The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
FM: TSX / FQM: LSE
Chairman and CEO: Philip Pascall
President: Clive Newall
Principal geologist, generative projects: Tim Ireland
With seven mines in operation and five mineral projects under development, First Quantum Minerals Ltd. is a growing, diversified miner with a particular focus on copper.
Its operating mines and development projects are located in Africa, Australia, Finland, Spain, Turkey and Latin America.
Yet the company has no foothold in North America.
Carrying forward a relationship built between Inmet and Millrock Resources Corp., First Quantum is now exploring the possibility of expanding its copper business into Alaska.
Early in 2014, the copper miner invested US$600,000 in a 2014 reconnaissance program aimed at investigating some of the more intriguing targets on the Alaska Peninsula property.
In exchange, Millrock granted First Quantum an exclusive right to an option to earn up to an 80 percent joint-venture interest in the project.
The 2014 program included high-resolution airborne magnetic and resistivity surveys followed by mapping and sampling.
Results from this initial work, intrigued First Quantum enough for it to take up the option and invest roughly US$2 million in a 2,400-meter drill program aimed at investigating what lies below the surface at two of the most promising prospects - Dry Creek, formerly known as Bee Creek, and MDB, short for Mallard Duck Bay.
During 2014, First Quantum also cut a tentative deal on Kiska Metals Corp.'s Copper Joe property located roughly 110 miles (175 kilometers) northwest of Anchorage.
Situated roughly 20 miles (30 kilometers) southwest of Millrock's Estelle project, Copper Joe is in a region of Southcentral Alaska known for its copper-gold potential.
To secure the exclusive right to option Copper Joe, First Quantum funded a late-2014 drill program that included 885 meters of drilling in two holes.
In early December, Kiska reported that the drilling did not return any significant assay results, but confirmed the presence of a strong porphyry-hydrothermal system.
Early in 2015, First Quantum spent US$826,000 on a geological mapping program and a magnetotelluric geophysical survey on the property.
Results of this work are being evaluated to determine the potential of a follow-up drill program.
First Quantum can earn an initial 51 percent interest in the Copper Joe by investing US$5 million in the project by the end of 2017, and a stake could be increased to 80 percent with a production decision.
Cash and Cash Equivalents: US$289 million (June 30, 2015)
Working Capital: US$1.64 billion (June 30, 2015)
Market Capitalization: C$4.8 billion (Sept. 18, 2015)
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