Mining News: Statistics show mining matters to Alaska  02/28/2010
The Alaska Miners Association recently released an economic benefits summary of the Alaska mining industry. This summary indicated that in 2009 the Alaska mining industry provided 3,300 direct jobs along with 5,200 indirect jobs in 120 communities in Alaska with a combined payroll of US$320 million....

Mining News: Elephant in the room burdens our economy  02/28/2010
The economic catastrophe that has plagued the national economy for the past 24 months has precipitated a laundry list of blame factors and proposed solutions that are simultaneously well intended and, thus far at least, ineffective. The bailout of financial institutions and automobile manufacturers...

Mining News: To be a true Alaskan is to be pro-mining  02/28/2010
I am a great supporter of Alaska’s mining industry. How could an Alaskan not be? In 2009, Alaska’s mining industry paid a total of US$12.3 million to local governments, US$35 million to the state government in royalties, rents, fees, and taxes, US$48.9 million in other state government-related reven...

Mining News: Porphyries can bolster gold supply  02/28/2010
As the price of gold soars to all-time highs and physical demand climbs in the face of a weakening U.S. dollar, gold companies are embracing new approaches and shifting focus from pure gold deposits to polymetallic, or gold-containing, base-metal deposits in the quest to augment diminishing reserves...

Mining News: Pebble opponents seek river protections  02/28/2010
Environmental groups are pushing for special protection of watersheds near the enormous Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum deposit, which, according to the most recent estimate by the Pebble Partnership, contains around 80.6 billion pounds of copper, 107.4 million troy ounces of gold and 5.6 billion poun...

Mining News: Cupric Canyon scours globe for copper  02/28/2010
Bankers, miners and scientists are predicting a shortage of copper in the coming decade as developing countries, particularly China and India, urbanize and industrialize. This growing need has spurred Barclays Capital, the investment division of the London-based Barclays Bank plc, to back a team of...

Mining News: Terrane wreck lures explorers to Alaska  02/28/2010
Geologically, Alaska is a terrane wreck, with multiple tectonic plates dumping their mineral payloads over the landscape. Geologists are still sifting through the wreckage in many places across the state to determine which mineral deposits were dumped by which terranes and when — a task not always e...

Mining News: B.C. mining prepares for rally in 2010  02/28/2010
Mineral exploration activity in British Columbia fell 58 percent to $154 million in 2009 from C$367 million a year earlier, but one B.C. government official said the outcome still was the sixth-highest for exploration spending in the past 20 years and the province has reason for optimism. “Despite...

Mining News: Roundup 2010 goes for the gold  02/28/2010
With base metal prices bouncing back and liquidity returning to the financial markets, a feeling of optimism filled the Westin Bayshore Hotel during the 2010 Mineral Exploration Roundup in Vancouver, B.C. The four-day-long event provided a forum for geologists to swap stories about their 2009 explo...

Mining News: City weighs cost of geothermal project  02/28/2010
A large abandoned underground gold mine just south of the City of Yellowknife could provide the Northwest Territories community with geothermal power, an environmentally friendly resource to help meet the Far North community’s energy needs. But the immediate challenge facing Yellowknife officials i...

Mining News: High court backs regulators on Red Chris  02/28/2010
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Jan. 21 that federal regulators must confine their mine project review scoping decisions to alternatives allowed under provisions of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. But in a unanimous decision, Canada’s high court declined to set aside the federal regula...

Mining News: Red Chris Project still faces a big challenge  02/28/2010
Though federal and provincial regulators prevailed in a legal challenge to the green light they gave Imperial Metals Corp. for the Red Chris copper-gold porphyry project in northwestern British Columbia, the proposed mine has another major hurdle to clear. Development of Red Chris into a mine is con...

Mining News: Amalco vows to be force in exploration  02/28/2010
Left leaderless and weighed down with about C$11 million in debt in mid-2009, it appeared Freegold Ventures Ltd. would become another casualty of the market collapse of 2008. Many believe this surely would have been the case if not for the tenacity of Kristina Walcott, then the company’s vice presid...

