The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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Now that the word is out about Atac Resources Ltd.'s impressive gold discoveries at the Rau Project in central Yukon Territory, the financial market is taking to the early-stage exploration effort with the enthusiasm of a bear in a beehive. Atac recently reported impressive results from drilling and prospecting the Osiris and Isis targets on the Sten claim block near the eastern edge of the 185-kilometer-, or 115-mile-long Rau Project. Meanwhile, investors have fueled a run-up in Atac's stock price to about $7 a share from...
The diamond industry is poised for a turnaround due to recovery in the U.S. market and growth in Asian diamond markets such as China and India, according to a new comprehensive report by Global Industry Analysts Inc. While Europe continues to have the world's leading markets for diamonds, rapidly growing Asian economies are expected to form a significant market group, the San Jose, Calif.-based market research publisher said Sept. 16. The report also predicted that diamond prices are expected to rise in the near future and...
In the last month, several of Alaska's major metal mines reported strong operating numbers; one company released a preliminary economic assessment and three new mineral exploration companies acquired exploration interests in Alaska. While the functions of explorers and producers are quite different, the symbiotic relationship between the two ends of the mining cycle is unequivocal: exploration would not exist without production and production would eventually cease without...
THISTLE CREEK, Yukon Territory - The Bell Jet Ranger helicopter just landed, while the A-Star unloaded passengers before powering down its engines on the other side of the creek. A third, smaller copter whined as its rotors buffeted bystanders with gusts of dust and debris during takeoff. Meanwhile, a small plane soared overhead. Welcome to the Dawson Mining District of central Yukon in early August. Or as one wag joked: "JFK West!" Visitors prepared to tour Kaminak Gold Corp.'s mining exploration camp here as a three-man...
DAWSON, Yukon Territory - Hardrock mining explorers are capitalizing on unprecedented investor interest and going after paying gold, silver, copper-rich porphyry, lead-zinc and other metal deposits here with uncommon gusto this summer. A few years ago, a multimillion-dollar, single-season exploration program would have been a rare commodity in the Yukon. But this year, at least a half-dozen juniors have joined one major, Kinross Gold Corp., and the Yukon's only producer, Capstone Mining Corp., in forking over megabucks to...
Having completed a preliminary economic assessment for the Livengood project in early August, International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. has shifted its focus toward bringing the multimillion-ounce gold property into production. "Our operational team is making excellent progress in advancing the project down the development and permitting path, a process which we will continue to accelerate," Tower Hill President and CEO Jeff Pontius told Mining News Aug. 17. The PEA envisions a...
Two seminal events related to the Alaska mining industry occurred in the past month. First, in late June, Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. reported the commencement of production at it Kensington gold mine near Juneau. The mine has now joined the ranks of large-scale producers here in Alaska but only after lots of years and lots of dollars, capped by a trip to the U.S. Supreme Court! Hat's off to Coeur for its commitment to Alaska and for its desire to do this job right. Secondly,...
FORTYMILE - The storm clouds responsible for the torrential rains that recently washed away long sections of the Taylor Highway are not the only source of rumbling in the Fortymile region of eastern Interior Alaska. Full Metal Minerals Ltd. has launched the Rolling Thunder Project here this summer. The staking and exploration initiative is targeting the lode source of more than half a million ounces of placer gold recovered historically from the streams draining the rolling...
Evidence is mounting to support Kaminak Gold Corp.'s suspicion that its Coffee Project located in the White District of Yukon Territory is part of an emerging gold district with sizable gold deposits scattered over the wooded region. Kaminak reported assay results May 26 from the first two holes drilled this spring that "confirms the potential of the Coffee property to host large gold deposits," according to Kaminak President and CEO, Rob Carpenter. The holes, drilled in the Supremo zone, returned indications of significant...
As the long-awaited summer solstice comes and goes, Alaska's mining industry is deep in the midst of its summer exploration, development and production programs. Mineral exploration programs are under way from far Southeast Alaska to the Brooks Range, from eastern Interior Alaska to the Seward Peninsula. The commodities being explored for, developed and mined are equally diverse and include gold, silver, copper, nickel, lead, zinc, platinum and palladium. Two new exploration...
Full Metal Minerals Ltd. currently has two drills turning at its Fortymile property in eastern Alaska near the Yukon Territory border and a drill program slated for August at its recently acquired Grizzly Butte copper-gold property in Alaska's Wrangellia Terrane. In addition to drilling these core assets, the Vancouver B.C.-based junior anticipates partner-funded exploration at several of its other properties spanning the state. "It is our objective to get pretty much all of...
The annual Fraser Institute "Report on Mining Companies, 2009-2010" was recently released to a thundering silence. Several oddball items may help explain the lackluster response, but Alaska fared well in the survey of 333 companies working in 72 jurisdictions worldwide. Alaska ranked 18th out of 72 under the policy potential index, which measures the regulatory attractiveness of a jurisdiction. Not unreasonably, Alaska was beaten by some mining heavyweights like Chile, Quebec,...
