The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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Trilogy Metals Inc. April 8 said Ambler Metals LLC still plans to carry out the US$22.8 million program at the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects in Northwest Alaska, but COVID-19-related health concerns and restrictions could delay or even prevent the planned 2020 work. This year's work program at UKMP was announced following the February formation of Ambler Metals, a 50-50 joint venture partnership between Trilogy Metals and South32 Ltd. The largest part of this program will... Full story
Freegold Ventures Ltd. announced that drills are now turning at Golden Summit, an advanced staged gold exploration project located alongside the Steese Highway about a 30-minute drive north of Fairbanks. Golden Summit hosts 61.5 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 0.69 g/t ton (1.36 million ounces) gold; and 71.5 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 0.69 g/t (1.58 million oz) gold. The oxide portion of this deposit, found largely within the upper...
Trilogy Metals Inc. Feb. 26 announced that Ambler Metals LLC, a joint venture operating company equally owned by Trilogy and South32 Ltd., has approved a US$22.8 million budget for the 2020 program aimed at advancing the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects (UKMP) in Northwestern Alaska. The largest part of this program will focus on advancing studies to prepare the Arctic mine project for permitting. A 2018 prefeasibility study for Arctic detailed plans for an open-pit mine and...
Canada's provinces and territories have fallen from grace in the eyes of the global mining community, according to the latest rendition of Fraser Institute's Annual Survey of Mining Companies. For the first time in a decade, no Canadian jurisdiction ranks in the top 10 for "investment attractiveness" in the annual survey conducted by the Canadian public policy think-tank. This report asks industry professionals from around the globe to score mining jurisdictions based on their... Full story
Freegold Ventures Ltd. Jan. 19 announced that South32 Ltd. has agreed to fund at least US$2 million of exploration at the Shorty Creek porphyry copper project in Interior Alaska this year. Early last year, South32 entered into an option agreement with Freegold to acquire 70% interest in Shorty Creek for US$30 million, less any money the Australia-based major invested in exploring the promising copper-gold-silver-tungsten targets that have been identified across the property. T...
South32 Ltd. and Trilogy Metals Inc. Feb. 11 announced the finalization of a joint venture to advance exploration and development of the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects in the Ambler Mining District of Northwest Alaska. Australia-based South32 has contributed US$145 million to fund this new JV named Ambler Metals LLC and Canada-based Trilogy provided the 426,690-acre Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects (UKMP) to the new JV owned equally by the two companies. The funds contributed by...
North of 60 Mining News is proud to introduce 20 questions for 2020. Over the course of this series, Mining News will interview mining and political leaders from Alaska, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon. Each interview will include 20 questions on mining, markets and doing business across Alaska and Canada's North. For the inaugural 20 questions for 2020, Mining News talks with Contango ORE Inc. CEO Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, a longtime mining executive... Full story
Trilogy Metals Inc. Jan. 16 reported that its geotechnical and hydrological drill program at the Arctic mine project continued to show the consistency and high grades of the copper-zinc-lead-gold-silver mineralization within this volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposit in Northwest Alaska. The 2019 field program at Arctic involved advanced engineering and environmental work in support of Trilogy Metals' feasibility study for the Arctic Project and permitting. In December,...
Freegold Ventures Ltd. Jan. 16 announced results from the late-season 2019 drill program at Shorty Creek, a porphyry gold-copper project about 75 miles northwest of Fairbanks. The five-hole (1,542 meters) program was funded by a wholly owned subsidiary of South32 Ltd., which entered into an option agreement with Freegold Ventures to acquire 70 percent interest in Shorty Creek for US$30 million, less any money the Australia-based major invests in exploring the promising...
