The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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A conviction-filled speech delivered by Pebble Limited Partnership CEO John Shively at the March 18 Resource Development Council of Alaska breakfast tackled the question on the minds of many in the audience: "What in the hell is going on in this country?" Though Alaska has not been hit as hard as the rest of the nation, the longtime Alaskan points to increased unemployment and dropping home sales as indications of the state's weakening economy. He said rural Alaska is being...
Red Dog Mine operator Teck Resources is seeking answers after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency made an unexpected decision regarding the appealed conditions of the wastewater permits needed to begin mining the Aqqaluk deposit. Instead of suspending the five permit conditions under dispute - which are the discharge limits for zinc, lead, selenium, cyanide and total dissolved solids - the EPA has decided to revert to the conditions of the previous permit issued to Teck...
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...
Bankers, miners and scientists are predicting a shortage of copper in the coming decade as developing countries, particularly China and India, urbanize and industrialize. This growing need has spurred Barclays Capital, the investment division of the London-based Barclays Bank plc, to back a team of top-level copper miners who are scouring the globe for large, undeveloped copper assets. Barclays Natural Resource Investments and five former top executives from Phelps Dodge, Free...
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...
With base metal prices bouncing back and liquidity returning to the financial markets, a feeling of optimism filled the Westin Bayshore Hotel during the 2010 Mineral Exploration Roundup in Vancouver, B.C. The four-day-long event provided a forum for geologists to swap stories about their 2009 exploits, miners and investors to get together to fund new exploits, suppliers to show off their latest wares, geology students to seek out prospective employers and some 5,800 old and ne...
Coming off of a record year of zinc production, Red Dog partners Teck Resources Ltd. and NANA Regional Corp. are facing the possibility that operations at the zinc-lead mine will be shut down in October. Nearing the end of 20 years of production at the mine's main pit, Teck said it would need access to the neighboring Aqqaluk pit by May in order to continue uninterrupted operations at Red Dog. But state and federal appeals of a permit needed to continue operations could...
As we plunge headlong into a new year and a new decade, the broad economic indicators for the mining industry suggest continued strong prices for most commodities in 2010 followed by slightly lower average prices in 2011 and beyond as supplies catch up to demand. Not surprisingly, the source of much of the commodities demand will be Asia with China and India being the two leading economic engines driving commodity prices. Where Alaska's mining industry fits into this global... Full story
Zazu Metals Corp. has signed an agreement with the state-owned Alaska Industrial Development and Export Agency to complete due diligence for transportation infrastructure needed to support a mine at its Lik zinc-lead-silver project located about 22 kilometers, or 14 miles, northeast of Red Dog Mine in Northwest Alaska. Hammering out transportation infrastructure is a key component for a prefeasibility study that Zazu plans to have completed later in 2010. "Lik is a known lead-... Full story
NovaGold Resources Inc. tapped a wealth of mining experience recently when it appointed Gil Leathley as senior advisor to the junior's president and CEO, Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse. "Mr. Leathley is one of the best mine builders in our industry," Nieuwenhuyse said. "He has an unparalleled record of building and operating mines around the world, including Golden Giant in Ontario, Eskay Creek in British Columbia and Ruby Hill in Nevada. Mr. Leathley's pragmatic advice and expertise... Full story
Although commodities prices have improved for the mining industry over the past year, 2009 has been the kind of year most of us hope not to repeat. The best analogy I can come up with is the one that says "All boats rise and fall with the tide." Under this scenario, company fortunes fell as the general market declined. Unfortunately, not all boats (companies) rise when the tide goes back up. Some get holed on the rocks of economic misfortune and remain on the bottom....
Metals markets continue to climb out of the basement as the world demand for metals resumes its upward trend. Fueled by this growing demand, numerous Alaska precious, base and rare metal projects reported results of their 2009 exploration, development and production programs. The recent Alaska Miners Association Convention in Anchorage felt this surge of interest with the highest attendance in more than a decade. The atmosphere at the conference was charged with optimism, a co...
The first thing that makes mining a complex business is the science of finding a mine. We have over 12,000 mineral occurrences in BC and less than 20 major mines. It takes years just to locate, evaluate, permit and construct a mine. To succeed requires not only a certain temperament, but also use of the very best in technology and scientific analysis and the curiosity, intelligence and training of geologists to look and look again. All of this activity is highly regulated, which requires an in-depth understanding of...
