The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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Explorers seeking new mineral discoveries in the Northwest Territories are expected to spend less in 2018 than the C$90 million they shelled out collectively last year. Natural Resources Canada projects spending this year for mineral exploration and deposit appraisals in the northern territory will total C$81.3 million. But some observers expect to see an uptick in hardrock mining exploration in 2018, especially in the highly prospective Slave Province where the Northwest...
When it comes to attracting mining investment, Alaska, British Columbia and all three Canadian territories rank among the top 20 jurisdictions in the world on the Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies 2018. This report asks industry professionals from around the globe to score mining jurisdictions based on their mineral endowment and various policy topics important to mining. "The mining survey-now in its 21st year-is the most comprehensive report card on government...
Fortune Minerals Ltd. Feb. 14 reported that the Government of the Northwest Territories has signed an agreement with North Star Infrastructure GP to construct the Tlicho All-Season Road. Following an existing winter route, the 97-kilometer (60 miles) Tlicho Road will extend from Highway 3 to Whati, a Northwest Territories community about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Fortune's proposed Nico cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper mine. As part of its proposed development, Fortune...
Fortune Minerals Jan. 30 announced that it has entered into a socioeconomic agreement with the Northwest Territories government for the proposed Nico cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper project about 160 kilometers (100 miles) northwest of Yellowknife. Signed at the Association for Mineral Exploration Roundup in Vancouver, British Columbia, the agreement formalizes objectives to maximize northern and indigenous employment, training, business opportunities, and education to benefit resi...
New gold mines are expected to drive strong economic growth in Nunavut and Yukon over the next several years, according to the latest Territorial Outlook published by The Conference Board of Canada. The non-profit think tank focused primarily on researching and analyzing economic trends, however, forecasts a shrinking economy for Northwest Territories as the diamond sector there matures. Despite a tepid recovery for the mining sector as a whole, the new mines being developed...
Fortune Minerals Ltd. Sept. 17 reported successful results from metallurgical test work aimed at verifying an upgraded and essentially arsenic-free cobalt concentrate can be produced from the Nico cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper project in Northwest Territories. Over the past two decades, Fortune has advanced Nico from an in-house mineral discovery to a development stage project that includes a planned mine and concentrator in the Northwest Territories and refinery in...
Northwest Territories may fall behind Canada's two other territories in mining activity in the near-future, but projects underway in the northern jurisdiction hold substantial promise for mid- to long-term gains, especially if many current roadblocks come down. "Optimism is warranted for the territory's mining sector and the broader economy it drives," said Wally Schumann, minister of industry, tourism and investment for the Government of Northwest Territories. But...
Fortune Minerals Ltd. July 11 is pleased to provide an update on the progress of environmental work and rezoning efforts needed to support construction of the Nico cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper project in Canada, which could begin as early as next year. Over the past two decades, Fortune has invested more than C$115 million advancing Nico from an in-house discovery to a development stage project that includes a planned mine and concentrator in the Northwest Territories and...
The Bornite deposit at Trilogy Metal Inc.'s Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects in Northwest Alaska contains 77 million pounds of cobalt, according to a maiden resource estimate published by the company on June 5. This significant cobalt resource, among the largest in North America, is a by-product to the roughly 6.4 billion lb of copper that has been outlined so far at this world-class deposit in the Ambler Mining District. Trilogy Metals anticipates that a US$10 million...
While most mining jurisdictions have seen sharp drops in mineral exploration spending, such investments in Northwest Territories has largely held steady at about C$100 million annually during the past five years. As a result, this diamond-rich territory accounted for roughly 7 percent of mineral exploration spending in Canada in 2016, compared with only about 2 percent in 2011. The ultimate measure of mineral exploration success is not the amount of exploration dollars spent...
As the summer’s midnight sun gives way to aurora-filled winter night skies, seasons are once again changing in Canada’s Northwest Territories. And, much like the seasons, our resource industries are also in a time of transition. The NWT celebrates 25 years of diamonds this year with the opening of De Beers and Mountain Province’s Gahcho Kué, the world’s largest new diamond mine, which is expected to pour more than C$6 billion into our economy over its lifetime. Projects...
Fortune Minerals Ltd. Jan. 12 reported federal funding for the construction of an all-season road to Whati, a Northwest Territories community about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Fortune's Nico cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper project. Following an existing winter route, the Tlicho Road will span 97 kilometers (60 miles) between Whati and Highway 3. The federal government will provide up to 25 percent of the costs to build this road. "Replacing the existing winter road to Whatì will reduce challenges associated with impacts of...
Fortune Minerals Ltd. April 18 announced the appointment of former Northwest Territories minister David Ramsay to its board of directors. Ramsay has more than 20 years of elected public office experience in the Northwest Territories, which included prominent cabinet positions in the Legislative Assembly. Prior to November, he served as Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, accounting for about 50 percent of Northwest Territories' private sector gross domestic product....
