The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 251 - 275 of 332
Alaska's mining industry captured the attention, not only of Alaskans but also the country during the past year when a controversy over the proposed Pebble Project in Southwest Alaska bubbled to the surface. Supporters and opponents of a ballot initiative aimed at blocking the mining venture squared off in a vocal and often strident campaign that made headlines nationwide. Alaska Miners Association director Steve Borell cited the contest over development the world-class...
Hecla Mining Co. now has until Feb. to pay off the remaining balance on the $240 million bridge loan it took out to purchase Rio Tinto's 70.27 percent of the Greens Creek Mine near Juneau, Alaska. In April, the Coeur D'Alene-based silver miner agreed to pay $750 million ($700 million in cash and $50 million in Hecla common stock) to its Greens Creek partner, Rio Tinto, for 100 percent ownership of the Southeast Alaska silver mine. Hecla put about $340 million from its...
Let me start this month's mining update by saying I am not a chartist nor do I believe economic cycles are controlled by cosmic forces known only to the mystics. That said, I do believe in cycles because I have lived and worked through more cycles in the mining industry than I care to remember. So a couple of observations seem in order as we plummet down the slope off another peak into what looks to be a pretty deep, chilly valley. First off, what goes up, must come down with...
Alaska's mineral industry set a new spending record of about $4 billion in 2007, up 13.3 percent from the value of the industry's expenditures in 2006, according to an 89-page report released Nov. 5 by the Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys and the Office of Economic Development. The industry's reported value, according to DGGS, is calculated by combining the amount spent on exploration and development with the production value of mines in Alaska. While 2007 was a... Full story
A decade after first kicking rocks around the Palmer Project, Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. President and CEO Garfield MacVeigh and Constantine's new Vice President of Exploration Darwin Green have reunited to uncover what they hope will be a mammoth in a land of elephants. According to Mac Veigh, Constantine was formed to explore the Palmer volcanic massive sulfide property when the company was incorporated in March 2006. The Palmer Project, located about 35 miles northwes...
NovaGold Resources Inc.'s Rock Creek gold mine began production Sept. 19. Crews began feeding the 6,500-metric-ton-per-day-mill at 25 percent capacity with a ramp-up to full production targeted for year's end. Once in full production, the operation is expected to turn out 100,000 ounces of gold per year. The main pit at Rock Creek has a resource of 500,000 ounces. The company's objective is to increase the resource to 1 million ounces over the next year. The Usibelli Coal Mine is a fourth-generation family-owned business...
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., D-New Jersey, has circulated a letter to his fellow representatives encouraging them to sign an amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council. U.S. Reps. Don Young, R-Alaska, Bill Sali, R - Ind., and Mike Simpson, R - Idaho, responded to the appeal by Pallone with a letter of their own, urging their colleagues on Capital Hill "not to sign an erroneous amicus brief to kill good-paying American...
Hecla Mining Co.'s purchase of the remaining 70.3 percent interest in Greens Creek Mine from its partner Rio Tinto earlier this year resulted in both cash losses and increased silver production for the second-quarter of 2008. The Idaho-based silver producer said the purchase of the Southeast Alaska silver mine, along with unloading its Venezuelan assets, will increase silver production while lowering political risk. Second-quarter 2008 silver production increased 60 percent... Full story
Several drilling programs started in the last month and several others began reporting initial results from programs commenced earlier in the summer. Two of Alaska's operating mines reported strong operating results and two new mineral resource estimates have been released. Alaska's seasonal exploration efforts are entering the second half of the season, while commodities prices continue to slide, inflation rates increase and operating costs increase. While nobody likes to admit it, there is mounting evidence that the mining... Full story
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources has come under criticism from a coalition of environmental group representatives and former state officials, who say the state agency's oversight is not enough to police the effects of exploration and possible development of the Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum deposit in the Bristol Bay Region of Southwest Alaska. In an article titled, "Pebble Mine: Fish, minerals and testing the limits of Alaska's large mine permitting process," the... Full story
The game is afoot all across Alaska with the drills turning to the right on projects all across the state. The operating mines turned in strong first-quarter results and several new acquisitions, joint ventures and new players were announced in the last month. Western Alaska Teck Cominco American announced first quarter results from its Red Dog Mine. In the first quarter, the mine produced 138,500 metric tons of zinc in concentrate. Zinc ore grade increased to 21.3 percent while mill recoveries remained steady at 83.8...
Let me extend my apologies to all those looking for a quick summary of the Alaska mining industry this month. There is nothing "quick" about the tome you are about to read, but don't blame the messenger. I just report what I read, and this month it's a sack full! No need for more words, just read on! Western Alaska NovaGold Resources announced results of a newly released report on the Rock Creek project, nearing commercial production outside of Nome. The revised feasibility... Full story
Hecla Mining Co. Feb. 21 posted 2007 income applicable to common shareholders of $52.2 million, or 43 cents per common share, on revenue of $222.6 million. Though the results reflected nearly a 24 percent drop in yearly earnings from $68.6 million, or 57 cents per common share, on revenue of $218.9 million in 2006, Hecla observed that it was still the second-strongest outcome in the company's 117-year-old history despite a significant reduction in gold production from its La Camorra unit as mining transitioned to a single...
