The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Miners report encouraging exploration results in their search for a range of commodities, from the expected to the unpronounceable
They say when it rains, it pours, and that is just what is happening with news from field programs all over Alaska. Results from summer 2009 programs are pouring in from the Brooks Range to Prince of Wales Island, from Eastern Interior Alaska to Southwestern Alaska. Commodities of interest range from the expected gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc to the nearly unpronounceable, including praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium, thulium, lutetium and yttrium. Go ahead, drop a couple of those babies into a casual conversation and watch your friends back slowly away!
Western Alaska
Teck Resources Ltd. announced second-quarter results from its Red Dog Mine near Kotzebue.
During the quarter, the mine produced 143,000 metric tons of zinc in concentrate.
Zinc ore grade increased to 21 percent, while mill recoveries remained steady at 83.3 percent.
The mine also produced 30,900 metric tons of lead in concentrate.
Lead ore grade increased to 5.6 percent, while mill recoveries decreased to 67.6 percent.
The mine posted a US$40 million operating profit for the quarter, down significantly from the US$50 million operating profit in the same period a year ago.
Teck blamed the decreased operating income mainly on lower zinc prices.
The mine plans to ship 1.025 million metric tons of zinc concentrate and 220,000 metric tons of lead concentrate from the port facility this shipping season.
The company hopes to release a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Aqqaluk deposit this summer and receive approval for its development by year's end.
Nearby, Zazu Metals Corp. announced continuing efforts for its Lik zinc-lead-silver deposit in the Delong Mountains.
Work planned for the remainder of 2009 includes ongoing environmental studies as part of future mine permitting; analysis of the DeLong Mountains port facility to determine expansion and modifications required to ship Lik concentrate; analysis of the approximate costs and requirements of road corridor routes; incorporation of the data and resource estimates into a preliminary assessment study; conversion of the Lik federal claims package to state claims; initiation of an acid rock drainage study; completion of a preliminary processing flow sheet requiring additional metallurgical testing; and initiation of a concentrate marketing study.
Fire River Gold Corp. has exercised its option to acquire the Nixon Fork gold project from Pacific North West Capital. The company indicated that it plans to spend US$1.25 million during 2009 with the objective of conducting a comprehensive re-evaluation of mine reserves and resources, review metallurgy, complete tailing production reviews, complete a technical report, complete a revised financial analysis, update the mine plan and recommend a program for new exploration. These studies will form the basis for a planned resumption of mining operations.
Kiska Metals Corp., a new company formed by the merger of Rimfire Minerals and Geoinformatics Exploration, said it began a 2009 work program at the Whistler gold-copper project.
The company commenced a regional induced polarization geophysical survey totaling 341-line kilometers.
The program involves a combination of two-dimensional and three-dimensional techniques.
The survey is designed to refine targets in thin gravel-covered areas for later drilling.
As many as five targets may be drilled in a fall program, with additional targets determined after the junior completes geophysical data gathering, processing and integration.
Including drilling planned for this fall, a total of 7,000 meters in at least 20 drill holes is planned for completion by mid-2010.
Alaska newcomer Victory West Moly Ltd. reported that it has executed an agreement to acquire XS Platinum Ltd. and its ownership of the Goodnews Bay placer platinum operation in southwest Alaska.
Terms of the deal include issuance of 250 million Victory West shares and 100 million options exercisable at A$0.25 cents per share for five years.
The company also agreed to advance A$10 million to the platinum mining operation to be used to purchase equipment and conduct trial mining operations at Goodnews Bay.
The planned 2009 bulk-sampling program should provide the company with valuable production and geological data and should achieve actual platinum and gold sales by year's end.
Welcome to Alaska Victory West Moly!
Full Metal Minerals Corp. and strategic partner Kinross Gold Corp. said they signed an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the mineral rights to the Russian and Horn Mountain complexes from Calista Corp. Multiple targets on both prospects are currently being explored and diamond drilling has commenced.
Mineralization in the Russian Mountain complex consists primarily of several intrusive hosted zones of polymetallic gold-silver-copper-arsenic mineralization.
Six prospects are currently recognized on the Russian Mountain project; three historic (Owhat/Louise, Headwall, and Mission Creek) and three recently identified by the alliance (Bits, Half-Day, and Mac).
The exposed mineralized zones range from 1.5 to 10 meters wide and have been traced up to 600 meters (Headwall) along strike before disappearing beneath talus.
Mineralized float can be traced in the talus for up to 2 kilometers along strike of the Owhat and Mission Creek zones, suggesting that mineralization continues under cover.