When the financial storm of late 2008 wreaked havoc on global markets, Millrock Resources Inc. refrained from splurging its precious cash on expensive drill campaigns. But it didn't it sit idly by waiting for better economic times either. Instead, the Vancouver, B.C.-based junior invested its wealth of geological experience in identifying promising grassroots gold and copper projects. Millrock also formed key alliances with financially stable miners wanting to invest in projec...
Victoria Gold Corp. is heading into its second season of exploring its Dublin Gulch gold property 85 kilometers north-northeast of Mayo in central Yukon Territory in hopes of expanding the Eagle Gold Project and following-up on promising 2009 trenching results in the Olive and Shamrock zones. Nearly one year after acquiring StrataGold Inc., the former owner of Dublin Gulch, Victoria is still happy with the deal. "We acquired StrataGold because we liked their Yukon assets," said Victoria President and CEO Chad Williams. "There...
As Alaska's mining industry moves into the frenetic summer exploration and development season, the rest of the world is being buffeted by wild financial and commodity "mood swings" that are affecting the metals markets. The big markets shake the little markets and the little markets shake Alaska. Perfect example: the World Gold Council recently reported that China's growing middle class is expected to double its demand for gold for jewelry and investment purposes over the...
I recently attended the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto where a buoyant, project-hungry crowd of 22,000 created enough of its own hot air to start the Greenland Icecap melting. In a clear case of anthropogenic global warming, representatives of companies, governments and agencies rolled out their projects in efforts to see and be seen. Alaska was well represented at the conference and should see some new investment interest coming from...
Kinross Gold Corp. is making good on its promise to return to Canada. The gold producer entered into a definitive agreement with Underworld Resources Inc. March 16 to acquire 100 percent of the junior's outstanding common shares not already owned by Kinross for stock and cash valued at C$139.2 million. Kinross already owns 8.5 percent of Underworld's shares (on a fully-diluted basis). Underworld is the owner of the highly prospective White Gold property, which hosts a substantial new gold discovery 95 kilometers south of...
FAIRBANKS - Mining commonly brings to mind an industrial site littered with unavoidable hazards. Employees at Kinross Gold Corp.'s Fort Knox Mine near Fairbanks, Alaska, are proving this perception to be false. On March 6, some 500 employees at the Interior Alaska gold mine reported working 3 million hours without a lost-time accident. Fort Knox General Manager Lauren Roberts credited the mine employees' commitment to the highest safety standards and hard work with the mine's...
The Alaska Miners Association recently released an economic benefits summary of the Alaska mining industry. This summary indicated that in 2009 the Alaska mining industry provided 3,300 direct jobs along with 5,200 indirect jobs in 120 communities in Alaska with a combined payroll of US$320 million. Average industry jobs came in at US$83,000 per year, which is 85 percent higher than the average Alaska wage and second only to wages in the oil and gas industry. The industry...
Left leaderless and weighed down with about C$11 million in debt in mid-2009, it appeared Freegold Ventures Ltd. would become another casualty of the market collapse of 2008. Many believe this surely would have been the case if not for the tenacity of Kristina Walcott, then the company's vice president of corporate development. Stepping into the leadership role at Freegold, Walcott leveraged the value of the company's four gold assets in Alaska and Idaho. Over the course of a...
As we plunge headlong into a new year and a new decade, the broad economic indicators for the mining industry suggest continued strong prices for most commodities in 2010 followed by slightly lower average prices in 2011 and beyond as supplies catch up to demand. Not surprisingly, the source of much of the commodities demand will be Asia with China and India being the two leading economic engines driving commodity prices. Where Alaska's mining industry fits into this global...
The prospector who discovered the highly promising White Gold property near Dawson City, Yukon Territory says he believes the future is beyond bright for the region - it's blazing. Shawn Ryan, a self-taught mineral hunter who has spent the past 12 years tramping the Klondike bush and adjacent areas, is being honored by the Association for Mineral Exploration in British Columbia at its annual Mineral Exploration Roundup Jan. 18-21. AMEBC is singling out Ryan as the 2009 recipient of the coveted H.H. "Spud" Huestis Award for ex...
Although commodities prices have improved for the mining industry over the past year, 2009 has been the kind of year most of us hope not to repeat. The best analogy I can come up with is the one that says "All boats rise and fall with the tide." Under this scenario, company fortunes fell as the general market declined. Unfortunately, not all boats (companies) rise when the tide goes back up. Some get holed on the rocks of economic misfortune and remain on the bottom....
Kinross Gold Corp. has agreed to team up with Millrock Resources Inc. to explore more than 900 square kilometers, or 222,000 acres, of gold properties in the Council Mining District about 60 miles, or 100 kilometers, east of Nome, Alaska. The area of interest covered under the agreement includes Millrock's Council property and the adjacent Albion property, plus surrounding mining claims staked by the junior. Millrock said the three properties that make up the area of interest...
Metals markets continue to climb out of the basement as the world demand for metals resumes its upward trend. Fueled by this growing demand, numerous Alaska precious, base and rare metal projects reported results of their 2009 exploration, development and production programs. The recent Alaska Miners Association Convention in Anchorage felt this surge of interest with the highest attendance in more than a decade. The atmosphere at the conference was charged with optimism, a co...
