The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 182
White Rock Minerals Ltd. Oct. 29 said the last hole of its 2019 drill program at Red Mountain indicates the potential for significant resource expansion at this zinc-rich volcanogenic massive sulfide project in Interior Alaska. Two VMS deposits on the Red Mountain property – Dry Creek and West Tundra Flats (WTF) – host 9.1 million metric tons of Australian Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (JORC) compliant inferred resources averaging 5.8 percent (1.17 billion pounds) zinc; 2.6...
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
White Rock Minerals Ltd. Sept. 19 said it has identified another prospect to add to a growing list of drill targets at Red Mountain, a high-grade zinc and precious metals volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) project in Alaska. Red Mountain already hosts two zinc-lead-copper-silver-gold deposits – Dry Creek and West Tundra Flats (WTF). At a 3 percent zinc cutoff grade, these deposits host 9.1 million metric tons of Australian Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (JORC) compliant i...
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
Earlier this month Reuters reported that several agencies within the U.S. Federal government were "rapidly assessing" our domestic ability to mine and refine rare earth elements and utilize those 17 super cool elements in value-added products needed for a wide and ever-growing array of consumer and national defense products. Not surprisingly, mining industry officials demurred when quizzed about supplying information on where rare elements might be mined in the U.S. and how... Full story
White Rock Minerals Ltd. July 16 announced that its joint venture partner Sandfire Resources NL has committed another US$1.5 million into the 2019 exploration at Red Mountain, extending activities into September at this zinc-rich volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) project southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. Sandfire, a mid-tier Australia-based mining company, can earn up to a 70 percent joint venture interest in Red Mountain by investing US$21.6 million into and completing a...
Earlier this month S&P Global put out a summary indicating that during the first quarter of 2019 metals like copper, zinc and nickel were up quarter over quarter by 11 percent, 22 percent and 25 percent, respectively. More recently gold has skyrocketed beyond the $1,400-per-ounce mark for the first time in many months. Correspondingly, the mining industry's aggregate market cap also rebounded strongly in the period after four bearish quarters, rising 12 percent to $1.43... Full story
White Rock Minerals Ltd. June 24 provided an update on the 2019 exploration program it is carrying out with joint venture partner Sandfire Resources NL to discover the next high-grade zinc and precious metals deposit on the Red Mountain volcanogenic massive sulfide property in Interior Alaska. Red Mountain already hosts two zinc-lead-copper-silver-gold deposits – Dry Creek and West Tundra Flats (WTF) – with 16.7 million metric tons of Australian Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (...
In the famous words of Sherlock Holmes, the game is afoot! After seasonally slower news from Alaska's mining industry in March and April, the dam has broken with over two dozen Alaska mining project news releases issued in the last month. Including those projects moving forward that have not released their 2019 plans, Alaska has become a very busy place under the sun. All of our major metal mines reported strong performances in the first quarter, several of Alaska's most... Full story
White Rock Minerals Ltd. May 20 announced the completion and preliminary results from a 311-mile (500 kilometers) airborne electromagnetic survey flown over its zinc-rich Red Mountain volcanogenic massive sulfide project in Alaska's Bonnifield Mining District. The Australia-based exploration company said the geophysical survey, which also included the collection of magnetics data, used a state-of-the-art data collection and processing system to identify potential VMS...
As is usually the case this time of year, news about Alaska mineral activities is a bit sparse this month as planning activities are at flank speed ahead of next month's surge in field activities. That said, there has been a blizzard of mineral industry data released recently that has both direct and indirect applications to the Alaska mineral industry. First off, some internally generated data. Current public and private budget announcements suggest Alaska's exploration... Full story
With 12.5 million acres of land spanning Alaska's Interior, Doyon Ltd. is the largest private landholder in the state and one of the largest in the nation. For mining and mineral exploration companies, the rich mineral potential of these lands may be more impressive than the sheer size of the estate. This is because the Doyon region is a nearly Texas-sized swath of Interior Alaska that is renowned for its gold and a host of other metals, providing the regional corporation,... Full story
White Rock Minerals Ltd. April 9 reported that following the March 25 signing of a joint venture with Sandfire Resources, the two Australian companies are already gearing up for an exciting 2019 field season at the zinc-rich Red Mountain project about 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of Fairbanks, Alaska. Two deposits already identified on the property – Dry Creek and West Tundra Flats – host 16.7 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 4.1 percent (1.49 billion pou...