The Owhat, Bits, Headwall, and Mission Creek prospects all consist of early zones of tourmaline quartz that are cross-cut by pods of massive arsenopyrite and/or chalcopyrite.
At the Headwall prospect, seven grab samples collected over 600 meter assayed up to 9.28 grams per metric ton of gold, 428 g/t silver and greater than 1 percent copper.
Six of the samples assayed greater than 1 g/t gold, three samples assayed greater than 100 parts-per-million silver, and four samples assayed greater than 1 percent copper.
Mineralized quartz-tourmaline float (up to 0.572 g/t gold) collected along strike suggests the zone may continue up to 1 kilometer to the northwest.
At the Owhat prospect, 17 samples were collected from multiple historic prospect pits and adits over 215 meters along a northwest trending zone of mineralization.
Widths range from 1.5 to 8.0 meters and samples returned values up to 15.42 g/t gold, 604 parts-per-million silver, and greater than 1 percent copper.
Quartz, tourmaline and sulfide float can be traced for up to 200 meters to the northwest and southeast of the prospect.
At the Horn Mountain project area, a volcanic-plutonic complex consists of a circular-shaped field of intermediate to felsic volcanic units that flank and overlie a multiphase monzonite to quartz syenite pluton.
The volcanic succession is commonly referred to as the Horn Mountain Volcanic Field.
Mineralization at Horn Mountain includes the Saddle Prospect, a 2-kilometer-long zone of polymetallic gold-silver-copper-arsenic mineralization.
Mineralization occurs within multiple northwest trending zones of tourmaline-quartz veining and within breccias of up to 30 meters wide.
Cross-cutting relationships among the veins indicate multiple hydrothermal events.
Highlights of previous grab sampling include: 27.45 g/t gold, 769 g/t silver, and greater than 1 percent copper.
A priority target is the Saddle prospect-zone in which nine samples assayed over 1.0 g/t gold and where the majority of the samples over a 2,000-meter strike length were anomalous in gold, silver and copper.
A second, north-south trending zone of anomalous mineralization also has been identified 2,500 meters south of the Saddle zone.
Multiple samples with anomalous gold (up to 9.06 grams of gold per metric ton), silver (up to 769 grams of silver per metric ton), and copper (up to 0.23 percent) are noted over a 4-square-kilometer, or 988-acre, area.
Under terms of the deal, Full Metal must incur US$3.5 million in exploration expenditures over seven years, and pay US$525,000 in advanced royalties.
After seven years, Full Metal will pay annual US$150,000 advanced royalty payments until the production.
Additionally, Full Metal will make annual US$7,500, increasing to US$10,000, scholarship donations over the life of the agreement.
At the start of commercial production, Full Metal will pay a 1.5 percent net smelter returns royalty for precious metals, and a 1 percent net smelter returns royalty for base metals until commercial payback is achieved, or five years, whichever comes first.
Afterwards, Full Metal will pay a sliding scale net smelter returns royalty for precious metal ranging from 2 percent, if the price of gold is less than US$600 per ounce, escalating to 4.0 percent if the price is greater than US$1,000 per ounce.
After payback, a 3 percent net smelter returns royalty will be payable on base metal production.
Eastern Interior
Kinross Gold Corp. announced second-quarter results from the Fort Knox mine near Fairbanks.
The mine produced 67,391 ounces of gold at a cost of US$541 per ounce.
Production decreased in the second quarter of 2009 when compared to the same period in 2008 (85,609 ounces at US$454/oz) as a result of mining a lower grade portion of the deposit.
During the quarter, the mill processed nearly 3.27 million metric tons of ore grading 0.74 g/t.
Gold recovery averaged 82 percent.
The company indicated that construction efforts were 86 percent complete on its valley leach project and that loading of completed portions of the pad had commenced.
The company is conducting a 29,000-meter drilling program for 2009, which it hopes will expand resources and extend mine life.
Some of this drilling is targeted toward a possible phase 8 pit expansion.
Teryl Resources Corp. and partner Kinross Gold Corp. reported drilling results from the Gil project near Fairbanks. The main focus of the drilling is on the Sourdough Ridge zone, which is similar in geology to the Main Gil zone. Results include 105 feet grading 4 g/t gold from hole GVR-09-540, 75 feet grading 2.5 g/t gold from hole GVR-09-534 and 110 feet grading 1.10 g/t gold from hole GVR-09-523. Additional drilling is being conducted on the $1.6 million program.
