The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 1451 - 1475 of 3021
With the stroke of a pen the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has effectively banned the construction of any new coal-fired power plants in the United States for the foreseeable future, shifting the advantage to natural gas and other lower carbon dioxide emitting forms of electrical generation. These pollution standards inked by the federal environmental agency for new power plants mark the first-ever carbon dioxide emission limits proposed under the Clean Air Act. "The...
Usibelli Coal Mine Inc.'s Healy operation, Alaska's longest lived mine, produced a record 2.2 million short tons of coal in 2011. This marks the fifth straight year of production growth for Usibelli, a trend the family-owned company foresees continuing in 2012. "We expect to mine a slightly higher tonnage in 2012, approximately 2.4 million short tons," Usibelli Vice President Customer Relations Bill Brophy told Mining News. Six Interior Alaska power plants consumed some 1...
The winds of change are once again blowing across Alaska's mineral industry, not only because the industry is gearing up for another busy summer season, but also because the mining investment climate has turned from cautiously optimistic to decidedly undecided. The sea change occurred steadily and without a lot of fanfare between mid-January and mid-March. As is always the case, good projects continue to advance with those that are drilling and adding resources or moving throu...
In the waning days of the Vietnam Mistake, the popular lyrics of the Animals' most famous hit were in the hearts and on the lips of every soldier. The nation was divided. It seemed like we couldn't go forward, we didn't want to go backward, and remaining in place was impossible. Indecision was endemic and leadership was lacking. A popular, charismatic and totally inexperienced president had allowed us to get sucked into foreign entanglements, and a sinister megalomaniac got...
When geologists talk about the exciting gold deposits recently discovered in Canada's Yukon Territory, they use terms like "structurally controlled, intrusion-related" and "Carlin-style." Attentive laymen soon catch on, recognizing that "structural" often characterizes the non-glaciated hydrothermal deposits found in the White Gold district of west-central Yukon and "intrusive" commonly refers to impressive finds in mountainous central Yukon, while some discoveries to the east have been labeled "Carlin-style" because of...
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...
NyacAU LLC and Goldrich Mining Co. inked a deal in early April to create a joint-venture company to mine rich alluvial gold deposits that blanket the valleys of the vast Chandalar land package some 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of Fairbanks, Alaska. Goldrich brings to the newly formed partnership the placer potential of the 22,840-acre Chandalar Mining District, including a quarter-million-ounce drill-tested alluvial gold deposit on Little Squaw Creek and a multitude of...
The state finds itself in a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation,' Alaska Attorney General Michael Geraghty wrote in a April 17 letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 Administrator Dennis McLerran. The letter is the third in a series of correspondence between Geraghty and McLerran regarding the EPA's authority to conduct an assessment of the potential risks that large-scale development projects may pose to the Bristol Bay Watershed of Southwest...
Prospects for developing the New Polaris gold mine project located in northwestern British Columbia near the Alaska border are looking better and better. Though it last worked on the property in 2007, owner Canarc Resource Corp. is refocusing its efforts on bringing the advanced-stage project into production. Cheered by higher gold prices, the Vancouver-based junior is reviewing several new expressions of interest in the project from mining companies seeking an option or joint venture agreement. "This is the first time that...
With its sights set on gold, Contango ORE Inc. is conducting an aggressive exploration campaign on its Tetlin property in Interior Alaska during the 2012 field season. The Houston, Texas-based explorer, known as CORE, raised US$8.8 million in March to fund an estimated US$6.75 million exploration program this year - the bulk of which will be spent on a second-year drill program at the Tetlin gold-copper project about 12 miles (19 kilometers) southeast of the crossroads town of...
Worries about the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe, uncertainty about where the U.S. economy is headed and a slowing of growth in China is prompting miners to favor gold over industrial and luxury minerals such as nickel and diamonds. Some 62 percent of mining executives from 802 global mineral exploration and development companies said they expect gold prices to increase by at least 20 percent over the next two years when responding to questions about future...
The Fraser Institute's "Survey of Mining Companies, 2011/2012" was recently released to the public. This annual survey of exploration and mining companies gauges the pros and cons of working in various countries around the world. This year's results came from over 800 mineral industry companies working in 93 jurisdictions and representing cumulative 2011 exploration expenditures of over US$6.3 billion. The perception of Alaska from the companies that work here was about the...
For the past however many months we have been enduring the Republican presidential nominating process, which has winnowed the field from eight to four candidates. Of the four, former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts is generally deemed the closest thing to a moderate and Ron Paul wears the Libertarian brand. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and U.S. Rep. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., seem to be scrambling for the "conservative" middle, with Santorum displaying a slight edge. Accord...
