The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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Quaterra Resources Inc. Jan. 9 reported that a geophysical survey carried out on its Groundhog property in Southwest Alaska has identified 19 porphyry copper-gold targets. Groundhog is a 54,880-acre property that covers a northern extension of a structural zone that hosts several porphyry targets and deposits, including the world-class Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum deposits about three miles to the south. Alaska Earth Sciences, an Anchorage-based geological consulting firm,...
As the rest of the country suffers through the Dog Days of summer, Alaska is approaching the end of a topsy-turvy summer season that saw unseasonably hot, dry weather in some parts of the state during some parts of the summer, while other parts of the state have seen record rainfall and unseasonably early snowfall. Gold prices have skyrocketed over the $1,500 per ounce mark and silver prices have moved strongly up, now trading at a one-year high. However, copper and zinc are a...
Quaterra Resources Inc. Aug. 26 announced the start of a 1,500-line-kilometer ZTEM (z-axis tipper electromagnetic) geophysical survey at Groundhog, a 40,000-acre property that covers a northern extension of a structural zone that hosts several porphyry targets and deposits, including the world-class Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum deposits about three miles to the south. Alaska Earth Sciences, an Anchorage-based geological consulting firm, discovered the Groundhog prospect and K...
As we transition from 2017 into 2018, the weight of evidence pointing to a long-awaited mining industry up-tick is being trumpeted from every financial institution, brokerage house and mining pundit across the globe. For example, RBC Capital Markets' newly released "2018 New Year Preview" has this to say: "We are in the mid-stages of a stock market recovery and the early stages of an economic cycle recovery. Gold is already in a phase where it out-performs other financial...
Over the past month, three of Alaska's large mines reported strong quarterly results; two projects in advanced permitting and pre-feasibility reported recent progress; and three exploration properties changed hands. The latter is a trend putting 2015 on course to be one of the most active years for new acquisitions in the past decade. Placer gold production has all but ceased for the year; however, output from Alaska's placer mines is not likely to be known with any certainty...
As a follow-up to last month's realization that once again "the game is afoot" in the mining industry, major gold producer Goldcorp recently presented some arresting statistics at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Metals, Mining and Steel Conference. The presentation showed gold discovery and production information for the global mining industry that indicated that peak gold discovery occurred in 1995, this despite three periods between 1995 and 2015 when exploration...
Three world-class deposits in Alaska – Pebble, Donlin Gold and Livengood – are far enough advanced to be considered beyond the exploration stage but not quite ready to break ground on development. Together, these three colossal deposits host more than US$160 billion worth of gold – with Pebble adding nearly another US$200 billion worth of copper, molybdenum and silver at today's metals prices. The jobs and revenue generated from developing operations to mine these three global...
There are good indications that large porphyry copper deposits may be found beyond the borders of the Pebble property held by Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. Quaterra Resources Inc. has cut a deal on Groundhog, one of the most promising of these prospects in this area of Southwest Alaska known for its world-class copper potential. “The Groundhog project offers the potential to discover a major deposit in an established porphyry belt,” said Quaterra Chairman and CEO Tom Pat...
If there is anyone still on the fence wondering if the minerals industry has started a recovery from the doldrums of the past four years, this month’s mineral industry activity in Alaska should settle the question with authority. During the past month, we have seen two merger/acquisitions occur, one by Solitario Exploration & Royalty Corp., which acquired Zazu Metals Corp. and its interest in the Lik lead-zinc-silver deposit. Then we also had Coventry Resources acquire V...
At a recent mining industry panel discussion at the Western States Land Commissioners Association meeting in Anchorage, I was asked if the recent upturn in activity in the Alaska mining industry was a function of commodities prices or a growing worldwide recognition of Alaska's enormous mineral potential. I answered that I thought neither factor was driving the Alaska mineral industry revival: commodities prices have been steady or rising slowly over the last year and...
Group Ten Metals Inc. Sept. 24 reported the acquisition of the Duke Island copper-nickel-platinum group element project in Southeast Alaska from Quaterra Alaska Inc., a subsidiary of Quaterra Resources Inc. The property consists of 31 unpatented claims that control the core area of copper-nickel-platinum group element sulfide mineralization discovered by Quaterra in 2001. Four large zones of mineralization have been identified on the property. Only one of these zones has been...