Romios Gold Resources Inc. Nov. 11 reported the discovery of significant copper, gold and silver mineralization on its Dirk Property located about 37 kilometers, or 24 miles, southeast of NovaGold Resources Inc.-Teck Resources Ltd.'s giant Galore Creek deposit and 7 kilometers, or 4 miles, northwest of Romios' Newmont Lake Property in northwestern British Columbia. Only two zones, Dirk and Telena, of a number of mineralized zones indentified on the newly discovered Dirk property have been sampled to date. A total of 15...
The arrival of 2009 was a milestone for NovaGold Resources Inc. Emerging from a tumultuous 2008, the Vancouver, B.C.-based explorer raised badly needed capital and positioned itself to move its three advanced projects toward production. "NovaGold weathered the considerable challenges of 2008 and has emerged well-positioned to take advantage of a rising gold market and build a premier growth-focused precious metals company," NovaGold President and CEO Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse...
With reserves in the main pit of the Red Dog zinc-lead-silver mine running low, Teck Resources Ltd. and NANA Regional Native Corp. waited, with cautious optimism, for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to provide final approval for development of the Aqqaluk deposit, a huge zinc-lead deposit that would extend the life of the Red Dog zinc mine by about 20 years. Since the partners in the world's largest zinc mine began mining Red Dog's Main Pit in 1989, they have removed...
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...
Most of the mining companies looking for minerals in northern British Columbia ushered in 2009 with high hopes and little else. "It's a perfect storm. The credit crunch in the world financial system has led to a worldwide recession and a collapse in commodity prices. In equities, there is nowhere to hide. Financing has become expensive and difficult to get. I have never seen more difficult conditions for junior resource companies in my entire career," said Hard Creek Nickel Corp. President and CEO Mark Jarvis in describing...
When Greg Beischer and Phil St. George teamed up to form Millrock Resources Inc. early in 2007, they set out to make big discoveries that would attract the interest of the world's mining giants. The Millrock team has the background to know what global mining companies are looking for and the geological expertise to find it. Beischer, the Vancouver B.C.-based junior's president and CEO, spent two decades working for Inco Ltd., now a subsidiary of global mining giant Companhia... Full story
Zazu Metals Corp. is exploring what it believes is one of the largest undeveloped zinc-lead deposits in the world. Lik, the zinc-lead-silver-rich property that the Vancouver B.C.-based junior is lauding, is located about 22 kilometers, or 14 miles, northeast of Red Dog Mine, the world's largest zinc producer. Previous explorers left behind a 1,300-meter airstrip and a historic camp at the 5,500-acre Northwest Alaska property. All of the cores from 26,000 meters of historical d...
RG:TSX-V/RMIOF:NASDAQ OTC/D4R:FE President and Director: Anastasios (Tom) Drivas Chief Financial Officer: Errol Farr Vice President, Exploration, Geologist and Director: Thomas Skimming Romios Gold Resources Inc., organized in 1995 in Ontario, is a Canadian exploration company focused on the acquisition and exploration of precious-and base metal prospects. The Company's Business Plan is to create shareholder value and reduce exploration risk by acquiring projects with a high discovery potential or a known resource with... Full story
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.... Full story
Reclamation is a critical element of modern mining and mine planning. In Alaska, companies who wish to extract minerals from the earth must first present a plan on how they propose to return the disturbed land to a reusable state and post financial assurances that they will complete the job. Planning for what the site will look like and be used for begins before any mining is started. The information needed to design a successful reclamation plan is gathered from the...
Built on a project generator model, Millrock Resources Inc. has teamed up with Kinross Gold Corp., Altius Resources Inc. and Vale Exploration Canada to seek out and explore new large gold and copper projects in Alaska and Arizona during a tough financial market. "Millrock continues to march steadily forward, meeting corporate milestones in a timely manner despite challenging market conditions," Millrock President and CEO Gregory Beischer said. "The company has acquired an... Full story
The hunt for gold launched by Underworld Resources Inc. more than a year ago in Yukon Territory's Dawson Mining District is yielding more encouraging results for the junior at its White Gold Project. Meanwhile, other mining companies, including Anglo Canadian Uranium Corp., Aldrin Resource Corp., Radius Gold Inc. and Habanero Resources Inc., are rushing to get in on the action, staking more than 6,000 new placer and quartz claims in the Dawson area since April 1. Underworld reported discovery of more than 100 meters of... Full story