Fortune Minerals Ltd. Jan. 8 reported that battery-grade cobalt sulfate heptahydrate has been produced from a cobalt sulfate product previously mined in a pilot plant from concentrates originating at its Nico gold-gold bismuth-copper project in Northwest Territories. The premium-grade cobalt sulphate heptahydrate sample, produced by SGS Canada Inc., exceeds the specifications of several large lithium-ion battery manufacturers. It was produced to provide a product for testing...
Mineral exploration spending in Northwest Territories dipped sharply in 2015. While the final numbers are not in, Natural Resources Canada predicts exploration and deposit appraisal expenditures in the territory to be around C$43.6 million, or less than half the roughly C$95.8 million invested last year. Industry and government leaders in the territory, however, have come together "to develop a robust mineral industry in the NWT." In January, the government announced the...
Fortune Minerals Ltd. July 17 said it has reached a two-stage restructuring agreement with LRC-FRSM LLC (Lascaux) and its other secured creditors to settle its secured debt obligations. In early July, Fortune subsidiary, Fortune Revenue Silver Mines Inc., the owner of the Revenue Silver Mine in southwest Colorado, received a default notice from Lascaux. In addition to the Revenue Mine, the debt owed Lascaux was secured by Fortune's assets in Northwest Territories and...
Fortune Minerals Ltd. and POSCO Canada Ltd. May 5 announced the completion of an agreement with the British Columbia government, under which the British Columbia Railway Company has purchased 61 contiguous coal licenses in the Klappan region of northern B.C. for C$18.31 million. These coal licenses belonged to the Arctos Anthracite Joint Venture, a partnership between Fortune and POSCO. Fortune and POSCO are selling their respective interests in the Arctos project in order to...
The nearer your destination, the more you slip sliding away." As 2014 quickly slip-slides away, these normally melancholy lyrics by Paul Simon take on a surprisingly upbeat meaning for Alaska's mining industry. Unlike watching most years slip by, seeing 2014 in the rearview mirror will bring a smile to most in the mining industry, not only in Alaska, but worldwide. This was our third consecutive year of declining commodities prices, near-zero investor interest and the...
Thanks to recent progress in development of several major projects in 2014, the outlook for diamond mining in Northwest Territories is suddenly a lot brighter. This is especially good news for the territory's mining industry, which is largely dependent on the production of diamonds now and in the foreseeable future. This point was driven home most forcefully in "Measuring Success 2014: NWT Diamond Mines Continue to Create Benefits," a report recently released by the NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines. An update of a January 2013...
After ushering in devolution in concert with implementing the first phase of a well-reasoned mineral development strategy, the Northwest Territories is eager to attract new mineral resource investment in 2014 in hopes of building on an uptick in exploration activity in recent years. "The Canadian North is the next frontier in mining and mineral development and nowhere is this more evident than in the NWT," said NWT Industry, Tourism, and Investment Minister David Ramsay. Home to the third-richest diamond resources in the...
With devolution around the corner and a well-reasoned mineral development strategy in place, government and industry officials in Northwest Territories are making a concerted effort to alert the world to the mineral resource and investment opportunities to be found in Canada's Far North, especially in the jurisdiction that boasts the third-richest diamond resources in the world. In addition to three operating diamond mines and the sole tungsten producer in the West, NWT currently has six well-advanced mine projects working...
Northwest Territories continued to benefit in 2013 from a recent surge of exploration interest. A vast expanse of mountains, forests and tundra that is roughly two-thirds the size of Alaska, the territory covers 1.17 million square kilometers (431,162 square miles). "We have, in the North, what the world wants - what emerging markets need," Northwest Territories Premier Robert "Bob" McLeod told an audience at a Prospects North gathering in Yellowknife Sept. 11. "We are the third-largest diamond producer in the world. In...
Fortune Minerals Ltd. is advancing two mineral projects involving three different jurisdictions of Canada and doing much of it with the same timeframe. On the heels of development of its Nico gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper project in Northwest Territories, Fortune is also targeting commercial production at the Arctos Anthracite Project, formerly Mount Klappan Anthracite Coal Project, in Northwest British Columbia within the next four years. Management is shooting for the last half of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016 for...
A challenging economic climate in 2012 failed to impede growth in mining activity in Northwest Territories. As miners struggled to fund their work programs, numerous companies managed to plow ahead in the wake of regulatory improvements, advancing projects that could bring even more robust times to the territory's mineral resources sector. The Northwest Territories, one of Canada's three northern territories, is sandwiched between Yukon Territory to the west and Nunavut to the east. With a land mass of nearly 1,347,150...
British Columbia in 2012 continued to exhibit its strength as the mining and exploration powerhouse of the North American Cordillera. The Canadian province's wealth of mineral potential is the result of geological phenomena that also created the mountain chains "that we have in our province and to the north," according to Bruce Madu, director of the Mineral Development Office of the B.C. Ministry of Energy and Mines. Madu told participants in the 2012 Mineral Exploration Roundup in January that expansion is the theme at most...
