The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 276 - 300 of 324
Coeur Alaska has spent more than $206 million on the development and construction of Kensington gold mine near Juneau, but the economic benefits of the project could soon disappear if the mine doesn't commence operations, a report by the McDowell Group says. The mining company commissioned the report to determine how much Kensington is contributing to the economy of Southeast Alaska. Construction work has been completed on the main 12,000-foot access tunnel at Kensington, with all remaining, non-tailings-related surface facil...
It is high summer in Alaska and the wheeling and dealing are nearly as frenetic as the exploration, development and production going on all around the state. New deals continue to be cut on old and new projects while more established projects are being subjected to the "truth machine," otherwise known as the drill. This time-tested application has proven many a cock-sure geologist or engineer dead wrong but that doesn't stop anyone in the industry from picking himself up,...
The decision was taken months ago, but now the reasons for it have been explained. Nothing the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has said in its May 22 ruling on Kensington mine is likely to bring encouragement to the project's developers or employees whose livelihoods have been put at risk, but at least now Idaho-based Coeur d'Alene Mines can start to analyze the judges' objections. Juneau Native corporation Goldbelt also suffers from the ruling, which vacated its permit to construct a marine terminal for the transportation of...
Alaska's summer exploration season is in full swing with strong budgets on a number of projects around the state. Alaska's mines also weighed in with strong quarterly results as metal prices remain strong. The hot spots in the state this month include Southeast Alaska, Interior Alaska and the Alaska Range but don't think that silence means there is nothing going on! We are entering the period where everyone has his nose to the ground and has little time for news releases or...
After removing a strongly worded criticism of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Alaska's House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution encouraging Coeur d'Alene Mines to pursue all legal avenues that would enable it to proceed with developing Kensington gold mine near Juneau. Construction of the mine's tailings facility has been halted by a pending ruling from the 9th Circuit Court in favor of a coalition of environmental groups. The Senate also passed the resolution with a vote of 17-2. The author of House Joint... Full story
The trials and tribulations of Alaska's mining industry continued in the last month with one challenged mine given the green light to proceed, the other halted in midstride by the same legal system. In the background, exploration programs quietly began at several locations across the state as the busy 2007 mining season started in earnest. Alaska's global rank dropped from 13th to 24th position in the most recent Fraser Institute survey of mining jurisdictions worldwide. At...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit is preparing to rule against construction of the tailings facility at Kensington gold mine near Juneau. The court made the announcement March 16 in a separate ruling that denied the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permission to construct an interceptor ditch for Kensington. Idaho-based Coeur d'Alene Mines must now decide what to do about its half-finished project. "We are surprised and disappointed in the court's announcement and what it might mean for the over 400 Kensington...
Strong markets and solid production powered hardrock mining companies with large operations and investments in Alaska to outstanding performances in 2006. Teck Cominco, operator of the Red Dog zinc-lead mine near Kotzebue and the Pogo gold mine in the eastern Interior near Delta Junction; Kinross Gold Corp., owner of the Fort Knox gold mine near Fairbanks, Hecla Mining Co., part owner of the Greens Creek silver mine in Southeast Alaska; and Coeur D'Alene Corp., developer of the Kensington Gold Project near Juneau, reported...
A Panel of three judges from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco heard arguments Dec. 4 for and against tailings disposal plans for Kensington gold mine near Juneau. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Forest Service and mining company Coeur Alaska are fighting a lawsuit brought in 2005 by the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, the Sierra Club and Lynn Canal Conservation that opposes the Corps' 404 permit approving the use of Lower Slate Lake as a tailings impoundment. In August, U.S. District Judge...
NovaGold Resources took on Barrick, the world's largest gold producer, and won, but equally tenacious opposition from some residents of Nome has cast a shadow over the Vancouver-based junior's first mine construction project. Just after Barrick withdrew from its hostile takeover bid with just 14.8 percent of NovaGold's shares tendered, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that it was suspending its 404 permit for Rock Creek mine in the wake of a lawsuit. The permit authorized the placement of approximately 13.7 million... Full story
Alaska's governor-elect, Republican Sarah Palin, made the annual miners' convention in Anchorage the venue for her first official engagement after the election, promising to listen to the industry as she selects her advisors. Palin's predecessor, Frank Murkowski, gave strong support to the mining industry, including initiating the Roads to Resources program, but lost valuable employees at the Department of Natural Resources when they resigned in protest at his handling of gas pipeline negotiations. "It's my pleasure to...
When a University of Alaska Fairbanks professor moonlighting as a consultant asked student Mike Busby to drive out to a gold mine north of the city, Busby had no idea the day trip would change his life. It turned out the mine was looking for workers and hired Busby on the spot. That opportunity in the mid-1970s thrust Busby into a gold mining career in Interior Alaska that has lasted for 30 years. Along the way, Busby met his wife, Lou, and raised two children. In 1990, the Busbys began mining a site about 180 miles east of...
