The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 26 - 49 of 49
Though the 2022 field season is scarcely underway, Vital Metals Ltd., Canada's first rare earths producer, is already eyeing a second banner year at its Nechalacho REE mining operation in Northwest Territories – with recent progress in virtually every aspect of the Australia-based company's Canadian project, from exploration to marketing. Vital's offtake partner, Norway-based REEtec AS, signed a purchase agreement in April to supply rare metals for magnets used in electric m...
Fireweed Zinc Ltd. has agreed to buy the Mactung tungsten project from the Northwest Territories government for C$15 million (US$11.8 million), an acquisition that further expands the company's growing portfolio of critical mineral assets. Mactung lies within the traditional territories of the Kaska Dena and First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun, as well as the Sahtu Dene and Métis land claims settlement area of western Northwest Territories. This critical metal property s...
As final assays of its productive 2021 exploration program roll in, Gold Terra Resource Corp. is working on a plan to boost the 1.2-million-ounce inferred resource of its Yellowknife City Gold Project substantially by drilling in new areas and proving up historic resources in and around the capital city of Northwest Territories. The YCG project lies on the prolific Yellowknife greenstone belt, covering nearly 70 kilometers (43 miles) of strike length along the main...
With a new outbreak of COVID-19 cases, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to be a challenge for the Gahcho Kué diamond mine in Canada's Northwest Territories. When it comes to the mining sector, diamond producers were particularly hard hit by the pandemic, which has now endured for nearly two years. In addition to the COVID-19 restrictions and protocols that challenged all businesses, diamond miners faced the closure of diamond trading floors that cut off traditional...
NorZinc Ltd. appears headed into the home stretch in its decades-long marathon to bring to production the Prairie Creek zinc mine project in southern Northwest Territories. The junior, formerly Canadian Zinc Corp., Oct. 21 reported completion of an updated preliminary economic assessment of the zinc, lead, and silver mineralization that it hopes to mine and mill at a rate of 2,400 metric tons per day. NorZinc said the PEA lays the groundwork for a new feasibility study for...
From more than 75% of its workforce and contractors being Canada's First People to sourcing goods and supplies from over 100 local suppliers, Cheetah Resources Corp. is committed to flowing benefits to Northwest Territories communities as it develops Nechalacho – Canada's first and only rare earth's mine. "It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a community to build a project. A community of indigenous and non-indigenous suppliers, employees, and not-for-profits," s...
The Mon gold project, currently the only fully permitted gold mining project in Northwest Territories, is advancing toward new production later this year. The project is located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Yellowknife in the South MacKenzie Mining District. A high-grade quartz vein was discovered on the Mon property in 1937 by prospectors working for Cominco Ltd. during an aerial reconnaissance flight north of Yellowknife. In 1988 the property was optioned by...
On June 28, First Nations mining contractor Nahanni Construction Ltd. dug a scoop of ore from the North T open pit at Vital Metals Ltd.'s Nechalacho project in Northwest Territories that marked a momentous milestone – Canada is now a rare earths-producing nation. This first REE ore mined at Nechalacho comes just two years after Australia-based Vital came up with a unique plan to take advantage of relatively small but high-grade mineralization coming to the surface at the p...
Racing to become Canada's first miner of rare earth elements, Vital Metals Ltd. had clocked another milestone by producing a 12-kilogram sample of rare earth carbonate in a bulk sampling program at its Nechalacho rare earths project located 100 kilometers (62 miles) southeast of Yellowknife, the capital of Northwest Territories. Vital is hoping to begin production of rare earth oxide at Nechalacho in the second quarter of 2021, with early production from a North T starter...
Advancing at a pace not typically seen in the mining industry, Australia-based Vital Metals Ltd. has surpassed several milestones during the first quarter of 2021 toward its goal of producing rare earth oxides from its Nechalacho project in Northwest Territories by mid-year. "Vital Metals is on its way to becoming Canada's first rare earths producer – and only the second in North America – within weeks following the mobilization of our mining fleet and I look forward to kee...
On track to begin the initial phase of rare earth production at the Nechalacho project in Northwest Territories later this year, Vital Metals Ltd. has launched a drill program to prepare for the second stage of REE mining at the project along the shores of Thor Lake. "2021 will be a groundbreaking year for Vital Metals," said Vital Metals Managing Director Geoff Atkins. "In addition to the commencement of development and construction activities for our Stage 1 operations at... Full story
As 2020, arguably the most calamitous year for northern mining in decades, drew to a close, the Government of Northwest Territories took the unusual step of topping up its annual mining incentives program with an additional C$100,000. In August, the territorial government awarded C$1 million in these grants to 19 junior mining companies and prospectors who proposed mineral exploration programs during the 2020-2021 field season. Normally awarded in the spring, the incentives... Full story
After enduring the multiple challenges of being a diamond miner through the COVID-19 pandemic, Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. ended 2020 strong and is positioned well for 2021. "Under very difficult circumstances, all driven by COVID-19, the Gahcho Kué Mine has performed well in being able to maintain production albeit at a reduced level and came very close to the revised guidance in tonnes mined and treated and exceeded the revised guidance target for carats recovered,"...
