The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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Fireweed Zinc Ltd. has agreed to buy the Mactung tungsten project from the Northwest Territories government for C$15 million (US$11.8 million), an acquisition that further expands the company's growing portfolio of critical mineral assets. Mactung lies within the traditional territories of the Kaska Dena and First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun, as well as the Sahtu Dene and Métis land claims settlement area of western Northwest Territories. This critical metal property s...
Fireweed Zinc Ltd. May 10 announced the staking of the Gayna River project in Northwest Territories, Canada, adding a prospective zinc-gallium-germanium-lead-silver project to its portfolio. "The acquisition of the Gayna River project by staking is a low-cost way for Fireweed to expand our portfolio of critical metals projects and add some exciting exploration potential," said Fireweed Zinc CEO Brandon Macdonald. "While our focus remains on our flagship Macmillan Pass...
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. Dec. 31 provided details of a proposed US$50 million financing arrangement with Dermot Desmond, the Canadian diamond mining company's largest shareholder. Mountain Province owns a 49% interest in the Gahcho Kué diamond mine in Canada's Northwest Territories, and De Beers Canada Inc. owns the other 51%. Operating a mine like Gahcho Kué in Canada's North requires that all major supplies for the year are procured and delivered via an ice road d...
Mineral exploration activity in Northwest Territories showed signs of revival in 2021, coming on the heels of the slowest year in recent memory. Excited by renewed interest in gold deposits in and around the capital city of Yellowknife and other hot spots after the pandemic-related restrictions of 2020, juniors joined longtime explorers Nighthawk Gold Corp. and Gold Terra Resource Corp. (formerly TerraX Minerals) in hunting for the yellow metal across the 1.14...
Mining exploration and production activity soared in Yukon Territory in 2021 thanks to high metals prices, pro-industry government policies, and mounting successes in the field. Bouncing back from some of the most challenging working conditions in modern history due to the COVID-19 pandemic, placer and hardrock miners stepped up the pace of their activities, posting record production numbers and promising exploration results. With the rollout of COVID vaccines and the prospect...
In a deal that bolsters certainty for the future of the Diavik Mine and Northwest Territories' economy, Rio Tinto has acquired full ownership of this iconic diamond operation in Canada's Arctic. Rio Tinto's 40% partner in Diavik, Dominion Diamond Mines, filed for insolvency protection under the Canadian Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act at the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020. "The CCAA filing was necessitated primarily by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," Dominion...
Scandium is an adopted brother to the family of 15 lanthanides that make up the suite of elements known as rare earths. While it may not have quite as strong a chemical bond to its adopted lanthanide siblings as they do to each other, scandium does possess similar characteristics and is almost always found at the same geological gatherings (deposits) as the rest of its rare earth family. Beyond its close chemical and geological ties to rare earths, scandium is considered a...
Lightweight, strong, and resistant to corrosion, titanium is best known for the properties it lends to rockets, aircraft, and high-performance sports equipment. Only about 3% of the more than 8 million metric tons of titanium minerals mined each year globally, however, go into high strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion-resistant alloys. What does drive the mass majority of the demand for this critical mineral is "enwhitening." According to the United States Geological...
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...
Global governments and industries are setting increasingly ambitious targets for the phasing out of fossil fuel-burning automobiles in favor of electric vehicles charged with green energy. Achieving these grand climate objectives, however, is going to require an equally bold strategy to ensure there are plentiful supplies of the new generation of energy minerals and metals critical to building this revolution in the way the world generates and uses energy. The World Bank...
The greatly expanded deposit at Western Copper and Gold Corp.'s Casino project in the Yukon would support an economically robust mine capable of producing an average of 178 million pounds of copper, 231,000 ounces of gold, 1.36 million oz of silver, and 16.6 million lb of molybdenum per year over an initial 25-year mine life. This is according to a preliminary economic assessment released on June 22 that outlines a 120,000-metric-ton-per-day milling and 25,...
The ultimate goal for most junior exploration companies is to discover and advance a mineral deposit to the point that it is large and rich enough to attract the attention of a major mining company to swoop in and nab a stake through an investment in the project or even an outright buyout of the junior. Sometimes, if the global market conditions are right and the project shows enough promise, majors will invest in a project long before an economically viable mining project...
Rio Tinto Canada Inc. is investing C$25.6 million (US$21.2 million) to acquire a roughly 8% stake in Western Copper and Gold Corp. and a foothold in the exploration company's Casino copper project in Canada's Yukon. "The investment by Rio Tinto, a leading global mining group which operates in 35 countries around the world, and whose purpose is to produce the materials essential to human progress is a strong endorsement of the Casino project," said Western Copper and Gold...