Graphite traditionally has been regarded as a mundane industrial mineral used in steelmaking, lubricants and pencil lead. Emerging applications such as lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells, and nuclear power generation are placing increased supply demands on this carbon polymer - a market shift not lost on Cedar Mountain Exploration Inc. "The graphite market is only beginning to open up as green technology takes more precedence in the world today," according to the Edmonton, Albe...
Possessing neither the brilliance of diamonds nor the thermal-producing capabilities of coal, graphite is the middle sibling of the carbon family. Until recently, it has largely gotten by on its heat-resistant attributes. Some 70 percent of the 1.1 million metric tons of natural graphite consumed in 2011 was used in making steel and in automotive and lubrication applications. But scientists today are finding new uses for the two-dimensional carbon polymer. During a February...
As Northern Freegold Resources Ltd. heads into a fifth season of exploration on the Freegold Mountain Project in central Yukon Territory, a picture is slowly emerging of yet another large natural repository of precious and base metals in the prolific Tintina Gold Belt. Not only does the district-scale property loom above still-producing placer gold creeks in the heart of a proven gold and copper mining belt in central Yukon, its sprawling 198 square kilometers (75 square miles) lie just 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of...
More than 30,000 people attended the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Convention held in Toronto March 4 - 7, breaking last year's attendance record of 27,714 participants from 120 countries. The annual convention, currently in its 80th year, attracts investors, analysts, mining executives, geologists, prospectors and international government delegations from all over the world and represents a tremendous networking and educational opportunity for the industry. The gathering's Trade Show and Investors...
Canada is blessed with great geology, competitive tax rates, a stable political system and a non-discriminatory regulatory regime, which helps to explain why the country ranks among the top destinations for the world's mineral industry, not only to meet but also to do business, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver told participants in the 2012 Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Convention March 5 Canada has more than 200 active mines, producing more than 60 minerals and metals, and the country ranks as the No....
Avalon Rare Metals Inc. is working to capitalize on the jump it believes it has on competitors. The would-be producer of rare earth elements told investors recently that none of the other companies currently pursuing development of REE mining projects will have all of the highly desirable heavy rare earths ready to market by 2015-2016. Currently, China produces some 95 percent of the world's REEs, and the county will soon consume 60-70 percent of the world supply. Yet in the next five to 10 years, the Asian country could...
Plagued with a series of accidents that ultimately resulted in a year-long hiatus of operations at its Lucky Friday Mine in Idaho, Hecla Mining Co. is leaning on Greens Creek Mine in Southeast Alaska to sustain its strong financial position and fund a series of growth initiatives aimed at catapulting the 120-year-old mining company to a 15-million-ounce-per-year silver producer by 2017. "Hecla faced significant challenges in 2011; however, what is different today than at any...
The Pebble Limited Partnership has published a long-anticipated environmental baseline document for the enormous Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum project situated in the Bristol Bay region of Southwest Alaska. This marks a major milestone on the path to permitting, estimated to begin by mid-2013. "The release of the EBD comes after one of the most exhaustive environmental study programs in the history of U.S. mineral development," said Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. President...
There are some new statistics just out from the Alaska Miners Association that I thought you might like to see. For 2011, the Alaska mining industry accounted for 4,500 direct jobs and 9,000 indirect jobs. The industry paid US$620 million in payroll with the average salary totaling US$100,000 per year, which is double the statewide average for all sectors. The industry paid US$148 million in rents, royalties, taxes and other fees to the State of Alaska (up 170 percent over...
Once upon a time, not so many years ago, mining was a laudable calling. As a child I tapped my foot as Tennessee Ernie Ford sang about mining "16 Tons" of coal a day, and Jimmy Dean serenaded us about the heroic act of "Big Bad John" in saving his fellow miners. Even before that, I sat around many a campfire and sang (off key) about "My Darling, Clementine." In the pre-World War II days when the A. J. Mine in Juneau was stamping away at the gold-laden quartz that was being...
VANCOUVER, B.C. - To commemorate 100 years of advocating for mineral exploration and mining in British Columbia and around the world, the Association for Mining Exploration British Columbia's 2012 Mineral Exploration Roundup, held Jan. 23-26 in Vancouver, B.C., chose as its theme, "Celebrating our First Century of Global Discovery." "A century ago, a group of B.C.'s mining professionals gathered a few blocks from here, in what was then the council chambers of Vancouver City Ha...
Sharon McLeod heard that the mining industry was hiring and mining jobs typically paid good wages. "I had worked around heavy equipment and I was working with the local school district, but I couldn't make ends meet," recalled the single mother of two sons. "I thought that my previous experience in the mining industry and in the school district would help, so I applied to the mine. I never got a response." McLeod, 49, then heard about a group focused on helping Aboriginal people get jobs in the mining industry. As a member...