During the most challenging mining season in nearly 20 years brought on by constraints imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, one mineral exploration company has forged ahead in its quest to develop a robust zinc-lead mine at the Pine Point project near Hay River in Northwest Territories. Unlike most companies with mining projects in northern Canada this year, Osisko Metals Ltd. is reporting significant advances in developing Pine Point, including updating the project's mineral...
More than six years after turning its attention to advancing to production the world-class mineral reserves of its Nico project in Northwest Territories, Fortune Minerals Ltd. is again putting boots on the ground in search of new mineralization near the Nico deposit located 160 kilometers (99 miles) northwest of Yellowknife. The tenacious junior reported Sept. 2 that an exploration program planned for the 2020 field season is underway, despite restraints imposed by the...
Reestablishing a mine at Osisko Metals Inc.'s Pine Point zinc-lead project in Northwest Territories could be profitable, according to the preliminary economic assessment released on June 15. The PEA outlines a mine that would produce an average of 327 million pounds of zinc and 143 million lb of lead annually over an initial 10-year mine life. At an average zinc price of US$1.15/lb and lead averaging US95 cents/lb, this operation has been calculated to produce an after-tax...
Northwest Territories' mining sector took a major blow with the news that Dominion Diamond Mines, majority owner of the Ekati diamond mine and 40% owner of the Diavik diamond mine has filed for insolvency protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). While it has been a tough year for diamond markets, the COVID-19 pandemic was the blow that has forced Dominion to file for creditor protection. "The CCAA filing was necessitated primarily by the impact of the... Full story
Buoyed by the first-ever mineral resource estimate reported for its Yellowknife City Gold Project, Vancouver-based Gold Terra Resource Corp. (formerly TerraX Minerals Inc.) appears to be hitting its exploration stride after a half-dozen years of seeking gold in Northwest Territories. In February, the junior reported new intersections of gold mineralization in a winter drill program carried out at two deposits on its 790-square-kilometer (305 square miles) property. The junior...
In 21 months, Osisko Metals Ltd. has boosted the mineral resource estimate for its Pine Point zinc-lead project near Hay River in Northwest Territories by 36 percent to 50 million metric tons, a critical milestone for base metal mining ventures. The Montreal-based junior is also generating new excitement about the brownfields project by reporting more high-grade assays and additional evidence of upside mineral potential on the 22,213-hectare (8,990 acres) property located...
Canada is one of the world's richest sources of raw commodities, not least of which are the so-called rare earth elements. While China currently dominates global production and hosts some 35 percent of the world's known resources, observers believe Canada is endowed with world-class rare earths deposits, which could account for as much as 40-50 percent of the world's REE reserves. Demand for rare earth elements, along with lithium minerals, tin and other critical materials,...
An alliance formed nearly two years ago between Evrim Resources Corp. and a Newmont Mining Corp. subsidiary may be paying off for the busy junior, given Newmont's recent decision to designate for option a promising gold project that the duo identified in western Northwest Territories. The alliance focused on a 23,250-square-kilometer (8,975 square miles) prospective land package that parallels the NWT-Yukon Territory border in hopes of finding world-class carbonate-style gold...
The quest for diamonds at the Kennady North project next door to the Gahcho Kué Mine in Northwest Territories got a boost on Feb. 27 when owner Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. reported plans to begin its 2019 winter exploration program on the 67,432-hectare property. Kennady North covers a portion of the southeastern Slave Geological Province in Northwest Territories within the Kelvin-Faraday Corridor, a northeast-southwest structural feature that continues to the southwest an...
New gold mines are expected to drive strong economic growth in Nunavut and Yukon over the next several years, according to the latest Territorial Outlook published by The Conference Board of Canada. The non-profit think tank focused primarily on researching and analyzing economic trends, however, forecasts a shrinking economy for Northwest Territories as the diamond sector there matures. Despite a tepid recovery for the mining sector as a whole, the new mines being developed...
Northwest Territories may fall behind Canada's two other territories in mining activity in the near-future, but projects underway in the northern jurisdiction hold substantial promise for mid- to long-term gains, especially if many current roadblocks come down. "Optimism is warranted for the territory's mining sector and the broader economy it drives," said Wally Schumann, minister of industry, tourism and investment for the Government of Northwest Territories. But...