By most years' standards, the last month has been a barn burner for mining news. By 2006 standards it hardly measures on the Mining Industry Care-O-Meter, a highly subjective, totally unscientific measurement of what is happening in Alaska's mineral industry. In the last month we have seen the state's largest primary gold deposit resources increase to a mind-boggling 32 million ounces, we've seen one new mine begin commercial construction, we've seen one mine under construction receive a partial injunction against part of...
Alaska legislators didn't get much of a break this summer. After sitting through two special sessions in Juneau to debate a new oil tax and a proposed gas pipeline, followed by some hard-fought primary elections, members of the House and Senate Resources Committee convened again Aug. 31 for a hearing about Kensington mine. Several legislators participated in the Anchorage meeting by telephone, keen to find out what was going on after the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued an injunction in late August against work on...
Higher metals prices contributed to record earnings in the second quarter across the mining spectrum. Three companies heavily invested in Alaska, Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp., Hecla Mining Co. and Kinross Gold Corp., posted stronger financial results for the period and noted how their Alaska properties fared. Fort Knox battles escalating costs with high gold output Kinross, owner of the Fort Knox mine near Fairbanks, posted record earnings of $65.6 million, or 19 cents per share for the second quarter of 2006, compared with a...
Hang on to your hat, the data is beginning to roll in from Alaskan field programs and there are some hum dingers in this month's data and several others will be showing up next month. What's a "hum dinger"? How about an Alaska gold project at the center of a $1.5 billion corporate takeover by the world's largest gold producer? Or how about 75 feet grading more than 2 ounces of gold per ton? Or maybe silver production costs of a negative $2.28 per ounce? But wait, there's more...
The president and CEO of Idaho-based Coeur d'Alene Mines has been in Alaska to thank Gov. Frank Murkowski and his administration for their help in staving off a lawsuit that had been threatening the Kensington project near Juneau. Dennis Wheeler attended a press conference with Murkowski in Anchorage Aug. 7 and promised that his company would proceed with construction of the gold mine. U.S. District Judge James Singleton dismissed a lawsuit in early August that had been brought by the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council,...
When Margaret "Peggy" Kent corralled partners and a core staff in 2003 to launch Century Mining Co., it was a package of nine groups of promising mining claims near Juneau in Southeast Alaska that she waved in front of investors to incite a stampede of capital to the startup. Kent knew properties such as the Treadwell Mine and surrounding claims in the historic Juneau Gold Belt had a venerable reputation for rich deposits of precious metals. The belt, after all, did produce 6.8 million ounces of gold and 3.1 million ounces... Full story
Bristol Bay tribal leaders are tracking a dispute over where to dump waste from a gold mine in Southeast Alaska, fearing the outcome will set a precedent that could harm the rivers they fish. Seven Alaska Native village corporations have signed a resolution supporting the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, one of three environmental groups who sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over permits issued to the Kensington gold mine, which is slated to begin operations in late 2007. The environmental groups claim the corps'... Full story
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has reinstated two permits for the Kensington gold project that the agency suspended last November following the filing of a lawsuit by the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council and other environmental groups. The permits authorize the discharge of fill material and the construction of a dock by Goldbelt in waters 25 miles north of Juneau. Specifically, mine tailings will be disposed of in Lower Slate Lake, which is the main point of contention in the lawsuit. "The decision to reinstate the...
The sound of boots, hammers, drills and helicopters is starting to drown out the sounds of "we are planning," "we hope to" and "later this year" that we've been hearing for the last few months. Despite a late spring through most of Alaska, a number of projects kicked off recently and more are gathering steam as the short, hectic Alaska summer season approaches. Companies counting on an early spring due to Global Warming have been disappointed and Plan B options are being formulated however, the end result will be the same:...
Preparations for exploration and development activities ramped up again in the last month as budgets were approved and committed on projects extending from Southeast Alaska to the Seward Peninsula to Interior Alaska. Commodity and equity markets for the metals mining industry have remained strong in anticipation of continued high demand and restricted supplies. To put things into a global perspective, the Worldwatch Institute (www.worldwatch.org) recently published information about the growing demand for goods and services i...
Some of Alaska's mines are taking full advantage of Gov. Frank Murkowski's Roads to Resources program. But for others, building a private road may be more economical than letting the state take care of the infrastructure. With public roads, mines not only have to deal with the issue of public access, they must also pay additional taxes and comply with numerous regulations that restrict the size and weight of vehicles. Northern Dynasty is weighing up the options for its Pebble project in southwest Alaska. The Vancouver-based c...
Coeur Alaska has provided detailed information to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation on measures taken to control erosion at the Kensington mine near Juneau. The company was cited by DEC Nov. 10 for violating the turbidity standard due to sediment discharges into Johnson Creek from construction activities at the mill site, upper bridge and topsoil stockpile areas. The problems were caused by heavy rainfall. Construction of the mine is also under scrutiny from the Corps of Engineers, which suspended its... Full story
Although results from 2005 activities have finally slowed to a trickle, don't equate this lack of news with lack of activity. Behind the holiday season façade there is a mad scramble going on with companies already jockeying for personnel, drill rigs, helicopters, geochemical services, field camps and all manner of field supplies. While wishing each other season's greetings over a cup of grog, competitors are quietly trying to steal the jump on each other to get the best...
