The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 226 - 250 of 615
Novagold Resources Inc. April 3 reported that it ended the first quarter on pace to achieve its 2017 goals at the Donlin Gold project in Southwest Alaska and the Galore Creek copper-gold-silver project in northwestern British Columbia. "With more than US$98 million in our treasury as of Feb. 28, 2017, we are able to concentrate on activities related to permitting Donlin Gold, maintaining strong ties with all of our stakeholders and delivering on our stated objectives," said...
Mining's contribution to Alaska's economy starts with the hefty paychecks being issued to the some 4,350 miners that work in the state, according to recent study completed by the Alaska Miners Association and McDowell Group. The report, "The economic benefits of Alaska's mining industry," found that the average miner working in Alaska during 2016 received a whopping US$108,000 for the year, about double the average income across all sectors in the state. That is nearly US$470...
Thanks to an extended shipping season, roughly 2.2 billion pounds of zinc is being delivered from the Red Dog Mine in Northwest Alaska to world markets starving for the galvanizing metal. “The concentrate shipping season was extended by two weeks and is expected to be completed in the first week of November, having shipped the maximum possible of around a million (metric) tons of zinc concentrate and 210,000 (metric) tons of lead concentrate,” said Teck Resources Ltd. Pre...
Novagold Resources Inc. is focused on the permitting and development of its 50 percent-owned Donlin Gold project in Southwest Alaska. This year, Novagold and Barrick Gold Corp., which owns the other half of Donlin, budgeted US$8 million for a drill program aimed at collecting geologic and geotechnical data to support ongoing optimization efforts for the 40-million-ounce gold project. This is the first significant field program since Donlin Gold LLC - equally owned by...
With world-class mineral deposits, paved roads and commercial power, northern British Columbia is considered by many as a great place to achieve a mining explorer's ultimate goal – find a mine. "The geology has been great up there for 100 million years, but it has only been the last five that we have had run-of-river (hydro-electric) projects, dams – literally billions of dollars of new infrastructure," said Colorado Resources Ltd. President and CEO Adam Travis. The start of...
Zinc, copper and gold are the top metals sought by Teck Resources Ltd. In Alaska, this work is dedicated to extending the life of the Red Dog Mine by upgrading high-grade zinc resources near the current mine area and seeking out new deposits across 224,000 acres of highly prospective lands surrounding the Northwest Alaska operation. Going into 2017, Red Dog had 50.9 million metric tons of probable reserves, averaging 15 percent zinc, 4.2 percent lead and 76 grams per metric ton silver. Anarraaq-Aktigiruq, situated roughly...
Alaska's minerals exploration sector is on an upswing, thanks to Australian mining explorers looking north and mining majors upping their activities in the state. South32 Ltd., a Perth, Australia-based miner spun out of BHP Billiton Plc, is the largest mining company from Down Under to express an interest in Alaska's mineral potential this year. South32, which has eight operating mines in the Southern Hemisphere, secured an option to acquire a 50 percent interest in Trilogy...
Novagold Resources Inc. Nov. 25 said it is anticipating the environmental impact statement for the Donlin Gold project to be finalized around this time next year. The Donlin Gold Mine being considered in the EIS includes a 53,500-metric-ton-per-day mill that is expected to produce an average of 1.1 million ounces of gold annually for 27 years. During its first five years of operation, this annual average will be closer to 1.5 million oz. Donlin Gold LLC - equally owned by subsidiaries of Novagold Resources Inc. and Barrick...
Teck Resources Ltd. Feb. 15 reported a strong finish to the year at Red Dog, resulting in the Northwest Alaska mine producing 583,000 metric tons (1.29 billion pounds) of zinc and 122,300 metric tons (269.6 million lbs) of lead in 2016. Production of both metals exceeded the company's guidance for the year. Teck is forecasting Red Dog to produce 545,000 to 565,000 metric tons of zinc and 110,000 to 115,000 metric tons of lead. The mine was also bolstered by significantly higher zinc prices. During the fourth quarter, zinc...
CopperBank Resources Corp. March 7 said it has hired DOWL, an Alaska-based engineering firm, to provide initial infrastructure planning for Pyramid, an advanced exploration project on the Alaska Peninsula that hosts 172.8 million metric tons of inferred resources, averaging 0.35 percent (1.34 billion pounds) copper, 0.02 percent (74.4 million lbs) molybdenum and 0.09 grams per metric tons (488,000 ounces) gold. “Three very important components of any copper project of merit are geology, location and access to i...
Darnley Bay Resources Ltd. March 9 said it is ready to begin a 3,500-meter initial phase of 2017 drilling at its Pine Point lead-zinc project near Hay River, Northwest Territories. Home to the historical Pine Point Mine, this property hosts 54 undeveloped zinc-lead deposits over a strike length of roughly 68 kilometers (42 miles), 15 of which have zinc-lead resources that meet NI 43-101 standards and are included in a technical report completed earlier this month. Several of the remaining 32 deposits have historical...
