The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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The Government of Yukon is seeking feedback until July 31 on proposed amendments to the Canadian territory's "Quartz Mining Act, Placer Mining Act" and appropriate regulations. The proposed changes reflect Yukon officials' response to a court ruling in December and are intended to support positive relationships among First Nations and the exploration and mining industries. Amendments to the legislation must be in force by Dec. 27, 2013 to meet the one-year timeline imposed by the Court of Appeal for Yukon for implementing... Full story
A recent ruling by the Court of Appeal for Yukon could give an Aboriginal group in southeastern Yukon Territory a big say in who gets to explore for and mine minerals discovered on its traditional lands. Unless overturned on appeal, the unanimous decision Dec. 27 by a three-judge panel comprised of British Columbia Court of Appeal judges, also could affect interaction between governments and First Nations throughout Canada, according to some observers. In "Ross River Dena Council v. Government of Yukon," the Yukon appellate...
I finally found something I have been thinking about for a long time but had not seen discussed in detail. We have all seen summaries of the declining rate of discoveries for new mineral deposits and have heard about the steadily increasing cost of production, now at a record US$727 per ounce, according to GFMS' Gold Survey 2012. What I really wanted to know was the replacement cost of an ounce or a pound of metal. Let's take gold for example: If I am a producing mine and I just produced an ounce of gold, what is the cost of...
DAWSON, Yukon - The 3rd Annual Dawson Rocks conference, an annual exposition for active mineral exploration projects in Yukon Territory, offered a sobering reminder of the power of the markets in the world of mining. Absent were the scores of juniors that packed much larger exhibition halls in 2010 and 2011 with enticing displays of samples, maps and drill core. This year a dozen exhibitors, ranging from part-time, grassroots prospectors to representatives of advanced exploration projects like Kaminak Gold Corp.'s Coffee...
Driven Capital Corp. recently launched a maiden 1,500-meter drill program to investigate the extent of high-grade gold-copper-silver rocks that pepper the surface of the White River property tucked in the southwestern corner of the Yukon Territory. Situated about 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of the Alaska border and a mere 10 kilometers (six miles) north of the Alaska Highway, White River is a grassroots discovery made by Tarsis Resources Ltd. in 2010. "You just get a tingle...
David Mate, chief geologist for the Canada Nunavut Geoscience Office, is part of a team of scientists venturing this field season into relatively unknown territory. Mate refers to the Hall Peninsula where he will be working this summer as "white space" on modern geological maps. "This is very exciting for a geologist. It's also interesting because it's in my backyard," Mate told Mining News April 22. Nunavut is Canada's northernmost and least-explored territory. About 1 ½ times the size of Alaska it is generally regarded as...
It is still early days in the exploration play for gold in eastern Yukon Territory, but a score of companies got a jump on competitors in 2011 by targeting promising occurrences of gold and pathfinder elements in a frenzy of unprecedented claim staking and reconnaissance. The early explorers rushed to the region following a report by Atac Resources Ltd. in September 2010 that it discovered unusual mineralization in the rocky eastern ridges of its 1,600-square-kilometer (618 square miles) Rackla Project. Atac posted high-grade...
A second wave of mining exploration swept across Yukon Territory in 2011, bringing with it new mineral discoveries, record employment and myriad other changes, large and small. Roughly 100 companies, including a score of newcomers, mounted an array of mineral exploration programs with most of them stalking gold and silver deposits. Some came away with early success and excitement about their results, while others sifted the tea leaves, looking for clearer signs of the elusive mineralization they seek. "The impact of this...
For Yukon geologist Jean Pautler, the busy 2011 field season also may end up being one for her personal record book. "I was lucky to spend a week in one place," she told Mining News in a recent interview. Pautler, a geological consultant through her company, JP Exploration Services, has spent more than 30 years tramping through the Canadian bush in search of mineral deposits. A sprite of a woman with a cheerful smile, Pautler works alone, except for her German Shepherd mutt, Shadow, who accompanies her into the field....
Is the "Yukon Gold Rush" about to spill into Alaska? Since the 1896 discovery of gold on the aptly named Bonanza Creek sparked a stampede of fortune seekers to the rivers and streams of the Klondike, these world-class mining jurisdictions that share a common geological and mineralization history have been engaged in a cross-border rivalry of drawing prospectors and miners to their mineral-rich deposits. While 19th Century miners seeking their fortunes in Alaska's Fortymile...
Whether it is multimillion-ounce gold discoveries, copper deposits that measure in the billions of pounds or massive ore-bodies of 20 percent zinc, Alaska is renowned for its mammoth deposits. The prospect of finding another Donlin, Pebble or Red Dog continues to draw explorers to this vast and underexplored corner of the United States. In the Survey of Mining Companies: 2010/2011, conducted by the Fraser Institute, top executives from 494 mining and mineral exploration...
KGC: NYSE/K: TSX Chairman: John Oliver President and CEO: Tye Burt Director of North America Exploration: Al Kirkham From the humble beginnings of a greenfield copper-gold project in Southwest Alaska to adding years of gold production to its Fort Knox Mine in the heart of the Tintina Gold Belt, Kinross Gold Corp. is spending some US$17 million in search of valuable minerals in the Yukon Territory and the neighboring Far North state. About US$8 million of Kinross' 2011 exploration budget was earmarked for seeking new sources...
