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Canada Mining – North of 60

Celebrating a century of mining at Yukon – by Anne Turner (nee Lewis) and Lindsay Wilson (Northern Miner – January 8, 2019)

Northern Miner

http://www.yukonminingalliance.ca/

http://www.yukonwim.ca/index.html

Anne Turner (nee Lewis) is the executive director of the Yukon Mining Alliance (YMA). Lindsay Wilson is communications manager at YMA.

It was finding gold at Rabbit Creek and along the riverbeds of the Klondike that forever changed one of the world’s final frontiers — the Yukon Territory — and cemented the region’s roots as an inspiring Canadian mining district.

Yukon’s rich mining history continues to provide exciting discoveries, varied commodities and significant opportunities for northerners and investors alike. As we kick off 2019, we reflect on our history and the last year that has proved — through achievements, advancements and accolades — that Yukon is a mining district to follow and to celebrate.

In 1896, a hundred-thousand stampeders journeyed north, following the news of “Gold, gold, gold!” and “The Klondike gold rush begins” in papers from Seattle to San Francisco. Kate and George Carmack, Skookum Jim Mason, Dawson Charlie and Robert Henderson discovered placer gold at Rabbit Creek (later renamed Bonanza Creek) on Aug. 26.

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The story of Klondike Kate Carmack and the (modern day) sisters who moil for gold – by Joe O’Connor (Financial Post – January 4, 2019)

https://business.financialpost.com/

Five sisters are modern pioneers linked to a colourful prospecting past that includes Carmack, whose lying husband took credit for the Klondike strike and cheated her out of her fortune

During the summer, when by fate of their unpredictable schedules the five Bjorkman sisters actually find themselves together at their parents’ log home on Whiskyjack Lake, Ont., the conversation inevitably turns to rocks.

Jessica Bjorkman, the eldest sister at 38, might, for example, start talking about what she found or didn’t find, or the bear she had to run off, or the view from a B.C. mountain ridge that was so perfect she couldn’t quite believe it was real.

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Northern Exposure: Can the Northwest Passage live up to its billing as a maritime superhighway? – by Naomi Powell (Financial Post – December 19, 2018)

https://business.financialpost.com/

Northern Exposure is a three-part series that examines how a warming Arctic opens up the Northwest Passage and economic opportunities, but also creates headaches.

Ask Tim Keane to recount his voyage through the fabled Northwest Passage and he’ll spend a good bit of time talking about the things that aren’t there.

“The scarcity of traffic, the vastness of the place, the total remoteness, that’s what I remember,” said the manager of Arctic operations for Montreal-based shipping company Fednav. Press him a bit and he’ll tick off some things that are there: “A few whales, loads of birds, the odd seal.”

But four years after the icebreaker Nunavik hauled a belly full of nickel from Deception Bay, Que., to Bayuquan, China — becoming the first unescorted cargo ship to cross the Northwest Passage — what still grabs Keane most about Canada’s Arctic sea route is its emptiness.

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Canada puts Arctic ‘in a snow globe’ as it freezes oil and gas development — just as Norway, Russia accelerate – by Geoffrey Morgan (Financial Post – December 20, 2018)

https://business.financialpost.com/

The following is part two of Northern Exposure, a three-part series that examines how a warming Arctic opens up the Northwest Passage and economic opportunities, but also creates headaches.

The 49-hour drive from FortisBC’s liquefied natural gas facility in Delta, British Columbia to Inuvik, Northwest Territories is not for the faint of heart as it winds through mountain passes and frequent avalanche zones.

Despite the 3,615-kilometre of distance and risks, trucks carrying liquefied natural gas from southern B.C. routinely make the arduous trip to supply the 3,000-person Inuvik, an Arctic outpost close to the Beaufort Sea, with fuel for power generation. An increasing number of remote communities in Canada’s northern region are using LNG as a power source as it’s cheaper and less emissions’ intensive than diesel, which is still widely used.

In the eyes of the Northwest Territories government and the energy industry, it’s painfully ironic that the Beaufort Sea contains an estimated 56 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 8 billion barrels of oil while remote communities such as Inuvik, Iqaluit and many more rely on LNG or diesel shipped in from southern Canada for power.

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Warming Arctic waters increase shipping challenges already ‘the bane of everyone in the North’ – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – January 2, 2019)

https://business.financialpost.com/

The following is part three of Northern Exposure, a three-part series that examines how a warming Arctic opens up the Northwest Passage and economic opportunities, but also creates headaches.

It’s December in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, about 20 degrees below freezing on what is considered a warm day, and for the first winter ever Nicole Maksagak thought she would be driving in the comfort of a Ford F-150 pick-up truck. Instead, she’s making at least eight runs per day on her Ski-Doo to take her four children, aged six to 13, to school, commute to work and run errands.

Maksagak said she might feel better on her snowmobile if she didn’t owe so much money on the 2018 Ford. Her truck, however, is stranded more than 1,000 kilometres away in Inuvik — along with critical supplies ordered by businesses and the town of Cambridge Bay — after shipping traffic in the western Arctic unexpectedly stopped early this fall due to poor ice conditions.

