The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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Alaska's critical minerals potential to take center stage at AMA convention; antimony and graphite expected to be hot topics. Rising geopolitical tensions around the globe, China's increasing use of critical minerals as a trade war weapon, and the International Energy Agency's forecast that an additional $800 billion needs to be invested into the mining of energy transition metals by 2040 in order to meet global climate ambitions, have political and military leaders looking...
Redox flow batteries are just beginning to hit their stride. Although vanadium is an abundant element, it is quite rare in its metallic form. That fact, combined with its position as a strategic metal for industry, national defense, and the green energy transition, has put it squarely on the list of critical minerals. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), "Estimated U.S. apparent consumption of vanadium in 2023 increased by 27% from that in 2022....
China dominates global supplies of future-leaning tech metal. With a growing range of unique properties that are being leveraged in next-generation smartphones, shape-shifting robots, and catalysts that scrub carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, gallium is an uncanny tech metal that teeters on the edge of science fiction and science fact. Gallium's unusual properties begin with its 85.6-degree Fahrenheit melting point, which means it is a solid at normal room temperatures but...
Original computer semiconductor now energizes space ambitions. Germanium is a versatile and powerful semiconductor that traces its technology roots back to the dawn of the Digital Age and continues to lend its superlative semiconducting and optical properties to enhancing computers, smartphones, solar panels, fiber optics, and other devices 80 years later. In 1945, Sylvania introduced the first germanium diode to enhance the vacuum tube computers that launched the Digital...
Rising demand, lack of domestic supply, and China's dominance. While graphite has not captured the same level of media attention as some of the other mined materials critical to the clean energy transition, the strategic nature of this largest ingredient in lithium-ion batteries powering electric vehicles is high on the list of concerns for American automakers, Washington policymakers, and the Pentagon's top brass. These worries are based on a trifecta of graphite...
Projects, initiatives, and technology expand scandium supply chain security. While it may not have quite as strong a chemical bond to its adopted lanthanide siblings as they do each other, scandium does possess similar enough characteristics and is almost always found at the same geological gatherings (deposits) as the rest of its rare earth family. Named for the Latin word for Scandinavia, "Scandia," – as the mineral was thought to only dwell off the Nordic peninsula – sca...
An all-of-government strategy is beginning to unfold in the US. Over the first two years following the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, the U.S. Department of Energy has invested billions of dollars into establishing a clean energy supply chain in the United States. These heavy investments, however, have neglected one vital link – the domestic mines needed to supply the processing facilities, battery plants, and other energy t...
Cutting-edge innovations turn aluminum into a cornerstone of the green transition, reshaping technology and the future. Imagine a metal that's as light as it is strong, capable of taking cars further on a single charge and helping planes soar higher with less fuel. Enter aluminum – the unsung hero of the green revolution. This year, aluminum isn't just playing a supporting role in the shift to sustainability; it's stealing the spotlight, driving innovations that are making o...
Will the controversial metal find its place in green tech? About 30 years ago, nobody thought much about cobalt. Today, this metal, with myriads of uses, is one of those elements that gets dragged into the spotlight due to the role it plays in electric vehicle batteries, with critics citing the disparity between the environmental and social costs of producing cobalt and the green tech solutions this critical metal enables. But we can't build a clean energy future without...
Import-reliance a top concern for national security officials. America's heavy reliance on China and others for the minerals and metals critical to the nation's economic competitiveness, military strength, and clean energy future is high on the list of strategic concerns for top brass at the U.S. departments of Defense and Homeland Security. While much of this concern is rooted in the fact that the United States' ability to defend its strategic interests at home and abroad...
A graphite supply agreement struck with Lucid Motors provides a key link to forging a mine-to-EVs supply chain. Graphite One Inc. has struck a battery materials supply agreement with California-based electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Motors that is expected to forge a complete mine-to-EVs graphite supply chain with links in Alaska, Ohio, and Arizona. Alaska's delegation in Washington, D.C., is hailing this battery materials agreement as a win both for America's 49th State an...
Mining's benefits to the state's economy are poised to grow as the world seeks sustainable sources of the minerals Alaska is enriched with. A new study carried out by Alaska-based McKinley Research Group found that mining and minerals exploration contributed over $2.5 billion to Alaska's economy during 2023. "The mining industry continues its role as a powerhouse of Alaska's economy, partnering with local communities to drive significant economic benefits and support...
Summer program focused on collecting the final data needed to complete a feasibility for developing a mine at the western Alaska project. Graphite One Inc. June 26 announced the start of a 2024 exploration program focused on collecting the final data needed to complete a feasibility study for developing a mine at its world-class Graphite Creek project in western Alaska. "The 2024 field program is a key milestone for our stakeholders as we advance our feasibility study with a...
