The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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Ending a streak of robust growth, mineral exploration spending in Alaska during 2012 took a downward turn from the record US$300 million spent a year earlier. "More advanced-stage projects that added ounces or pounds to their resource base had a better go of it than early-stage exploration projects which have taken a hard right cross to the jaw!" Curt Freeman, a well-known Alaska geologist and president of Fairbanks-based Avalon Development, observed in September. This blow de...
With the mercury frozen at 40 degrees below zero, Freegold Ventures Ltd. lit a fire at Golden Summit, launching an aggressive 15,000-meter drill campaign at the Interior Alaska gold project in January. Despite being located some 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Fairbanks, a place that vies for the coldest spot in the United States, Golden Summit has the distinct advantage of being connected to a paved highway, grid power and cell phone service. "Winter drilling is possible...
Millrock Resources Inc.'s skillful execution of the project generator model is allowing it to flourish in an equity market that has not been kind to junior exploration companies. Capitalizing on its exploration expertise and first-hand geological knowledge of Alaska and southeastern Arizona, Millrock pulled together some C$11 million for exploration in 2012. Some 93 percent of this spending was funded by global miners Teck Resources Ltd., Kinross Gold Corp., Vale S.A. and Inme...
Mining continues to be a cornerstone of Yukon's economy, with extraordinary mineral deposits, including both precious and non-precious metals. The Government of Yukon is committed to providing an internationally competitive investment climate. To this end, we continue to provide regulatory certainty around environmental assessment, permitting and licensing of projects. Yukon's exploration and mining industries are settling in for the long term. After a record-breaking year for claim staking and exploration spending in 2011,...
While the frenzy of activity that engulfed the Yukon Territory in 2011 did not re-emerge this season, scores of players, from upstart juniors to global mining firms mounted impressive mineral exploration campaigns throughout the territory. Gold was the primary metal sought in the Yukon in 2012, but some explorers chased silver, copper, zinc-lead, iron and other minerals. Based on the spending plans of mining companies in March, Natural Resources Canada projected C$285 million planned spending across the Yukon, a decrease of...
CXO: TSX-V President and CEO: Adam Travis, B.Sc. Geology, Exploration Manager - B.C. & Yukon: Linda Dandy, P.Geo. Vice President, Exploration: Greg Dawson, MSc Chief Geoscientist: Jim Oliver, Ph.D., P.Geo In 2012 Colorado Resources said its primary focus for the foreseeable future will be on advancing the Hit Property and following up work on the Hearts Peak Property in northwestern British Columbia, extensively exploring the Oro and Selwyn properties in Yukon Territory and pursuing a joint venture with Kinross Gold Corp. on...
IGO: TSX-V President and CEO: Randy Turner, B.Sc., P.Geo CFO: Christopher Mitchell, P.Eng., MBA Vice President, Exploration: David Pawliuk, B.Sc., P.Geo Independence Gold Corp., formerly Silver Quest Resources Ltd., is focused on exploring for silver and gold on numerous property holdings, ranging from early‐stage grassroots to advanced‐stage resource delineation and expansion projects scattered across central British Columbia and Yukon Territory. In 2012, the company launched a C$2.2 million exploration program...
Over the past six months, the single-most common question I have gotten asked about Alaska's mineral industry is, "Have there been any significant new discoveries?" While there may be an as-yet unannounced new discovery in Alaska, it seems the above question is being asked more frequently in other parts of the world as well and the most common answer is a simple "no." While information on new discoveries in other sectors of the mining industry is out there, it's not as...
An employment forecast published by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development in October pegged the state's mining sector job growth from 2010 to 2020 at 19 percent. That is second only to health care, at 31 percent, and outpacing the 12 percent average growth across all Alaska industries. Expansion of current operations coupled with prospects of building mines at the world-class Livengood and Donlin gold deposits were cited as drivers behind adding new miners t...
For the dozens of companies that rushed to stake claims in the Nechako Plateau of central British Columbia three years ago, the area now known as the Blackwater Gold District is shaping up to be a better-than-average bet. But a series of bold acquisitions by New Gold Inc. in 2011 has placed the mid-tier gold producer solidly in the driver's seat in one of Canada's largest modern gold exploration plays. Located about 160 kilometers (99 miles) south-west of Prince George in central British Columbia, the Blackwater Project area...
Don Ewigleben and Tom Irwin - two figures that played key roles in the development of Kinross Gold Corp.'s Fort Knox Mine - are once again united to develop a world-class gold deposit in Interior Alaska. Filling a void created by the sudden departure of James Komadina in May, International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. appointed Chairman Ewigleben president and CEO of the company looking to develop the 20-million-ounce Livengood gold project. Ewigleben, a lawyer who spent 35 years...
Over a year ago, Natural Resource Holdings published a report entitled "How Rare are One Million Ounce Gold Deposits?" At that time, the publisher ranked 296 gold deposits that have more than 1 million ounces of gold in all resources categories. The same firm recently published a follow-up report titled, "Global Gold Mines & Deposits 2012 Ranking." The report ranks gold deposits above 1 million ounces, whose numbers have increased to 439 deposits with total resources of...
