The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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As China curbs exports of the strategic and critical metalloid, America's Last Frontier reemerges as potential domestic supplier. China's coming state-controlled restrictions on antimony exports has significantly elevated the criticality and price of this semi-metal that is already a top concern from many officials within the U.S. Department of Defense due to its use in military hardware and the dearth of antimony mines in the United States. An element that has properties that... Full story
Hires Whittle to investigate the optimal path for a scalable mining operation at gold-antimony project in Alaska. Nova Minerals Ltd. Oct. 2 announced that it has hired Whittle Consulting to carry out optimization studies for Estelle that will focus on establishing an initial mine at the RPM deposit that can be scaled up to a larger operation at the gold-antimony project in Alaska's West Susitna Mineral District. Lying about 100 miles northwest of Anchorage, Alaska, Estelle... Full story
Separation and processing are the master link of US supply chain. From tech devices such as smartphones and computer monitors to clean energy products like electric vehicles and wind turbines, household goods like vacuum cleaners and refrigerators, and military hardware such as F-35 fighters and communications equipment, rare earths have a critical role to play in nearly every facet of America's economy and security. The United States, however, currently relies on China for ne...
Tin is indispensable today and shapes innovation of tomorrow. From $5 flashlightS to multi-million-dollar super computers, virtually all electronics rely on tin, primarily because of its use in soldering. If circuit boards are considered the backbone of technology, then tin-based solder could be seen as the connective tissue that holds the industry together. Despite its fundamental role in the Digital Age, tin is often overshadowed by other critical minerals and contends with...
Confirms copper and gold mineralization over a 1,400-meter anomaly on property acquired from the Berdahl family. Yukon Metals Corp. Sept. 3 announced promising results from its initial exploration of the Birch gold-copper project in Yukon, identifying a large copper and gold mineralized system that spans over 1,400 meters and shows potential for economic grades. "We are excited about these first pass results that have clearly identified a copper and gold mineralized system...
Grid Connect Project aims to deliver affordable energy, unlocking potential for mining and economic development. The recent federal investment of C$60 million (US$44.2 million), including C$40 million (US$29.7 million) earmarked for connecting Yukon to the North American power grid, is being welcomed as a promising step toward addressing the territory's longstanding energy challenges, with local industries, particularly mining companies, seeing this infrastructure upgrade as... Full story
Reliance on imports for this white metal could darken days. When people see something pristine white, they often think of it as pure or clean – this imagery is plastered everywhere, from unblemished lab coats to sterilized hospitals. Yet, it may be surprising to know that the rich whiteness seen in many consumer products actually comes from a critical metal, titanium. From the whiteness of milk to the foundation used in makeup, if it is used to lighten or brighten, it most l...
Original computer semiconductor now energizes space ambitions. Germanium is a versatile and powerful semiconductor that traces its technology roots back to the dawn of the Digital Age and continues to lend its superlative semiconducting and optical properties to enhancing computers, smartphones, solar panels, fiber optics, and other devices 80 years later. In 1945, Sylvania introduced the first germanium diode to enhance the vacuum tube computers that launched the Digital... Full story
Rising demand, lack of domestic supply, and China's dominance. While graphite has not captured the same level of media attention as some of the other mined materials critical to the clean energy transition, the strategic nature of this largest ingredient in lithium-ion batteries powering electric vehicles is high on the list of concerns for American automakers, Washington policymakers, and the Pentagon's top brass. These worries are based on a trifecta of graphite... Full story
Indispensable, expensive, and rare – PGMs get a green upgrade. Back in 1950, the first catalytic converter in the United States was a box bolted onto a car's undercarriage to reduce tailpipe emissions. It was patented by French mechanical engineer Eugene Houdry, who was concerned about the effects of automobile exhaust on the good people of Los Angeles. And it would have worked if it had not been for the octane-boosting lead then being added to fuel, which could choke any c...
Projects, initiatives, and technology expand scandium supply chain security. While it may not have quite as strong a chemical bond to its adopted lanthanide siblings as they do each other, scandium does possess similar enough characteristics and is almost always found at the same geological gatherings (deposits) as the rest of its rare earth family. Named for the Latin word for Scandinavia, "Scandia," – as the mineral was thought to only dwell off the Nordic peninsula – sca...