Mining News: Technology evolves with CO2 emission cuts  02/28/2010
As researchers around the world strive to shrink the level of greenhouse gases pouring into the atmosphere from fossil fuel combustion and other sources, one aspect of the challenge is taking on new dimensions. Coal has long been recognized as a dirty and deadly fuel. Researchers conducting autopsie...

Mining News: Peel land use plan gets 1-year timeout  02/28/2010
The Government of Yukon has issued an immediate one-year interim withdrawal from mineral staking for all Crown Land, Category B settlement lands and fee simple lands in the Peel Watershed Region of Yukon Territory in hopes of providing certainty during an ongoing regional land use planning process....

Mining News: Usibelli thrives on coal exports in 2009  01/17/2010
Increased interest in Alaska coal from buyers in Asia and Chile boosted exports from the Usibelli Coal Mine to record levels in 2009. According to Steve Denton, vice president for business development for Usibelli Coal Mine Inc., exports jumped 54 percent to 803,572 metric tons last year, or roughl...

Mining News: Movie gives industry a big black eye  01/17/2010
I must join what appears to be a growing parade of voices criticizing some aspect of the mega-blockbuster sci-fi movie, Avatar, and add my two cents. Critics have complained about the movie’s story line, citing everything from its blatant allusions to the worst aspects of the recent war in Iraq (a...

Mining News: Terrane seeks partner to build mine  01/17/2010
Terrane Metals Corp. has decided to move ahead with construction of a C$900 million open-pit copper-gold mine at the Mt. Milligan Project in north-central British Columbia. Robert Pease, Terrane’s president and CEO, told investors Jan. 12 that the junior is talking with Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. and...

Mining News: New year, decade brings opportunities  01/17/2010
As we plunge headlong into a new year and a new decade, the broad economic indicators for the mining industry suggest continued strong prices for most commodities in 2010 followed by slightly lower average prices in 2011 and beyond as supplies catch up to demand. Not surprisingly, the source of much...

Mining News: Alaska miners face hopeful New Year  01/17/2010
In my simple world of cause and effect, when I see things happen I always leap to the conclusion that there will be a related subsequent development. When I see the United States borrow untold billions of dollars from the People’s Republic of China (for whatever wonderful reason), I assume that the...

Mining News: Junior scores ‘major’ coup in Far North  01/17/2010
Among juniors actively working to attract majors to invest in mineral exploration projects scattered across Canada’s Far North, one Vancouver, B.C.-based company leaped to the front of the pack recently in Nunavut Territory. Commander Resources Inc. is exploring the Baffin Island Gold Project, a dis...

Mining News: Geophysics reveal deep targets at Man  01/17/2010
During their first exploration season as joint venture partners at the Man nickel-copper-platinum group element project in Interior Alaska, Pure Nickel Inc. and Itochu Corp. said they discovered compelling new targets to investigate in 2010. Tokyo-based Itochu and Toronto-based Pure Nickel original...

Mining News: Zazu orders Lik transportation study  01/17/2010
Zazu Metals Corp. has signed an agreement with the state-owned Alaska Industrial Development and Export Agency to complete due diligence for transportation infrastructure needed to support a mine at its Lik zinc-lead-silver project located about 22 kilometers, or 14 miles, northeast of Red Dog Mine...

Mining News: Junior jumps in with both feet at Ambler  01/17/2010
NovaGold Resources Inc. has cut a deal with Rio Tinto subsidiary Kennecott Exploration Co. to purchase 100 percent interest in the precious-metal-rich Ambler copper-zinc property in Northwest Alaska. The outright purchase overrides a 2004 joint venture agreement in which NovaGold would have earned...

Mining News: Prospector looks beyond White Gold find  01/17/2010
The prospector who discovered the highly promising White Gold property near Dawson City, Yukon Territory says he believes the future is beyond bright for the region – it’s blazing. Shawn Ryan, a self-taught mineral hunter who has spent the past 12 years tramping the Klondike bush and adjacent areas,...