DAWSON, Yukon - The 3rd Annual Dawson Rocks conference, an annual exposition for active mineral exploration projects in Yukon Territory, offered a sobering reminder of the power of the markets in the world of mining. Absent were the scores of juniors that packed much larger exhibition halls in 2010 and 2011 with enticing displays of samples, maps and drill core. This year a dozen exhibitors, ranging from part-time, grassroots prospectors to representatives of advanced exploration projects like Kaminak Gold Corp.'s Coffee...
Two of the projects credited with touching off the recent gold rush to Yukon Territory reported results from their 2012 programs in July that suggest they could deliver on all that their early results promised. While new entrants have slowed to a trickle and other early players retire from the scene, at least until the anemic capital markets regain their vigor, Atac Resources Ltd. and Kaminak Gold Corp. and a handful of other juniors are quietly churning out impressive assay results in robust multimillion-dollar drill...
In a long overdue step to bring Alaska into the 21st Century, state and federal agencies met in late June to discuss collaborative funding strategies for Alaska's Statewide Digital Mapping Initiative, an enterprise designed to create Alaska's first high-quality digital topographic map. The roundtable was convened by Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, U.S. Department of Interior. Alaska remains the only state in the United States...
While most juniors are cinching their belts and scaling back programs, Millrock Resources Inc. has C$7.5 million of exploration slated for its array of gold and copper-gold properties in Alaska in 2012, not to mention a healthy C$4.5 million budget for its copper-gold prospects in Arizona. Millrock President and CEO Greg Beischer said the scarcity of venture capital available to the junior exploration sector was palpable at the Cambridge House World Resource Investment...
One year after donning the mantle of chief executive officer at International Tower Hill Mines Ltd., James Komadina abruptly vacated the position recently. The unexpected departure comes less than a week after Tower Hill filed its first-quarter 2012 financial results, revealing a budget overrun of C$46.9 million on Komadina's watch. The vacuum created in the upper echelon of Tower Hill management has pulled in company founder Jeff Pontius to help steer the company through...
Although spring took its good old time in arriving across much of Alaska, the mining industry's busy summer exploration and development season has arrived. Five of Alaska's major mines reported strong first-quarter operating results, and two new companies acquired exploration properties in Alaska in the last month. These new acquisitions are not expected to be the last, as the prolonged venture capital drought continues with no end in sight. The news this month is sparse, prim...
The winds of change are once again blowing across Alaska's mineral industry, not only because the industry is gearing up for another busy summer season, but also because the mining investment climate has turned from cautiously optimistic to decidedly undecided. The sea change occurred steadily and without a lot of fanfare between mid-January and mid-March. As is always the case, good projects continue to advance with those that are drilling and adding resources or moving throu...
As Northern Freegold Resources Ltd. heads into a fifth season of exploration on the Freegold Mountain Project in central Yukon Territory, a picture is slowly emerging of yet another large natural repository of precious and base metals in the prolific Tintina Gold Belt. Not only does the district-scale property loom above still-producing placer gold creeks in the heart of a proven gold and copper mining belt in central Yukon, its sprawling 198 square kilometers (75 square miles) lie just 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of...
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. has pushed back the publication of a prefeasibility study for its Livengood gold project to sometime later this year. While the PFS has been delayed by about six months, the company says it is still on track to begin recovering gold from the Interior Alaska project in 2018 maybe earlier. Tower Hill said that while the bulk of engineering studies have been completed, a review of the preliminary economic assessment revealed some areas of...
While most companies exploring the mineral potential of Alaska and other Far North locales have stacked their drills, winterized camps and are poring over data from their 2011 programs in preparation for the upcoming exploration season, Freegold Ventures Ltd. continues its field program with drills turning at its Golden Summit project in the heart of Interior Alaska. "We just resumed drilling this week with one rig and expect to add the second one early next week," Freegold...
As a busy year in the Alaska and global mining industry starts to slide closer to its end, I figured now was a good time to gaze into my crystal ball (rutilated quartz, of course) to see what next year might bring. While strong metals prices promise another busy year for Alaska, a dose of global reality was provided by the financial giant Ernst & Young, who recently published a list of the top 10 business risks for the mining and metals industry for the coming year. Resource n...
A second wave of mining exploration swept across Yukon Territory in 2011, bringing with it new mineral discoveries, record employment and myriad other changes, large and small. Roughly 100 companies, including a score of newcomers, mounted an array of mineral exploration programs with most of them stalking gold and silver deposits. Some came away with early success and excitement about their results, while others sifted the tea leaves, looking for clearer signs of the elusive mineralization they seek. "The impact of this...
For Yukon geologist Jean Pautler, the busy 2011 field season also may end up being one for her personal record book. "I was lucky to spend a week in one place," she told Mining News in a recent interview. Pautler, a geological consultant through her company, JP Exploration Services, has spent more than 30 years tramping through the Canadian bush in search of mineral deposits. A sprite of a woman with a cheerful smile, Pautler works alone, except for her German Shepherd mutt, Shadow, who accompanies her into the field....