For many mining companies eyeing prospects in Canada's far north, 2020 presented insurmountable challenges. But for the few explorers and producers focused on Northwest Territories, the year proved to be quite productive, even as a global coronavirus pandemic added expensive restrictions to already costly campaigns. Rigorous restrictions imposed by local and federal officials to quell potential outbreaks of the disease at mining camps and prevent its spread to local...
Dominion Diamond Mines Nov. 13 announced it will be recalling roughly 60 furloughed employees to prepare for an anticipated restart of its Ekati diamond mine in Northwest Territories. In mid-March, Dominion suspended operations at Ekati. While the shuttering of the diamond mine was partially to safeguard employees and nearby communities from the spread of COVID-19, the company was also suffering financial hardship. In April, Dominion filed for insolvency protection under the...
Explorers seeking new mineral discoveries in the Northwest Territories are expected to spend less in 2018 than the C$90 million they shelled out collectively last year. Natural Resources Canada projects spending this year for mineral exploration and deposit appraisals in the northern territory will total C$81.3 million. But some observers expect to see an uptick in hardrock mining exploration in 2018, especially in the highly prospective Slave Province where the Northwest...
EHR Resources Ltd. Sept. 22 announced that former De Beers Canada CEO Kim Truter has joined its board of directors. "I am delighted to welcome Kim to the EHR board," said EHR Resources Chairman Stephen Dennis. "His wealth of skills and experience in all facets of the diamond industry will be of enormous value as we advance our growth-focused diamond strategy, particularly as we continue to examine international M&A (mergers and acquisitions) opportunities on operating mines...
Though world diamond markets remain closed after their shutdown this spring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, diamond mining in Canada's North is showing signs of life. One mine, Ekati, shut down in the spring remains closed and most explorers have delayed field work until 2021, an intrepid few are reporting pre-pandemic progress and post-pandemic activities. In the spring, the governments of Northwest Territories and Nunavut imposed strict operating guidelines for all...
Triumph Gold Corp. Oct. 2 announced the retirement of Paul Reynolds, who served as president and CEO of the Yukon-based mineral exploration company for the past five years. Former Triumph Gold Vice President of Exploration Tony Barresi now serves as president and John Anderson, the executive chairman of the company, will fill in as interim CEO. Barresi is an economic geologist with fifteen years of base and precious metal exploration experience. During his three-year tenure...
Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Oct. 30 published major-oxide and trace-element geochemical data from rocks collected from the Northeast Tanacross project in 2018. From June 19 through July 15, 2018, geologists from the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) carried out a geologic mapping and geochemical sampling project in the Northeast Tanacross map area – Tanacross D-1 and parts of C-1 and D-2 quadrangles – adjacent to the For...
While claim staking and mineral exploration has rocketed in Yukon's famed White Gold and Klondike districts, this prolific action nearly comes to a halt at the territory's western border with Alaska. This has given rise to a tongue-in-cheek theory that there must be a major fault separating the mineral rich lands in western Yukon from the barren lands west of the border. This "Border Fault" apparently does exist. It is not, however, a major geological structure separating...
Rio Tinto and Dominion Diamond Mines Oct. 1 revealed three of the finest large rough diamonds recovered from their Diavik Mine in Northwest Territories. Collectively known as The Diavik Stars of the Arctic, these rough diamonds showcase a rare combination of size, quality and color from the Diavik diamond mine. The Diavik Stars of the Arctic will headline Rio Tinto's forthcoming "Specials" Tender, which showcases rough diamonds greater than 10.8 carats. Taking their...
Northwest Territories may fall behind Canada's two other territories in mining activity in the near-future, but projects underway in the northern jurisdiction hold substantial promise for mid- to long-term gains, especially if many current roadblocks come down. "Optimism is warranted for the territory's mining sector and the broader economy it drives," said Wally Schumann, minister of industry, tourism and investment for the Government of Northwest Territories. But...
Mining is expected to fuel strong economic growth in Nunavut and Yukon in the coming years, according to The Conference Board of Canada's latest Territorial Outlook. "With many new mining projects on the horizon in Nunavut and Yukon, growth is expected to take off over the next five years," said Marie-Christine Bernard, director, provincial and territorial forecasting, The Conference Board of Canada. The conference board's outlook for Northwest Territories, however, is not...
When it comes to mineral exploration incentives, currency exchange and infrastructure, Alaska is at a disadvantage in the realm of attracting exploration investments from Canada and Australia, countries that are home to the majority of mining companies. The Far North State's vast and underexplored mineral potential, however, trumps these handicaps in the minds of a growing number of miners and mineral explorers. Mining executives from around the globe perennially rank Alaska...
