The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Mining Explorers 2024 - January 15, 2025
Soil sampling at Li-FT Power's Yellowknife Lithium project in Northwest Territories, a prime example of the largely untapped critical minerals potential across the North.
Data Mine North is proud to present the 2024 edition of Mining Explorers, the 16th edition of this perennial magazine that delivers unprecedented insights into the mining and mineral exploration companies exploring the vast and largely untapped mineral potential across a northern expanse that extends from the gold-rich beaches on Alaska's west coast to the world-class iron ore deposits on Nunavut's Baffin Island.
While rich deposits and new discoveries of gold, silver, zinc, copper, and diamonds continue to draw mineral exploration companies to Alaska and Canada's North, a growing need for secure North American supplies of critical minerals is driving a new wave of discovery across Alaska, Northern British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
Although a dynamic geological past played its role in enriching these northern jurisdictions with large and often high-grade deposits of minerals and metals – materials critical to high-tech, clean energy, military readiness, and North America's broader economy – a harsh climate and sparse infrastructure has kept most of these rich stores of minerals and metals frozen in place.
The infrastructure and climate challenges that have thus far prevented the North's vast resource potential from being unlocked offer an unprecedented opportunity in an era when clean energy, emerging technologies, and everyday living are driving up demand for critical minerals.
Northwest Territories Premier R.J. Simpson drove this message home in a column penned last fall on unlocking the North's potential.
"The North is often viewed through the lens of its challenges – vast distances, harsh climates, and small populations – but these very factors make the North an exciting opportunity for Canada," he wrote.
The exciting opportunities the North has to offer have piqued the interest of American and Canadian policymakers, military leaders, and mining companies that are investing both money and time into overcoming the challenges of extending critical mineral supply chains into North America's northern frontiers.
One of the most compelling signals of the growing interest in the North of 60 critical minerals opportunities is the roughly $60 million (C$86 million) the U.S. Department of Defense is investing in critical minerals projects in Alaska, Yukon, and Northwest Territories.
The Pentagon's investment in northern critical minerals projects began with a $37.5 million grant to Graphite One Inc. to accelerate the advancement of the world-class Graphite Creek project near Alaska's west coast.
DOD has since awarded a $6.5 million (C$8.8 million) grant to Fortune Minerals Ltd. for the NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper mine project in Northwest Territories and a $15.8 million grant to Fireweed Metals Corp. for the Mactung tungsten mine project in eastern Yukon.
The DOD grants to Fortune and Fireweed were part of a larger collaboration that also included funding from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), part of a growing number of U.S. and Canada collaborations to extend critical mineral supply chains into the North.
"Through our continued work with the United States, ... we are developing secure critical minerals value chains that will bolster national and economic security in Canada and the U.S., and build a strong economic future for workers and businesses on both sides of the border," said Canada Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.
In addition to its critical mineral project co-investments with DOD, NRCan has partnered with the British Columbia government to invest more than C$250 million ($170 million) to upgrade and expand upon transportation and hydropower infrastructure through the Golden Triangle and into the Yukon.
"These two projects, under the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy's flagship program, will develop the necessary infrastructure to access and transport our rich critical mineral resources in northern B.C. and the Yukon," Wilkinson said. "Developments like these help mines get built faster, and they are a key element in seizing the generational opportunity before us."
This generational opportunity is drawing a growing number of mineral exploration companies North to discover and delineate deposits rich in antimony, cobalt, copper, gallium, germanium, graphite, nickel, platinum group metals, tungsten, uranium, zinc, and other metals deemed critical to the U.S. and Canada.
Mining Explorers 2024 features more than 50 companies exploring for minerals and metals critical to the economy and security of Canada and the U.S.
On behalf of the entire Data Mine North team, I want to thank you for your interest in Mining Explorers 2024 and hope this magazine provides you with deeper insights into North America's mineral-rich northern frontier and the companies "Discovering the future of Alaska & Canada's North."
–Shane Lasley
Mining Explorers is part of the Data Mine North family of publications that includes North of 60 Mining News, Metal Tech News, and feature magazines that deliver deep insights into mining and mineral exploration across the North, North American critical mineral supply chains, and cutting-edge of mining technologies.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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