North of 60 Mining News - The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North

Are there diamonds buried in Minnesota? The head of the University of Minnesota's geological survey says the science of diamond exploration has improved dramatically in recent years - and Minnesota is favorable ground. University geologists and an... — Updated 3/27/2005

B.C. based Metalex Ventures Ltd. said in mid-March that it has two samples, collected 430 meters apart, that contain "exceptional concentrations" of fresh diamond indicator minerals in glacial till at its West Greenland project. The company said... — Updated 3/27/2005

The chief of the mining section within the Alaska's Department of Natural Resources, Stan Foo, has taken a senior position with Placer Dome. Foo, 48, left DNR in mid-March, having worked there since 2001. He will now be Placer Dome's project... — Updated 3/27/2005

John Felderhof is unyielding in his belief that the Busang mining lease in Indonesia - the core of history's biggest mining fraud - holds a "substantial gold resource." Emerging from his home in the Cayman Islands, the Dutch-born geologist is... — Updated 3/27/2005

Follow-up studies of its 2004 drill program in the Canwell area of its MAN Alaska project look much better than originally thought, Nevada Star said March 23. As a result, the Vancouver-based junior mining company is moving forward with a more... — Updated 3/27/2005

For the first time since the Fraser Institute began its investment survey in 1997, British Columbia did not score in the bottom 10 of the "policy potential index," although it remained in the bottom third. Alaska, although it rated high for potenti... — Updated 3/27/2005

Max Baucus, the five-term Democratic U.S. senator from Montana, has found another issue to reinforce his reputation as the biggest American burr under British Columbia's saddle. Already well known for his advocacy of bans on U.S. imports of beef... — Updated 3/27/2005

Many Alaska state legislators have a personal connection with mining, and perhaps none more so than Richard Foster, Nome's Democratic representative. Foster, 58, grew up on his father's mine, 100 miles north of Nome. Today he is glad to see... — Updated 3/27/2005

No one shows up late to work at Greens Creek mine. That's because all the employees are in the same boat, from underground miners to top managers - literally. The ferry leaves Juneau's Auke Bay at 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. every day for the 35-minute trip... — Updated 3/27/2005

Current market conditions favor the three metals uncovered in the Pebble project operated by Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. in southwestern Alaska. Not only are gold and copper fetching good prices, but a recent run-up in molybdenum prices could... — Updated 3/27/2005

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., owner and operator of the Pebble project in southwestern Alaska, is gearing up for a new season with a larger ownership stake in the gold-copper-molybdenum deposit and a C$36 million work program for 2005. The compan... — Updated 3/27/2005

The proposed Kensington gold mine near Juneau would disrupt Steller sea lion populations but wouldn't jeopardize the species, federal regulators said in a late March finding. The decision by the National Marine Fisheries Service bodes well for... — Updated 3/27/2005

The Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys and the Department of Commerce and Economic Development have released their annual preliminary report on Alaska's mining industry for 2004. As expected, investment in all categories was up s... — Updated 3/27/2005

Linux Gold Corp. and Teryl Resources Corp. said March 22 that they had agreed to extend the term of their original Fish Creek claims agreement until March 5, 2007, giving Teryl a 50 percent interest in 30 Fish Creek claims, which are within six mil... — Updated 3/27/2005

The adventures of an intrepid judge at the height of Alaska's gold rush have been published online, thanks to the Alaska State Library. Judge James Wickersham was appointed district judge in 1900, and came up from Washington, initially to Eagle... — Updated 3/27/2005

Foreign companies will no longer be allowed to bid for exploration and development licenses in Russia, the country's natural resources minister said Feb. 10. Only companies that are at least 51 percent Russian owned may participate in the auctions,... — Updated 3/27/2005

Northern Dynasty is taking an innovative approach to the permitting process, the company's environmental project manager for Pebble, Ella Ede, told the Alaska Association of Environmental Professionals March 18. Unlike other mining companies,... — Updated 3/27/2005