The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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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...
The Inupiat people of Northwest Alaska breathed a sigh of relief when Teck Resources Ltd. decided to move ahead with development of the Aqqaluk deposit at the Red Dog Mine. The 51.6 million metric tons of high-grade ore in the deposit that lies next door to the main deposit will extend the life of the world-class zinc-lead-silver mine, and continue to provide economic benefits for 12,000 NANA Regional Corp. shareholders for another 20 years. "We are excited to move forward...
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...
The Red Dog Mine is almost surely going to close in a very few short months. Why? They are not out of zinc ore already. It is because there is a little gypsum in their wastewater. Gypsum! What does that portend? Gypsum is a common enough material. It is used in wall boards in home construction. It is made into plaster of Paris. You remember plaster of Paris. Kids use it to make volcano models. You get a little bag of it at the hardware store, add water, and soak newspaper...
A conviction-filled speech delivered by Pebble Limited Partnership CEO John Shively at the March 18 Resource Development Council of Alaska breakfast tackled the question on the minds of many in the audience: "What in the hell is going on in this country?" Though Alaska has not been hit as hard as the rest of the nation, the longtime Alaskan points to increased unemployment and dropping home sales as indications of the state's weakening economy. He said rural Alaska is being...
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...
Geologically, Alaska is a terrane wreck, with multiple tectonic plates dumping their mineral payloads over the landscape. Geologists are still sifting through the wreckage in many places across the state to determine which mineral deposits were dumped by which terranes and when - a task not always easily accomplished as pileups have resulted, in many cases, from multiple mineralization events happening in the same geographical regions over time. A terrane is a series of...
Coming off of a record year of zinc production, Red Dog partners Teck Resources Ltd. and NANA Regional Corp. are facing the possibility that operations at the zinc-lead mine will be shut down in October. Nearing the end of 20 years of production at the mine's main pit, Teck said it would need access to the neighboring Aqqaluk pit by May in order to continue uninterrupted operations at Red Dog. But state and federal appeals of a permit needed to continue operations could...
Zazu Metals Corp. has signed an agreement with the state-owned Alaska Industrial Development and Export Agency to complete due diligence for transportation infrastructure needed to support a mine at its Lik zinc-lead-silver project located about 22 kilometers, or 14 miles, northeast of Red Dog Mine in Northwest Alaska. Hammering out transportation infrastructure is a key component for a prefeasibility study that Zazu plans to have completed later in 2010. "Lik is a known lead-...
NovaGold Resources Inc. has cut a deal with Rio Tinto subsidiary Kennecott Exploration Co. to purchase 100 percent interest in the precious-metal-rich Ambler copper-zinc property in Northwest Alaska. The outright purchase overrides a 2004 joint venture agreement in which NovaGold would have earned a 51 percent stake in the property by spending US$20 million and delivering a positive prefeasibility study on the project by 2016. The junior agreed to pay US$29 million to...
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...
With reserves in the main pit of the Red Dog zinc-lead-silver mine running low, Teck Resources Ltd. and NANA Regional Native Corp. waited, with cautious optimism, for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to provide final approval for development of the Aqqaluk deposit, a huge zinc-lead deposit that would extend the life of the Red Dog zinc mine by about 20 years. Since the partners in the world's largest zinc mine began mining Red Dog's Main Pit in 1989, they have removed...
Reclamation is a critical element of modern mining and mine planning. In Alaska, companies who wish to extract minerals from the earth must first present a plan on how they propose to return the disturbed land to a reusable state and post financial assurances that they will complete the job. Planning for what the site will look like and be used for begins before any mining is started. The information needed to design a successful reclamation plan is gathered from the...
RED DOG MINE - Teck Resources Ltd. and NANA Regional Native Corp. are waiting, with cautious optimism, for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to provide final approval for development of a huge zinc-lead deposit that would extend the life of the Red Dog zinc mine by about 20 years. The partners in the world's largest zinc mine began their quest for approval to mine the Aqqaluk deposit, which is adjacent to the Red Dog Mine near Kotzebue, more than two years ago. Though...
The opposing sides of Ballot Measure 4, the failed ballot initiative that opponents said targeted development of a mine at the huge Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum deposit in Southwest Alaska, have moved their ongoing battle from the court of public opinion into a court of law. A June 4 report, based on an investigation conducted by staff of the Alaska Public Offices Commission, recommended the anti-Pebble syndicate be levied the maximum civil penalties for multiple violations...
The Red Dog Mine, the largest zinc producer in North America, posted a loss of US$71 million (after depreciation and pricing adjustment) for the fourth quarter, down dramatically from the US$174 million profit (after depreciation and pricing adjustments) that it reported for the final period of 2007. But mine operator Teck Cominco Ltd. appears to be making the best of a bad situation by planning to ramp up production at the Northwest Alaska lead-zinc mine in 2009 even as it...
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...
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...
Teck Cominco Ltd. reported that the second-quarter was highlighted by the strong performance of the Vancouver, B.C.-based major's copper division. Elk Valley Coal was also a large contributor, benefiting from the phase in of the 2008 coal year prices of $275 per ton, up from $93 per ton 2007 coal year prices. The strong copper and coal performance was offset somewhat by weak zinc prices and a stronger Canadian dollar. In Alaska, Teck Cominco reported a significant decrease in...
In a July 3 decision, the Alaska Supreme Court confirmed that the ballot initiative 07WTR3 is not an appropriation and can be placed on the ballot for the August 26 Alaska primary election. Ballot Measure 4 is currently listed in the Division of Elections 2008 primary election media packet. According to that listing, the ballot measure facing Alaska voters will read: Ballot Measure 4 - Bill Providing For Regulation of Water Quality (07WTR3) This bill imposes two water quality...
Rosie Barr, spokeswoman for NANA's "Voices of Reason Campaign," told Mining News that anti-mining initiatives expected to come before Alaska voters on this fall's ballot would shut down existing mines like the huge Red Dog zinc-lead mine in Northwest Alaska and prevent the permitting of future mines, many of which would be developed on Alaska Native corporation lands. In undertaking this campaign, NANA is fighting to retain the land ownership and mineral rights granted to all Alaska Natives under the Alaska Native Claims...
During John Shively's 17 years working for the NANA Regional Corp., he was involved with the acquisition of land selection rights for the zinc property where the Red Dog Mine is currently located. He and other NANA leaders went on to permit and develop - in partnership with Teck Cominco - the world's largest zinc mine. Drawing on Shively's experience, the Alaska Miners Association invited him to speak to attendees at the 2007 Alaska Miners Association annual mining conference...
Partnership's new CEO shares views on challenges that giant copper-gold-moly deposit likely will face on road to development ohn Shively, the new chief executive officer of Pebble Limited Partnership, told Mining News in an April 11 interview that the Pebble Project in Southwest Alaska is a huge opportunity for both the people who live in the area and for all Alaskans. Shively said it is inappropriate for Pebble's opponents to try to stop the project before it reaches the permitting process, and irresponsible of them to be...