Sumitomo Metal Mining (85 percent) and Sumitomo Corp. (15 percent) recently said gold production at the Pogo Mine is expected to reach a record 375,000 ounces in 2009. The company also indicated that it expects to surpass the 1 million-ounce production level in October. Sumitomo noted that employee turnover is still an issue but turnover rates have dropped from 33 percent to 24 percent. The producer aims to reduce annual worker turnover to 18 percent by year's end. Alaska residents comprise about 65 percent of the Pogo staff, earning US$29 million in annual compensation.
Alix Resources Corp. said it acquired the Money Rock Project in the Goodpaster District from private owners and has begun exploration on the project. Under the terms of the agreement, Alix has an option to earn 100 percent interest in the project by making cash payments totaling US$210,000 over six years. The option is subject to a 2 percent net smelter return production royalty, which can be reduced to 1 percent by paying the property owners US$1 million. The company also began a soil sampling program on the project. Results are pending.
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. released results from the newly discovered "Sunshine" zone on its Livengood gold project north of Fairbanks.
The new zone is located northeast of current resources, is over 500 meters long north-south and remains open to the north.
Mineralization extends from the surface to depths exceeding 250 meters in a zone 100-150 meters wide.
Significant results include hole MK-RC-160, which returned 131.1 meters grading 0.88 g/t gold, hole MK-RC-162 which returned 47.3 meters grading 1.20 g/t gold and 45.7 meters grading 1.11 g/t gold, and hole MK-RC-167 which returned 41.2 meters grading 1.22 g/t gold.
In addition, grid drilling on the East zone continued to encounter significant gold mineralization, including hole MK-RC-164 which returned 13.7 meters grading 1.33 g/t gold.
As with previously discovered mineralization, gold in the Sunshine zone appears to be preferentially hosted in Devonian volcanic rocks with higher grade zones associated with steeply dipping north-northwest trending structures.
Alaska Range
Fire River Gold Corp. announced that it has acquired an option on the Golden Zone project from Hidefield Resources and Mines Trust Co. The project is an advanced stage gold-copper-silver system with about 20,100 meters of drilling, extensive trenching, soil sampling grids, multiple geophysical surveys, and metallurgical samples collected from core and the underground workings in the main Breccia zone.
The property hosts several mineralization styles including an igneous rock-hosted breccia pipe, several replacement zones of mineralization in calcareous rocks, and mineralization hosted in volcaniclastic rocks.
Mineral resources on the project include a measured and indicated resource of about 3.09 million metric tons grading 2.81 g/t gold, using a cut-off grade of 1.03 g/t gold for a total of 259,940 ounces of gold, with 7.61 million pounds of copper and 1.39 million ounces of silver.
Under terms of the deal, the company will have an option to acquire 100 percent interest in Golden Zone by making cash payments of US$50,000 within seven days of signing the final agreement and making additional staged cash payments totaling US$225,000 over three years.
The company also must issue to the vendor 500,000 common shares of its stock within seven days of the signing and make additional stock issuances valued at US$1,300,000 over four years.
But wait! There's more! To complete the option, Fire River Gold must expend a cumulative US$2.5 million in work expenditures by Dec. 31, 2014, with a minimum annual commitment of US$250,000.
Once the company has completed cumulative expenditures of US$1 million on the project, made cumulative cash payments of US$200,000, and issued the first 500,000 common shares of the company and $650,000 worth of shares, Fire River will earn 51 percent interest in the project.
Upon completion of all cash and share payments and a cumulative US$2.5 million of work expenditures, the company will earn a 100 percent interest in the property, subject to a 2 percent net smelter return production royalty with a buy-down provision for US$1 million.
Fire River Gold Corp. also said it has acquired an option from a private vendor on the Kansas Creek gold project in the Bonnifield District. Under terms of the deal, Fire River can acquire a 100 percent interest in the project by paying the vendor an aggregate of US$40,000 in installments and also issuing an aggregate of 250,000 common shares of Fire River stock.
Northern Alaska
Goldrich Mining Co. said an alluvial gold gravity recovery plant capable of processing up to 200 cubic yards of gravel per hour has been constructed and mobilized to its Chandalar property north of Fairbanks.
The plant is scheduled to operate at about half capacity during its initial mechanical shakedown period and will process lower grade mineralized material that is readily accessible.
Thereafter, it will be on processing higher grade mineralized material from a mining test pit where overburden is currently being stripped.
A sample pit was excavated about 20 feet from the collar of a drill hole containing a 20-foot-thick intercept of gold-bearing gravel averaging 0.22 fine ounces per cubic yard of gold.
It penetrated this mineralized zone, where a series of 2-foot-long vertical samples, each equivalent to 1 cubic foot of material averaged 0.51 fine oz/cy gold over 12 feet, including 6 feet reporting nearly 1 oz/cy gold.
