The Explorers 2009: Interior Alaska basins 11/15/2009
Although analysts think that the majority of Alaska's oil and gas resources lie within the major basins of northern Alaska, Cook Inlet and the Bristol Bay area, there are several other basins around t...

Mining Explorers 2009: Full Metal weathers financial storm 11/01/2009
Waiting for improved market conditions, junior prepares for smoother sailing in 2010
Full Metal Mineral Ltd., like many juniors, battened down the hatches in 2009 to ride out the financial storm that sank many explorers and caused others to climb aboard ships better suited to the turb...

Drillers near target at Nenana gas well 08/02/2009
Well passes depth of 7,000 feet on its way to zones where gas may be found; target depth for $15 million well 11,000-15,000 feet
Excitement is building on a gravel drilling pad a few miles west of the Parks Highway and the town of Nenana in Alaska's Interior as the Nunivak No. 1 well, the first exploration well to test one of t...

BP in Alaska: Offshore challenges - Endicott, Northstar, Liberty 07/12/2009
Following Prudhoe and Kuparuk, Endicott was the third major oil field developed on the North Slope by BP, the field's major interest owner. The Sag Delta discovery, 10 miles northeast of Prudhoe Bay a...

Nenana gas exploration well spuds 07/12/2009
Drilling under way after a delay of several days because of Minto Flats forest fire; no immediate fire threat to the drill site; $15 million well targeted to 10,500-11,000 feet with Arctic Wolf No. 2 rig
Drilling is finally under way at the much anticipated Nunivak No. 1 natural gas exploration well on Alaska Mental Health Trust Land about 3 miles west of the town of Nenana in Alaska's interior. The w...

No Yukon Flats swap 07/12/2009
FWS decides not to exchange prospective wildlife refuge land with Doyon
In the four years or so that a proposed land exchange between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Doyon Ltd. in the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge has lain on the table, the subject of a heat...

BLM to convey almost half-million acres 06/28/2009
Transferring more than 150 million acres from federal to state and private ownership taking longer than originally thought
The federal Bureau of Land Management has filed public notice to convey more than 554,000 acres to a handful of Alaska village and regional Native corporations. Included are 233,000 acres near Minto,...

Rig moves to Nenana 06/28/2009
Partners Doyon, Usibelli, ASRC, Rampart prepare to drill Interior Alaska wildcat
On June 23 the Arctic Wolf No. 2 rig left Fairbanks, Alaska, in what the local newspaper described as "a slow caravan of tractor-trailers" on its way south to the Nenana basin to drill a natural gas e...

Nenana gas well to spud by end of June 06/14/2009
Doyon, ASRC, Usibelli, Rampart partnership hoping for large enough discovery to supply Fairbanks and Anchorage area
Doyon Ltd. executive says the Fairbanks regional Native corporation and its partners expect to start drilling for natural gas in the Nenana basin by the end of June. The partners are still wrapping...

Mining News: Rough days may be ahead for mining 04/26/2009
Experts: Raising venture capital will be industry's biggest challenge in 2009, while juniors lacking cash on hand will fade away
Last month we talked about economic impacts of the Alaska mining industry. This month, the world mineral exploration industry is in our crosshairs. Halifax-based Metals Economics Group reported that...

Nenana partners ready to drill in June 04/12/2009
Goal pipeline gas to Fairbanks; large find could come to Southcentral; smaller volume could be used to generate power for intertie
The geology puzzle at Nenana could be unlocked - at least partially - with the drilling of the basin's first deep well this summer by partners Doyon Ltd., Rampart Energy Co., Arctic Slope Regional Cor...

Land transfer appeal upheld by court 03/22/2009
On March 13 the Alaska Supreme Court upheld an appeal against the transfer of 250,000 acres of state land to the University of Alaska's endowment trust. The Southeast Alaska Conservation Council and t...

Mining News: Alaska mining industry sees quiet month 02/22/2009
Opportunities still exist in depressed economic climate, but government intervention can sometimes make things worse, not better
The Alaska mining industry was relatively quiet over the last month with most of the news coming from programs completed in 2008. In addition, some programs have already started in 2009 but details ar...

Rampart applies for Nenana access permit 02/22/2009
Rampart Energy Co., formerly known as Babcock and Brown Energy Inc., has applied to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a permit for the construction of an access road for the gas exploration well that...

Mining News: Alaska mining project roundup 01/25/2009
Alaska saw robust mining activity in 2008 across the full spectrum of the industry, from small placer operations to major producers, and from exploration programs to advanced development projects. Her...

Bison kick up the dust for Nenana plans 01/25/2009
Doyon worries that a state plan to introduce wood bison in the Minto Flats will jeopardize gas exploration in the Nenana basin
It's been nearly 200 years since wood bison roamed the wilds of Alaska, but a plan by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to re-introduce this scarce animal into the state is raising the ire of Doy...

Savant accelerates Badami drilling plan 01/18/2009
Incentives in ACES, Alaska's new production tax system, behind its investment in North Slope exploration, development
Savant Alaska isn't waiting until 2010 to complete two wells in the eastern North Slope's Badami unit - a commitment operator BP made to the State of Alaska last year as part of its seventh plan of de...

Upping the ante for the Yukon Flats 12/07/2008
USGS raises estimate of top of the oil window to 6,000 feet; Doyon re-assesses prospects on land close to trans-Alaska pipeline
It seems that the more that's known about the Yukon Flats basin in Alaska's Interior, the more potential the basin appears to have for substantial oil and gas resources. In the latest chapter in a ser...

The Explorers 2008: Savant and ASRC taking on Badami 11/23/2008
Denver independent will operate, while Alaska's larger private company expands its portfolio
The maturation of the North Slope is all about companies bringing new ideas to bear on overlooked projects, and that dynamic could come into play this winter at Badami. Through a series of business ar...

The Explorers 2008: State considers exploration licenses 11/23/2008
Proposals cover 'frontier' basins in Houston and Central, state issued only four licenses to date
The State of Alaska offers access to land and waters in five prospective regions through annual lease sales, but for more than a century explorers have scoured other, more remote corners of Alaska in...

State extends Nenana exploration license 11/23/2008
On Oct.21 the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas approved a three-year extension to the Nenana state exploration license. The license had been due to expire at the end of September 2009 but will now run u...

On track at Nenana 11/23/2008
Doyon and partners form deal with Babcock and Brown Energy to drill well
With the triple fillip of a new partner, favorable production tax terms and an extended state exploration license, the group of businesses that is looking for natural gas in the Nenana basin in Alaska...

Mining News: Junior mining companies active in Alaska exploration 10/26/2008
Full Metal Minerals Ltd. has 11 exploration projects spanning Alaska. The company's two primary projects are the Lucky Shot high-grade gold property about 90 miles north of Anchorage, and the LWM zinc...

Mining News: When the dust settles... 10/26/2008
AMA director Borell predicts Alaska will become more attractive to mining companies and reflects on important events of 2008
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 s...

Savant and ASRC taking on Badami 10/26/2008
Reprint from upcoming The Explorers magazine: Denver independent will operate, Alaska Native corp. expands portfolio
The maturation of the North Slope is all about companies bringing new ideas to bear on overlooked projects, and that dynamic could come into play this winter at Badami. Through a series of business ar...