The Lik zinc-lead-silver project in Northwest Alaska is under new ownership. Solitario Zinc Corp., the company that will now push Lik towards development, is the result of Solitario Exploration & Royalty Corp., a Colorado-based company, buying out Zazu Metals Corp., the company that has been advancing Lik over the past decade. Located some 14 miles from Red Dog, a mine that singlehandedly accounts for nearly 5 percent of the world's zinc production, Lik is situated in a...
After roughly two years of taxing negotiations, Teck Alaska and Northwest Arctic Borough have found middle ground on a tax structure that offers the municipality added funds to provide services to a sprawling remote borough without risking the viability of Red Dog during the lows of cyclical metals markets. Teck is the operator of Red Dog and Northwest Arctic Borough is a regional municipality that blankets 40,750 square miles of Northwest Alaska, a minerals rich expanse...
Darnley Bay Resources Ltd. April 18 published results of a preliminary economic assessment for Pine Point that indicates developing a mine at this zinc project about 65 kilometers (40 miles) east of Hay River Northwest Territories would be relatively inexpensive and the payback on the initial capital would be realized in less than two years. The PEA examined several development scenarios and settled on a mining plan where 10 open-pit deposits are mined in sequence. The deposits included in the mine plan host 25.8 million...
Teck Resources Ltd. April 25 reported the Red Dog Mine in Northwest Alaska produced 102,500 metric tons of zinc during the first quarter, a six percent drop compared to the same period last year. The company attributed this drop to challenges of processing the higher grade but more complex ore from Qanaiyaq, the new pit at Red Dog. During the first quarter, ore from Qanaiyaq pit was introduced to supplement declining grade ore from the Aqqaluk pit, however, mill performance was adversely affected as these ores are...
The Northwest Arctic Borough and Teck Alaska, operator of the Red Dog Mine, May 3 announced that they have finalized a new 10-year payment in lieu of taxes agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Red Dog would flow roughly US$20 million to US$26 million into the borough each year under the new agreement. Roughly US$14 million to US$18 million of these funds would be paid directly to the Northwest Arctic Borough each year, a payment that would be calculated on a percentage of Red Dog's fixed asset value. The agreement...
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...
Teck Resources Ltd. April 25 reported the Red Dog Mine in Northwest Alaska produced 127,800 metric tons of zinc during the first quarter, a sixteen percent drop compared to the same period last year. The company attributed this drop to challenges of processing the higher grade but more complex ore from Qanaiyaq, the new pit at Red Dog. During the first quarter, ore from Qanaiyaq pit was introduced to supplement declining grade ore from the Aqqaluk pit. However, mill performance was adversely affected by these metallurgically...
As the Alaska mining industry prepares for and kicks off exploration, development and production activities for 2017, the question on everyone’s lips at the recent Cordilleran Roundup mining convention in Vancouver, B. C., was the same: “Have we seen the bottom of this down cycle?” While signs of life were seen for short periods during the 2008 to 2015 period, the reality was an overall downward spiral of commodities prices and global demand. However, in a recent editi...
Healthy price gains for zinc and copper this year, and gold rocketing through the US$1,300-per-ounce threshold on Aug. 28, is good news for Alaska's mining sector. Together, zinc and gold account for more than 80 percent of the value of metals mined in Alaska - silver and lead account for most of the balance. Copper, on the other hand, is set up to play an important role for the future of mining in the state. Gold rockets above $1,300 Entering 2017 at US$1,151/oz, gold made...
After getting off to a relatively slow start, the Red Dog zinc mine in Northwest Alaska is finishing 2017 strong. Teck Resources Ltd., the operator at Red Dog, said it now expects the mine to produce up to 550,000 metric tons of zinc this year, which is about 12 percent more than the company was anticipating at mid-year. Adding to the good news for near-term production at Red Dog, Teck reported promising results from a major exploration program at Aktigiruq, a significant...
The Alaska mining industry continued its increased pace of activities in August, even as the first hint of autumn starts to be felt across the state. Metals prices were relatively stable with increasing demand for zinc and gold, the two metals that generate the most revenue from Alaska's operating mines. Wood Mackenzie is forecasting a 3 percent increase in global refined zinc demand in 2017 to 14.7 million metric tons. With refined zinc production limited to a 2 percent...
Copper Fox Metals Inc. Feb. 2 announced a C$900,000 program for Schaft Creek copper-gold-molybdenum project in northwestern British Columbia. This program will include a remodeling of the resource, engineering studies, environmental data collection, and permitting related to future exploration. Schaft Creek is being advanced under a joint venture between Teck Resources Ltd. (75 percent) and Copper Fox (25 percent). A 2013 feasibility study outlined a 130,00...
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. Feb. 1 said it has paid the U$14.7 million payment due on certain claims associated with its Livengood gold project in Interior Alaska. Following the completion of the land payment, Tower Hill had US$7.5 million in cash, most of which the company will use to carry out a US$6.3 million work program focused largely on improving the economics of developing a mine at Livengood. In September, Tower Hill released results of an initial phase of...
