The future for Alaska mining is golden – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – May 2, 2025)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

Record gold prices and rising production are expected to push Alaska’s 2025 gold output value north of $3.4 billion.

With the gold shattering the $3,000-per-ounce ceiling without hesitation and Alaska mines poised to break above the 1-million-oz mark this year, the future of Alaska’s mining sector is golden. This combination of record gold prices and production positions Alaska’s mining industry to crush all previous records this year when it comes to the value of the minerals and metals produced in the state.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) calculates that Alaska’s mining operations produced $4.7 billion of non-fuel minerals – gold, zinc, silver, lead, and aggregate products – in 2024. Adding the coal produced for in-state power plants bumps this total up to roughly $4.8 billion.

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Teck, tariffs, and the Red Dog zinc mine – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – April 28, 2025)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

Teck Resources Ltd. CEO Johnathan Price says the diversified Canadian miner’s portfolio of American mining operations delivering metals critical to 21st-century energy and technologies are well-positioned to weather a geopolitical storm that threatens to hobble the global economy, fuel inflation, and disrupt supply chains.

“Despite these headwinds, we believe that the fundamentals for our key metals, copper and zinc, are robust over the medium and long term as several macro factors continue to drive demand,” he informed analysts and investors during an April 24 earnings call. “These metals are essential for global manufacturing and development, industrial policy and national security, electrification infrastructure, as well as the growth of the digital economy.”

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Billionaire investor John Paulson sees gold near $5,000 by 2028 – by Ernest Scheyder (Reuters – April 29, 2025)

https://www.reuters.com/

Central bank gold buying and global trade tensions are likely to push bullion prices to near $5,000 an ounce by 2028, billionaire investor John Paulson said in an interview during which he reinforced his commitment to US mining projects

The price forecast is one of the most bullish yet as banks and others move to increase their own estimates after gold hit a record high just above $3,500 last week. Deutsche Bank, for one, expects bullion to hit $3,700 an ounce by next year.

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Barrick is cashing in on gold’s record rally with asset sales – by Jacob Lorinc (Bloomberg News – April 23, 2025)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

For Barrick Gold Corp., one of the world’s top bullion producers, the precious metal’s blistering rally to record prices is looking like a great opportunity to raise some cash as the company looks to pivot harder into copper mining.

First, the company announced on Tuesday that it’s exiting an Alaskan mining project by selling its 50% stake to billionaire John Paulson and Novagold Resources Inc. for US$1 billion. Meanwhile, Barrick has also signalled more deals on the horizon as it seeks buyers for mines in Africa and North America.

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Barrick exits Alaska with Donlin Gold sale – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – April 22, 2025)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

To sell its 50% stake in the 39-million-oz gold project to Paulson and Novagold for $1 billion.

After nearly two decades of exploration, engineering, and permitting, Barrick Gold Corp. has sold its 50% joint venture ownership of the world-class Donlin Gold project in Southwest Alaska to hedge fund billionaire John Paulson and Novagold Resources Inc. for $1 billion in cash.

“The Donlin agreement allows Barrick to exit the Donlin Gold Project at an attractive valuation, while allowing NOVAGOLD and Paulson to pursue the development of the project,” Barrick Gold President and CEO Mark Bristow said in an April 22 statement announcing the sale.

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Carney, Trump, and the Arctic mining nexus – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – April 4, 2025)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

A shared vision for North America’s Arctic could help thaw relations; Greenland and minerals may be keys to securing the North.

While relations between Canada and the United States may be the coldest ever recorded, the leaders of both nations have a common vision that could help defrost tensions – investing in the strategic and resource-rich North to help ensure North American security and prosperity as we progress deeper into the 21st century.

“Our government will strengthen Canada’s Arctic security, bolster partnerships with our closest Allies, unleash the North’s economic potential, and reaffirm reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples,” Mark Carney said as he was preparing to travel to Nunavut just four days after being sworn in as Canada’s new prime minister.

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Trump’s under-the-radar Alaska order has environmentalists on edge – by John Towfighi (CNN.com – February 3, 2025)

https://amp.cnn.com/

CNN — One of President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive orders has reignited a debate over the future of Alaska’s vast wilderness and resources, sparking deep concern among some environmental groups and Indigenous communities.

Trump on his first day in office signed an executive order focused on “unleashing Alaska’s extraordinary resource potential.” It includes a directive to develop Alaska’s energy and mineral resources “to the fullest extent possible.”

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‘World’s largest undeveloped gold mine’ faces legal challenges from Canada and Alaska tribal nations – by Jack Darrell (Alaska Public Media – January 28, 2025)

https://alaskapublic.org/

A major Canadian mining prospect upstream from Southeast Alaska is drawing legal challenges from both sides of the border, as tribal groups fear the project could pollute their ancestral waterways.

