The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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TSX: HW/NYSE: HWD/RTP:LON & NYSE DDMI Manager Operational Readiness: Richard Storrie DDMI Superintendent, Geotechnical Engineering: Sarah Greer DDMI Chief Geologist: David Eichenberg The Diavik Diamond Mine is an unincorporated 60-40 joint venture between Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., a subsidiary of London-based Rio Tinto plc, and Harry Winston Diamond Mines Ltd., a subsidiary of Toronto-based Harry Winston Diamond Corp. Both companies have headquarters in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Diavik Diamond Mines manages the...
Hampered by a recession-driven drought in capital markets, mineral explorers in the Northwest Territories met the challenges of 2009 with a variety of survival strategies. With significant diamond, precious and base metal projects and prospects at stake, some companies entered a holding pattern in hopes of waiting out the economic storm, while other forged ahead, adjusting to the new cash-strapped environment as the year progressed. Thanks to record commodity prices, the economy of the Northwest Territories has outpaced the...
Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. has discovered seven additional kimberlites on its 9,800-square-kilometer, or 3,784-square-mile, Chidliak Project in Nunavut, and recent tests yielded discovery of large diamonds and a coarse diamond size distribution in representative drill core samples collected from the CH-6 kimberlite. "We believe these microdiamond counts from CH-6 are some of the best results in the history of Canadian diamond exploration and a testament to the outstanding potential of Chidliak," Peregrine CEO Eric Friedland...
Kinross Gold Corp. - operator of the largest gold mine in the Tintina Gold Belt - has embarked on a treasure hunt in hopes of identifying another Fort Knox-like deposit in this gold-rich province. The Tintina belt is a boomerang-shaped swath of land that spans the breadth of Alaska, through the Yukon Territory and into northern British Columbia. While Kinross works to extend the mine life of Fort Knox after 13 years of production through drilling, the Toronto-based miner is...
If it were entirely up to Copper Ridge Explorations Inc., the project generator would explore most of its mineral properties in Yukon Territory, northern British Columbia and Alaska this summer. But tough economic times have forced the Vancouver, B.C.-based junior to pick and choose among its 12 key projects, betting precious dollars on a handful of ideas that could pay off with additional exploration by catching the eye of future partners or investors. Fortunately, some of Copper Ridge's projects have already hit that magic...
Copper Ridge Exploration Inc. got its start 10 years ago when Gerald Carlson and Mark Fields organized the company. Prior to forming Copper Ridge in 1999, Carlson was president and CEO of La Teko Resources Ltd., which held gold claims near the Fort Knox Mine in Interior Alaska. Fields also worked for La Teko until Fort Knox owner Kinross Gold Corp. acquired that junior. The geologist also was involved in the acquisition and development of the Diavik diamond mine for Rio Tinto Ltd., and has since moved on to other ventures....
The Northwest Territories has four operating mines: three diamond producers and one long-running tungsten operation. Exploration and development activity was brisk in 2008 with the most advanced projects located in the Slave Province. Here's a look at mining companies active during 2008 in the Northwest Territories: Producing mines BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc. (80 percent) and partners C. Fipke (10 percent) and S. Blusson (10 percent) produced about 3.5 million carats of rough diamonds at the Ekati diamond mine in 2008, making...
The Government of the Northwest Territories and three diamond mines in the Northwest Territories entered a Memorandum of Understanding to further development and retention of the Arctic territory's diamond mining work force. The agreement was signed in Yellowknife Nov. 27 by Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment Bob McLeod; Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Jackson Lafferty; BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc. President Ricus Grimbeek; Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. President Kim Truter; and Chantal Lavoie, senior vice p...
Redfern Resources Ltd. has come up with a new plan for transporting supplies and ore up and down the Taku River between the company's Tulsequah Chief zinc-copper-lead-gold-silver project in British Columbia and the Port of Juneau, about 40 kilometers, or 65 miles away. The new proposal, submitted to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources Nov. 19, outlines the use of shallow draft river tugs, tracked articulated vehicles, modified Morgan Skidders, and several other support...
North Arrow Minerals Inc. has discovered a large, lithium-rich pegmatite in the Aylmer Lake area of the Northwest Territories, about 70 kilometers, or about 43 miles, east of existing winter road infrastructure that services the Ekati and Diavik diamond mines. The Vancouver, B.C-based junior is focused on exploration of a diverse group of gold-silver-base metal-and-diamond-prospective properties in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Territory. North Arrow Sept. 18 said the northwest trending "Big Bird" pegmatite dike is...
Mining exploration appears to be hotter than ever this season in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, but the Canadian Arctic region's few producers are getting hammered by the strong Canadian dollar. The discrepancy was particularly evident in the territories' mining production. The total value of metal and diamond shipments from the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Territory decreased to C$1.53 billion during the calendar year 2007 for the second consecutive year, down from C$1.63 billion in 2006 and C$1.79 billion in...
De Beers has written down the value of its Snap Lake diamond mine in the Northwest Territories by US$965 million in what management called a "prudent" move given the increased value of the Canadian dollar and higher costs and construction challenges at Canada's newest diamond mine. The South African company is the second diamond miner to report financial problems in Canada, with Tahera Diamond Corp. seeking bankruptcy-court protection in January after a failure to raise money for its Jericho Diamond Mine in Nunavut. De...
