The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 351 - 375 of 390
Alaska's mining industry captured the attention, not only of Alaskans but also the country during the past year when a controversy over the proposed Pebble Project in Southwest Alaska bubbled to the surface. Supporters and opponents of a ballot initiative aimed at blocking the mining venture squared off in a vocal and often strident campaign that made headlines nationwide. Alaska Miners Association director Steve Borell cited the contest over development the world-class...
NovaGold Resources Inc.'s Rock Creek gold mine began production Sept. 19. Crews began feeding the 6,500-metric-ton-per-day-mill at 25 percent capacity with a ramp-up to full production targeted for year's end. Once in full production, the operation is expected to turn out 100,000 ounces of gold per year. The main pit at Rock Creek has a resource of 500,000 ounces. The company's objective is to increase the resource to 1 million ounces over the next year. The Usibelli Coal Mine is a fourth-generation family-owned business...
Hecla Mining Co.'s purchase of the remaining 70.3 percent interest in Greens Creek Mine from its partner Rio Tinto earlier this year resulted in both cash losses and increased silver production for the second-quarter of 2008. The Idaho-based silver producer said the purchase of the Southeast Alaska silver mine, along with unloading its Venezuelan assets, will increase silver production while lowering political risk. Second-quarter 2008 silver production increased 60 percent... Full story
Several drilling programs started in the last month and several others began reporting initial results from programs commenced earlier in the summer. Two of Alaska's operating mines reported strong operating results and two new mineral resource estimates have been released. Alaska's seasonal exploration efforts are entering the second half of the season, while commodities prices continue to slide, inflation rates increase and operating costs increase. While nobody likes to admit it, there is mounting evidence that the mining... Full story
The game is afoot all across Alaska with the drills turning to the right on projects all across the state. The operating mines turned in strong first-quarter results and several new acquisitions, joint ventures and new players were announced in the last month. Western Alaska Teck Cominco American announced first quarter results from its Red Dog Mine. In the first quarter, the mine produced 138,500 metric tons of zinc in concentrate. Zinc ore grade increased to 21.3 percent while mill recoveries remained steady at 83.8...
Let me extend my apologies to all those looking for a quick summary of the Alaska mining industry this month. There is nothing "quick" about the tome you are about to read, but don't blame the messenger. I just report what I read, and this month it's a sack full! No need for more words, just read on! Western Alaska NovaGold Resources announced results of a newly released report on the Rock Creek project, nearing commercial production outside of Nome. The revised feasibility... Full story
Hecla Mining Co. Feb. 21 posted 2007 income applicable to common shareholders of $52.2 million, or 43 cents per common share, on revenue of $222.6 million. Though the results reflected nearly a 24 percent drop in yearly earnings from $68.6 million, or 57 cents per common share, on revenue of $218.9 million in 2006, Hecla observed that it was still the second-strongest outcome in the company's 117-year-old history despite a significant reduction in gold production from its La Camorra unit as mining transitioned to a single...
Attendees of the Alaska Miners Association Fairbanks Biennial Mining Conference had the honor of hearing the views of three heavyweights on many issues facing Alaska's mining industry. Tom Albanese, CEO of Rio Tinto plc, says he is worried about the current political environment in Alaska. Albanese, a featured speaker at the Mining Conference March 19, cited a recent mining industry survey by Canada's Fraser Institute lowered Alaska's rank to 34 in 2007 from 13 in 2005 among... Full story
Bravo Venture Group Inc. March 17 said it has acquired 100 percent interest in the Woewodski Island volcanic massive sulphide project in southeast Alaska following successful renegotiation of certain terms in an underlying agreement with vendors of the property. Bravo said its ownership of the property is subject to a 3 percent net smelter royalty on all metals, of which 1 percent can be purchased for US$1million anytime prior to production and another 1 percent can be purchased anytime for US$1.5 million. The property would...
Hecla Mining Co., longtime minority share owner of the Greens Creek Mine, Feb. 12 said it agreed to purchase for $750 million the remaining 70.3 percent interest in the Southeast Alaska operation that is owned by Rio Tinto subsidiary Kennecott. The cash deal will give Hecla of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 100 percent control of the world's fifth largest silver mine and will nearly double the company's silver output to about 11 million ounces annually. Greens Creek also produces commercial quantities of gold, zinc and lead. The...
