The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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Mining's benefits to the state's economy are poised to grow as the world seeks sustainable sources of the minerals Alaska is enriched with. A new study carried out by Alaska-based McKinley Research Group found that mining and minerals exploration contributed over $2.5 billion to Alaska's economy during 2023. "The mining industry continues its role as a powerhouse of Alaska's economy, partnering with local communities to drive significant economic benefits and support...
Southeast Alaska mine on pace to produce 100,000 oz this year; exploration at Kensington and Silvertip show future promise. Coeur Mining Inc. Aug. 7 reported that its Kensington Mine in Southeast Alaska heads into the second half of 2024 on track to produce roughly 100,000 ounces of gold this year, and the summer exploration program at the Silvertip mine project in Northern British Columbia is now underway. "Improved operating performance at Kensington was especially...
Multi-year program continues to extend high-grade gold zones and discover new mineralization at the Southeast Alaska mine. Coeur Mining Inc. June 27 reported that its multi-year exploration program at Kensington continues to deliver wide drill intercepts with high-grade gold at this mining operation in Southeast Alaska. In mid-2022, Coeur launched a roughly $80 million exploration program at Kensington focused on extending the life of this high-grade underground mine beyond...
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...
7 exploration returned mixed results for the Kensington Mine in Alaska, Silvertip project in BC. Coeur Mining Inc. Feb. 20 reported a slight drop in reserves but a significant rise in the amount of gold, silver, zinc, and lead reporting to resources across its four operating mines and two advanced exploration projects. This includes modest resource growth at its Silvertip silver-zinc-lead project in Northern British Columbia and a slight drop of gold in resources at its...
With Donlin Gold reentering the feasibility study stage, Ambler Metals waiting on the reevaluation of the permit needed for a road to the Ambler Mining District, and an overall lack of investment capital, mineral exploration spending in Alaska dropped during 2023. While the overall sector was down, there continued to be some bright spots – most notably, a growing interest in Alaska's critical minerals potential. In July, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded Graphite One I...
Is it time for BC, Yukon, Alaska to forge an alliance to unlock critical mineral wealth, usher in new era of prosperity in the 21st century? The extremely mineral-rich geology that sweeps in a roughly 1,500-mile (2,600 kilometers) arc from the southern tip of British Columbia's Golden Triangle, through the Yukon, and onward to Alaska's west coast does not recognize the borders it spans. Likewise, the opportunities and challenges related to unlocking the precious, industrial, a...
Over the past five years, Coeur Mining Inc. has invested nearly US$245 million into drilling and other exploration initiative aimed at building reserves and resources at its five operations and projects in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. "Through significant multiyear investments in expansions and exploration at our North American assets, we're rapidly nearing the point where we expect to see the benefits of these investments accrue to our stockholders," said Coeur...
Coeur Mining Inc. is highly encouraged by the results from the 2022 drilling at its Silvertip silver-zinc-lead mine project in Northern British Columbia and Kensington gold mine in Southeast Alaska early in 2022. In fact, early 2022 results at these two northern assets, along with the Palmarejo silver-gold mine in Mexico, prompted the Chicago-based mining company to boost its exploration budget to more than US$50 million last year. "During a period of underinvestment within ou...
"Grade is king" is an adage that guides mineral exploration and mining. The premise behind this basic axiom of the mining business is the less ore that needs to be mined and processed per ounce of precious metals, pound of base metals, kilogram of critical minerals, or carat of gemstones produced, the more profitable an operation will be. The kingliest of orebodies would be of such high grade that a mining company would simply need to dig up the ore, crush it, and then ship it...
Coeur Mining Inc. April 28 reported that its first-quarter exploration has made an intriguing new resource expansion discovery at the Silvertip Mine project in Northern British Columbia, and drills have cut high-grade gold at Kensington that shows promise for extending the life of the Southeast Alaska mine. At Silvertip, Coeur is building resources that it can upgrade to reserves ahead of restarting operations at the high-grade silver mine. Going into 2022, Silvertip hosted...
Coeur Mining Inc. Feb. 16 reported strong gold production during the fourth quarter at its Kensington Mine in Southeast Alaska and continued progress toward the restart of an expanded mine at its Silvertip project in Northern BC. During the final three months of 2021, Kensington produced 33,516 ounces of gold from 168,295 tons of ore averaging 0.21 ounces per ton gold. This is nearly a 19% increase over the 28,621 recovered from 160,596 tons of ore during the third quarter....
After investing a record US$50.6 million in exploration during 2020, Coeur Mining Inc. set the bar even higher with a roughly US$75 million investment in exploration spending during 2021. "We expect to complete roughly 1.2 million feet (365,750 meters) of drilling by the end of the year, with the primary objective of further extending mine lives across our portfolio," Coeur Mining Senior Vice President of Exploration Hans Rasmussen said in September. Roughly US$13 million of...