Tahera Diamond Corp., nearly 17 months to the day after the hopeful startup of its Jericho Diamond Mine in Nunavut Territory, said it would seek protection from its creditors under Canada's Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. A few hours later, the Toronto-based diamond producer announced that it had obtained an order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granting the company and its subsidiary protection until Feb. 14, 2008, with the period to be extended or terminated thereafter as the court deems appropriate. The co...
A bold gambit to revive what was once Canada's largest and most profitable zinc-lead mine is still on track thanks to the tenacity and innovation of Tamerlane Ventures Inc., a Blaine, Wash.-based junior mining company led by some of the industry's savviest mining veterans. Located just across Great Slave Lake from Yellowknife about 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of the village of Hay River in the Northwest Territories, the historic Pine Point Mine produced some 4.5 million metric tons of zinc and 2 million metric tons of lead...
Indicator Minerals Inc. is that most fortunate of Canadian junior exploration companies, one with a prospect so enticing that a major has signed on to do some heavy lifting. The three-year-old Vancouver, British Columbia-based venture is well into its third season of exploration, poring over more than 4 million acres of mineral claims in the Far North's Nunavut Territory in search of Canada's next big diamond discovery. Indicator's most promising prospect to date is the Darby property, located on nearly 700,000 acres of...
DeBeers Canada Inc. is exploring the Gahcho Kué project in the Northwest Territories this summer, hoping to confirm its potential to become the company's second major diamond mine in the Canadian Arctic. Of the four major mining projects De Beers is developing, two are in Canada, which has emerged in the past 15 years as one of the world's most prospective diamond mining regions. The two advanced Canadian developments are the Snap Lake Diamond Project in the Northwest Territories and the Victor Diamond Mine Project, in...
The mining industry is concerned about its future in Canada's Northwest Territories in the wake of the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board's decision in May to recommend against a uranium exploration project that was proposed by Manotick, Ontario-based Ur-Energy. The company hopes to explore near Screech Lake in the Upper Thelon River basin. Canada's Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Jim Prentice will now decide whether or not to accept MVEIRB's recommendation. Uranium exploration is quite similar to the dia...
Stornoway Diamond Corp. is aiming to become one of the few successful middle-tier diamond exploration and development companies, following its amalgamation with Ashton Mining and Contact Diamond Corp., which concluded in mid-January. The Vancouver-based company now has three advanced exploration projects in the eastern Arctic, one on the border of Quebec and Ontario, and another in northern Alberta, as well as a 50 percent interest in the Renard property in Quebec. Middle-tier companies are much more common in the gold sector...
Two Vancouver-based mining companies are forging ahead with gold projects in Nunavut, and if all goes according to plan they could both be in production by 2008. Cumberland Resources and Miramar Mining have seen their stock prices leap from under $2 a year ago to around $5 today thanks to endorsement from the Nunavut Impact Review Board. The mainly indigenous residents of Canada's far northern territory have expressed enthusiasm for new mining projects, as long as stringent environmental conditions are adhered to. After...
Tahera Diamond Corp. celebrated the opening Aug. 17 of Jericho, Canada's third operating diamond mine and the first diamond mining venture to come online in the arctic territory of Nunavut. Just across the Northwest Territories border about 260 miles from Yellowknife, Jericho will eventually produce 375,000 carats of diamonds a year to yield 2.6 million carats over the initial eight-year life of the mine. Tiffany & Co., a marketing and financing partner in the venture, has first dibs on the mine's output, as well as a...
Diamond production in Canada's North is delivering more than vast profits to mining companies and millions of carats to eager consumers around the globe. Since its first diamond was discovered in 1991, Canada's North has emerged as a world-class diamond producer. Three of the biggest diamond mines, all in the Northwest Territories, are expected to generate $26 billion in gross domestic product over their lifetimes and provide around 125,000 person years of employment. Diamond mining also has spawned a support industry of...
A wide range of initiatives across Canada is bringing more members of aboriginal communities into the mining industry, especially in the far north. Different provinces and territories take different approaches, but there have been some positive results, according to the recently published 13th annual government report on the issue. Nevertheless, aboriginal participation in the industry remains low, even though aboriginal peoples are commonly the closest population to an exploration or mine development project, the report...
Ontario-based Wolfden Resources is making its mark in Canada's far north, and the company's acquisition of Lupin gold mine from Kinross could significantly lower the costs of its other projects in Nunavut. Almost simultaneously with the announcement in mid-February of the deal with Kinross, Wolfden also signed a letter of intent with Inmet Mining to acquire the nearby Izok, Hood and Gondor base metal deposits in Nunavut. Lupin has produced more than 3 million ounces of gold since 1982, and there may be potential for further...
In the far north, one Canadian firm is trying to do for sapphires, emeralds and rubies what explorers did for diamonds in the 1990s. True North Gems, a Vancouver, British Columbia-based mining company formed in 2001, is pursuing three advanced exploration projects for precious gemstones, two in Canada and a third in nearby Greenland. "True North's efforts are a direct spinoff of Canada's success in the diamond trade," said President William Rohtert, who heads the company's exploration team. "Canada, in the last few years,...
A mention of the world's richest diamond mines conjures images of hot, steamy African jungles. Yet it is the frozen tundra of the Canadian Arctic that is yielding the latest treasure trove of diamonds and sparking a staking stampede that is bringing hundreds of prospectors to the far north. Between 1998 and 2002, 13.8 million carats have been mined in Canada, and the diamonds - precious stones of pure carbon - are worth $2.8 billion. That is roughly a 1.5-kilogram bag of rocks each day for five years, with each bag worth...
