The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 451 - 475 of 545
Assays are beginning to roll in from projects around Alaska with some particularly impressive results from gold exploration in the Livengood District and equally impressive polymetallic results from the Fortymile and Haines Districts. Additional results from gold, copper, base metal and uranium projects are due to come out in the near future as the bulk of Alaska's seasonal exploration programs begin to churn out their results. Although gold, silver and copper prices remain high, lead and zinc prices are down 20 percent in...
CARMACKS - Western Copper Corporation said its Casino copper-gold-molybdenum deposit in central Yukon Territory has the potential to be developed economically as a sizable open-pit mine. The porphyry deposit at Casino is the latest in a long line of precious- and base-metal zones of mineralization in the area to be considered for extraction. It is considered unique among Canadian porphyry deposits, with a substantially preserved oxide gold leach cap, a well-developed supergene or near-surface, copper-enriched zone, and a...
NovaGold Resources Inc. July 11 posted its second-quarter financial results and admitted that the company has encountered significant problems getting Rock Creek, its most advanced gold mining project, up and running. NovaGold also outlined plans to sell some of its noncore assets, including its Ambler lead-zinc property near the Red Dog Mine in Northwest Alaska. NovaGold said it initially budgeted about $42 million in fiscal 2008 to complete construction at the Rock Creek mine near Nome. However, significant adverse weather...
Everyone who is planning to work on Alaska mineral projects in 2008 is busy doing just that as the longest day of summer quickly approaches. Programs ranging from grass-roots prospecting to multimillion-dollar feasibility studies are spread over the entire state with the most active areas being Western and Interior Alaska. With the new resources for Donlin Creek now out, my unofficial records show Alaska's total gold resources at more than 169 million ounces, with gold discovery rates during the past 10 years averaging more...
Two Vancouver B.C.-based explorers, Committee Bay Resources Ltd. and Niblack Mining Corp., have agreed to join forces. The companies have penned an initial agreement in which Committee Bay would acquire all of Niblack's securities in a one-to-one swap. Committee Bay is also investigating the possibility of advancing C$10 million to fund exploration and development of Niblack's gold-silver-copper-zinc volcanic massive sulfide property in Southeast Alaska. Though the proposal...
The game is afoot all across Alaska with the drills turning to the right on projects all across the state. The operating mines turned in strong first-quarter results and several new acquisitions, joint ventures and new players were announced in the last month. Western Alaska Teck Cominco American announced first quarter results from its Red Dog Mine. In the first quarter, the mine produced 138,500 metric tons of zinc in concentrate. Zinc ore grade increased to 21.3 percent while mill recoveries remained steady at 83.8...
Last month's perfect storm of news from around the state has blown itself out so that this month we are getting only a drizzle or two. Why? Seems straightforward to me. If you have a budget, you already have started working on it, and you are too busy working to have anything much to report. If you don't have a budget yet, it is unlikely that you will be getting one at this late date so you have even less to say. Time to put boots on the outcrops! Western Alaska NovaGold...
If Alaska is the "Last Frontier," then Nautilus Minerals Ltd. surely must be exploring what can only be described as the ultimate frontier on earth - the bottom of the ocean. The Vancouver, B.C.-based junior exploration company earlier this year reported the first resource estimate for an undersea mineral deposit, ushering in what many call a new era in hardrock mining. The junior said it plans to develop substantial high-grade polymetallic (copper, gold, zinc and silver) massive sulphide deposits in 1,600 meters of water in...
Liberty Star Uranium and Metals Corp. April 10 said it has received interest from "more than one large global mining company" in becoming a joint venture partner to explore the 113,000-acre Big Chunk property that borders the northern and western edges of the Pebble Property in Southwest Alaska. The Tucson, Arizona-based junior said expressions of interest came within two days of a March 26 announcement that Liberty Star is seeking a partner to explore the property. "It is early in the process and the company has no way of ju...
Vancouver-based NovaGold Resources Inc. April 14 assured investors that it has a "clearly defined strategy" to rebuild shareholder value from the setbacks suffered in the market last fall when the company and partner Teck Cominco Ltd. elected to delay development of the Galore Creek Project in northern British Columbia. NovaGold's new strategy is a focus on Rock Creek and Donlin Creek, the junior's gold projects in Alaska. NovaGold also reported earnings of $28 million, or 27...
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...
NovaGold Resources Inc. March 20 said it has priced a public offering of $95 million in convertible bonds due May 1, 2015 and net proceeds before deducting estimated offering expenses are expected to total $92.15 million. NovaGold said a day earlier that cash raised in the offering will be used to repay short-term debt, fund exploration and development projects and pay bills. J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., the underwriter, also received the option to issue another $14 million in notes to cover over-allotments, if any. If the...
