The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 876 - 900 of 3020
As gold exploration cools globally, the search for the precious metal is once again heating up in the larger Pogo Mine region of Interior Alaska. One of the reasons this region continues to be a hotbed of gold exploration is Sumitomo Metal Mining Pogo LLC’s success in finding and expanding new deposits of high-grade gold on its Pogo Mine property, which anchors the Goodpaster Mining District. Another dozen promising prospects found beyond the borders of the Pogo Mine claims a...
Instead of putting up taller fences along the roughly 800-mile (1,300 kilometers) border between Alaska and British Columbia, the neighbors are building a larger negotiating table to work out concerns over the potential development of mines in Northwest B.C. watersheds that drain through Southeast Alaska. The framework for this increased cooperation was laid out in a memorandum of understanding signed by the neighbors Nov. 25. “British Columbia and Alaska share a lot of c... Full story
The prolonged downturn in the metals market is like Black Friday for project generators such as Millrock Resources Inc. The Vancouver, B.C.-based junior has added a dozen gold and base metals projects to its exploration portfolio during the past six months. The most recent of these acquisitions gives the mineral explorer a foothold in the Golden Triangle region of Northwest British Columbia. “This is the exact time Millrock has been waiting for all along,” Gregory Bei... Full story
What do green energy activism, the Pyramid copper project in Alaska, and taking a Tesla Model S sedan on a road trip across North America have in common? The short answer is Gianni Kovacevic. A self-proclaimed "realistic environmentalist" and chairman of CopperBank Resources Corp., Kovacevic has a foot in each the mining and green energy sectors – industries with a symbiotic relationship that has yet to be fully appreciated. To raise awareness about this symbiotic relationship...
Necessity is the mother of innovative financing. While this is not the exact quote attributed Plato, it captures the wisdom of the philosopher as well as a message PricewaterhouseCoopers has for the junior mining sector. “Companies must take action – quickly and creatively – to find the cash to keep their projects alive and moving forward,” the global consultant recently penned in a brochure called Junior Mine 2015. While most prognosticators agree that we are at or near th... Full story
Will the rare earth elements separation technology that Ucore Rare Metals Inc. has been endeavoring to develop during the past two years revolutionize the recovery of these minerals crucial to modern technology? With the completion of the SuperLig®-One rare earth separation pilot plant, the answer to that question draws nigh. The pilot plant, designed and constructed by Utah-based IBC Advanced Technologies Inc., utilizes a highly-selective process known as molecular...
Established in 1891, Hecla Mining Company has survived two World Wars, the Great Depression and numerous crests and troughs of a cyclical metals market that has sunk many of the silver miner's contemporaries over the past 125 years. Over this century-plus span, Hecla has grown adept at navigating tumultuous markets in a way that enables the company to be well-positioned for smooth sailing in calm waters. "We have been in business longer than iconic American companies such as...
Although there is plenty of Alaska mining industry news this month, the big dog in the pen is the dramatic and unexpected run-up in the price of gold, which moved from a low of $1,078 per ounce to a high of $1,246/oz., most of which occurred after Feb. 1. Although profit-taking and other factors have caused the price to back off a bit, the move was both dramatic and unexpected. As you might guess, the ether is full of talking heads telling us why it went up, why it either won'... Full story
Going into 2016, gold was selling for US$1,060 per troy ounce, and most analysts were predicting that the precious metal would at least dip below US$1,000/oz., a major psychological floor for the metal. Over the ensuing six weeks, however, the safe haven metal climbed more than 15 percent to new highs not seen in more than a year. With the price of gold rocketing through the US$1,200/oz. mark to US$1,253/oz. on Feb. 11, analysts are re-evaluating the precious metal's destinati... Full story
Pretium Resources Inc. Feb. 17 said the Brucejack project remains on schedule for commercial production in 2017, and the costs of developing the high-grade underground gold mine are coming in under budget. Upon reaching a 60 percent engineering milestone, a capital cost estimate was carried out in late 2015. The estimated total project capital cost to complete design, construction, installation and commissioning, including contingencies, is now US$640.8 million. Adding in... Full story
While many mining companies continue to scale back programs on their promising mineral exploration projects, Royal Gold and Contango Ore are expanding the extent of their work at Tetlin. This year, the partners have launched the first-ever winter drill program at this high-grade gold-copper project located near Tok, an eastern Alaska community at a junction of highways that lead to Fairbanks and Anchorage. Neither of these companies are your prototypical mineral explorer -... Full story
Nearly three weeks after Teck Alaska, operator of the Red Dog Mine in northwest Alaska, sued the Northwest Arctic Borough over a steep tax hike implemented at the beginning of the year, the chasm between the two sides seems to have only widened. In preparation for its plans to "aggressively pursue a satisfactory legal resolution" to the charges brought by Teck, Northwest Arctic Borough has released information outlining its perspective on the argument. In a Jan. 26 statement,... Full story
On Jan. 12, 2006, the first ore from high-grade underground gold reserves was fed into the mill at the Pogo Mine located near the community of Delta Junction in Alaska's Interior region. Ten years, four floods, two fires and some 3.1 million ounces of gold later, the operation is seen as an example of mining done right. Pogo General Manager Chris Kennedy shared a decade of travails and triumphs, and the lessons learned, during a presentation at the Jan. 21 Resource...
