The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
"Due to significant backlogs at assay labs, the results from this program are pending" is the theme for the 2021 mineral exploration season across Alaska and Canada's North. The turnaround times for assay results descended from long during the first half of the year to ad absurdum during the latter half. Backlogs at assay labs are nothing new for mineral explorers in the North of 60 Mining News coverage area. In fact, the ability to completely overwhelm the sample prep facilities and assay laboratories with more samples than they can handle is a badge of honor that marks a robust exploration season across Alaska, Northern British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. While 2021 earns such a badge, the massive assay backlog goes beyond the more than 1 million meters (1,000 kilometers or 620 miles) of drill core North of 60 Mining Explorers delivered to labs for analysis last year. Though less than ideal for northern mineral explorers, the painfully slow assay turnaround times has a silver lining – the historic backlog is the product of the most robust exploration season across Alaska and Canada's North in nearly a decade. A season that is encapsulated in Mining Explorers 2021 – a magazine that covers more than 60 mining companies that overwhelmed assay labs with core from more than 1 million meters of drilling across Alaska, Northern BC, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the Yukon during 2021.