Zinc contributed most to state's mine production value during 2023; gold is poised to take the crown and make run toward 1 million ounces per year. At a value of $1.5 billion, zinc held onto its throne as the most valuable metal produced in Alaska during 2023. With production forecasts and price trends headed in opposite directions for zinc and gold, however, the gleaming precious metal that drew fortune-seekers North at the turn of the 20th century could soon regain the...
Secures former critical minerals stockpile site to build graphite processing and battery materials recycling plant. Graphite One Inc. plans to transform a former national defense critical minerals stockpile site in Ohio into a domestic source of the graphite anode material going into the lithium-ion batteries powering electric vehicles and storing renewable energy. "Graphite One is delighted to announce that, subject to financing, we will be building our advanced graphite...
HB122 would authorize AIDEA to issue up to $300 million in bonds and leverage federal funding for critical mineral infrastructure projects in Alaska. Home to 49 out of the 50 minerals deemed critical to the United States, Alaska has the potential to be a reliable domestic source of the mined materials vital to high-tech, clean energy, and national defense. America's Last Frontier, however, is often lacking when it comes to the infrastructure needed to fully unlock the state's...
From breaking ground at Alaska's next gold mine to the advancement of North of 60 projects focused on delivering the metals needed for the transition of low-carbon energy, and an impressive safety milestone at Alaska's only coal mine to a history of the helicopters that make mineral exploration across the North possible, here is a countdown of the 10 most popular North of 60 Mining News articles in 2023: No. 10 - CORE celebrates Manh Choh, Lucky Shot Contango Ore Inc., a...
As the White House continues to dole out hundreds of billions of dollars to position America as the global leader in clean energy and digital technologies, Beijing initiates a strategy to put America in check with the global economy equivalent of pawns. These pawns in the technology chess match between the U.S. and China are gallium and germanium, a pair of semiconductor metals used to make the computer chips essential to every facet of modern life. Before all the major news o...
Data Mine North launched the first edition of Critical Minerals Alliances in 2021 with the hopes that this annual magazine would play some small role in helping to build alliances "that are not crippled by irreconcilable differences between organizations and individuals that do not always see eye-to-eye but strengthened by a spectrum of ideologies with a common goal – a healthy, prosperous, and exciting future for humankind." Today, the alliances envisioned by the Data Mine N...
Aluminum has been classified as critical by the United States, European Union, Canada, and even China. At first glance, one may wonder how such a ubiquitous metal could possibly be critical. The answer is simply that aluminum is so widely used that supply, if endangered, could devastate an economy. In 2020, the World Bank identified aluminum as a "high-impact" and "cross-cutting" metal in all existing and potential green technologies. In spite of this, due to high energy...
From the Pentagon's multi-million-dollar investment in Graphite One Inc. to China's restrictions on the exports of gallium and germanium, Alaska's current critical minerals supply and future potential was in the headlines and subtext of American news stories over the past month. Alaska as a future source of minerals critical to the clean energy transition grabbed headlines after the mid-July news that the U.S. Department of Defense awarded Graphite One Inc. $37.5 million to...
For those in the know, Alaska's resources aren't just some surprise windfall for renewable energy technologies. While precious metals like gold and silver have been the primary focus of more than a century of mining up north, the 49th State is home to 49 of the 50 materials on the United States' critical minerals list and has a history of stepping up to the plate to provide America with critical minerals when they are needed the most. Looking ahead over the next two to three...
Resolution Minerals Ltd. Aug. 21 announced that it staked a 114-square-mile land package in an area of Alaska prospective for nickel with associated copper, cobalt, and platinum group metals. Australia-based Resolution is best known in Alaska for its exploration of the 64North gold project near Northern Star Resources Ltd.'s Pogo mine. Over the past year, however, the company has also been acquiring and exploring projects that could offer future supplies of the metals needed...
Alaska mining and Washington policy leaders gather to discuss forging a path forward to critical minerals in US's Arctic state. Building upon the discussions and strategic ideas set in motion during the 2022 "Alaska's Minerals: A Strategic National Imperative" summit, the U.S. Department of Energy's Arctic Energy Office co-hosted a two-day summit this week to advance policy recommendations for development of critical mineral resources in the North American Arctic. For the Unit...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska: Gathering together leaders, decision-makers, and experts toward the common goal of understanding the value of Alaska's mineral endowment and how to unlock it for America's net-zero emission goals, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management hosted a two-day workshop bringing attention to carbon management and critical minerals and how the Last Frontier will be a keystone in achieving the country's lofty ambition. Held at...
