The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 51 - 74 of 74
Alaska officials say the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers neglected to follow its own guidance when setting mitigations measures for Pebble and the state is appealing Army Corps' decision to deny federal permits required to develop a mine at the world-class metals deposit on state lands in Southwest Alaska. "The flawed decision by the Alaska District creates a dangerous precedent that will undoubtedly harm Alaska's future and, any potential project can fall victim to the same...
Wind turbines, solar panels, and the batteries that store the electricity these renewable energy sources generate are creating new demands for an array of minerals and metals, many of which are not mined in the United States. Recognizing that mines lie at the front end of America's expanding renewable energy supply chains, federal officials have determined that critical mining projects must be eligible for Fast-41, a program established in 2015 to improve the timeliness,...
The rapidly accelerating expansion of the electric vehicle and renewable energy sectors is driving enormous new demand for graphite, a major ingredient in lithium-ion batteries. The World Bank forecasts that low-carbon energy technologies, primarily lithium-ion batteries, will require 4.5 million metric tons of graphite per year by 2050, which is about a 500% increase over 2018 levels and a 318% increase over the total graphite produced in 2019. "Graphite demand increases in...
A pitch to deep-pocketed investors about the potential to develop a world-class mine at the Pebble copper project in Alaska turned out to be a clandestinely videotaped sting operation that compromised the integrity of Pebble Limited Partnership CEO Tom Collier. A pair of operatives for the Environmental Investigation Agency, a United Kingdom-based environmental group, posed as representatives of a Hong Kong-based investment firm with links to a company owned by the Chinese...
The U.S. Department of Interior issued two decisions that mark a major milestone along the path of permitting a road to the incredibly rich and strategically important Ambler Mining District in Northwest Alaska. On July 23, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the National Park Service (NPS) with the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, issued a record of decision that authorizes a right-of-way for the proposed 211-mile-long road...
Northern Star Resources Ltd., owner of the Pogo gold mine, has donated more than US$1.5 million of medical personal protective equipment to communities throughout Alaska, with a focus on the greater Fairbanks and Delta regions. "This is the largest donation we've received from private industry," said Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy. "We are extremely grateful to businesses such as Northern Star which have stepped up, provided procurement and logistics expertise, and donated $1.5...
The price of oil and gold heading in opposite directions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic could mark a tipping point that steers Alaska's economy on a new trajectory more rapidly than policymakers and prognosticators previously envisioned. As lawmakers focus their attention on slowing the spread of novel coronavirus in Alaska and re-opening the state for business as quickly and safely possible, the largest revenue stream to state coffers plummeted to subzero territory....
4 is shaping up to be the best year for Alaska's mineral exploration sector in a decade – that was the message delivered by North of 60 Mining News in January. Now, just four months and one COVID-19 pandemic later, the aspirations of a banner year for the companies unlocking the Last Frontier's vast mineral potential are distant and likely unachievable. While some mineral exploration companies will be able to carry out their 2020 programs as anticipated, restrictions to "...
Millrock Resources Inc. and Resolution Minerals Ltd. March 30 announced a temporary COVID-19-related suspension of drilling at the 64North gold project adjacent to the Pogo Mine property in Alaska's Goodpaster Mining District. Though the drill crew was completely isolated, and thus in a very safe location for COVID-19 risk, it was the preference of the drilling contractor to allow its personnel to return to their families in the Lower 48 before conditions or travel...
In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak and following the cancellation of the Alaska Miners Association 2020 Spring Convention in Fairbanks, AMA Executive Director Deantha Crockett takes the time to answer 20 questions on how the pandemic is affecting Alaska's mining sector and the association; Alaska's economy; state and federal mining policy; and due process for the Pebble Mine project. Q. Alaska Miners Association recently made the difficult decision to cancel its spring...
If you are not doing business in Alaska, you should be, this is the message Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy had for the mining community attending the Association for Mineral Exploration Roundup in Vancouver, British Columbia. During a Jan. 22 Alaska Night reception at the Roundup, Dunleavy said Alaska provides the environmental protections and jurisdictional securities that come with being a part of the United States, yet a rich and undeveloped mineral endowment of a frontier juris...
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy Jan. 18 announced he and members of his cabinet will travel to Vancouver, British Columbia to participate in the Association of Mineral Exploration (AME) British Columbia's Roundup, an annual mining conference that brings together more than 6,500 people and is a driving force for mineral exploration in Alaska, B.C. and across Canada's North. "I am looking forward to meeting with investors at next week's mining conference in Vancouver and highlighting...