Attendees of the Alaska Miners Association Fairbanks Biennial Mining Conference had the honor of hearing the views of three heavyweights on many issues facing Alaska's mining industry. Tom Albanese, CEO of Rio Tinto plc, says he is worried about the current political environment in Alaska. Albanese, a featured speaker at the Mining Conference March 19, cited a recent mining industry survey by Canada's Fraser Institute lowered Alaska's rank to 34 in 2007 from 13 in 2005 among... Full story
Bravo Venture Group Inc. March 17 said it has acquired 100 percent interest in the Woewodski Island volcanic massive sulphide project in southeast Alaska following successful renegotiation of certain terms in an underlying agreement with vendors of the property. Bravo said its ownership of the property is subject to a 3 percent net smelter royalty on all metals, of which 1 percent can be purchased for US$1million anytime prior to production and another 1 percent can be purchased anytime for US$1.5 million. The property would...
Hecla Mining Co., longtime minority share owner of the Greens Creek Mine, Feb. 12 said it agreed to purchase for $750 million the remaining 70.3 percent interest in the Southeast Alaska operation that is owned by Rio Tinto subsidiary Kennecott. The cash deal will give Hecla of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 100 percent control of the world's fifth largest silver mine and will nearly double the company's silver output to about 11 million ounces annually. Greens Creek also produces commercial quantities of gold, zinc and lead. The...
As is commonly the case in late January, an over abundance of news has come out in the last month, in part to coincide with year-end financial releases and in part to coincide with the annual Cordilleran Roundup mining convention in Vancouver. The news itself included an $819 million year-end 2007 profit at one Alaska mine, new gold resources of 32.8 million ounces for the state's largest gold deposit and the sale of 70 percent of another mine for a whopping $750 million. That doesn't count new resource estimates on two other...
Rio Tinto Plc, parent of the company that owns a majority of the Greens Creek Mine, said it would like to sell the Southeast Alaska investment. The move, however, is not expected to affect the profitable zinc, lead and silver mine's operations on Admiralty Island, nor its 325 employees, according to Clayton Walker, the mine's general manager. London-based Rio Tinto, which owns a 70.3 percent stake in the mine, is one of the largest mining companies in the world. Rio Tinto has said it is looking to divest a number of its asset...
In days gone by the Alaska mining industry thought of December as a time of decreased activity and a chance to catch your breath before the New Year started. Well, in case you have not noticed, those days are long gone! This month's activities stretch from one side of Alaska to the other with metals of interest spanning the periodic table of elements. Results from a number of programs are still outstanding and likely will not be seen until the New Year, blurring transitions...
Sean Magee, spokesman for The Pebble Limited Partnership, told members of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce Dec. 3 that the Pebble Mine Project could be developed in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. "There are lots of precedents in our part of the world where mining does coexist with fisheries," Magee told the Anchorage audience. He gave examples of several modern large-scale mines in Alaska and British Columbia that are not only coexisting with the fish...
Though owners of the Greens Creek Mine on Admiralty Island 18 miles south of Juneau say the underground operation ore grades have begun declining after some 15 years of production, they estimate the mine will produce commercial quantities of gold, silver, lead and zinc for at least another decade. "We have 7.6 million tons of reserves left and it gives us 10 more years of production," said Mike Satre, mine technical superintendent at Kennecott Greens Creek Mining Co. Greens Creek Mine is a joint venture between Kennecott...
Steve Borell, longtime executive director of the Alaska Miners Association, sat down to discuss the state of the industry recently. Borell expressed optimism and excitement about the industry's future in Alaska. But he raised several red flags that Alaska officials and others should consider in future policy making discussions. The following is excerpted from his remarks during an Oct. 3 interview. Mining News: What do you see as the future of the mining industry in Alaska in the short term and the long term? Steve Borell:... Full story
Coeur D'Alene Mines Corp., owner and operator of the Kensington Gold Project near Juneau, has agreed to work with Southeast Alaska environmental groups on a new plan to dispose of the proposed mine's tailings. Coeur D'Alene CEO Dennis Wheeler told the Juneau Chamber of Commerce Aug. 30 that the company will accept an invitation from the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, Sierra Club Alaska Chapter, and Lynn Canal Conservation to work together to allow Kensington to begin production by developing temporary and permanent... Full story
As the late, great Phil Rizutto used to say when something amazing happened on the baseball field: "Holy Cow!" The last month has seen an explosion of activity across Alaska with companies working in virtually every region on a diverse package of metals including gold, platinum group elements, silver, molybdenum, lead, zinc, copper and nickel. Several new companies have entered the exploration field in Alaska and several new partners have joined forces with previously active... Full story
Coeur Alaska has spent more than $206 million on the development and construction of Kensington gold mine near Juneau, but the economic benefits of the project could soon disappear if the mine doesn't commence operations, a report by the McDowell Group says. The mining company commissioned the report to determine how much Kensington is contributing to the economy of Southeast Alaska. Construction work has been completed on the main 12,000-foot access tunnel at Kensington, with all remaining, non-tailings-related surface facil...
