The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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WESTERN ALASKA Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. announced that it had finalized a surface right of way agreement with Alaska Peninsula Corporation for use of that latter's lands for the construction and operation of transportation infrastructure associated with the Pebble copper-molybdenum-gold project. Alaska Peninsula Corporation is an Alaska Native village corporation with extensive land holdings proximal to the Pebble site and more than 900 shareholders, many of which live...
As Alaska's mining industry nears the end of another hectic year during which metals prices and investor sentiments rose and fell as precipitously as the world's major stock exchanges, the industry is naturally looking into its crystal ball trying to anticipate what the new year will bring. EY Global Mining and Metals does this sort of forecasting by putting out an annual "risk radar" for mining and metals. The idea is to find out what the industry perceives as the top ten...
Hecla Mining Company Oct. 23 reported that its Greens Creek Mine in Southeast Alaska produced 1.88 million ounces of silver during the third quarter of 2018, down 20 percent from the 2.34 million oz produced during the same period last year. The Juneau area mine also produced 11,559 oz of gold during the quarter ending Sept. 30, down 7 percent from Q3 2017. The Idaho-based mining company attributes the slight drop in precious metals production at Greens Creek to lower ore...
An 18-year-old man was fatally attacked by a female brown bear with two cubs while working at a remote drill site on Hecla Mining Company's Greens Creek silver mine property in Southeast Alaska. The mauling victim, identified as Anthony Montoya from Hollis, Oklahoma, works for Timberline Drilling, an Idaho-based company that carries out surface drilling at Greens Creek. "I want to express our condolences to the families, colleagues and friends of the individual at this...
Underscoring the interconnected nature of the global mining market, not 48 hours after the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act was signed into law, the mining industry began wondering out loud how they were going to produce rare earth element, tungsten, tantalum and molybdenum in the near future. Why these metals and why the worry now? Because one of the many impacts the Defense Authorization Act will have on the U.S. economy is its ban on the U.S. Department of...
Hecla Mining Company Aug. 7 reported that drilling in the second quarter and strong assay results received from drilling in the first quarter have upgraded and expanded the Deep 200 South, Gallagher, East Ore, Upper Plate and Southwest Bench zone resources at its Greens Creek Mine in Southeast Alaska. Drilling has extended the Deep 200 South Zone, especially to the south. One hole drilled in the southern portion of Deep 200 South cut eight feet (2.4 meters) averaging 101.4...
Although the Alaska mineral industry is in better health in the middle of 2018 than it has been in the last five years, the spirited recovery that was in progress in the first quarter of the year is now looking more like a dead-cat bounce – a minor recovery after a long down trend. This is particularly true of the exploration sector. Reviewing the Alaska minerals industry, you will note that several exploration projects are only now commencing their 2018 exploration p...
Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. said the first two holes of a 10,000-meter drill program at its Palmer joint venture project encountered wide intervals of silver-gold-zinc-lead-barite volcanogenic massive sulfide mineralization 150 meters southeast of the AG Zone, increasing the strike length of this 2017 discovery to 350 meters. Being carried out by a joint venture between Constantine Metal Resources (51 percent) and Dowa Metals & Mining Co. Ltd. (49 percent), this year's...
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker has called for a halt to an environmental review process aimed at determining whether a mine at Pebble can be developed in a way that protects the environment of the Bristol Bay region where the world-class copper-gold-molybdenum deposit is found. In a June 29 letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, also signed by Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, Walker questioned the "readiness of the proposed Pebble project to move forward." The governor cited the lack of...
One of the most common complaints I hear from companies and individuals working in the mineral industry in Alaska is our deplorable lack of modern, usable-scale digital geophysical and geologic maps. How bad is it? Consider this: the U.S. Geological Survey has estimated that less than 2 percent of Alaska has acceptable geophysical data coverage, and less than 20 percent has been geologically mapped at a scale useful to evaluate the state's mineral resources. Nobody will deny...
Cobalt is an essential ingredient to optimizing the performance of batteries in the growing number of electric vehicles on global highways, yet essentially none of this battery metal is mined in the United States. With at least one advanced stage exploration project in Alaska looking into the potential of producing cobalt alongside its copper, America's 49th State could provide a domestic source for this critical metal. In its annual report, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2018,...
Hecla Mining Company May 8 said first quarter exploration drilling continues to expand high-grade silver resources along the East Ore, Upper Plate, Deep 200 South and Deep Southwest mineralized trends at its Greens Creek Mine in Southeast Alaska. "(D)rilling at Greens Creek continues to discover high-grade mineralization that could enhance the already exceptional mine economics and mine life," said Hecla President and CEO Phillips Baker, Jr. Hecla said the high-grade...
An early spring coupled with low snow fall in many parts of Alaska have combined to enable companies large and small to start their summer field programs early this year. As expected, competition is stiff for people, drills, helicopters, heavy equipment and related services, awarding those who committed budgets early and penalizing those who did not or could not commit early. For the first time in half a decade, projects with money at hand may not be able to get the services t...
