The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 35
In the annals of outlaw lore, a figure less infamous but no less intriguing than other notorious ne'er-do-wells left his mark on the world. Amidst the Klondike Gold Rush, a time speckled with countless renegades and hustlers, a man by the name of Soapy Smith remains a local enigma around his various stomping grounds, his notoriety now persisting as a fanciful tale of the Wild West. There were many dangers faced by people flooding the American West in the late 19th century....
TNR Gold Corp. Aug. 24 reported that it is carrying out an exploration program this year at the Shotgun gold project in Southwest Alaska. Located about 110 miles south of the 39-million-ounce Donlin Gold mine project and about the same distance northeast of the Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum project, this property lies at the intersection of two trends known to host big deposits. TNR optioned Shotgun from Novagold Resources Inc. in 2002 and gained full ownership of the...
Valhalla Metals Inc., a privately held junior mining company focused on the exploration of the Sun and Smucker properties in Alaska's Ambler Mining District, may soon have easier access to funding through a merger with SolidusGold Inc., a company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. Under a tentative agreement announced on Nov. 29, Solidus would acquire Valhalla through an exchange of shares that would result in current Valhalla shareholders owning 80% of the resulting company...
Those of you that attended the recent Cordilleran Roundup Convention in Vancouver can attest to the exuberant, upbeat atmosphere that pervaded the conference and was very much in evidence at the standing-room only festivities at our annual self-hosted Alaska Night meet and greet. But digging down under this veneer of optimism, many of the junior explorers and most of the producers admitted to their expectations of challenging times in 2019. Putting words to this apparent...
TNR Gold Corp. Feb. 25 said it is continuing to seek a major gold mining company to become a joint venture partner on its Shotgun Gold project in Alaska. Located about 110 miles south of the 39-million-ounce Donlin Gold mine project and about the same distance northeast of the Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum project, this property lies at the intersection of two trends known to host big deposits. TNR optioned Shotgun from Novagold Resources Inc. in 2002 and gained full...
Seven days of near-continuous rain did nothing to dampen the mood at the recently concluded Cordilleran Roundup Convention in Vancouver. The event was buoyed by a realistic optimism we have not seen in over five years. This change from half-empty to half-full glasses is due to a number of things including strong commodities prices, increasing global demand for metals and current or looming supply shortfalls in many of the metals produced by this industry. The event was...
TNR Gold Corp. Feb. 2 said it is seeking a major gold mining company to become a joint venture partner on its Shotgun gold project in Alaska. Located about 110 miles of Donlin Gold and about the same distance northeast of Pebble, this property lies at the intersection of two trends known to host big deposits. TNR optioned Shotgun from Novagold Resources Inc. in 2002 and gained full ownership of the property in 2010. The company subsequently granted 10 percent ownership of the...
The unseasonably, interminably, unspeakably cold spring that is delaying mineral exploration and development work in Alaska this year is being mimicked by a financial chill that is affecting Alaska exploration efforts just like it is the rest of the world. Not to put too fine a point on it, but from a mineral exploration standpoint, Alaska is shaping up to be as dead as a doornail this summer (ever wonder where that saying came from ... but I digress.). How dead? Try this statistic on for size: Of the 49 exploration projects...
TNR Gold Corp. Jan. 5 reported significant restructuring of its indebtedness to a private backer who advanced a C$3.5 million loan to the company in 2012. Instead of repayment by the end of 2015, TNR Gold and the lender have agreed to extend the due date of the loan to Dec. 31, 2018. The roughly C$4.3 million currently owed will bear an annual interest rate of 10 percent, with interest payable at maturity. In consideration of the restructuring, the lender also will receive a...
The ongoing scarcity of venture capital available to junior companies coupled with a retreat in metals prices has landed a one-two blow that sent mineral exploration spending in Alaska plunging for the second straight year. A handful of big-budget projects scattered across Alaska, though, is softening the hit to exploration spending across the Far North State during 2013. Mineral exploration expenditures in Alaska, which were a meager US$23.8 million in 2001, topped US$365...
Ending a streak of robust growth, mineral exploration spending in Alaska during 2012 took a downward turn from the record US$300 million spent a year earlier. "More advanced-stage projects that added ounces or pounds to their resource base had a better go of it than early-stage exploration projects which have taken a hard right cross to the jaw!" Curt Freeman, a well-known Alaska geologist and president of Fairbanks-based Avalon Development, observed in September. This blow de...
TNR: TSX-V Executive Chairman and President: Gary Schellenberg Vice President, Exploration: John Harrop Following a five-year hiatus, TNR Gold Corp. returned to Alaska in 2012 to confirm a 1 million-ounce gold resource at its Shotgun project in the Kuskokwim Gold Belt of western Alaska. Located about 110 miles (175 kilometers) south of Donlin Gold and about the same distance northeast of Pebble, this property lies at the intersection of two trends known to host big deposits. When TNR Gold optioned Shotgun from NovaGold...