SQI: TSX-V President and CEO: Randy Turner, P.Geo CFO: Christopher Mitchell, P.Eng. Vice President, Exploration: David Pawliuk, P.Geo Silver Quest Resources Ltd. is focused on exploring for silver and gold on its numerous property holdings, ranging from early stage grassroots to advanced stage resource delineation and expansion projects scattered across central British Columbia and Yukon Territory. In late March, Silver Quest and Richfield Ventures Corp. executed a joint venture agreement in which the junior has a 25 percent...
As gold prices soared in 2011 along with demand for silver and base metals, droves of mineral explorers fanned out across remote areas of Yukon Territory, seeking lucrative hardrock deposits. Lured by news of recent gold discoveries in the White Gold district of the Dawson Range and the Carlin-type mineralization found in the Rackla Gold Belt to the east, the horde of juniors, along with the occasional major, turned up with a frenzy of new claim-staking that started early in the year. Many returned to projects they first... Full story
DAWSON CITY - "Assays are pending" seems to be the three most common words uttered by companies exploring the mineral-rich lands of Canada's Northwest. After a weeklong trek through Yukon Territory, it is easy to see why. All across this hotbed of mineral exploration gold seekers are applying the "Shawn Ryan technique" of collecting close-spaced (typically 50-meter) grid soil samples to identify gold and other minerals associated with the precious metal. These extensive...
Some months ago I was talking to a senior exploration manager regarding the lack of new discoveries worldwide in the last few years. The subject came up of just how rare a +1-million-ounce gold deposit really was. Then last week one of our project geologists lays a publication in front of me entitled "How Rare are One Million Ounce Gold Deposits?" by Natural Resources Holdings, Ltd. Although this publication comes at the question from the standpoint of which new deposits are...
Nearly a half century ago, John S. Brock ventured into Yukon Territory to explore for hardrock minerals. The young geologist soon found himself involved in Anvil Mining and Dynasty Exploration's discoveries that led to the development of Faro, which became the world's largest open-pit lead-zinc mine. "I was just a kid then, and I thought, 'This business is really easy,' " Brock recalled. Today, the longtime explorationist knows better. During the past 48 years, Brock has participated in numerous mineral discoveries in Canada,...
Who says lightning can't strike twice in the same place? In just 32 days last summer, Atac Resources Ltd. rocketed from near-oblivion to ignite what is rapidly becoming the second modern exploration rush to Yukon Territory in recent years. Atac had explored a small area in the western portion of its Rackla Gold (formerly Rau) Project in east-central Yukon for several years. After making an impressive gold discovery in 2008, the company has drilled about 26,000 meters in 132 holes through 2010 in the Tiger Zone. As recently... Full story
Two years after explorers stampeded to Yukon Territory in search of gold and other minerals the rush is showing no sign of abating. In fact, the exploration frenzy appears to gather fresh steam with every new mineral discovery reported in the territory. And the pipeline of discoveries is flowing, fast and furious. Junior mining companies and prospectors also continued to stake hordes of claims in 2010 right up to Dec. 23, stopping only when Government of Yukon mining recorders called a halt for the holidays. The excitement su... Full story
A pair of gold discoveries led a torrent of exploration news pouring out of Yukon Territory this year as numerous newcomers joined old hands in the hunt for the yellow metal and other lucrative minerals. "We've entered a new phase of exploration. People are using soil sampling as an unbiased targeting method that is resulting in discoveries of new mineral potential," Yukon geologist Mike Burke, told more than 500 participants in the Yukon Geoscience Forum Nov. 22. The areas where people are looking are expanding as miners... Full story
Alaska's mining industry is entering the final lap for what has turned out to be a more robust than expected year for exploration, development and production. Strong worldwide demand for mined products has certainly helped push metallic and energy minerals prices up, but all is not rosy for Alaska's mineral industry. A recent CNBC report placed Alaska dead last of all the states in terms of overall business attractiveness. We were a dismal 46th of 50 in terms of cost of doing...
As mining heats up in Yukon Territory, professionals from around the globe are finding new roles in the region and employing a host of unique experiences and perspectives in pursuit of exploration, development and production of the territory's minerals. This growing international contingent covers the industry spectrum and hails from around the globe. Their presence is most evident in exploration camps scattered across the Yukon; however, the new manager of Yukon's sole producer, Capstone Mining Corp.'s Minto Mine, is a...
The Last Frontier, as Alaska has long been labeled, is as applicable a moniker today as it was to prospectors who ventured to the territory at the end of the 19th century. Alaska is considered one of the most mineralized provinces on Earth, but due to an inter-related combination of Arctic weather, rugged terrain, limited infrastructure and high exploration costs, the state's vast mineral potential remains at the edge of exploratory expansion. Though the Far North state...
From its search for White Gold-style mineralization in the Fortymile placer gold district just across the border from the Klondike in eastern Alaska to exploration of the Pyramid copper-gold project some 900 miles, or 1,450 kilometers, to the southwest, Full Metal Minerals Ltd. returned to the Alaska mining exploration scene in 2010. The Vancouver B.C.-based junior also worked with fellow junior and senior mining companies on projects across Alaska's vast expanse. Beyond...
Primed for booming exploration for several years, the Yukon Territory appears to have hit big in 2010, both literally and figuratively. Emerging as one of the world's mining hot spots, the Northwest Canada jurisdiction is reporting industry investment exceeding C$120 million. Propelled by record gold prices and key gold discoveries, as well as surging demand in Asia for base metals and a mining friendly government, miners flocked to the territory in growing numbers, bringing generous exploration budgets and fresh theories... Full story