Hecla Mining Company April 11 reported that its Greens Creek Mine in Southeast Alaska produced 1.91 million ounces of silver and 13,118 oz of gold during the first quarter of 2018, down slightly from the 1.93 million oz of silver and 14,022 oz gold produced during the first three months of last year. The Idaho-based mining company attributes the slight drop in precious metals production at Greens Creek to lower ore grades due to mine sequencing, partially offset by higher...
Seven days of near-continuous rain did nothing to dampen the mood at the recently concluded Cordilleran Roundup Convention in Vancouver. The event was buoyed by a realistic optimism we have not seen in over five years. This change from half-empty to half-full glasses is due to a number of things including strong commodities prices, increasing global demand for metals and current or looming supply shortfalls in many of the metals produced by this industry. The event was...
Hecla Mining Company Jan. 12 reported that drilling at Greens Creek continues to tap the high-grade mineralization that will help ensure a long and robust life for this silver mine in Southeast Alaska. "(D)rilling at Greens Creek discovered high-grade mineralization in the central part of the mine that could enhance Greens Creek's already exceptional mine economics and mine life," said Hecla President and CEO Phillips Baker, Jr. The fourth quarter drilling at Greens Creek targ...
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. Feb. 5 reported that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has selected AECOM as the third-party contractor that will support them in completing an environmental impact statement for the Pebble project – a significant milestone in the advancement of a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review of the proposed open pit copper-gold-molybdenum mine in Southwest Alaska. AECOM is a global, integrated engineering, environmental, construction and i...
Hecla Mining Company Feb. 7 reported the highest silver, gold and lead reserves in the Idaho-based miner's 127-year history, as well as the highest zinc reserve in the last five years. The company went into 2018 with 2.3 million ounces of gold in reserves, a 12 percent increase from the beginning of 2017; 177 million oz of silver, an increase of 3 percent; 737,290 tons of zinc, an 8 percent increase; and 840,870 tons of zinc, a 15 percent increase in reserves. "It is a...
As we transition from 2017 into 2018, the weight of evidence pointing to a long-awaited mining industry up-tick is being trumpeted from every financial institution, brokerage house and mining pundit across the globe. For example, RBC Capital Markets' newly released "2018 New Year Preview" has this to say: "We are in the mid-stages of a stock market recovery and the early stages of an economic cycle recovery. Gold is already in a phase where it out-performs other financial...
Hecla Mining Company Jan. 10 reported that its Greens Creek Mine produced 8.4 million ounces of silver and 50,855 oz of gold in 2017. The mill operated at an average of 2,300 tons per day in 2017, a record which is about 15 percent higher than the throughput when Hecla became operator of the underground mine in 2008. Overall, Hecla's four mines – Greens Creek, San Sebastian (Mexico), Casa Berardi (Quebec) and Lucky Friday (Idaho) – produced 12.5 million oz of silver, 232...
With the price for an ounce of gold pushing back above US$1,300 to ring in the new year – along with zinc and copper selling at multi-year highs and trending higher – 2018 is shaping up to be a good year for Alaska's mining sector. Together, zinc and gold account for more than 80 percent of the value of metals mined in Alaska – silver and lead account for most of the balance. While there is currently no significant copper production in Alaska, the Far North state hosts signi...
Thanks to its own rich mineral endowment, Australia is a juggernaut in the world of mining, especially across the Southern Hemisphere. Over the past couple of years, however, a growing number of Aussie mining companies are looking north to Alaska, another minerals-rich land way north of the Equator. At least four Aussie juniors – White Rock Minerals Ltd., PolarX Ltd., Nova Minerals Ltd. and Riversgold Ltd. – and three Australia-based metals producers – South32 Ltd., North...
Thanks largely to increased investments from Aussie mining explorers, mineral exploration spending across Alaska topped US$100 million in 2018. This is well above the roughly US$95 million invested last year and nearly double the US$58 million spent at the bottom of the market in 2015. "Canadian and Australian companies continue to be the source for the bulk of funds spent in Alaska in 2018, together comprising well over 80 percent of the exploration expenditures earmarked...
Thanks to its ongoing exploration success, Hecla Mining Company entered 2018 with the highest silver, gold and lead reserves in its 127-year history, as well as the highest level of zinc reserves in the past five years. Going into 2018, the Idaho-based miner had reserves totaling 2.3 million ounces of gold, up 12 percent from the beginning of 2017; 177 million oz of silver, an increase of 3 percent; 737,290 tons of zinc, an 8 percent increase; and 840,870 tons of zinc, up 15...
With rising metals prices helping to bolster the state's mining sector, Alaska mine leaders had good news to deliver to Alaska Senate and House resource committees during a Feb. 13 trip to Juneau. "I am happy to report that after four years of declining metals prices things started to improve in 2016, so we are able to report better economic numbers for 2017," Council of Alaska Producers Executive Director Karen Matthias informed members of the resource committees. The strong...
