The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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It is high summer in Alaska and the mining industry is busy breaking rocks, drilling holes, collecting baseline data, making upgrades to mine facilities and producing metal and coal across the state. The effects of declining prices for metals are starting to be felt at the operating metal mines and except for a few projects, the exploration sector continues to wallow in the doldrums, which have plagued the industry since 2013. That said, the tire-kicking of earlier this...
The owners of Alaska’s five large metal mines – Sumitomo Metal Mining Pogo, Hecla Mining Company, Kinross Gold Corp, Teck Resources Ltd. and Coeur Mining Inc. – accounted for nearly half the US$92 million of exploration spending in the state during 2014 and similar investments by these companies is providing solid footing for the Far North state’s mineral exploration sector this year. Avalon Development President Curt Freeman said he is seeing more mining majors shopping for d...
Although news from the mining industry is generally limited this time of year, several items of import over the past month bear discussion. Alaska suffered a tragedy with the recent passing of mineral industry giant Chuck Hawley, one of Alaska's most talented and respected geologists. Although Chuck loved the mineral exploration game, he was far more than a geologist to many of us and to the state. His plus-50-year love affair with Alaska spanned some of the state's most...
Over the past month, three of Alaska's large mines reported strong quarterly results; two projects in advanced permitting and pre-feasibility reported recent progress; and three exploration properties changed hands. The latter is a trend putting 2015 on course to be one of the most active years for new acquisitions in the past decade. Placer gold production has all but ceased for the year; however, output from Alaska's placer mines is not likely to be known with any certainty...
Most of Alaska is now enjoying a warm, early spring, allowing field programs to get off to an quicker start this year. While budgets are still tight, interest in Alaska projects has steadily increased as the mining and metals markets slowly recover from a four-year slowdown. Current estimates for 2016 exploration expenditures are looking like they will end up in the US$50 million to US$60 million range, down from the US$75 million range of last year but less precipitous than...
With metal prices stabilizing, physical stockpiles dwindling and demand again on the rise, things are beginning to look up for the beleagered mining industry. Gold's performance over the past several months is a case in point. The World Gold Council reported that during the first quarter, buying of exchange-traded gold funds rose to its highest level since early 2009, wiping out the deep sell-offs of 2014 and 2015 for this instrument. Uncertainties in the fiscal stability of...
Hecla Mining Company April 14 reported record silver production of 4.64 million ounces in the first quarter, a 61 percent increase over the 2.88 million oz. produced in the first quarter of 2015. Additionally, gold production climbed 37 percent to 55,688 oz.; zinc production rose 7.9 percent to 17,364 tons; and lead production increased by 12 percent to 11,038 tons. As a result, Hecla produced a record 12.03 million silver-equivalent oz. during the first quarter. Much of the...
Brixton Metals Corp. April 7 reported the closing of the first tranche of a non-brokered private placement financing consisting of 6,233,000 units for C10 cents each and 4 million flow-through shares at C10 cents each for aggregate gross proceeds of C$1,023,300. Each unit consists of one common share and one transferable purchase warrant exercisable into one common share of the company at a price of C15 cents per share for a period of 36 months from the closing date. Robert...
Long, grueling, arduous, treacherous and painful are among the many adjectives, and sometimes expletives, used to describe the mining sector's nearly four-year bear market that is showing signs it is ready to hibernate. While Alaska's metal mines have not emerged from this enduring downturn unscathed, the sector remains largely intact and ready to ride metals prices higher. Together, Alaska's mines produced roughly US$2.76 billion of precious and base metals during 2015, down...
Established in 1891, Hecla Mining Company has survived two World Wars, the Great Depression and numerous crests and troughs of a cyclical metals market that has sunk many of the silver miner's contemporaries over the past 125 years. Over this century-plus span, Hecla has grown adept at navigating tumultuous markets in a way that enables the company to be well-positioned for smooth sailing in calm waters. "We have been in business longer than iconic American companies such as...
Hecla Mining Company Feb. 23 reported US$443.6 million in sales and gross profit of US$38.5 million for 2015. The net loss applicable to common stockholders for the year was US$87.5 million, or US23 cents per basic share, and the adjusted net loss applicable to common stockholders was US$34 million, or US9 cents per basic share. Hecla's average realized silver price for 2015 was US$15.57 per ounce, down 16 percent from 2014. The company's average realized price for gold last...
Although there is plenty of Alaska mining industry news this month, the big dog in the pen is the dramatic and unexpected run-up in the price of gold, which moved from a low of $1,078 per ounce to a high of $1,246/oz., most of which occurred after Feb. 1. Although profit-taking and other factors have caused the price to back off a bit, the move was both dramatic and unexpected. As you might guess, the ether is full of talking heads telling us why it went up, why it either won'...
Hecla Mining Company Feb. 16 reported 175 million ounces of silver in proven and probable reserves, marking the 10th straight year that exploration has resulted in record reserves for the company. The 1 percent annual increase in silver reserves comes despite the fact that prices used to calculate the reserves were lowered to US$14.50 per ounce silver, down from $17.25/oz. used the year before. The company's measured and indicated silver resources decreased by 2 percent to...