At the same location, an excavator also was used to collect a 1-cubic-yard sample from five vertical feet within the 12- foot zone.
A total of 0.86 fine ounces of gold was recovered from this 1-cubic-yard sample, indicating a grade of 0.86 oz/cy gold.
Gold fineness is estimated at 870 and is associated with negligible black sand or other heavy minerals.
Southeast Alaska
Hecla Mining announced second-quarter 2009 production from the Greens Creek Mine on Admiralty Island.
The cash cost of silver for the quarter was US$2.14 per ounce.
The average grade of ore mined during the quarter was 13.8 ounces of silver per metric ton.
During the second quarter, the mine produced 2,115,098 ounces of silver, 15,925 ounces of gold, 5,353 metric tons of lead and 16,874 metric tons of zinc.
Total production costs for the quarter averaged US$8.76 per ounce of silver produced.
Tonnage milled rose to 2,254 tons per day, or 32 percent higher than a year ago.
Capital expenditures during the second quarter totaled US$3.3 million.
The underground exploration drill program tested the Southwest Ore zone and was designed to in-fill drill the lower contact of this zone.
Results indicate multiple fold and repeated mineral contacts with good intercepted widths that support the view that bulk mining methods may be used in this zone.
The surface drill program is targeting the Northeast contact from a location near the 920 Portal.
The objective is to extend the previously defined mineralized contact along strike.
Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued its final approval on a tailing impoundment permit for the Kensington Mine near Juneau, after reviewing more than 8,500 comments from public interests. Congratulations Coeur now get to work!
Constantine Metal Resources announced the start of a 2009 drill program on its Palmer copper-zinc-gold-silver volcanogenic massive sulfide project near Haines. The current program includes up to 6,500 meters of drilling using two drills. The program is focused on expanding high-grade massive sulfide mineralization in the South Wall and RW zones discovered in 2007 and 2008. Mineralization in these two zones is open for expansion laterally and to depth. Preliminary mineralogical and metallurgical work planned in conjunction with the drilling in order to complete an initial resource estimate at the end of the program.
CBR Gold Corp. and its joint venture partner, a private company associated with the Hunter Dickinson Group, announced that it has started a US$5.35 million exploration program at the Niblack copper-gold-silver-zinc project on Prince of Wales Island.
The joint venture has received approval from the State of Alaska to resume underground exploration and has begun to dewater and rehabilitate the exploration decline in preparation for a 7,620-meter underground drilling program scheduled to commence in September.
The main objective of the 2009 program will be to expand the current resource in the Lookout Zone through underground drilling.
The current geological model for the Lookout Zone suggests the mineralization plunges moderately to the west-southwest and that excellent potential exists to significantly increase the resource base of the project.
Ucore Uranium Inc. said it is separating its Alaska holdings into two independent projects in order to maximize shareholder value.
The Ross Adams uranium mine and surrounding claim block will continue to be known as the Bokan Mountain uranium project.
The company's claim holdings to the north and east of Bokan Mountain and spatially removed from the Ross Adams mine area will be separated into an independent project to be known as the Dotson Ridge rare earth project.
Dotson Ridge will become the primary focus of Rare Earth One, Ucore's wholly owned U.S.-based subsidiary.
The company also announced commencement of ground mapping and drilling at its Dotson Ridge project.
Drilling is targeted along the Dotson Trend and Sunday Trend and is intended to extend into October.
Initial surface samples from the Sunday Trend returned high concentrations of heavy and light rare earth elements.
Results included total light rare earth element values ranging up to 7.19 percent and total heavy rare earth values ranging up to 15.17 percent.
Efforts to advance the Dotson Ridge project were intensified by a recent Chinese government announcement that it intends to restrict the production and export of all rare earth elements and completely prohibit the export of certain heavy rare earth elements which are particularly enriched at Dotson Ridge.
Full Metal Minerals and joint venture partner Mosam Capital Corp. reported that a US$200,000 exploration program is underway on the Mount Andrew iron-oxide copper-gold project in Southeast Alaska. The 2009 exploration program consists of a review of the geological mapping and sampling, while conducting an induced polarization-resistivity geophysical survey over the prospect area to test for a disseminated sulfide body under the historic mine workings.
Curt is President of Avalon Development Corporation, a mineral exploration consulting firm based in Fairbanks, Alaska. He is a U.S. Certified Professional Geologist with the American Institute of Professional Geologists (CPG #6901) and is a licensed geologist in the State of Alaska (Lic. # AA 159).
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