Mining News: Seasoned mine builder joins NovaGold  01/17/2010
NovaGold Resources Inc. tapped a wealth of mining experience recently when it appointed Gil Leathley as senior advisor to the junior’s president and CEO, Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse. “Mr. Leathley is one of the best mine builders in our industry,” Nieuwenhuyse said. “He has an unparalleled record of build...

Mining News: Wanted: Mineral prospectors with skills  01/17/2010
Just as junior and major mining companies have important roles to play in the chain of developments that lead, hopefully, to discovery of substantial mineral deposits and subsequent commercial development, individual prospectors occupy a critical niche in the industry’s life cycle. In the vast and r...

Mining News: Junior finds REEs, niobium on gem claims  01/17/2010
After focusing on its ruby-rich claims in Greenland for the past few years, True North Gems Inc. has returned to Yukon Territory to hunt for rare earth elements rather than gems. The junior has confirmed the presence of significant REE and niobium mineralization at its True Blue gem aquamarine prope...

Donlin developer, landowner amend property lease  03/11/2010
NovaGold Resources Inc. March 4 said Donlin Creek LLC and Calista Corp. have approved certain amendments to the lease for subsurface and surface rights in connection with the Donlin Creek property. T...Comments

Diamonds North signs letter of intent on Amaruk Nickel  03/11/2010
Diamonds North Resources Ltd. March 9 said it signed a letter of intent with Minerals and Metals Group whereby MMG may earn 75 percent of the nickel and other base metals on the Amaruk Property in Nu... Comments

Fort Knox employees log 3 million injury-free hours  03/11/2010
Employees at Kinross Gold Corp.’s Fort Knox gold mine have worked more than 3 million man-hours without a lost-time incident, top managers at the Fairbanks area mine. Mine officials hailed the milest... Comments

CORRECTION to March 4 article: 'Consent decree ends investigation of Pebble opponents'  03/11/2010
In an article published in the March 4 edition of North of 60 Mining News Weekly Online Newsletter, the outcome of an Alaska Public Offices Commission investigation into alleged campaign violations b... Comments

Alaska News Nuggets  03/11/2010
GOLD – Freegold Ventures Ltd. March 9 reported staking of 141 Alaska mining claims covering 15,360 acres adjacent to its Rob gold project in the Goodpaster Mining District in eastern Interior Alaska.... Comments

British Columbia  03/11/2010
NICKEL/COBALT – Hard Creek Nickel Corp. March 5 said it has updated a positive preliminary assessment study of the company’s Turnagain Nickel Project, located 70 km (44 miles) east of Dease Lake in n... Comments

Northwest Territories/Nunavut  03/11/2010
GOLD – Novus Gold Corp. March 5 reported the first batch of gold assay results of re-sampled drill core obtained from Cominco Ltd.’s previous exploration programs (1988 and 1990) conducted on its REN... Comments

Yukon Territory  03/11/2010
GOLD – Atac Resources Ltd. March 8 reported staking an additional 3,305 claims at its Rau Gold Project located in the Keno Hill district of central Yukon Territory. Rau contains the Tiger Zone, a sed... Comments

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Cost of living tops concerns in miners’ survey  03/04/2010
The high costs of living in the North, along with proximity to their families, are key issues for people who work in the Northwest Territories’ diamond mines, according to a recent government survey....Comments

AngloGold plans to scour ocean floor as gold reserves dwindle  03/04/2010
AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., Africa’s largest producer of bullion, March 2 said it will explore under the sea for the precious metal as mining companies scramble to replace increasingly scarce reserves, a... Comments

International Tower Hill and American Mining agree on Terra JV  03/04/2010
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. March 4 said it has signed a letter of intent to enter into a joint venture with American Mining Corp., a private Nevada corporation, on International Tower Hill’s... Comments

