The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 301 - 325 of 451
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,... Full story
Larry Davey, the general manager of the Pogo Gold Mine since 2007, passed the torch to his successor May 12. The transfer of leadership marks the completion of the transition of Alaska's highest producing gold mine to its new owner, Sumitomo Metal Mining Pogo LLC, a partnership between Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. (85 percent) and Sumitomo Corp. (15 percent.) "The transition has proceeded smoothly with great support from Teck. The first portion of the transition was to move... Full story
In its quest to become a self-funded gold mining company, Golden Predator Royalty & Development Corp. is making major changes this year and mounting an unprecedented exploration offensive in Yukon Territory during the 2010 summer field season. The Vancouver, B.C.-based junior unveiled a name change May 21 and the appointment of a new vice president of exploration for its Canadian assets. Golden Predator said it would become "Golden Predator Corp.," effective May 25. The company said the name change was made to reflect its man...
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...
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... Full story
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...
I am a great supporter of Alaska's mining industry. How could an Alaskan not be? In 2009, Alaska's mining industry paid a total of US$12.3 million to local governments, US$35 million to the state government in royalties, rents, fees, and taxes, US$48.9 million in other state government-related revenues and US$320 million in direct and indirect payroll to a total of 5,200 industry jobs. Those are also proving to be some of Alaska's highest paid jobs. In my six sessions with the Alaska State Legislature, I have found myself on...
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...
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...
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. and Sumitomo Corporation closed a deal in July to purchase Teck Resources Ltd.'s 40 percent interest in the Pogo Gold Mine in Interior Alaska. The transaction required the Japanese companies to pay Teck US$245 million, plus an undisclosed amount of working capital. As a result, Sumitomo Mining and Sumitomo Corp. now own 100 percent of Pogo, with the former increasing its share to 85 percent from 51 percent, and the latter to 15 percent from 9...
Alix Resources Corp. geologists spent the summer investigating the junior's two new gold properties in Alaska and the Yukon Territory. Joining the 2009 gold rush to the White District south of Dawson City, Alix purchased lode quartz mineral claims six kilometers, or nearly 4 miles, east and slightly north of the White Gold Project where Underworld Resources Ltd. made a significant gold discovery in the Golden Saddle zone in 2008. Alix said its 500-plus-hectare, or about 1,205-... Full story
They say when it rains, it pours, and that is just what is happening with news from field programs all over Alaska. Results from summer 2009 programs are pouring in from the Brooks Range to Prince of Wales Island, from Eastern Interior Alaska to Southwestern Alaska. Commodities of interest range from the expected gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc to the nearly unpronounceable, including praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium, thulium, lutetium and yttrium. Go ahead, drop a...
The recession is taking its toll among mining companies with properties in Alaska and northwestern Canada as mergers and acquisitions surged in this sector during the second quarter, in step with a global industry trend. Companies across the exploration and development spectrum from mining giants to the smallest juniors closed on deals with firms that are struggling to survive the recent cash crunch as independent entities. The Wall Street Journal reported in early August that according to data provider Dealogic, value of... Full story
The Province of British Columbia recognized two of Teck Resources Ltd.'s coal operations for excellence in mine safety at the 54th Annual Provincial Mine Rescue, First Aid and Safety Awards ceremony held June 6 at Britannia Beach. Teck Coal's Greenhills Operations won the John Ash Award for achieving the lowest injury frequency rate for mines operating more than 1 million worker-hours in 2008 and the Line Creek Operation received the Edward Prior Award for mines operating between 200,000 and 1 million worker hours, with the...
Teck Resources Ltd. and affiliates of Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. and Sumitomo Corp. said they completed the sale of Teck's 40 percent interest in the Pogo Gold Mine in Interior Alaska July 7 after several months of negotiations. The transaction, first announced April 30, required the Japanese conglomerate to pay Teck US$245 million, plus an undisclosed amount of working capital. As a result, Sumitomo Metal and Sumitomo now own 100 percent of Pogo, with the former increasing its share to 85 percent from 51 percent, and...
I have been reading the tea leaves and think there is an extremely important sequence of events unfolding that represents a golden opportunity for Alaska. Please bear with me as I try to wade through the logic of this and you can tell me what you think. About two months ago, Brent Cook, a well-known mining analyst and owner of Exploration Insights, published a rather illuminating article entitled "Where Have All the Gold Mines Gone?" The upshot of his article was that most...
A gold mining group looking north from Nevada where it has been focused in recent years is seeing what many other explorers have noticed before them - the Tintina Gold Belt that stretches across Interior Alaska and Yukon Territory offers the handsome prospect of a major gold discovery. But the difference for Golden Predator Royalty & Development Corp. is that it is prepared to back up its conclusions with the hard work and financial capital necessary to not only find the gold but bring it into production in short order.... Full story
Spring has arrived in Alaska and the mining industry is heading to the hills to do its work. Compared to last year, the state is a quiet place in the sun due to drastically reduced exploration and development budgets. Alaska's mines continue to benefit from the sharply reduced costs of power, diesel fuel, labor and other goods and services, but worldwide economic uncertainties have dried up the availability of venture capital for smaller exploration companies and have made... Full story
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....
In its largely misunderstood and frequently misrepresented Toxic Release Inventory report, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ranked the Red Dog zinc mine in Northwest Alaska as the largest entity in the nation in releases of TRI reportable materials. The EPA report, released in March 2009, reported that the world's largest zinc mine released 533.4 million pounds of primarily zinc and lead compounds into the environment in 2007 (the latest figures available), down 81.9...
Last month we talked about economic impacts of the Alaska mining industry. This month, the world mineral exploration industry is in our crosshairs. Halifax-based Metals Economics Group reported that 2008 worldwide nonferrous mineral exploration reached $13.2 billion, more than 2.5 times the previous peak exploration spending level reached in 1997. Add uranium exploration expenditures, and the total expands to $14.4 billion. Exploration spending would have been even higher...
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...
Teck Pogo recently briefed state and federal government agencies on its 2008 activities and provided an update of the company's plans for 2009 at the Pogo underground gold mine which it operates in Interior Alaska. Teck Pogo operates the mine on behalf of the Pogo Joint Venture, a partnership between Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. (51 percent), Sumitomo Corp. (9 percent) and Teck Cominco Limited (40 percent). The company said the focus of milling in 2008 was consistency...
