The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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Summer program focused on collecting the final data needed to complete a feasibility for developing a mine at the western Alaska project. Graphite One Inc. June 26 announced the start of a 2024 exploration program focused on collecting the final data needed to complete a feasibility study for developing a mine at its world-class Graphite Creek project in western Alaska. "The 2024 field program is a key milestone for our stakeholders as we advance our feasibility study with a...
Zinc contributed most to state's mine production value during 2023; gold is poised to take the crown and make run toward 1 million ounces per year. At a value of $1.5 billion, zinc held onto its throne as the most valuable metal produced in Alaska during 2023. With production forecasts and price trends headed in opposite directions for zinc and gold, however, the gleaming precious metal that drew fortune-seekers North at the turn of the 20th century could soon regain the...
Secures former critical minerals stockpile site to build graphite processing and battery materials recycling plant. Graphite One Inc. plans to transform a former national defense critical minerals stockpile site in Ohio into a domestic source of the graphite anode material going into the lithium-ion batteries powering electric vehicles and storing renewable energy. "Graphite One is delighted to announce that, subject to financing, we will be building our advanced graphite...
HB122 would authorize AIDEA to issue up to $300 million in bonds and leverage federal funding for critical mineral infrastructure projects in Alaska. Home to 49 out of the 50 minerals deemed critical to the United States, Alaska has the potential to be a reliable domestic source of the mined materials vital to high-tech, clean energy, and national defense. America's Last Frontier, however, is often lacking when it comes to the infrastructure needed to fully unlock the state's...
From breaking ground at Alaska's next gold mine to the advancement of North of 60 projects focused on delivering the metals needed for the transition of low-carbon energy, and an impressive safety milestone at Alaska's only coal mine to a history of the helicopters that make mineral exploration across the North possible, here is a countdown of the 10 most popular North of 60 Mining News articles in 2023: No. 10 - CORE celebrates Manh Choh, Lucky Shot Contango Ore Inc., a...
As the White House continues to dole out hundreds of billions of dollars to position America as the global leader in clean energy and digital technologies, Beijing initiates a strategy to put America in check with the global economy equivalent of pawns. These pawns in the technology chess match between the U.S. and China are gallium and germanium, a pair of semiconductor metals used to make the computer chips essential to every facet of modern life. Before all the major news o...
Data Mine North launched the first edition of Critical Minerals Alliances in 2021 with the hopes that this annual magazine would play some small role in helping to build alliances "that are not crippled by irreconcilable differences between organizations and individuals that do not always see eye-to-eye but strengthened by a spectrum of ideologies with a common goal – a healthy, prosperous, and exciting future for humankind." Today, the alliances envisioned by the Data Mine N...
Aluminum has been classified as critical by the United States, European Union, Canada, and even China. At first glance, one may wonder how such a ubiquitous metal could possibly be critical. The answer is simply that aluminum is so widely used that supply, if endangered, could devastate an economy. In 2020, the World Bank identified aluminum as a "high-impact" and "cross-cutting" metal in all existing and potential green technologies. In spite of this, due to high energy...
From the Pentagon's multi-million-dollar investment in Graphite One Inc. to China's restrictions on the exports of gallium and germanium, Alaska's current critical minerals supply and future potential was in the headlines and subtext of American news stories over the past month. Alaska as a future source of minerals critical to the clean energy transition grabbed headlines after the mid-July news that the U.S. Department of Defense awarded Graphite One Inc. $37.5 million to...
For those in the know, Alaska's resources aren't just some surprise windfall for renewable energy technologies. While precious metals like gold and silver have been the primary focus of more than a century of mining up north, the 49th State is home to 49 of the 50 materials on the United States' critical minerals list and has a history of stepping up to the plate to provide America with critical minerals when they are needed the most. Looking ahead over the next two to three...
Resolution Minerals Ltd. Aug. 21 announced that it staked a 114-square-mile land package in an area of Alaska prospective for nickel with associated copper, cobalt, and platinum group metals. Australia-based Resolution is best known in Alaska for its exploration of the 64North gold project near Northern Star Resources Ltd.'s Pogo mine. Over the past year, however, the company has also been acquiring and exploring projects that could offer future supplies of the metals needed...
Alaska mining and Washington policy leaders gather to discuss forging a path forward to critical minerals in US's Arctic state. Building upon the discussions and strategic ideas set in motion during the 2022 "Alaska's Minerals: A Strategic National Imperative" summit, the U.S. Department of Energy's Arctic Energy Office co-hosted a two-day summit this week to advance policy recommendations for development of critical mineral resources in the North American Arctic. For the Unit...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska: Gathering together leaders, decision-makers, and experts toward the common goal of understanding the value of Alaska's mineral endowment and how to unlock it for America's net-zero emission goals, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management hosted a two-day workshop bringing attention to carbon management and critical minerals and how the Last Frontier will be a keystone in achieving the country's lofty ambition. Held at...