Higher grades, increased milling rates and improved recoveries add up to a banner year for both the Kensington and Greens Creek mines in Southeast Alaska. Kensington, the youngest of the two mines located near Alaska's capital city of Juneau, got off to a slow start when owner Coeur Mining Inc. was finally able to begin operations in 2010. In recent years, however, the mine has steadily increased its gold output while reducing the costs to mine the precious metal -...
Hecla Mining Company Dec. 2 kicked off a year-long celebration marking its 125th anniversary as a mining company in 2016. Hecla President and CEO Phillips S. Baker Jr. addressed the company's milestone during a keynote speech at the welcoming luncheon of the American Exploration & Mining Association Annual Meeting and Exposition in Spokane, Wash. Founded in 1891, Hecla Mining Co. is the oldest mining company on the NYSE. "We have been in business longer than iconic American co...
Earlier this month, the Alaska Miners Association held its annual convention in Anchorage amid plummeting metals prices and an over-all atmosphere of economic uncertainty now stretching into its fourth year. Individuals from around North America and beyond were present and conversations outside of the technical sessions seemed to gravitate toward how best to climb out of the doldrums that seem to grip the mining industry on a global scale. One individual was heard to say that...
A four-year rout in metals, coal and oil prices left Alaska's mining community digging deep for reasons to be optimistic during their annual gathering at the Alaska Miners Association convention in Anchorage. While depressed metals prices naturally cut into the bottom lines of those companies mining gold, silver, zinc, lead and coal in Alaska, the effects reverberate across the entire mining community. In order to adjust to lower metals prices, the producers have cut back on...
The "National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2015," legislation aimed at streamlining the lengthy process of permitting a mine in the United States, passed the U. S. House of Representative Oct. 22. National Mining Association President and CEO Hal Quinn said this bill, introduced by U. S. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nevada, "will bring the U.S. mine permitting system into the 21st century and help boost the country's economy and manufacturing renaissance." By...
Mineral and coal exploration spending in British Columbia has dropped nearly 30 percent a year since reaching a pinnacle of C$680 million in 2012, mirroring the downward trend seen during the same period in global exploration expenditures. Mineral-rich B. C., however, is preparing to take advantage of the next upswing in metals markets. In June, British Columbia Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett said the province will provide Geoscience BC with C$5 million in additional...
HL: NYSE President and CEO: Phillips Baker Jr. Chairman: Ted Crumley Senior VP, Exploration: Dean McDonald The low cost of producing silver at the Greens Creek Mine in Southeast Alaska is helping Hecla Mining Co. weather low metals prices. In addition to Greens Greek, the Idaho-based miner operates the Lucky Friday silver mine in Idaho and the Casa Berardi gold mine in Quebec. In June, Hecla bought Revett Mining Co. in an all-share transaction valued at roughly US$19 million. Hecla now owns the Rock Creek mine project in...
Hecla Mining Co. Oct. 20 reported production of 2.59 million ounces of silver and 43,635 oz. of gold during the third quarter 2015. The Greens Creek Mine produced 1.99 million oz. of silver during the third quarter, a 5.3 percent increase over the same period of 2014. Gold production at the Southeast Alaska operation was 14,376 oz., 6.3 percent higher than the third quarter of last year. The increased precious metals production was a result of higher recoveries and tonnage,...
Dolly Varden Silver Corp. Oct. 1 reported the signing of a definitive documentation for the closing of a C$1.5 million senior secured loan from Hecla Canada Ltd. and Robert L. Gipson, two significant shareholders of the company. The loan is to bear five percent annual interest and will be repayable after one year. Dolly Varden has agreed to issue 1.25 million warrants to each lender. Each warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one common share of Dolly Varden at C30 cents...
More gold and silver at lower costs is a common theme for the Greens Creek, Kensington and Fort Knox mines in 2015 and an important component of keeping these operations economically viable for their respective owners - Hecla Mining Co., Coeur Mining Inc. and Kinross Gold Corp. "Cost control is always a priority and ensures that operating mines can succeed even during downtimes in commodities cycles," said Karen Mathias, managing consultant, Council of Alaska Producers. This...
Hecla Mining Co. July 16 said its Greens Creek Mine produced 1,856,125 million ounces of silver during the second quarter, a 10 percent increase over the 1,689,183 oz. recovered from the Southeast Alaska operation during the same period of 2014. Hecla attributes this higher silver production to improved recoveries and grade, partially offset by slightly lower tonnage. Silver recoveries increased 8 percent, or 5.6 percentage points, to 75.4 percent compared to 2014 due to...
Over the past month Alaska's mining industry has suffered a perfect storm of manmade and natural issues that read like something from a pulp fiction novel. On the man-made side of the ledger, gold, silver, copper, and lead prices have all hit 5-year lows and zinc prices continue to slide lower. Mining equity markets are still in severe decline, making it extremely challenging for junior exploration companies to raise the risk capital necessary to explore their Alaska...
