The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 526 - 550 of 623
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...
Underworld Resources Inc. struck a much thicker band of gold-rich mineralization in early drilling this season, the company reported May 26. Initial assay results from the Vancouver BC-based junior's second season of drilling into the Golden Saddle zone at the White Gold property in Yukon Territory revealed a new 100-meter-thick band of gold mineralization much deeper than the original near-surface discovery. The new zone, roughly 100 to 200 meters deep, averaged more than 3...
If it were entirely up to Copper Ridge Explorations Inc., the project generator would explore most of its mineral properties in Yukon Territory, northern British Columbia and Alaska this summer. But tough economic times have forced the Vancouver, B.C.-based junior to pick and choose among its 12 key projects, betting precious dollars on a handful of ideas that could pay off with additional exploration by catching the eye of future partners or investors. Fortunately, some of Copper Ridge's projects have already hit that magic...
Copper Ridge Exploration Inc. got its start 10 years ago when Gerald Carlson and Mark Fields organized the company. Prior to forming Copper Ridge in 1999, Carlson was president and CEO of La Teko Resources Ltd., which held gold claims near the Fort Knox Mine in Interior Alaska. Fields also worked for La Teko until Fort Knox owner Kinross Gold Corp. acquired that junior. The geologist also was involved in the acquisition and development of the Diavik diamond mine for Rio Tinto Ltd., and has since moved on to other ventures....
Nunavut Territory's next mine appears to be a winner. On track to begin initial gold production in early 2010, the Meadowbank Project promises to deliver the best of what those who pressed for the creation of the territory had in mind - a mining venture capable of doing the heavy lifting needed to improve the local standard of living by providing steady, good-paying jobs along with significant public revenue. The Meadowbank property is located in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut and lies in the Third Portage Lake area, about...
There are some new stats out from the State of Alaska that I thought you might like to see. For 2008, the Alaska mining industry accounted for 3,500 direct jobs and 5,500 indirect jobs. The industry doled out US$350 million in payroll with the average salary totaling US$82,600 per year, which is 90 percent higher than the statewide average for all sectors. Mining salaries were higher than all other sectors, except for the oil and gas sector. The industry paid US$105 million in...
Alaska saw robust mining activity in 2008 across the full spectrum of the industry, from small placer operations to major producers, and from exploration programs to advanced development projects. Here is a look at companies reporting significant progress during the year. Placer mining Silverado Gold Mines Ltd. has recovered 26,879 ounces of placer gold from channel and bench deposits in the Nolan Valley through 2007. The largest nugget recovered from the property, located about 280 miles north of Fairbanks, weighed 41.35...
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 Metal Minerals Ltd. has 11 exploration projects spanning Alaska. The company's two primary projects are the Lucky Shot high-grade gold property about 90 miles north of Anchorage, and the LWM zinc-lead-silver prospect at its 40 Mile property in eastern Alaska. In a joint venture with BHP Billiton, Full Metal is exploring multiple copper-gold porphyry targets on 88,675 acres of Doyon Ltd. land in eastern Alaska. Full Metal has joint venture agreements with both major and junior mining companies, including Kinross Gold,...
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...
The financial markets haven't been kind to junior mining and exploration stocks lately. During the past six months, five of Alaska's junior explorers have lost more than three-quarters of their average stock values. This decimation of junior stocks is not isolated to companies doing business in Alaska and northern Canada, but sweeps the industry across the board. The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index, which represents about 40 percent of mining companies worldwide, has declined...
With termination dust settling ever lower throughout Alaska, the bulk of the 2008 exploration season has been completed, but lots of results are still pending from projects around the state. As the exploration industry winds down, the Rock Creek gold mine started production bringing owner and operator NovaGold Resources Inc. its first operating mine and bringing Nome its first modern lode gold mine. While this was going on in our backyard, the financial markets were starting...
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 Metal Minerals Corp. May 15 said it signed an exploration agreement with an option to purchase 100 percent interest in the Granite Creek Gold Property in southwestern Alaska. The Vancouver, B.C.-based junior said it can earn 100 percent interest in the Granite Creek property from a third-party Alaska resident by paying $375,000 in cash ($50,000 first year), and incurring $3.25 million in exploration expenditures ($200,000 first year). After exercising the option, Full Metal said it will make annual $150,000 advance royal...
Kinross Gold Corp., owner of the Fort Knox Gold Mine near Fairbanks, is accelerating work on an expansion project now under way at the mine to boost gold production at Fort Knox as much as six months sooner than originally planned. Based on the revised schedule, production from the project is now expected to begin in mid-2009 instead of at the end of 2009, as reported in its fourth-quarter 2007 and year-end reports. The accelerated schedule will result in the advancing about $35 million of capital spending from 2009 to 2008....
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...
Freegold Ventures Ltd. is returning to explore the gold-rich hills of the Goodpaster Mining District this summer and follow up on its quest for mineral riches near Fort Knox. The busy miner outlined its 2008 exploration program March 31 for the Rob gold property in Interior Alaska about 110 miles southeast of Fairbanks as well as plans for its Golden Summit property north of Fairbanks. The 2008 program will include ground geophysics, geologic mapping and additional core drilli...
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...
Thanks to higher production and higher prices, Kinross Gold Corp. Feb. 21 posted 2007 earnings of $334 million, or 60 cents per share, up substantially from $165.8 million, or $0.47 per share, in 2006. The Toronto-based owner of the Fort Knox gold mine also reported fourth-quarter 2007 earnings of $173.1 million, 29 cents per share, up more than 322 percent from $41 million, or 11 cents per share, for the same period in 2006. The fourth-quarter earnings included a gain relating to an asset swap transaction with Goldcorp....
With gold nuggets weighing up to 41 troy ounces, Silverado Gold Mines Ltd's Nolan Placer Gold Mine is the type of place that would give even the well-seasoned miner gold fever! Located about 280 miles, or 452 kilometers, north of Fairbanks, Nolan Creek has placer ore that does not thaw sufficiently to be processed until mid-June. During the ensuing three months, crews work around the clock, sluicing as much ore as possible before subfreezing temperatures return to the Arctic....
Between phase 7 of its exploration program, a new heap leach facility and an extended mine life, Fairbanks Gold Mining Inc. is ramping up activity to boost production more than 6,000 ounces annually at the Fort Knox gold mine in Interior Alaska. The "exciting" growth will mean new hires and major equipment purchases, Fairbanks Gold executive Dan Snodgrass told the Alaska Miners Convention in early November. Snodgrass said Fairbanks Gold, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Canadian mining giant Kinross Gold Corp., plans to hire...
For those of you who could not attend the Alaska Miners Association convention in Anchorage in early November, you missed what I understand was a record attendance and presentations on some of the most exciting mining developments in the last decade. In addition, I noticed a lot more business being conducted around the conference hotel than is normally the case. Geologists and engineers from companies large and small could be seen hunkered down over reports and maps with...
Production and sales at the Fort Knox Gold Mine dipped slightly in the first two quarters of 2007. The mine northeast of Fairbanks produced 176,644 ounces of gold over the first six months of the year for a decline of about 1.5 percent from the same period last year, according to preliminary figures released Aug. 2 by the Toronto-based Kinross Gold Corp., the parent company of Fairbanks Gold Mining Inc., which operates Fort Knox. The mine earned $63.7 million in revenue in the second quarter of 2007, down 8 percent from the...
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...
