The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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Goldman Sachs' declaration that "copper is the new oil" may serve as a foreshadowing of Alaska's economic future, one that is not so heavily reliant on the revenues from petroleum flowing from the North Slope and leans more heavily on the state's rich endowment of precious, critical, and base metals. The investment bank's suggestion that copper is to become the strategically most important commodity on Earth is due to the vital role the conductive metal plays in global...
Under the new leadership of longtime Alaska and Northern British Columbia explorer Rob McLeod, Blackwolf Copper and Gold Ltd., formerly Heatherdale Resources Ltd., is bringing new vigor and geological ideas to the exploration of its Niblack copper-gold-silver-zinc project on Princes of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. "Our name change to Blackwolf Copper and Gold better reflects the company's spirit and vision, particularly with consultation and inclusion with indigenous...
Alaska, Northern British Columbia, and the Yukon are home to a dozen advanced stage exploration and mine projects hosting billions of pounds of copper ready to deliver to a world demanding massive amounts of this conductive metal for the green energy and electric mobility transition envisioned over the next three decades. In its report, "Copper is the new oil," Goldman Sachs forecasts that the electrification of transportation and decarbonization of electrical generation...
Heatherdale Resources Ltd. April 20 announced a significant change by renaming the company to Blackwolf Copper and Gold Ltd., which is now listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol BWCG. "Our name change to Blackwolf Copper and Gold better reflects the company's spirit and vision, particularly with consultation and inclusion with indigenous people," said Rob McLeod, president and CEO of Blackwolf Copper and Gold. "Growing up in the Pacific Northwest on the border of...
Blackwolf Copper and Gold Ltd. (formerly Heatherdale Resources Ltd.) May 3 announced that its late 2020 surface drill program near the historic Niblack Mine tapped high-grade copper-gold-silver-zinc mineralization and confirmed the company's interpretation of the geology found there. Located at the end of the Alaskan Panhandle, on Prince of Wales Island, the historic Niblack Mine is located over 1,000 meters north of the current NI 43-101 mineral resources in the Lookout and T...
Heatherdale Resources Ltd. March 16 announced the start of a drill program targeting the expansion of Lookout Zone, the largest deposit identified so far on the company's Niblack copper-gold-silver-zinc volcanogenic massive sulfide project in Southeast Alaska. According to a 2011 calculation, the Lookout deposit at Niblack host 5.64 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 0.95% (118.1 million pounds) copper, 1.75 grams per metric ton (317,220 ounces) gold, 29.5...
Restructured and under new leadership, Heatherdale Resources Ltd. is gearing up for a drill program to expand some of the high-grade targets at its Niblack copper-gold-silver-zinc project on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. Heatherdale, which had advanced Niblack to the brink of considering the feasibility of mining the high-grade volcanogenic massive sulfide mineralization found there, became hampered by debt during the economic hardships endured by the junior...
Restructured and under new leadership, Heatherdale Resources Ltd. is expanding the high-grade targets at its Niblack copper-gold-silver-zinc project on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. Heatherdale, which had advanced Niblack to the brink of considering the feasibility of mining the high-grade volcanogenic massive sulfide mineralization found there, became hampered by debt during the economic hardships endured by the junior mining sector in 2008 and again in 2012. Ro...
Heatherdale Resources Ltd. Jan. 6 reported that encouraging mineralization observed in the first four holes of the 2020 program prompted the company to drill all ten holes in the area of the historic Niblack Mine on the company's Niblack copper-gold-silver-zinc project in Southeast Alaska. Heatherdale, which had advanced the Niblack project to the verge of considering the feasibility of mining the high-grade volcanogenic massive sulfide mineralization found there, became...
Strong metal prices and an infusion of cash from notable resource investors helped to salvage much of a 2020 mineral exploration season in Alaska that became lethargic with disruptions, delays, and shelving of field programs infected by the COVID-19 pandemic early in the year. At its onset, 2020 was looking like it would be the best year for Alaska's mining sector in a decade. Australia-based mining companies were slated to invest nearly US$100 million in mineral exploration...
With it becoming increasingly apparent that Joe Biden will be confirmed as the 46th President of the United States, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski believes the coming years will be "interesting times" for the state's resource sectors. "There is near certainty that he is going to be taking office on Jan. 20, 2021," Alaska's senior senator said, referring to Biden, during the Resource Development Council for Alaska annual convention. "If he follows through on some of his campaign...
After helping to foster what is shaping up to be a mining renaissance in his hometown of Stewart, British Columbia, Rob McLeod has bought a major stake in Heatherdale Resources Ltd. and is bringing a new vision to that company's Niblack copper-gold-zinc-silver project on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. According to a 2011 resource, the Lookout and Trio deposits at Niblack host 4.14 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 1.13% copper, 2.32 grams per...