An all-of-government strategy is beginning to unfold in the US. Over the first two years following the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, the U.S. Department of Energy has invested billions of dollars into establishing a clean energy supply chain in the United States. These heavy investments, however, have neglected one vital link – the domestic mines needed to supply the processing facilities, battery plants, and other energy t... Full story
Pentagon turns to Idaho gold mine for a strategic domestic supply of critical metalloid. Falling in the grey area between metals like zinc and nonmetals like carbon, antimony is a semi-metal that possesses some interesting properties that make it a vital ingredient in a wide range of household, industrial, high-tech, and military goods. Despite its widespread uses, many people have never heard of antimony and fewer still realize that this intriguing metalloid is considered... Full story
Import-reliance a top concern for national security officials. America's heavy reliance on China and others for the minerals and metals critical to the nation's economic competitiveness, military strength, and clean energy future is high on the list of strategic concerns for top brass at the U.S. departments of Defense and Homeland Security. While much of this concern is rooted in the fact that the United States' ability to defend its strategic interests at home and abroad... Full story
New assays from 2022 drill core turn up 16% antimony at Treasure Creek, Felix Gold focuses on standalone critical minerals mine. Felix Gold Ltd. Aug. 28 reported that new high-grade assays from 2022 drilling at Treasure Creek support the idea that this Alaska gold project could host a standalone antimony mine. "Treasure Creek constitutes a large-scale gold-antimony system characterized by the identification of high-grade antimony mineralization in numerous locations," said...
U.S. GoldMining and Nova Minerals work side-by-side to advance gold, copper, and antimony projects at end of West Susitna Road. WEST SUSTINA MINERAL DISTRICT – The 4,000-foot Whiskey Bravo airstrip about 100 miles northwest of Anchorage as the Cessna 206 flies is serving as the operational headquarters of an emerging Alaska mining district with the potential to be a domestic source of minerals and metals critical to America's economic wellbeing, national security, and clean e... Full story
Company has completed 11 holes so far this year at the RPM gold deposit, is collecting bulk samples at the Stibium antimony prospect. Nova Minerals Ltd. Aug. 21 announced that it is continuing to pursue both the precious metal and critical mineral potential at its Estelle gold-antimony project about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Anchorage, Alaska. According to a calculation completed earlier this year in compliance with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's...
A graphite supply agreement struck with Lucid Motors provides a key link to forging a mine-to-EVs supply chain. Graphite One Inc. has struck a battery materials supply agreement with California-based electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Motors that is expected to forge a complete mine-to-EVs graphite supply chain with links in Alaska, Ohio, and Arizona. Alaska's delegation in Washington, D.C., is hailing this battery materials agreement as a win both for America's 49th State an...
Program focused on upgrading and expanding near-surface resources in preparation for a feasibility study. Nova Minerals Ltd. July 31 announced the start of a drill program to upgrade and expand the resources at the RPM gold deposit on its Estelle project about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Anchorage, Alaska. The start of the 2024 program at Estelle comes days after the Australian company completed its American listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market through a $3.3...
Now is the time to be optimistic about the future because the 2024 version of the Hatfields and the McCoys has run out of steam. I have long felt that mining will be the workhorse industry for Alaska. The state is vast, and the deposits are remote. Furthermore, they tend to be large. Unhappily, the political environment has, for about 75 years, been antagonistic toward mining based on a series of specious issues. Mines are unsafe, so they say. But a worker in a government... Full story
USAC stakes road-accessible copper property; investigating other critical mineral projects in underexplored state. United States Antimony Corp. Aug. 21 announced that it has staked 69 state claims covering prospective high-grade copper showings in Alaska. The critical minerals-focused company that owns an antimony refinery in Montana has yet to reveal the location of this 11,040-acre property in Alaska. "The State of Alaska is under-explored, and we are considering other...
U.S. Federal District Court in Alaska approves motion to include USACE in ongoing litigation over Pebble Mine permit veto. Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. Aug. 19 announced that the U.S. Federal District Court in Alaska has granted its request to amend the ongoing lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to also include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) as a defendant. In January 2023, EPA issued a 404(c) veto under the Clean Water Act, blocking...
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...
Although it seems to be a song without end, it is election time again, and that means we can, once again, have hope for Alaska's future. As a general rule, national politics are pretty much irrelevant to Alaskans, if only because the results of the quadrennial Presidential election are usually called before the polls in Alaska close. This year, going into July, the race between Biden and Trump was nip and tuck. From my cynical bench, it appeared to be a question of whom you... Full story