“I’ve never seen my vehicle in person, I never even test drove it,” she said. “But I’m paying for it, and I paid for the insurance, plus the registration.” Her situation shows why shipping is such a flashpoint for tension in Arctic communities since a failed arrival of just about anything has cascading consequences.

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Gold Rush II: Exploration and Mining in the Yukon (Investing News Network – December 18, 2018)

Investing News Network

This INNspired Article is brought to you by: https://genericgold.ca/

The Klondike Gold Rush helped to define a region, and a second Yukon gold rush is only just beginning to inspire further exploration and mining in the Yukon.

The remote Northwestern Canadian territory of the Yukon is known to people the world over largely due to the events that took place between 1896 and 1899. The Klondike Gold Rush brought tens of thousands of people to the previously barely known region and those four short years created numerous stories of adventure and riches that today live on as legend and define the remote territory.

Over the century since, the Yukon’s mining industry has continued to be the primary source of economic development in the region, as it features a wealth of resources matched by few other places on earth. Today, the Yukon is in the midst of what has been described as a second gold rush, driven by high precious metal values and the discovery of yet another ‘once in a generation’ gold trend.

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Interview: Charles Wyndham on a dramatic year in diamonds and what comes next – by Trish Saywell (Northern Miner – December 17, 2018)

Northern Miner

Charles Wyndham has been in the diamond industry for over 40 years. He was a director of the CSO, De Beers’ selling arm, before deciding to leave De Beers to set up his own diamond businesses in 1995. He is co-founder of WWW International Diamond Consultants Ltd. (WWW) and is engaged in related businesses, mainly with others whose skills are based on the company’s expertise in technology, the gathering of detailed market information, and a wide range of contacts.

WWW has had a joint venture with the Aboriginal Diamond Group (ADG) through Diamonds International Canada (DICAN) and since 1998 has been the Government Diamond Valuator for the Federal Government of Canada and now for the Government of the North West Territories.

It also acts as the diamond valuator for the Government of Ontario. In 2000, he founded U2 Diamonds Ltd., which owns polishedprices.com, the only polished diamond price list based on multiple sourced actual transactions. Charles holds an MA in jurisprudence from Oxford University.

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Excerpt from “Wealth Woman: Kate Carmack and the Klondike Race for Gold” – by Deb Vanasse (December 12, 2018)

Kate Carmack was recently inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame for her part in discovering the Klondike gold fields. She is the first Aboriginal woman inducted into the Hall of Fame. Deb Vanasse has written the definitive story of Carmack’s fascinating life. It makes a terrific Christmas gift! Click here to order a copy of “Wealth Woman: Kate Carmack and the Klondike Race for Gold”: https://amzn.to/2yF7wZs

Deb Vanasse is an American writer of seventeen books, many of which are set in Alaska. She first became interested in the story of Kate Carmack when she hiked the “meanest miles” of the Chilkoot Trail, where as a young woman Kate packed for prospectors over the summit. After 36 years in Alaska, she now lives in Oregon, where she continues to write while doing freelance editing, coaching, and writing instruction. She is a co-founder of 49 Writers. www.debvanasse.com

Good Gold, Lotsa Gold – Excerpt from Chapter Ten

In addition to wealth, one of the key outcomes of what became known as “Discovery Day” in the Klondike—August 17, 1896—was a mosaic of stories that frame the event, dramas in which Kate plays various roles from supporting actress to chief protagonist, depending on the cultural context.

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552-Carat Yellow Diamond Discovered In Canada, Largest In North America – by Anthony DeMarco (Forbes Magazine – December 14, 2018)

https://www.forbes.com/

It gets quite chilly in the northwest region of Canada but the diamond industry in the area is starting to burn red hot as a 552-carat yellow diamond was discovered in October.

The rough diamond was unearthed at the Diavik Diamond Mine, approximately 135 miles south of the Arctic Circle in Canada’s Northwest Territories, jointly owned by mining companies Rio Tinto and Dominion Diamond Mines, which made the announcement Friday. It is the largest diamond discovery in North America, far surpassing the previous record held by the 187.7-carat “Diavik Foxfire,” which was recovered at the same mine in 2015.

The gemstone, which measures 33.74mm x 54.56mm, was discovered while passing through the initial screening process at Diavik’s recovery plant. “Abrasion markings on the stone’s surface attest to the difficult journey it underwent during recovery, and the fact that it remains intact is remarkable,” the company said in a statement. “A diamond of this size is completely unexpected for this part of the world and marks a true milestone for diamond mining in North America.”

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N.W.T. gov’t loosening rules in hopes of wooing Northern diamond manufacturers (CBC News Canada North – December 6, 2018)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

2 companies are approved N.W.T. diamond manufacturers; neither of them take advantage of this distinction

In an effort to breathe life into the N.W.T.’s dormant diamond manufacturing industry, the territorial government will allow diamond polishers that set up shop in the territory to export a share of their diamonds south for manufacturing.