Seeking economic and cultural prosperity for its more than 23,000 Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian shareholders while also looking to provide even greater benefits for future generations, Sealaska takes a balanced approach to developing the resources growing above and stored beneath its lands in Southeast Alaska. This does not mean the Southeast Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) corporation shuns mining or other resource development in its region, a nearly 600-mile...
Millrock Resources Inc. Aug. 12 announced that Coeur Explorations, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Coeur Mining Inc., has entered into an exploration agreement for Millrock's Apex gold project in Southeast Alaska. Apex is on the north side of Chichagof Island, about 70 miles southwest of Juneau and 75 miles southwest of Coeur's Kensington gold mine. This property is home to the historical Apex and El Nido mines, which produced at least 34,000 ounces of gold from ore averaging...
Southeast Alaska is at a unique crossroads in its management of the Tongass National Forest. How will reimposition of the 2001 Roadless Rule impact development of natural resources like geothermal, hydroelectric, and mineral resources? As stewards of these public lands, we need deliberative and balanced Forest Service consideration of the best use of and access to these resources to protect and sustain Southeast communities and their economic future. The Forest Service needs...
Amongst the rarest of the stable elements on the periodic table and an important ingredient in the emerging thin-film solar panel sector, tellurium embodies what it means to be a critical metalloid – an element that possesses the properties of both a metal and non-metal. "Most rocks contain an average of about 3 parts per billion tellurium, making it rarer than the rare earth elements and eight times less abundant than gold," the United States Geological Survey wrote in a 2...
Coeur Mining Inc. is investing roughly US$117.2 million (C$141.7 million) to acquire a 17.8% interest in Victoria Gold Corp. and its Eagle Gold Mine in Canada's Yukon – a foothold that could see the Chicago-based miner gaining a much larger position in a northern gold mine it has been keeping an eye on. "We have long admired the quality of Victoria's Eagle asset and its recent success in ramping up operations," said Coeur Mining President and CEO Mitchell Krebs. Victoria t...
Mining and mineral exploration helped to bolster an Alaskan economy plagued by COVID-19 during 2020. According to a report prepared by the McKinley Research Group, a renowned Alaska-based research and consulting firm formerly known as McDowell Group, Alaska's mining industry injected roughly $2 billion into the Alaska economy last year. Commissioned by the Alaska Miners Association and Council of Alaska Producers, "The economic benefits of Alaska's mining industry" report...
Coeur Mining Inc. Feb. 17 reported that the 47,575 meters of drilling completed in 173 holes at Kensington during 2020 nearly replaced the 124,867 ounces of gold produced and has positioned the Southeast Alaska operation for future reserve growth. Going into 2021, Kensington had 1.68 million tons of proven and probable reserves averaging 0.197 oz/t (331,000 oz) gold; down slightly from the 1.68 million tons of proven and probable reserves averaging 0.218 oz/t (366,000 oz)...
Coeur Mining Inc. invested heavily in exploration during 2020, including robust programs at its Kensington gold mine in Alaska and Silvertip mine project in British Columbia. After investing US$21 million in exploration at six projects in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico during the first half of the year, the Chicago-based miner increased its total 2020 exploration budget to US$54 million. "We significantly increased our investment in exploration to test these targets in 2020,...
Amongst the rarest of the stable elements on the periodic table and an important ingredient in the emerging thin-film solar panel sector, tellurium embodies what it means to be a metalloid – an element that possesses the properties of both a metal and non-metal – critical to the United States. "Most rocks contain an average of about 3 parts per billion tellurium, making it rarer than the rare earth elements and eight times less abundant than gold," the United States Geo...
Rising metal prices are helping to soften the blow COVID-19 has landed on Alaska's mining sector in 2020. While mining has been deemed an essential business in Alaska, which has helped keep the six large mines in the state operating during the pandemic, measures put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 are weighing on production at some of these operations. Efforts to flatten the curve on the spread of coronavirus also disrupted several winter drill programs in Alaska,...
Coeur Mining Inc. has made major investments in exploration at its Kensington gold mine in Alaska and Silvertip mine project in British Columbia during the first half of 2020, and the company plans to continue robust drilling focused on expanding high-grade targets at these two northern assets through the balance of 2020. These robust programs at Kensington and Silvertip are parts of the largest exploration campaign in Coeur's history. During the first six months of 2020,...
Coeur Mining Inc. July 29 reported increased gold production at Kensington, thanks in part to more ore from the higher-grade Jualin deposit at this Southeast Alaska mine. Kensington produced 33,058 ounces of gold during the second quarter, which is slightly higher than the 32,022 oz during the first three months of the year but less than the 34,049 oz during the second quarter of 2019. The steady gold output and strong gold prices helped Kensington generate US$23.9 million of...