The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing Jan. 24 on legislation that the U.S. House of Representatives approved last year that would impose stiff new royalties on hardrock mining companies. The full committee heard testimony on reform of the Mining Law of 1872 from a range of witnesses, primarily from western states, including Henri Bisson, deputy director of the Bureau of Land Management; and Randy Wanamaker, deputy mayor of Juneau and executive director of the BBC Human Resources Development Cor...
With metals prices riding high, Yukon Territory government officials are excited about prospects for increased exploration and development activity by mining companies in the coming season. "We are optimistic about industry's continued interest in Yukon," said Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Archie Lang, who joined a government delegation attending the 25th annual Mineral Exploration Roundup in Vancouver the week of Jan. 27. More than 6,000 delegates, including geologists, prospectors, junior and senior mining and...
When Anglo American plc. CEO Cynthia Carroll spoke to Alaska business leaders during a visit to Anchorage in October she vowed that the partnership between her company and Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. would recruit first in Alaska before looking elsewhere to find professionals to manage, run and work their massive Pebble Project. The Pebble Partnership didn't have to look far. John Wood fits the bill perfectly. Not only does Wood offer more than 35 years in civil and mining...
As is commonly the case in late January, an over abundance of news has come out in the last month, in part to coincide with year-end financial releases and in part to coincide with the annual Cordilleran Roundup mining convention in Vancouver. The news itself included an $819 million year-end 2007 profit at one Alaska mine, new gold resources of 32.8 million ounces for the state's largest gold deposit and the sale of 70 percent of another mine for a whopping $750 million. That doesn't count new resource estimates on two other...
Full Metal Minerals Corp. is gearing up for a busy 2008 exploration season. And Rob McLeod, the Vancouver, B.C.-based junior's vice president of exploration, "can't think of a better place to explore than Alaska in terms of mineral potential." McLeod told Mining News in a recent interview that the company will spend between $17 million and $20 million on exploration this year on ten projects in Alaska and one prospect in Canada's Yukon Territory. Some $6.5 million of that...
For any of you who have experienced that odd quiet before a big storm hits, I'd suggest you grab Toto and head for the root cellar because the "quiet" is about to end and the perfect storm is about to begin! I say this because the mining industry took its collective breath during the last month and recharged its batteries in preparation for what looks to be a wild and woolly 2008. Commodities prices remain high; worldwide demand for metals and energy minerals remains strong, and investment capital is there for quality mining...
Sherwood Copper Corp., owner of the Yukon's Minto copper-gold mine, has offered to purchase Western Keltic Mines Inc. in a friendly stock-swap transaction valued at about $37.52 million. Acting with the blessing of Western Keltic's board of directors, Vancouver, B.C.-based Sherwood mailed its buyout bid to Western Keltic shareholders Dec. 24. Under the terms of the offer, Sherwood would acquire all of Western Keltic's nearly 80 million shares by issuing eight-hundredths (0.08) of a share of Sherwood stock for each share of...
In days gone by the Alaska mining industry thought of December as a time of decreased activity and a chance to catch your breath before the New Year started. Well, in case you have not noticed, those days are long gone! This month's activities stretch from one side of Alaska to the other with metals of interest spanning the periodic table of elements. Results from a number of programs are still outstanding and likely will not be seen until the New Year, blurring transitions...
Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp., the world's largest gold producer, and Vancouver-based junior NovaGold Resources Inc. have agreed to a 50-50 partnership on the world-class Donlin Creek project in western Alaska. Barrick and NovaGold have agreed to form Donlin Creek LLC. The new company will operate the project and is owned equally by both partners. Donlin Creek LLC will have four board members, with two members selected by each company. NovaGold nominated Doug Nicholson,...
For those of you who could not attend the Alaska Miners Association convention in Anchorage in early November, you missed what I understand was a record attendance and presentations on some of the most exciting mining developments in the last decade. In addition, I noticed a lot more business being conducted around the conference hotel than is normally the case. Geologists and engineers from companies large and small could be seen hunkered down over reports and maps with...
The results from Alaska's summer field campaigns continue to pour in from all over the state, while field crews wind down their summer work and kick off their winter programs. If the results released this month are any indication of what is yet to come, 2008 is fixing to be one heck of a year! Western Alaska NovaGold Resources announced that initial testing of their crushing circuit had commenced at their commissioning Rock Creek gold mine near Nome. The operation is...
Even though the concept of global warming is a welcome idea to many companies working in Alaska, its effects are not being felt fast enough to allow companies to complete all of the work they had hoped to finish in 2007. Drills are still turning all over the state, but the first signs of "termination dust" are showing on the higher peaks and the smell of fermenting berries fills the air, giving us all a not-so gentle prod to get ready for winter. Western Alaska Teck Cominco...
As the late, great Phil Rizutto used to say when something amazing happened on the baseball field: "Holy Cow!" The last month has seen an explosion of activity across Alaska with companies working in virtually every region on a diverse package of metals including gold, platinum group elements, silver, molybdenum, lead, zinc, copper and nickel. Several new companies have entered the exploration field in Alaska and several new partners have joined forces with previously active...