In a year that has started off with more than its share of mining industry gloom and doom, this year's Fraser Institute "Survey of Mining Companies, 2012/2013" provided a bit of sunshine for Alaska. The annual survey of exploration and mining companies gauges the pros and cons of working in various political jurisdictions around the world. This year's results came from 742 mineral industry companies working in 96 jurisdictions worldwide and represented cumulative 2012 explorat...
CPG: TSX-V Chairman: Paul Bowes President: Ian Klassen Vice President, Exploration: Wesley Raven Drilling completed by Grande Portage Resources Ltd. over the past three years has outlined a high-grade gold deposit at Herbert Glacier that is shaping up to be on par to its neighbors in the Juneau Gold Belt of Southeast Alaska. Located about 35 kilometers northwest of the historical Treadwell Mine and about the same distance southeast of Coeur d'Alene Mines' Kensington operation, Herbert Glacier lies along a trend legendary for...
Grande Portage Resources Ltd. is in the midst of a 15,000-meter drill program targeting a high-grade gold deposit at Herbert Glacier, a project that is shaping up to be on par with its renowned neighbors in the Juneau Gold Belt. Located about 20 miles (35 kilometers) northwest of the legendary Treadwell Mine and about the same distance southeast of Coeur d'Alene Mines' Kensington operation, Herbert Glacier is situated along a 160-kilometer (100 miles) stretch of Southeast...
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...
I was tempted to make a few 2012 predictions now that 2011 is nearly gone, but I decided not to when I came across the following lines and was struck by how closely they mimic our current mining climate: "On a more local level, several old Alaska properties have been rejuvenated by new players to the Alaska mineral scene. Reserve announcements have touched off renewed land acquisitions and property negotiations. Contracts for technical personnel, drill rigs, helicopters and...
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...
As termination dust settles over Alaska, the diversity of mineral exploration, development and production news this month covers the entire spectrum of mining industry activities. The last of the seasonal early-stage exploration projects are reporting in, a major producing company has entered the state for the first time, Alaska finished its first off-shore mineral lease process in more than a decade, several projects reported on resource definition and feasibility studies, a gold deposit was sold, a ballot initiative aimed...
A recent article in the Newsletter of the Society of Economic Geologists discussed ways of addressing an arresting trend in the mining industry that affects Alaska's mining future. Authors N. Stephen Enders of the Colorado School of Mines and Cliff Saunders of Too Serious Unlimited, showed that the discovery rate for gold has been dropping steadily since 1999, while the gold mined by operating mines worldwide has remained essentially unchanged at about 80 million ounces per year. The low for ounces discovered coincided with...
Despite the abundance of good news from the Alaska mining industry this month, there is an unusual black cloud hanging over the industry that threatens to rain on our parade of projects. Domestic and international markets got a severe case of the jitters during the recent United States debt crisis. The resulting economic uncertainty contributed to significant metal price volatility. For example, the London gold price jumped 20 percent, from about US$1,480 to US$1,770 during the month prior to the debt deferral and has since d...
Although the mining news for the last month was rather on the thin side in terms of volume, a number of significant milestones were reached by the Alaska mineral industry. Over the past 30 days or so, we have had new mineral resources published on three gold deposits and one polymetallic deposit. We've had the first preliminary economic analysis released on a deposit from the Ambler Mining District and the schedule for a second preliminary economic analysis announced for...
KRX: TSX-V President and CEO: J. Greg Dawson, M.Sc., PGeo. Non-Executive Chairman: William M. Sheriff Chief Financial Officer: Justin Blanchet, CA Operating under the philosophy that it will maximize the chance for success in a high-risk business by concentrating on the right commodities in mining-friendly jurisdictions with high mineral potential, Copper Ridge Explorations Ltd. owns or has the option to acquire an interest in nine mineral properties in Alaska, Yukon and British Columbia. The junior also holds a royalty inter...
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...
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...
As the active exploration season winds down in Alaska, both good news and bad is afoot and both sets of news turn out to be the same data. Double speak you say? Read on and judge for yourself. Halifax-based Metals Economics Group announced some preliminary numbers relating to worldwide mineral industry exploration for 2009. The group estimates that worldwide exploration spending will drop to US$8.4 billion in 2009, a 40 percent decrease from the US$14 billion spent in 2008....