Alaska News Nuggets  03/04/2010
GOLD - Fire River Gold Corp. March 2 said it has expanded its management team to advance the Nixon Fork Gold Mine. Richard Goodwin has been appointed vice president of mining and is the project manage... Comments

British Columbia  03/04/2010
GOLD – Canasia Industries Corp. March 4 said it received the first set of grades back from processing of a bulk sample sent to the laboratory from its Clone Gold Prospect in the Stewart Gold District... Comments

Northwest Territories  03/04/2010
RARE EARTH ELEMENTS – Avalon Rare Metals Inc. March 3 provided an update on recent progress of its 2010 winter work program on the Nechalacho rare earth elements deposit at Thor Lake in Northwest Ter... Comments

Nunavut  03/04/2010
Meadowbank, Nunavut’s newest gold mine, produced its first gold bar Feb. 27, marking a milestone for owner Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. The gold bar, weighing 8,134 grams or 287 ounces, was poured at the... Comments

Yukon Territory  03/04/2010
Yukon Territory SILVER – Alexco Resource Corp. March 4 reported plans for the largest exploration program the company has ever undertaken in the Keno Hill Silver District, Yukon Territory. About 30,00... Comments

Partners approve $72M in spending at Pebble for 2010  02/25/2010
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. said the Pebble Limited Partnership Board of Directors has approved up to US$72.9 million in spending at the Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum project for 2010, primarily t... Comments

2009 was defining year for silver, gold producer Coeur  02/25/2010
Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. Feb. 25 announced record silver production in 2009 and reserves at year-end as the company nears completion of the transition to its three new long-life silver and gold mine...Comments

Alaska News Nuggets  02/25/2010
MARKETING - The Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development’s Office of Economic Development touted Alaska’s vast mining potential at the 2010 Mineral Exploration Roundup in Vanc... Comments

British Columbia  02/25/2010
POLYMETALLIC – Silvercorp Metals Inc. Feb. 22 said it signed a definitive purchase agreement with Silver Standard Resources Inc. to purchase 100 percent interest in the Silvertip silver-lead-zinc pro... Comments

Northwest Territories  02/25/2010
DIAMONDS – North Arrow Minerals Inc. Feb. 24 reported an amendment to the terms of a previously announced agreement with Dr. Chris Jennings to jointly explore its Lac de Gras diamond property located... Comments

Nunavut  02/25/2010
POLYMETALLIC – Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. Feb. 25 outlined plans for a 2010 exploration program and budget for its Nunavut precious metals projects. Camps are currently being opened and provisioned w... Comments

Yukon Territory  02/25/2010
Northern Tiger Resources Inc. Feb 25 said surface exploration work in 2009 identified a large copper-molybdenum anomaly at its Sonora Gulch Project in central Yukon Territory that is currently being... Comments

USGS: U.S. dependence on metals imports increases  02/18/2010
The United States Geological Survey reported a US$57.1 billion drop in the value of raw, nonfuel minerals mined in the United States in 2009. The value of raw minerals domestically processed and refi... Comments

Record output, realized gold price delivers for Kinross  02/18/2010
Kinross Gold Corp. Feb. 17 reported profits of $235.6 million, or 34 cents per share for the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with a net loss of $968.8 million, or $1.47 per share, during the same pe...Comments

Greens Creek purchase transitions 119-year silver miner  02/18/2010
In its 2009 year-end financial report, Hecla Mining Co. said it produced a record 10.9 million ounces of silver in 2010. The Idaho-based silver miner also boasted a record US$115 million in cash-flow... Comments

Alaska News Nuggets  02/18/2010
PERMITS – Teck Resources Limited and partner, NANA Regional Corporation, Inc. Feb. 17 said Trustees for Alaska; and the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment have joined local tribal and environ... Comments

British Columbia  02/18/2010
COAL – Teck Resources Limited Feb. 12 said it agreed with Westshore Terminals Limited Partnership on terms for the shipment of 3 million metric tons of coal per year from Teck’s Elkview, Cheviot and... Comments

