annual convention and trade show in Anchorage and as always, the well-attended convention overlapped with election Tuesday. While the lead up to, and results of, the national and state elections were hot topics throughout the week, one comment I heard from a colleague on the morning after the elections distilled the feelings of a lot of people at the conference. When asked what he thought of the election results, he...
Strong metals prices and a pro-jobs businessman who vows to inject “new American metal into the spine of this country” preparing to set up his office in the White House bodes well for Alaska’s mining sector going into 2017. While a renaissance of Alaska’s mining sector may not be at the top of President-elect Donald Trump’s to-do list, pouring coal on the fire of America’s economic engine – both literally and figuratively – is. The figurative coal important to Alaskan miners...
Goldcorp Inc.’s half-a-billion-dollar purchase of Kaminak Gold Corp. and the Coffee Gold project in Yukon Territory in 2016 marked a major shift for North of 60 mining explorers. Junior mining explorers typically look to the investment community for the venture capital needed to discover rich deposits of minerals. In turn, major mining companies come along and buy the mineral-rich project or the company that discovered it, typically providing a handsome return for the j...
Freegold Ventures Ltd. kicked off its 2017 exploration with a drill program focused on expanding the oxide gold resource at the Golden Summit property in Interior Alaska. Located about 25 miles north of Fairbanks and about four miles from Kinross Gold Corp.'s Fort Knox gold mine, Golden Summit hosts 61.5 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 0.69 grams per metric ton (1.36 million ounces) gold; and 71.5 million metric tons of inferred resource of averaging 0.69 g/t (1.58 million oz) gold. The oxide portion of...
Following up on the discoveries made during a C$1 billion exploration explosion in the Yukon from 2007 until 2013, five of the world's largest gold producers are leading a second wave of the 21st Century Yukon Gold Rush. Kinross Gold Corp., which operates the Fort Knox Mine in neighboring Alaska, was the first of the majors to grab a foothold in the Yukon when it acquired the White Gold property in 2009. The real rush of majors to the westernmost Canada territory, however,...
Kinross Gold Corp. has a two-pronged exploration strategy – focus its own efforts on high-quality brownsfield assets, including the discovery of new resource surrounding its existing operations; and nab a foothold on promising greenfield opportunities through partnerships with high-quality junior exploration companies. The Fort Knox Mine in Interior Alaska is an example of the success the company has had in expanding resources near its mines. In its 21st year of operation, t...
Alaska's minerals exploration sector is on an upswing, thanks to Australian mining explorers looking north and mining majors upping their activities in the state. South32 Ltd., a Perth, Australia-based miner spun out of BHP Billiton Plc, is the largest mining company from Down Under to express an interest in Alaska's mineral potential this year. South32, which has eight operating mines in the Southern Hemisphere, secured an option to acquire a 50 percent interest in Trilogy...
Kinross Gold Corp. Feb. 15 reported that Fort Knox Mine near Fairbanks produced 409,844 ounces of gold in 2015, a slight increase over the mine's output of 401,553 oz in 2015. Some 13.22 million metric tons of ore averaging roughly 0.69 grams per metric ton gold was processed through the mill in 2016; and approximately 25.14 million metric tons of ore averaging about 0.27 g/t gold was stacked on the mine's heap leach pad during the year. Production costs at the Interior Alaska mine totaled US$302.2 million last year, a...
Freegold Ventures Ltd. May 9 announced the start of an initial phase of 2017 drilling aimed at expanding the oxide gold resource at its Golden Summit project about 25 miles north of Fairbanks and about four miles north of Kinross Gold Corp.'s Fort Knox Mine. During this this phase-one program, the company plans to drill 20 to 25 shallow holes to the north of the current mineral resource where previous rotary air blast drilling has identified the potential for higher grade...
If there is anyone still on the fence wondering if the minerals industry has started a recovery from the doldrums of the past four years, this month’s mineral industry activity in Alaska should settle the question with authority. During the past month, we have seen two merger/acquisitions occur, one by Solitario Exploration & Royalty Corp., which acquired Zazu Metals Corp. and its interest in the Lik lead-zinc-silver deposit. Then we also had Coventry Resources acquire V...
While the mineral exploration season in Interior Alaska typically runs from the time the ground dries in the spring, usually mid-May, until snow and cold weather make logistics too cumbersome and expensive in October, an increasing number of explorers are carrying out successful winter programs in this especially frigid region of the Far North State. Without a doubt, mounting a successful exploration program in temperatures cold enough to make metal brittle and with only...
Kinross Gold Corp. Nov. 8 reported that its Fort Knox Mine near Fairbanks, Alaska, produced 101,077 ounces of gold during the third quarter, a roughly 8 percent decrease from the 110,396 oz recovered during the same period last year. The company attributes the decrease to lower tonnage stacked on the heap leach pad. The Fort Knox mill processed 3.23 million metric tons of ore averaging 0.78 grams per metric ton gold during the quarter, compared to 3.27 million metric tons...
As the Alaska mining industry prepares for and kicks off exploration, development and production activities for 2017, the question on everyone’s lips at the recent Cordilleran Roundup mining convention in Vancouver, B. C., was the same: “Have we seen the bottom of this down cycle?” While signs of life were seen for short periods during the 2008 to 2015 period, the reality was an overall downward spiral of commodities prices and global demand. However, in a recent editi...
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...
The mill at Fort Knox Mine in Interior Alaska will likely be churning out gold for several more years, thanks to Kinross Gold Corp. gaining mineral rights to the Gilmore land parcel immediately west of the current open-pit. The long-lived gold mine was beginning to get to the end of its reserves, especially those of high enough grade to support keeping the mill in operation. This was not good news for the some 900 direct and contract workers who take home healthy paychecks...
The Alaska mining industry continued its increased pace of activities in August, even as the first hint of autumn starts to be felt across the state. Metals prices were relatively stable with increasing demand for zinc and gold, the two metals that generate the most revenue from Alaska's operating mines. Wood Mackenzie is forecasting a 3 percent increase in global refined zinc demand in 2017 to 14.7 million metric tons. With refined zinc production limited to a 2 percent...