At the river’s mouth

The Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission, or SEITC, is worried about the region’s rivers. The commission represents 15 Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian nations that came together because they believe mining in British Columbia poses a threat to their spawning salmon and hooligan habitats, like the Unuk and Stikine Rivers.

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Trump wastes no time on the Ambler Road – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – January 21, 2025)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

Reinstating Ambler Road permits was part of the “Unleashing Alaska” executive order signed by President Trump on first day back in office.

With the stroke of a pen on his first day back in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reverse the previous administration’s decision to revoke permits required to build a road to the Ambler Mining District, along with a series of other Biden era initiatives that are significantly impacting resource development in Alaska.

The “Unleashing Alaska’s extraordinary resource potential” executive order signed by Trump shortly after being sworn into office reflects a list of sweeping changes requested by Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

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Reflecting on big dreams in the North – by A.J. Roan (North of 60 Mining News – January 3, 2025)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

From water pipelines to hydrogen bomb ports, Alaska holds a history of dreamers as big as the Last Frontier state.

As the world steps into a new year brimming with possibilities, a reflection on Alaska’s wildest visions through its relatively brief history can offer a glimpse into humanity’s boundless imagination. From grandiose pipelines spanning oceans to domed cities beneath the shadow of Denali, the Last Frontier has long been a canvas for audacious ideas that dared to reshape the future – and serves as a reminder of how bold thinking can pave the way for progress.

From its earliest days as part of the United States, Alaska has often been viewed as an underdog. Derided as “Seward’s Folly” after its 1867 purchase from Russia, this sprawling wilderness was dismissed by many as a frozen expanse of little value.

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This company helped build an Alaska mine without a tailings dump. Can it build 2 more? – by Max Graham (Alaska Public Media/Northern Journal – January 7, 2025)

https://alaskapublic.org/

Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse has little patience left for mines that aren’t getting built.After 40 years in Alaska’s mining industry, he is tired of permitting delays, lawsuits and the state’s lack of infrastructure.

So a bell chimed in his head four years ago when he read a vague line in a corporate report proposing an unusual kind of gold mine — one that could be ready for construction in just a couple of years, instead of the dozen or more that some projects take. The idea was simple: Dig a typical pit and mine the ore — but send the rocks somewhere else for the heavy industrial process of separating out the gold.

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Will Alaska mining surge under Trump 2.0? – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – December 6, 2024)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

President-elect vows to maximize Alaska’s mining potential; an aligned Congress swings political pendulum in industry’s favor.

With an incoming president that favors “reshoring” over “friendshoring” the nation’s critical mineral supply chains and a Congress positioned to pass permitting reform and other mining-related legislation that has stalled in one chamber or the other for more than a decade, America’s mining sector is poised for growth following the outcome of the Nov. 5 election.

“We are going to have a federal government – with the Senate, with the House, with the White House – that’s going to be fully backing our mining industry,” Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said during a Nov. 6 impromptu address to a group of attendees at the Alaska Miners Association annual convention in Anchorage.

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South32 eyes Alaska’s copper under potential Trump policy changes – by Editor (Mining.com – December 11, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Australia’s South32 is hopeful about a potential policy shift under Donald Trump’s second administration that could unlock access to the Ambler Mining District, a copper-rich region in northwest Alaska.

The company and its Canadian partner Trilogy Metals hold development rights and would benefit if plans for a controversial industrial road to the area gain approval. The 211-mile (340-km) road, which would enable mining operations in the region, was blocked in June by Interior Department due to environmental concerns.

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OPINION: Canada’s mine decision was no rubber stamp – by R. Brent Murphy (Anchorage Daily News – September 23, 2024)

https://www.adn.com/

R. Brent Murphy is senior vice president for environmental affairs at Seabridge Gold.

Having spent my entire career at the intersection of mining and sustainability, I have grown accustomed to the widespread misinformation surrounding our industry. Unfortunately, it’s a reality my colleagues and I face daily on a global scale, and if we responded to every instance, we would have little time left for the work that truly matters.

However, the sheer level of inaccuracy and hypocrisy regarding the Substantially Started Determination, or SSD, status for our proposed KSM project in Brian Lynch’s recent commentary demands a response. First and foremost, Lynch’s commentary failed to acknowledge several key facts regarding our two decades of dedicated efforts and nearly CAD $1 billion of investments to responsibly advance the KSM Project.

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Western nations join forces to break China’s grip on critical minerals – by Jamie Smyth, Myles McCormick and Harry Dempsey (Financial Times – September 22, 2024)

https://www.ft.com/

Coalition of 14 governments announces financing network for projects to provide raw materials required by tech industry

Western nations are directing their development finance and export credit agencies to work with private industry to support critical minerals projects, in a drive to break China’s chokehold over a sector that is essential for high-tech industries.

The Minerals Security Partnership, a coalition of 14 nations and the European Commission, will unveil a new financing network at an event in New York on Monday as they try to ramp up international collaboration and pledge financial support for a huge nickel project in Tanzania, backed by mining company BHP.

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