As is commonly the case in late January, an over abundance of news has come out in the last month, in part to coincide with year-end financial releases and in part to coincide with the annual Cordilleran Roundup mining convention in Vancouver. The news itself included an $819 million year-end 2007 profit at one Alaska mine, new gold resources of 32.8 million ounces for the state's largest gold deposit and the sale of 70 percent of another mine for a whopping $750 million. That doesn't count new resource estimates on two other...
Rio Tinto Plc, parent of the company that owns a majority of the Greens Creek Mine, said it would like to sell the Southeast Alaska investment. The move, however, is not expected to affect the profitable zinc, lead and silver mine's operations on Admiralty Island, nor its 325 employees, according to Clayton Walker, the mine's general manager. London-based Rio Tinto, which owns a 70.3 percent stake in the mine, is one of the largest mining companies in the world. Rio Tinto has said it is looking to divest a number of its asset...
Though owners of the Greens Creek Mine on Admiralty Island 18 miles south of Juneau say the underground operation ore grades have begun declining after some 15 years of production, they estimate the mine will produce commercial quantities of gold, silver, lead and zinc for at least another decade. "We have 7.6 million tons of reserves left and it gives us 10 more years of production," said Mike Satre, mine technical superintendent at Kennecott Greens Creek Mining Co. Greens Creek Mine is a joint venture between Kennecott...
As the late, great Phil Rizutto used to say when something amazing happened on the baseball field: "Holy Cow!" The last month has seen an explosion of activity across Alaska with companies working in virtually every region on a diverse package of metals including gold, platinum group elements, silver, molybdenum, lead, zinc, copper and nickel. Several new companies have entered the exploration field in Alaska and several new partners have joined forces with previously active... Full story
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...
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...
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...
Exploration spending in British Columbia hit a record high of C$265 million in 2006, a figure that the province's mining minister, Bill Bennett was proud to announce at the recent Mineral Exploration Roundup in Vancouver. Unfortunately for Bennett, he probably won't be invited to boast about the industry's successes next year, since he was forced to resign in early February after sending an obscenity-laced email to a gun club member. "British Columbians want good jobs, and they also, frankly, want the tax revenues that come... Full story
In the race to develop new mines in British Columbia, Calgary-based Copper Fox Metals is jostling its way to the front of the pack. In August the company started the environmental assessment process for its Schaft Creek copper-gold-molybdenum-silver project, filing a preliminary report with the provincial government. In September Copper Fox completed $5 million in expenditures at the property, enabling it to acquire a 70 percent ownership share from Teck Cominco, in accordance with an option agreement signed in 2002. A group...
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 game is afoot! The last month has seen the start of a number of field programs in Alaska, marking the beginning of the traditional "field season" in the Great Land. With demand for metals remaining extraordinarily high, Alaska's mining industry is operating at capacity but well below demand. An acute shortage of drills and drillers, geologists and engineers and helicopters to move them all around is affecting exploration, development and production plans around the state. For the first time in my career, money is not in...
In the last month the Alaska mining industry has seen start-up of its first major gold mine in five years (Pogo) and approval of permits for the Nixon Fork copper-gold mine. We also saw announcement of substantial increases in copper, gold and molybdenum resources at two advanced exploration/development projects (Donlin Creek and Pebble). New development plans were offered for heap leaching at the Fort Knox gold mine and initial funding was approved for evaluation of a coal to liquids facility at the Beluga coal deposits.... Full story
Over the course of the last several months, a series of new gold and base metal discoveries have been made. Several of these new discoveries were reported in the last month and highlights of these and other activities were presented at the annual Alaska Miners Association convention in Anchorage in early November. The convention was one of the most exciting and up-beat events in nearly a decade. The new discoveries are a trend that, while long in coming, are an inevitable...
As expected, news has begun to trickle in from projects being worked on across the state. Some of the news is good, some not so good and some makes one scratch the head and wonder what it all means. Two new corporations entered the Alaska exploration industry in August, a trend started late last year as metal prices began their climb to current levels. August also saw the start of several new programs on a wide range of projects spread from the Seward Peninsula to southern Southeastern Alaska. The tally of the good, the bad...