Over the past six months, the single-most common question I have gotten asked about Alaska's mineral industry is, "Have there been any significant new discoveries?" While there may be an as-yet unannounced new discovery in Alaska, it seems the above question is being asked more frequently in other parts of the world as well and the most common answer is a simple "no." While information on new discoveries in other sectors of the mining industry is out there, it's not as...
As the first cooler days and termination dust start appearing across Alaska, seasonal exploration activities are winding down and operating mines are preparing for another winter. To be sure, less money was spent on fewer projects by the mineral industry exploring and developing Alaska's mineral resources in 2012 versus 2011. More advanced-stage projects that added ounces or pounds to their resource base had a better go of it than early-stage exploration projects which have...
In a long overdue step to bring Alaska into the 21st Century, state and federal agencies met in late June to discuss collaborative funding strategies for Alaska's Statewide Digital Mapping Initiative, an enterprise designed to create Alaska's first high-quality digital topographic map. The roundtable was convened by Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, U.S. Department of Interior. Alaska remains the only state in the United States...
If you are looking for proof that the mining industry is experiencing unparalleled changes, look no further than "Mine 2012: The growing disconnect," the 9th edition of PricewaterhouseCoopers' annual report on the global mining industry. This recently released report indicates that in 2011 the top 40 global mining companies posted record profits of $133 billion and generated record operating cash flows of $174 billion. However, over the course of the year, market...
Following a five-year hiatus, TNR Gold Corp. has returned to confirm a 1 million-ounce gold resource at its Shotgun project in the Kuskokwim Gold Belt of Southwest Alaska. Located about 110 miles (175 kilometers) south of Donlin Gold and about the same distance northeast of Pebble, the property lies at the intersection of two trends known to host big deposits. "So, it's in a very, very prolific gold area. We think it has a potential not just for 1 or 2 million ounces we...
As termination dust falls across most of Alaska, the curtain has come down for the bulk of the exploration projects around the state; however, mine development programs as well as mine-site exploration continue apace as does some exploration work in tropical Southeast Alaska. With few exceptions, preliminary conclusions drawn from 2010 work indicate that 2011 is going to be a busy year. And though a lot of exploration and development is still going on for gold, copper...
Lawmakers took testimony March 19 on the idea of whether an independent review of the state's large-mine permitting and environmental standards is warranted in light of an anticipated mine permit application from the Pebble Limited Partnership. A joint panel of the Alaska House Special Committee on Fisheries and Senate Resources Committee held the hearing in response to a letter sent by the Alaska Board of Fisheries, which requests lawmakers "conduct a comprehensive...
NovaGold Resources Inc. is beginning 2009 with an infusion of cash. In two separate deals, the Vancouver B.C.-based miner sold enough of its equity to raise $75 million, funds it will use to pay debt and to advance three projects. During a Jan. 12 interview, NovaGold President and CEO Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse told Mining News that moving its huge gold project at Donlin Creek in southwestern Alaska into permitting will be the company's focus in 2009. NovaGold is a 50-50 partner wi...
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...
BHP Billiton has completed an ownership transfer of the Iliamna property in Southwest Alaska to TNR Gold Corp. and Geocom Resources Inc. in early September. Two weeks later, TNR incorporated a new subsidiary in Alaska, Bristol Explorations Co., Inc., which has taken over TNR's properties in Alaska, including the Iliamna and Shotgun projects. Bristol will focus on developing and exploring TNR's Alaska ventures, TNR said in a Sept. 17 statement. The new entity, working with Geocom, has completed a $75,000 geochemical sampling...
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...
Spokane, Wash.-based Gold Crest Mines Inc. has signed agreements with a subsidiary of gold mining giant Newmont Mining Corp. in which the companies propose to enter into two separate joint ventures to explore Gold Crest's AKO and Luna gold properties in the Kuskokwim region of southwest Alaska about 90 miles east of Bethel. Denver-based Newmont will be the operator of the proposed venture and can earn 51 percent in each of the properties by spending a minimum of $3 million by...
Gold Crest Mines Inc., a Spokane, Wash.-based junior gold exploration company, reported promising results Oct. 8 from its 2007 exploration drilling campaign at the Kisa Project in the Kuskokwim Mineral Belt of southwest Alaska. Organized a little over a year ago by a group of mining industry veterans, Gold Crest has a wholly owned Alaska subsidiary, Kisa Gold Mining Inc. It is KGMI that began exploring about 93,500 acres in three different and distinct areas of Alaska in late 2006. KGMI has established 14 claim groups in two...