There are signs of renewed life for the Niblack copper-gold-zinc-silver project on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. Heatherdale Resources Ltd., the company that owns Niblack, advanced the potential underground mine nearly to the permitting stage but became hampered by financial liabilities. A deal announced on June 3 cleans up Heatherdale's balance sheet and puts Rob McLeod at the helm of the restructured company. According to a resource calculated in 2011, Niblack...
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...
Over the past month, the world has been awash in year-end 2013 mining news, ranging from exploration and production statistics to economic impact numbers and mining favorability polls. The Alaska highlights from this wad of info include the results from the annual Fraser Institute political jurisdiction favorability survey where Alaska placed first in the world out of 112 jurisdictions for mineral potential. However, Alaska plummeted to 21st place on the survey's Policy Percep...
Heatherdale Resources Ltd. April 1 reported that Patrick Smith has resigned as president and CEO and as a director of the company. Heatherdale Chairman Scott Cousens will serve as interim president and CEO of Heatherdale. Heatherdale is focused on Niblack, a volcanogenic massive sulfide project located on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. "Pat's experience and understanding of Southeast Alaska was of particular value over the past five years during the exploration ph...
In an industry eager for even a scintilla of good news, a recent report from industry analyst SNL Metals & Mining recently gave the good-news-starved industry a bit of hope. SNL's article, titled, "Too early to start celebrating a recovery in the sector," indicated that although the downward trend in mineral exploration has not broken yet, the market has stopped down-grading mining equities, with a modest gain in market capitalization since its most recent low in mid-2013....
The din of mineral industry activity that is normally a part of the summer months in Alaska is decidedly muted this year as the global mining industry attempts to lift itself off the bottom of a plus-18-month-long slump. Some Alaska projects are moving forward but most field budgets are small with commensurately reduced goals attached. Larger mining companies, many under new management, are rapidly shedding non-core assets while revising budgets and timeframes for...
At the recent Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada meeting in Toronto, Dr. Richard Schodde, managing director of MinEx Consulting, presented some key factors which affect the time span between a mineral discovery and start-up of commercial mining. The study reviewed about 3,500 nonferrous metal deposits discovered between 1950 and 2013. Dr. Schodde's findings suggest that only 45 percent of all discoveries made since 1950 have turned into mines. The rate is...
GFMS formerly known as Gold Fields Mineral Services) recently announced their outlook for gold prices in the coming months, estimating average 2014 gold prices in the US$1,225 per ounce range. The price forecast is 13 percent less than the 2013 average of US$1,411/oz. Physical demand, including official sector purchases, came in at an all-time high of 4,957 metric tons in 2013, a 15 percent increase over 2012 and some 703 metric tons higher than the supply of new gold and...
The Bokan Mountain and Niblack mineral projects are attracting substantial support from Alaska lawmakers. This vote of confidence may result in a financial boost needed to develop the Prince of Wales Island deposits into mines during an otherwise tight financial market. "In southern Southeast (Alaska), we are working on legislation right now to create hundreds of new jobs at Niblack and Bokan," Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell said during an April 10 keynote address at the Arctic Inte...
The ongoing scarcity of venture capital available to junior companies coupled with a retreat in metals prices has landed a one-two blow that sent mineral exploration spending in Alaska plunging for the second straight year. A handful of big-budget projects scattered across Alaska, though, is softening the hit to exploration spending across the Far North State during 2013. Mineral exploration expenditures in Alaska, which were a meager US$23.8 million in 2001, topped US$365...
As I write this summary, the annual Alaska Miners Association Convention and Trade Show is right around the corner (Nov. 6-8). Despite the softening commodities prices and generally bearish sentiment expressed by the mining industry throughout the year, in the past month or so, I have seen a refreshing resurgence of that single-most important quality of the Alaska mining industry - optimism! Despite bankruptcies, mine closures, negative feasibility studies and the exodus from...
From Kotzebue to Ketchikan, Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority is using its financial muscle and its ability to build and operate large infrastructure projects to help mining companies overcome the challenges of developing the often remote mineral riches that the Last Frontier has to offer. "We are working with local communities and mine developers on infrastructure projects throughout Alaska, including port facilities and energy supply," said AIDEA external...
The U.S, Forest Service Sept. 6 agreed to allow Hecla Mining Co. to expand its tailings facility at the Greens Creek Mine located in the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska, but only by a fraction of what the silver mining company requested. This middle-of-the-road decision underscores the challenges of managing the integrity of the United States largest forest, protecting the salmon and other habitat found there; while allowing local residents, Alaska and the nation...
