The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 110
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...
Fortune Minerals Ltd. Nov. 21 announced it has signed an agreement with the Tlicho First Nation for building a road that connects the NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper project to the community of Whati, a Northwest Territories community about 51 kilometers (32 miles) south of Fortune's proposed Nico cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper mine. The 97-kilometer (60 miles) Tlicho Road, which will connect Whati to Highway 3 and Canada's contiguous road and rail infrastructure is being funded...
Fortune Minerals Ltd. Oct. 3 reported that current cobalt markets do not support the idea of developing a larger mine at its Nico cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper project in Northwest Territories. A feasibility study published in 2014 considered a 4,650-metric-ton-per-day operation at Nico that would produce an average of 1,615 metric tons of battery-grade cobalt; 41,300 ounces of gold; 1,750 metric tons of bismuth; and 265 metric tons of copper annually. Fortune was studying the...
Home of the famed golden beaches of Nome that have captured the imagination of millions over the past 120 years, the Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) region covers the Seward Peninsula and coastal lands arcing around the eastern and southern coast of the Norton Sound in the far western reaches of Alaska. While this region may be 300 miles beyond North America's highway system, it has served as a crossroads for human activity for at least 15 millennia and will continue...
Fortune Minerals Ltd. July 18 reported the discovery of a new zone of copper mineralization at its NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper project in Northwest Territories. This new zone, which is about 1,600 meters southeast of the NICO deposit, was identified in bedrock exposed in a pit excavated last spring to provide aggregate for road work. It also sits along the edge of previously identified coincident magnetic, gravity and electrical resistivity geophysical anomalies at Peanut...
Fortune Minerals Ltd. April 23 reported it has entered into an option to purchase an undisclosed alternative site to construct the proposed refinery that would process metal concentrates from the company's planned Nico cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper mine in Northwest Territories. In March, Fortune reported that the Rural Municipality of Corman Park near the town of Langham, Saskatchewan had rejected the company's application for rezoning required to construct and operate the facil...
Fortune Minerals Ltd. March 26 reported that the Rural Municipality of Corman Park near the town of Langham, Saskatchewan has rejected the company's application for rezoning required to construct and operate a facility to process metal concentrates from the company's planned NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper mine in the Northwest Territories. Fortune acquired 478 acres of Corman Park lands for this refinery after consulting with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Economy and the...
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 mining activity remained strong in the Northwest Territories in 2019, industry and government officials alike worried that the robust sector, driven largely by production at three diamond mines, has entered a prolonged downward slide. The near-term economic outlook for the territory, which covers 1.3 million square kilometers in Canada's central Arctic region, continues to be bleak as its diamond mines that have now passed peak production and replacement projects are in...
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...