Yukon Territory  02/18/2010
COPPER/GOLD – BCGold Corp. Feb. 16 said recent exploration work on its Apex East property, situated immediately north of Capstone Mining Corp.’s Minto mine in central Yukon Territory has defined what... Comments

Northwest Territories  02/18/2010
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – The Northwest Territories and Nunavut Chamber of Mines Feb. 10 said it welcomed a statement on support for mining from the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories by t... Comments

Nunavut  02/18/2010
GOLD – Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. Feb. 17 reported profits of C$47.9 million, or C31 cents per share, for the fourth quarter of 2009. This result includes a non-cash foreign currency translation loss of... Comments

NovaGold reports 2009 project, financial results  02/11/2010
NovaGold Resources Inc. Feb. 11 posted results of its fiscal year, which ended Nov. 30, along with an update on the company's project development activities. Expenditures for 2009 at the Donlin Creek... Comments

Teck reports annual performance; provides Red Dog update  02/11/2010
Teck Resources Ltd. Feb. 8 reported net earnings of C$1.8 billion, or C$3.42 per share, for 2009 and C$411 million, or C70 cent per share, in the fourth quarter. Its operating profit before depreciat...Comments

New mining development critical to Nunavut economy  02/11/2010
A meeting of the G7 Finance Ministers in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Feb.6 brought renewed global attention to the critical need for mining dollars to stimulate the economy of Canada's newest territory, Minewe... Comments

Alaska News Nuggets  02/11/2010
RARE EARTH ELEMENTS - Ucore Uranium Inc. Feb. 10 reported the completion of its 2010 exploration plan for the Bokan-Dotson Ridge rare earth element project. The company plans a minimum of 3,000 meters... Comments

British Columbia  02/11/2010
GOLD/SILVER – Teuton Resources Corp. Feb. 9 said it intends to explore its High property located in the Sulphurets region of northwestern British Columbia during the 2010 field season. The claims hav... Comments

Yukon Territory  02/11/2010
LAND ACCESS – The Government of Yukon has issued an immediate one-year interim withdrawal from mineral staking for all lands in the Peel Watershed Region in order to provide certainty during the ongo... Comments

Quantity, grade and continuity of Pebble resource grows  02/04/2010
The Pebble Partnership, a 50-50 partnership between Anglo American plc and Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., Feb. 1 released an updated resource estimate for the Pebble deposit in Southwest Alaska, inc... Comments

CBR Gold wants to spin out Canadian, Australian assets  02/04/2010
CBR Gold Corp. Feb. 4 said its board of directors has approved in principle, a spin out of its Canadian and Australian gold assets. CBR Gold Corp. intends to change its name to Niblack Mineral Devel...Comments

B.C. mining minister predicts strong 2010  02/04/2010
Rising commodity prices signal that 2010 will be a strong year for B.C.’s mineral industry, according to Randy Hawes, the province’s minister of state for mining. Hawes reported that mineral explora... Comments

Alaska News Nuggets  02/04/2010
GOLD - Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. Feb. 3 reported the discovery of a new high-grade vein system at its Kensington Gold Mine located 45 miles northwest of Juneau in Southeast Alaska. The new structure,... Comments

British Columbia  02/04/2010
Seabridge Gold Jan. 26 reported filing on SEDAR an NI 43-101 technical report for its KSM project in northern British Columbia that sets forth an increase in measured and indicated gold resources of... Comments

Northwest Territories  02/04/2010
DIAMONDS – North Arrow Minerals Inc. Feb. 1 reported an agreement with Dr. Chris Jennings to jointly explore its Lac de Gras diamond property. The Lac de Gras property is located within the prolific... Comments

Yukon Territory  02/04/2010
Capstone Mining Corp. Feb. 3 said exploration drilling is underway at its high-grade Minto copper-gold mine in west-central Yukon Territory. Capstone has approved a budget of about US$2.6 million to... Comments

