The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 212
While the United States consumes roughly 5% of the chromite mined globally, none of this chromium mineral comes from domestic mines. Instead, America relies on foreign sources for approximately 72% of its supply and the balance of this vital ingredient in stainless steel and many superalloys comes from recycling. Nearly all America's chromite imports come from one country, South Africa. This heavy reliance on one country, coupled with a dearth of alternatives for this vital...
Considering the global shift to low-carbon energy and electric mobility, copper is the most vital metal not on the United States Geological Survey's list of 35 minerals and metals considered critical to America's economic wellbeing and security. Copper's importance is due to the rapidly emerging electric vehicle, wind turbines and photovoltaic (PV) solar technologies need a lot more copper than the combustion cars and power plants they are replacing. It is estimated that the...
Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. Nov. 19 reported that this year's prospecting and soil sampling has confirmed historically reported high-grade gold mineralization at Big Nugget Gold and has helped refine drill targets for follow up drilling at this project associated with the company's Palmer project in Southeast Alaska. "The Big Nugget Gold project represents a rare, untested and undrilled, high grade gold quartz vein system that is unusual to find in this day and age,"...
Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. came out on the winning side of a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on a lawsuit brought by Southeast Alaska Conservation Council and others that challenged federal permits for road building on the company's Palmer zinc-copper-gold-silver-barite project near Haines, Alaska. "We believe the Ninth Circuit decided correctly on this matter and are pleased with the final decision," said Liz Cornejo, community liaison and advisor to Constantine...
Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. Aug. 13 has identified a potential source area for the historical Porcupine gold placer mining operation located on its Palmer property in Southeast Alaska. Constantine has traditionally focused its exploration efforts on the discovery and expansion of volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits rich in a wide variety of base and precious metals. This work has outlined 4.68 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 5.23% zinc, 1.49%...
Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. June 24 announced a US$2.15 million budget for 2020 activities related to the Palmer zinc-copper-gold-silver project in Southeast Alaska. Funded by the Constantine Mining LLC Joint Venture, which is co-owned by Constantine (51%) and Dowa Metals & Mining Co. Ltd. (49%), the program includes summer field work, environmental and project permitting work for future underground exploration development, and continued outreach to keep the Haines...
After being stalled for decades, hardrock gold mine development in Yukon Territory appears to be picking up speed, as one company rockets toward full mine production by mid-2020, while at least two others report exciting new discoveries. The Yukon, legendary for producing millions of ounces of gold dating back nearly 125 years, is still one of the best places on Earth to find the precious metal. Yet few modern gold projects have managed to overcome the constraints imposed by...
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...
An abnormally long fall has allowed the Alaska mining industry to extend seasonal work well into mid-October, creating a lot of new information about project work conducted around the state. Exploration efforts, in particular, benefitted from this additional field time. Based on information available to date, 2019 exploration expenditures are expected to be in the $135-140 million range, well ahead of the $120-125 million exploration spending tracked for 2018. In addition,...
Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. Sept. 25 reported that one hole drilled this year encountered massive baritic sulfide mineralization well outside of the RW Zone at the Palmer Joint Venture project in Southeast Alaska. The Palmer deposit, which includes both the South Wall and RW zones, contains 4.68 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 5.23 percent (539 million lb) zinc, 1.49 percent (154 million lb) copper, 30.8 grams per metric ton (4.2 million oz) silver,...
As the rest of the country suffers through the Dog Days of summer, Alaska is approaching the end of a topsy-turvy summer season that saw unseasonably hot, dry weather in some parts of the state during some parts of the summer, while other parts of the state have seen record rainfall and unseasonably early snowfall. Gold prices have skyrocketed over the $1,500 per ounce mark and silver prices have moved strongly up, now trading at a one-year high. However, copper and zinc are a...
Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. July 31 reported that it has received state approvals for underground exploration at Palmer, the next major step in the advancement of this zinc-copper-gold-silver-barite project in Southeast Alaska. In June, Constantine published a preliminary economic assessment that outlines plans for a 3,500-metric-ton-per-day operation at Palmer that would produce 1.07 billion pounds of zinc, 196 million lb of copper, 18 million ounces of silver, 91,000...
Earlier this month Reuters reported that several agencies within the U.S. Federal government were "rapidly assessing" our domestic ability to mine and refine rare earth elements and utilize those 17 super cool elements in value-added products needed for a wide and ever-growing array of consumer and national defense products. Not surprisingly, mining industry officials demurred when quizzed about supplying information on where rare elements might be mined in the U.S. and how...
Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. June 27 said a drill program aimed at expanding and upgrading the zinc-copper-gold-silver-barite resources at the Palmer project in Southeast Alaska is now underway. In early June, the company released a preliminary economic assessment for developing a mine at Palmer that is both economically robust and environmentally conscientious. The PEA looks at a 3,500-metric-ton-per-day operation at Palmer that would produce 1.07 billion pounds of zinc,...
Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. June 28 reported that recent resampling of historical core from the Johnson Tract gold property in Southcentral Alaska returned long zones of high-grade gold, along with zinc, copper, lead and silver. The results from this resampling are included in a technical report filed in advance of a July 25 meeting for shareholders to vote on Constantine's proposal to spin out Johnson Tract and the company's other gold properties into HighGold Mining...
Earlier this month S&P Global put out a summary indicating that during the first quarter of 2019 metals like copper, zinc and nickel were up quarter over quarter by 11 percent, 22 percent and 25 percent, respectively. More recently gold has skyrocketed beyond the $1,400-per-ounce mark for the first time in many months. Correspondingly, the mining industry's aggregate market cap also rebounded strongly in the period after four bearish quarters, rising 12 percent to $1.43...
Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. June 3 released a preliminary economic assessment for Palmer that outlines an economically robust and environmentally conscientious mine for the volcanogenic massive sulfide project in Southeast Alaska. "This PEA is the most significant milestone for Constantine to date, demonstrating a high-quality project with strong economics and a progressive, environmentally conscious mine design," said Constantine Metal Resources President and CEO...
Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. May 21 said it has finalized a deal to lease the Johnson Tract gold property from Cook Inlet Region Inc., an Alaska Native regional corporation more commonly known as CIRI. Situated about six miles west of Cook Inlet and roughly 125 miles southwest of Anchorage, the 20,942-acre Johnson Tract property hosts a gold and base metals deposit that is reminiscent of the historical Eskay Creek Mine in neighboring British Columbia and a 7.5-mile...
Alaska Miners Association April 10 released "The economic benefits of Alaska's mining industry," a report put together by the McDowell Group that details roughly $1.26 billion in direct economic benefits from Alaska's mining sector during 2018. Healthy paychecks being brought home to more than 60 communities across Alaska is mining's biggest single economic contributor to the state. Alaska's mines, development and mineral exploration projects paid roughly $459 million to some...
In order to focus on its flagship Palmer project in Southeast Alaska and to realize greater value from its portfolio of gold properties, Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. spun its gold assets into a new exploration junior, HighGold Mining Inc. "Constantine will continue to create shareholder value by advancing the Palmer project and will allow shareholders to realize the value locked in the gold assets through their spinout into a separate entity," said Constantine Metal Resour...
While copper is not on the United States Geological Survey's list of 35 minerals and metals critical to America, there is no doubt of this metal's importance to both the everyday and avant-garde technologies vital to America's economy and security. "None of the other critical minerals work without copper," Trilogy Metals President and CEO Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse told Mining News. Automobiles are a prime example of how emerging technologies and green energy will drive the demand...
A vital ingredient in stainless steel and superalloys, chromium is considered by the United States Geological Survey as "one of the nation's most important strategic and critical materials." "Because there is no viable substitute for chromium in the production of stainless steel and because the United States has small chromium resources, there has been concern about domestic supply during every national military emergency since World War I," the USGS explains. Rich chromite...
While not the flashiest of the 35 minerals on the United States Geological Survey's critical list, barite plays an essential role in America's energy sector. Barite derives its name from barús, the Ancient Greek word for heavy, owing to an exceptionally high specific gravity for a non-metallic mineral. It is this weight that makes barite a key element to the oil and gas sector and lands the mineral on USGS' critical list. "More than 90 percent of the barite sold in the United...
Cobalt is a critical safety ingredient in the cathodes of lithium-ion batteries powering the ever-increasing number of electric vehicles traveling global highways and a plethora of cordless electrical devices. "Globally, the leading use is in the manufacture of cathode materials for rechargeable batteries – primarily lithium-ion, nickel-cadmium, and nickel-metal-hydride batteries – which are used in consumer electronics, electric and hybrid-electric vehicles, energy sto...
This author, in this column and elsewhere, has often taken the position that Alaska, especially in remote locations, is the safest, most environmentally-sound and worker-friendly mining location in the world. Alaska is endowed with world-class resources from one end of the state to the other. The associated jobs are well paid, and the industry is stable. Notwithstanding the view that some have of heavy industry as an eyesore, the remoteness of most operations puts them beyond...