It's official, U.S. mining projects can now be considered for more efficient permitting under Title 41 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, or Fast-41, a program established in 2015 to improve the timeliness, predictability, and transparency of the federal environmental review and authorization process for eligible infrastructure projects. This Obama-era Fast-41 program established the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (FPISC), a federal entity...
SPARKS, Nev. – The notoriously long timeline for permitting a mine in the United States may soon be shortened. This reprieve is not from the various renditions of mine permit reform that has been introduced to Congress over the past decade but from an agency in Washington D.C. that most people have never heard of – the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (FPISC). Alexander Herrgott, executive director of FPISC, drew the nervous laughter he was expecting when he...
Alaska Gov. Michael Dunleavy and Alaska's entire delegation in Washington D.C. welcomed the Trump administration's plan to exempt the Tongass National Forest from the 2001 Roadless Rule, which would lift impediments to forestry, mining and other activities across Southeast Alaska. "Today's announcement on the roadless rule is further proof that Alaska's economic outlook is looking brighter every day," Dunleavy said on the U.S. Forest Service Oct. 15 announcement that it is...
In a recent letter to the White House, Alaska Governor Michael Dunleavy has requested that U.S. President Donald Trump consider designating the Graphite Creek mine project and associated processing facility as a high-priority infrastructure project under Executive Order 13766, signed by Trump shortly after he took office in 2017. "Graphite Creek is the largest deposit of graphite in the nation, and would be a superior domestic supply of this critical mineral, which is...
If you have watched the metals markets over the last month, you know why Alaska's mineral industry has surged, stalled, swerved, swooped, slowed, shelved and stuttered, sometimes all at the same time! Gold has gone above US$1,500 per ounce; copper pundits are predicting an increasingly dour future; zinc markets are looking to dive below $1.00 per pound; tin markets have marched strongly upward due to supply disruptions; and silver bulls are calling for annual worldwide...
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. Aug. 29 reported that Alaska Gov. Michael Dunleavy has asked the White House to designate Bokan-Dotson Ridge rare earth project as a high priority infrastructure project, which would expedite the permitting process for this potential critical metals mine in Southeast Alaska. "The state of Alaska understands the critical nature of a secure supply chain for rare earth minerals in the United States. We are seeking your support to have this Alaskan rare...
Trilogy Metals Inc. May 20 reported that permitting for the proposed road to provide surface access to the Ambler Mining District is slated for completion this year. The 211-mile Ambler Mining District Industrial Access Project (AMDIAP), the official name of this transportation corridor, would connect the Ambler Mining District to Alaska's contiguous highway system. This surface access is a key piece of infrastructure needed to begin realizing the vast potential of this...
DENA'INA CENTER, ANCHORAGE: Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018 likely marks a crucial turning point for Alaska's mining industry. As the state's mining community gathered for the Alaska Miners Association (AMA) annual convention to celebrate one of the best years for the sector in recent memory, Alaska voters were making decisions that would shape the future of the more than 1,000 people gathered at the Dena'ina Center. In terms of the state economy, the most crucial decision put before...
When it comes to mineral exploration incentives, currency exchange and infrastructure, Alaska is at a disadvantage in the realm of attracting exploration investments from Canada and Australia, countries that are home to the majority of mining companies. The Far North State's vast and underexplored mineral potential, however, trumps these handicaps in the minds of a growing number of miners and mineral explorers. Mining executives from around the globe perennially rank Alaska...
With the goal of helping to meet the rocketing demand of graphite needed as anode material for the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles, Graphite One Inc. is focused on advancing its Graphite Creek deposit in western Alaska toward development. A 2017 preliminary economic assessment outlines a roughly 2,800-metric-ton processing facility at Graphite Creek. Once this operation is running at full capacity, which the PEA slates for the sixth year of production, this...
I know that it is a perennial hazard for those of us who follow the mining industry to be optimistic in the Spring every year; but, somehow, I don't seem to be able to contain myself this year. My ebullience is precipitated by the obvious as well as the subtle. Obviously, the decision in the Sturgeon case is huge, all the more so because the decision was unanimous, and that was for the second time SCOTUS had to hear the matter. Liberal and conservative Justices agree: ANILCA...
There can be no doubt that April 27, 1973, was an auspicious day in Nebraska, not just because Jason Brune, Governor-Elect Dunleavy's pick to become the Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, was borne then and there; but because it was also the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. One does not need to cast horoscopes to recognize that this astrological era is said to be one of harmony and understanding. Nor does one have to know Brune well to...