Usibelli Coal Mine Inc. Jan. 15 commended its 115 employees for reaching the important milestone of no lost-time injuries during 2015. "The employees of UCM have dedicated themselves to safety awareness and communication. Every employee practices it every day, resulting in achieving a year and a half without any lost-time accidents. It's a true team effort and a milestone we're all proud of," UCM President Joe Usibelli Jr. said. This milestone sits in the midst of a run of mor...
The Red Dog Mine in Northwest Alaska is highly regarded as an example of a mining company and local aboriginal interests sitting down at the negotiating table and working out a deal that serves the economic and social interests of both. A steep tax hike, however, threatens to shorten the life of the world-class zinc mine and thereby the partnership forged between Teck Resources Ltd. and NANA Regional Corp. The tax increase was introduced recently by the Northwest Arctic...
After 17 months of investigation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General said it could find no evidence that the federal agency was unfair while conducting an assessment of the Bristol Bay Watershed. The conclusion, however, runs counter to those of others who have reviewed the case. The EPA's Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment is a study of the potential risks large-scale mining might pose to the abundant fish resources in the Bristol Bay region... Full story
Higher grades, increased milling rates and improved recoveries add up to a banner year for both the Kensington and Greens Creek mines in Southeast Alaska. Kensington, the youngest of the two mines located near Alaska's capital city of Juneau, got off to a slow start when owner Coeur Mining Inc. was finally able to begin operations in 2010. In recent years, however, the mine has steadily increased its gold output while reducing the costs to mine the precious metal -...
There's been an awakening. Have you felt it? "Crowdfunding" is emerging as a revolutionary new force in the way mining and mineral exploration companies will raise the cash needed to discover and develop the next generation of mines. "I am not aware of any mining activity in Alaska that has been financed by crowdfunding, although I suspect that methodology will be utilized in the near future," observed Fairbanks-based geologist Curt Freeman. "Unfortunately, its alter-ego, what... Full story
The mining sector entered 2015 in the midst of a deep bear market, and conditions grew worse as the year wore on. Metals prices continued a multi-year downward trajectory, dragging the market value of miners and explorers along with them. With continued slow growth in China and a strengthening U.S. dollar, most analysts don't see the plight of the mining sector improving much in 2016. "Commodities prices are now at or even below 2009 levels. And absent significant production...
Diesel has long been the fuel of choice for the enormous haul trucks, dozers, shovels and other equipment that most mines use. Many industry leaders, however, are looking ahead to natural gas as an economically and environmentally friendlier source of energy for the colossal machines. "LNG (liquefied natural gas) is a fuel source that has the potential to lower costs, significantly reduce emissions and improve environmental performance at our operations," said Teck Resources...
As the curtain rings down on 2015, the sound of clapping and cheering can already be heard from the mining industry as it anticipates the end of a largely depressing year which started out looking like the long-awaited industry recovery was going to happen but in the end, did not. The uncertainty brought on by this year's unsettling events was front and center in a recent round-table discussion hosted by Northern Miner, sponsored by PearTree Securities and entitled "New...
After 20 years of exploration and permitting, the Donlin Gold project is on the downhill side of gaining the permits needed to develop a mine at the 39-million-ounce gold deposit in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region of Southwest Alaska. On Nov. 25, the U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers released a draft Environmental Impact Statement for what will likely be among the largest gold-producing mines on the planet. The Donlin Gold Mine being considered in the draft EIS includes a... Full story
Earlier this month, the Alaska Miners Association held its annual convention in Anchorage amid plummeting metals prices and an over-all atmosphere of economic uncertainty now stretching into its fourth year. Individuals from around North America and beyond were present and conversations outside of the technical sessions seemed to gravitate toward how best to climb out of the doldrums that seem to grip the mining industry on a global scale. One individual was heard to say that...
A four-year rout in metals, coal and oil prices left Alaska's mining community digging deep for reasons to be optimistic during their annual gathering at the Alaska Miners Association convention in Anchorage. While depressed metals prices naturally cut into the bottom lines of those companies mining gold, silver, zinc, lead and coal in Alaska, the effects reverberate across the entire mining community. In order to adjust to lower metals prices, the producers have cut back on...
Unlawful, unfair and unwise - this is how the leadership of the Pebble Limited Partnership characterized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to detrimentally limit the company's ability to apply for the permits needed to develop a mine at the world-class Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum project in Southwest Alaska during separate speeches delivered Nov. 5. "It is outrageous that one federal agency would bypass everything else, all the processes, come to a predeterm...