This offer comes in exchange with other investments in the Northwest Territories. The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment made the announcement Thursday afternoon. As it stands right now, the Northwest Territories has been trying to cultivate a diamond polishing industry in the Northwest Territories for 19 years, with little to no success.

The previous rules required approved Northwest Territories diamond manufacturers to cut and polish 100 per cent of their N.W.T. diamonds in the territory. These companies had first dibs on 10 per cent of the diamonds produced in the territory — a value of $150 million US annually.

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De Beers looks to push the innovation bar at Chidliak – by Alisha Hiyate (Northern Miner/Diamonds in Canada – November 20, 2018)

Northern Miner/Diamonds in Canada

In 2013, De Beers Canada turned down a chance to own a majority stake in Peregrine Diamonds’ Chidliak project in Nunavut. Five years later, it now owns the project outright. What changed in that time period? De Beers Canada CEO Kim Truter says that the timing just wasn’t quite right the first time around.

“I always say to people that to develop a mining business, you need a few stars to line up and of course the number one star is what’s happening with the global economy and what’s happening with the diamond business in general, then you get down to the local environment and the quality of the asset. At that time, those various stars just didn’t line up,” Truter told Diamonds in Canada magazine in an October interview.

Now, the situation on all those fronts is different. “First of all, the project had actually advanced, so credit to the Peregrine team that have done a tremendous job advancing the understanding of the orebodies and the kimberlite pipes up there,” Truter explains. “That, coupled with our portfolio needs and where the economy was sitting meant the stars did line up. So it’s fantastic to have made that acquisition.”

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Mines drive growth across Canada’s North: Gold heats Nunavut, Yukon economies, offsetting NWT contraction – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – November 23, 2018)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

New gold mines are expected to drive strong economic growth in Nunavut and Yukon over the next several years, according to the latest Territorial Outlook published by The Conference Board of Canada. The non-profit think tank focused primarily on researching and analyzing economic trends, however, forecasts a shrinking economy for Northwest Territories as the diamond sector there matures.

Despite a tepid recovery for the mining sector as a whole, the new mines being developed in Nunavut and Yukon are expected to drive a 4.7 percent economic growth across Canada’s three territories in 2019 and 4.5 percent in 2020 – easily outpacing the Canadian average, which is forecast to be less than 2 percent growth.

“While the mining sector has been more cautious in this upswing cycle than in the past, there are still several mining projects that are advancing through the approval process and will bolster economic growth and employment opportunities in the northern territories over the next few years,” said Marie-Christine Bernard, director, provincial and territorial forecast, The Conference Board of Canada.

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Yukon Territory called a top model for treaty-making – by Chuck Tobin (Whitehorse Star – November 19, 2018)

https://www.whitehorsestar.com/

Dr. Ken Coates told delegates attending this year’s 46th Annual Geoscience Forum that the Yukon offers the world a story of success in the art of treaty-making. And the world continues to watch. Coates told the mining industry Saturday it’s on the front line of reconciliation.

Raised in the Yukon from Grade 3 through high school, the historian and professor at the University of Saskatchewan said he can see the success from where he’s sitting outside the territory. He remembers back to 1973, when local Indigenous leaders came to speak to their Grade 11 law class at F.H. Collins Secondary School.

The class was mostly white students, because in those days, many of the aboriginal students had already dropped out by Grade 11. His Grade 8 class was about 30 per cent Indigenous, but that had fallen to just a fraction by Grade 11.

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Young women in Yellowknife encouraged to pursue science, tech careers – by Randi Beers (CBC News Canada North – November 20, 2018)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

De Beers Canada luncheon promotes careers in science, technology, engineering and math

Akruthi Balaji has dreams of becoming a surgeon someday. The Grade 12 student was one of about 50 young women learning about all the possibilities for women in STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematical fields — Monday in Yellowknife.

De Beers Canada organized the luncheon just as the Yellowknife Geoscience Forum gets underway this week. It starts Tuesday and runs through Thursday. Balaji isn’t intimidated by the prospect of entering a field she knows will be dominated by men.

“I do know there’s probably going to be a lot more men in whatever I am doing, but hopefully that can change and I really don’t feel that scared to go into it,” she said. Women are underrepresented in STEM fields. According to Statistics Canada, 39 per cent of STEM graduates are women, while women make up 66 per cent of all university graduates.

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Baffinland sets new iron ore shipping record this year (Nunatsiaq News – November 15, 2018)

http://nunatsiaq.com/

Company ships 5.1 million tonnes to Europe, the U.K, Taiwan, Japan

After receiving regulatory permission to do so, the Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. shipped a record-breaking 5.1 million tonnes of iron ore from the Mary River mine this year, the company said last week in a news release.

Ore-carrying vessels contracted by Baffinland made 71 voyages between July 24 and Oct. 17, carrying Mary River’s high-grade iron ore to markets in continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Taiwan and Japan.

And the company’s carriers also did two transits to Asia through the Northern Sea Route, or “northeast passage,” a route running through Arctic waters north of Russia that connects northern Europe and northern Asia.

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