Nunavut  02/04/2010
DIAMONDS – Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. Feb. 4 reported the discovery of kimberlite indicator mineral and precious metal anomalies at its Qilaq Project on Baffin Island in Nunavut. Seven of the samples co... Comments

Kiska plans drilling in March at Whistler  01/28/2010
Kiska Metals Corp. Jan 21 said it is making final preparations to begin its 2010 exploration program at the Whistler Project 92 miles, or 150 kilometers, northwest of Anchorage, Alaska. The drilling... Comments

Study: Road to Nome best along Yukon River  01/28/2010
Engineering firm Dowl HKM has chosen a preferred route for a road connecting Nome, Alaska to the state’s roads and the rest of North America’s contiguous road system. The proposed corridor would exte...Comments

Barclays Capital backs play for copper investments  01/28/2010
Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays Bank Plc., Jan. 25 said its Barclays Natural Resource Investments team is backing one of the world’s premier copper mining management tea... Comments

Underworld discovers gold trend north of White Gold  01/28/2010
Underworld Resources Inc. Jan. 27 announced the discovery of a 40-kilometer-long trend of gold prospects and anomalous gold in soil geochemistry at the JP Ross and Maisy May Property. This trend exhi... Comments

Alaska News Nuggets  01/28/2010
GOLD – Freegold Ventures Ltd. and Western Standard Metals Ltd. Jan. 22 said they have signed an option agreement whereby Western Standard may earn a 50 percent interest in the Vinasale gold project lo... Comments

Nunavut  01/28/2010
DIAMONDS - Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. Jan. 28 reported results from a 49.6-metric-ton sample of surface material collected from the CH-1A phase of the CH-1 kimberlite on its 9,800-square- kilometer, or... Comments

Northwest Territories  01/28/2010
GOLD – Tyhee Development Corp. Jan 27 reported progress at its Yellowknife Gold Project in Northwest Territories, including installation of a 2010 winter road, the start of diamond drilling at the Or... Comments

Yukon Territory  01/28/2010
MARKETING – Seven mining companies with significant mines or mine projects in Yukon Territory Jan. 27 said they have formed a new marketing and promotion alliance designed to enhance investment inter... Comments

Villages, environmentalists appeal Red Dog water permit  01/21/2010
Two environmental law firms, Trustees for Alaska and Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, joined local tribal and environmental organizations in filing a request for an adjudicatory hearing b... Comments

Underworld: 1.4-million-ounce resource at White Gold  01/21/2010
Underworld Resources Inc. Jan. 19 reported initial resource estimates for the Golden Saddle and Arc deposits at the White Gold Property south of Dawson City, Yukon Territory. At Golden Saddle, Under...Comments

Alaska  01/21/2010
POLYMETALLIC – Niblack joint venture partners CBR Gold Corp. and Heatherdale Resources Ltd. Jan. 18 reported assay results from three additional holes from the 7,620-meter underground drill program... Comments

British Columbia  01/21/2010
COPPER/GOLD – Habanero Resources Inc. Jan. 20 said it acquired 5,631 contiguous hectares, or 13,914 acres, located directly south of Red Chris copper-gold property in northwest British Columbia. Red... Comments

Nunavut  01/21/2010
GOLD – Commander Resources Ltd. Jan. 18 reported that recently received assays from channel samples collected from the Hébert Prospect on its district-scale Baffin Island Gold Property in Nunavut dem... Comments

Northwest Territories  01/21/2010
GOLD – Novus Gold Corp. Jan. 15 reported surface sampling results from its REN gold property located in the Point Lake area 90 kilometers, or 56 miles, southwest of the formerly producing Lupin gold... Comments

Yukon Territory  01/21/2010
POLYMETALLIC – Strategic Metals Ltd. Jan. 14 said it plans to fund diamond drill programs at nine of its most prospective projects during 2010. It also said it signed a farm-in agreement with Atac R... Comments