More gold, strong zinc prices helped push value higher; critical minerals could add a boost moving forward. Alaska mines produced approximately $4.51 billion worth of nonfuel minerals last year, a 16% increase over the $3.89 billion in 2021, and an impressive 42.7% jump over the $3.16 billion of mined products during 2020, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's Mineral Commodity Summaries 2023 report. The rise in Alaska mine production value is largely due to increased...
Supply, demand, and risks to the US supply chain define criticality Metaphorically speaking, critical minerals are not set in stone. Instead, the criticality of these basic building blocks of modern society shifts with the demands for any given mineral, the ability of the mining sector to keep pace with that demand, and the geopolitics of where that supply comes from. "Mineral criticality is not static, but changes over time," said Steven Fortier, director of the National...
Nearly all the 50 minerals critical to the United States can be found at mines, deposits, and prospects across Alaska. Intriguing lithium occurrences, however, have not been identified in America's Last Frontier – until now. Discovery Alaska Ltd. says it has identified lithium at the Coal Creek prospect on its Chulitna property about four miles west of the Parks Highway midway between Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska. Discovery acquired the Chulitna property early last year t...
Discovery Alaska Ltd. May 23 reported that its initial scanning with a handheld analyzer identified lithium across the entire length of core from 12 historical holes drilled at the Coal Creek prospect on the company's Chulitna property in Alaska. Situated about four miles west of the Parks Highway, roughly midway between Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska, Chulitna is a roughly 77-square-mile property that covers the Partin Creek gold-silver-copper prospect and the Coal Creek...
Alaska mines produced roughly $3.89 billion worth of nonfuel minerals last year, a 23% increase over the estimated $3.16 billion produced in the 49th State during 2020, according to Mineral Commodity Summaries 2022 published by the United States Geological Survey on Jan. 31. The rise in Alaska mine production value is largely due to increased zinc and gold production, along with strong metals prices last year. According to early estimates by the Alaska Division of Geological...
The Association for Mineral Exploration will recognize 11 leaders who have made significant contributions to the mineral exploration and development industry during the AME Roundup 2022. "The AME Celebration of Excellence Awards recognize the achievements of individuals who contribute to successfully finding, funding and building safe and responsible mineral exploration and development projects," explained AME Chair Jill Tsolinas. The 2021 Celebration of Excellence Awards...
With more than half of Alaska's entire population living within its region, Cook Inlet Region Inc., more commonly known as CIRI, is the most metropolitan of the 12 landholding Alaska Native regional corporations. While CIRI has leveraged its urban position with retail developments such as Tikahtnu Commons, an enormous retail and entertainment center on the outskirts of Anchorage, the Southcentral Alaska regional corporation also has oil and gas, renewable energy, and mining...
The global transition to electric vehicles plugged into renewable energy sources is powering enormous demand for graphite, the single largest ingredient in lithium-ion batteries. "Graphite demand increases in both absolute and percentage terms since graphite is needed to build the anodes found in the most commonly deployed automotive, grid, and decentralized batteries," the World Bank penned in a 2020 report, "The Mineral Intensity of the Clean Energy Transition." According...
From the advancements of technology during the Bronze Age to the computers and telecommunication systems of today's Big Data Era, tin has been critical to human progress for at least 5,500 years. Sometime around 3500 BC, Sumerians living in modern day Turkey and Iran discovered that mixing a little tin with copper created bronze, an alloy that produced much more durable weapons and tools than those cast from copper alone. This cutting-edge discovery offered a strategic and...
An unsung war hero that saved countless American troops during World War II, an overlooked battery material that has played a pivotal role in storing electricity for more than 100 years, and a major ingredient in futuristic grid-scale energy storage, antimony is among the most important critical metalloids that most people have never heard of. While antimony may not be part of the common lexicon, humans have been using this semi-metal for more than 5,000 years. "For example,...
Alaska mines produced roughly $3.16 billion worth of non-fuel minerals during 2020, a slight increase over the $3.13 billion during 2019, according to Mineral Commodity Summaries 2021 published by the U.S. Geological Survey on Feb. 2 The rise in Alaska mine production value is largely due to higher gold output at Alaska's large mines and record setting prices for the precious metal last year. According to early estimates by the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical...
The United States imported more than 90% of the 1.4 million metric tons of titanium minerals it consumed during 2019. What the mass majority of this critical mineral was used for, however, may come as a surprise. While titanium's lightweight and extreme durability make it an excellent material for aircraft and high-performance sporting equipment, more than 90% of this mineral mined each year is used to impart a stark whiteness to a surprisingly wide variety of consumer goods w...