Contango ORE Inc. Jan. 6 announced that Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse has taken over as President and CEO of the Texas-based mineral exploration company advancing the Peak Gold project in eastern Alaska. Former President and CEO Brad Juneau has transitioned to executive chairman of Contango ORE, a company he co-founded and lead for the past decade. "I have known Rick for several years and followed his success with admiration," said Juneau. "We are extremely pleased that he has agreed... Full story
In November 1996, a little over 23 years ago, I began writing quarterly mining news summaries for the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG). Shortly after that, I began writing monthly summaries for this publication's ancestor, Mining News Alaska, and have continued both monthly, quarterly and annual mining news summaries ever since. With this summary, I have written my last Alaska update for North of 60 Mining News. When I wrote my first summary, Greens Creek was milling only... Full story
With two Australian companies making major investments and several exploration companies from Down Under chomping at the bit to get into the field, 2020 is shaping up to be the best year for Alaska's mining sector in a decade. When you add up the investments South32 Ltd. plans to make in the Ambler Mining District and other exploration projects; Northern Star Resources Ltd.'s spending at the Pogo gold mine; and the exploration dollars at least five other Aussie companies are... Full story
Development of the rich mineral resource in Alaska's Ambler Mining District took another major leap forward with the Dec. 19 announcement that Australia-based South32 Ltd. is investing US$145 million to become a 50 percent joint venture partner in Trilogy Metals Inc.'s Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects (UKMP). This Northwest Alaska project covers a more than 70-mile (115 kilometers) stretch of Earth's crust that is uncommonly rich in a variety of precious, base and critical... Full story
As the year winds down, mineral industry evaluations for 2019 are being published at a rapid rate. One of the most interesting such global reviews is EY Global Mining and Metals' annual "risk radar" for mining and metals, outlining what mining companies perceive as the top ten risks facing them in the near future. This publication stated that, for the second straight year, "social license to operate" remains the number one risk facing mining companies in 2020. This was... Full story
Trilogy Metals Inc. Nov. 7 reported copper- and zinc-rich volcanogenic massive sulfide intersections in all six holes drilled at the Sunshine prospect on its Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects (UKMP) in Northwest Alaska. UKMP is a roughly 353,000-square-acre land package that covers most of the Ambler Mining District. This massive land package covers two world-class deposits – Arctic and Bornite –and numerous other prospects and targets across a roughly 60-mile-long stretch of the...
An abnormally long fall has allowed the Alaska mining industry to extend seasonal work well into mid-October, creating a lot of new information about project work conducted around the state. Exploration efforts, in particular, benefitted from this additional field time. Based on information available to date, 2019 exploration expenditures are expected to be in the $135-140 million range, well ahead of the $120-125 million exploration spending tracked for 2018. In addition,...
Trilogy Metals Inc. Oct. 28 reported the final set of assay results from the 2019 drill program at Bornite, part of the company's Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects (UKMP) in the Ambler mining district of Northwest Alaska. The open-pit portion of Bornite hosts 40.5 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 1.02 percent (913 million pounds) copper; and 84.1 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 0.95 percent (1.77 billion lb) copper. The underground portion of...
If you have watched the metals markets over the last month, you know why Alaska's mineral industry has surged, stalled, swerved, swooped, slowed, shelved and stuttered, sometimes all at the same time! Gold has gone above US$1,500 per ounce; copper pundits are predicting an increasingly dour future; zinc markets are looking to dive below $1.00 per pound; tin markets have marched strongly upward due to supply disruptions; and silver bulls are calling for annual worldwide... Full story
The initial results from 2019 drilling at the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects in Northwest Alaska has the Trilogy Metals team excited, especially the first hole from the Sunshine exploration target about eight miles (13 kilometers) west of the Arctic Mine project. The US$18.2 million carried out this year at UKMP included six holes (1,357 meters) of exploration drilling at the Sunshine prospect, 10 holes (7,610 meters) of resource upgrade and expansion drilling at the Bornite...
After 15 years of leading the effort to unlock the vast mineral potential of the Ambler Mining District, Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse has turned in his resignation as president, CEO and director of Trilogy Metals Inc. Van Nieuwenhuyse, who told Mining News that he needed some time to handle personal matters, will remain as a consultant to the company and will assist with transitional matters and with advancing the company’s interests in Alaska. Jim Gowans – former president and CEO...
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... Full story
When it comes to mineral exploration incentives, currency exchange and infrastructure, Alaska is at a disadvantage in the realm of attracting exploration investments from Canada and Australia, countries that are home to the majority of mining companies. The Far North State's vast and underexplored mineral potential, however, trumps these handicaps in the minds of a growing number of miners and mineral explorers. Mining executives from around the globe perennially rank Alaska... Full story
South32, an Australia-based major base metal and coal producer spun out of BHP Billiton in 2015, is expanding its presence in Alaska. This company went into business with an impressive portfolio of base and precious metals mining assets in Australia, South Africa and Brazil. While all of South32's initial portfolio was south of the Equator, the Perth-based major is interested in high-quality exploration and mining projects around the globe. "Our exploration activities are...
Trilogy Metals Inc. is closing in on the completion of a feasibility study for Arctic, the first of a series of mines the company envisions being developed across the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects in Northwest Alaska's Ambler Mining District. Arctic, the most advanced of the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects, hosts 43.04 million metric tons of probable reserves averaging 2.32 percent copper, 3.24 percent zinc, 0.57 percent lead, 0.49 grams per metric ton gold and 36 g/t silver. A... Full story
Freegold Ventures Ltd. is focused on exploring for copper and gold on two properties in Interior Alaska – Golden Summit, an advanced stage gold project just north of Kinross Gold Corp.'s Fort Knox Mine, and Shorty Creek, an enticing porphyry copper-gold project about 75 miles northwest of Fairbanks. In March, South32 Ltd. entered into an option agreement with Freegold Ventures to acquire 70 percent interest in Shorty Creek for US$30 million, less any money the A...