White Rock Minerals Ltd. is preparing for a US$4.3 million exploration program at its zinc- and precious metals-rich Red Mountain project in Alaska, thanks to an option agreement with fellow Australian miner, Sandfire Resources NL. Under the option agreement, Sandfire can earn up to a 70 percent joint venture interest in the Red Mountain property by investing US$21.6 million into Red Mountain and completing a pre-feasibility study for developing a mine at the volcanogenic mass...
As is usually the case this time of year, the mining industry is awash in backward-looking statements designed to allow for more accurate forward-looking statements. Prime among them is one of my favorites, S&P Global's annual "World Exploration Trends 2019", a summary of what happened industry-wide in 2018 and what it may portend for the mining industry in 2019. The study predicts that global exploration budgets will increase again in 2019, although by a smaller amount, with... Full story
When it comes to attracting mining investment, Alaska, British Columbia and all three Canadian territories rank among the top 20 jurisdictions in the world on the Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies 2018. This report asks industry professionals from around the globe to score mining jurisdictions based on their mineral endowment and various policy topics important to mining. "The mining survey-now in its 21st year-is the most comprehensive report card on government... Full story
Those of you that attended the recent Cordilleran Roundup Convention in Vancouver can attest to the exuberant, upbeat atmosphere that pervaded the conference and was very much in evidence at the standing-room only festivities at our annual self-hosted Alaska Night meet and greet. But digging down under this veneer of optimism, many of the junior explorers and most of the producers admitted to their expectations of challenging times in 2019. Putting words to this apparent... Full story
Metallic Minerals Corp. Jan. 28 reported additional high-grade silver results from the 2018 exploration programs at its 100% owned McKay Hill Project, located 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the historic Keno Hill Silver District in the Yukon. While McKay Hill is earlier stage than Metallic's Keno Silver project to the south, the company see's similar potential for a district-scale, high-grade silver-lead-zinc-copper system on the property. The company said its 2018 explorat...
I, for one, feel vindicated, relieved and ready to face the New Year! How so, you ask? Please let me explain. For those of you who remember my column in November, I noted that EY Global Mining and Metals publishes an 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 was for the years 2017-2018 and stated that "Our number one risk this year is digital effectiveness." If you... Full story
White Rock Minerals Ltd. Dec. 27 reported that Sandfire Resources NL has exercised its option to enter into a joint venture agreement with White Rock on the zinc-rich Red Mountain volcanogenic massive sulfide project in Interior Alaska. In July, White Rock entered into a strategic relationship with Sandfire, a mid-tier Australian mining company that operates the high-grade DeGrussa copper-gold mine in Western Australia. To formalize this strategic relationship between the two...
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
Though mineral exploration in Yukon Territory this year lagged the pace seen in 2018, mine development projects advanced at a steady clip in 2019, while several past-producing mines moved toward resuming output. Yukon ranked fourth in Canada for projected spending on mineral exploration and deposit evaluation for 2018, according to statistics distributed by Natural Resources Canada. Spending for mineral exploration and deposit evaluations totaled C$249.4 million, made up of C$... Full story
With a major investment by fellow Australian company, Sandfire Resources NL, White Rock Minerals Ltd. focused its 2019 exploration on discovering the next high-grade zinc and precious metals deposits on the Red Mountain volcanogenic massive sulfide property in Interior Alaska. Sandfire, a mid-tier mining company with a growing portfolio of assets in the United States, first became involved in Red Mountain when it invested A$2.5 million in White Rock shares during 2018. This...
Alaska is rich in rare earth, a unique group of elements that are so distinctive that most are placed in their own separate section at the bottom of the periodic table. While scientist have long realized that rare earths possessed distinctive characteristics that set them apart from their fellow elements, it wasn't until the advent of the color television in the 1960s that these unique properties had any sort of widespread practical application. Over the ensuing five decades,... Full story
The six platinum group elements – platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, and osmium – are amongst the rarest metals on Earth. This scarcity, coupled with PGEs' uses in the automotive, petrochemical and electronics industries, has this group of industrious precious metals firmly planted on the United States Geological Survey's critical minerals list. "PGEs are indispensable to many industrial applications but are mined in only a few places," USGS inked in a 2017 rep... Full story
