Canada Mining – North of 60 – Page 42

Worries mount over what busy mining road in Nunavut could mean for caribou migration – by Sara Frizzell (CBC News North – August 29, 2017)

August 29, 2017

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

A vehicle could travel every 6 minutes from the Whale Tail pit project to the Meadowbank mine

Agnico Eagle’s proposed expansion of operations near its Meadowbank gold mine near Baker Lake, Nunavut, is facing opposition. The Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA), the Government of Nunavut and the Baker Lake Hunters and Trappers Organization have all expressed concern over how a roadway connecting a new open pit mine to processing facilities at Meadowbank will affect caribou migration.

Their concerns appeared in their final written submissions to the Nunavut Impact Review Board, submitted in advance of the final public hearing on the project, which begins on Sept.19 in Baker Lake. Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. had an Aug. 28 deadline to submit its written response to concerns before the hearing.

The new mining operation — the Whale Tail pit — is about 50 kilometres northwest of Meadowbank. It would operate as an open pit mine for between three and four years, and requires a road connecting it to milling facilities at Meadowbank. Agnico Eagle expects mining could begin as early as 2019.

[Mining] Arctic ambitions: could the opening up of the Arctic become the next South China Sea? – by Nick Whigham (News.com.au – August 28, 2017)

August 29, 2017

http://www.news.com.au/

ONE of the most inhospitable places on the planet is in danger of becoming a flashpoint as global powers fight for control. THE polar regions are the closest thing left to virgin territory in the modern world. But with sea ice melting at a rapid rate due to global warming, the Arctic Sea — and its abundance of valuable minerals and natural resources — is becoming more accessible each year.

The Arctic, including the fabled Northwest Passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific, is among the last regions on earth to remain largely unexplored. But as new passages open up, the changing conditions in the Arctic are spurring talk of a gold rush for the region’s resources, control of the prized shipping routes, and business opportunities in tourism and fishing.

Russia has steadily been increasing its military presence in recent years while China has found roundabout ways to exert influence in the region. It’s a situation that has led conservationists, industry experts and government officials to raise concerns of increasing geopolitical tension developing in the region. The head of the US Coast Guard even compared the situation to the ongoing dispute over territorial claims of islands in the South China Sea.

Agnico Eagle asked to respond to concerns over Nunavut gold project – by Jane George (Nunatsiaq News – August 24, 2017)

August 24, 2017

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

As Agnico Eagle Mining Ltd.‘s Whale Tail gold mining project heads toward a final hearing next month in Baker Lake, the mining company has until Aug. 28 to respond to critical comments on its project, recently received by the Nunavut Impact Review Board.

The Kivalliq Inuit Association banked a $6.5 million cheque in Baker Lake from Agnico Eagle this past June, when the mining company and the KivIA signed an Inuit impact and benefit agreement for the Whale Tail project— Agnico Eagle’s third gold mine in Nunavut.

But several of the submissions to the NIRB reveal outstanding environmental and socio-economic concerns on the Whale Tail project which the mining company has been asked to address in advance of a final public hearing on the project, scheduled from Sept. 18 to Sept. 23 in Baker Lake. A look at the comments from Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, the Government of Nunavut and the Baker Lake Hunters and Trappers Organization reveal some serious concerns about the project’s impacts.

Casanova of the Klondike – by Pierre Berton (Globe and Mail – December 24, 2004)

August 17, 2017

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Of all the eccentric characters who made their pile in the Klondike, my favourite is Swiftwater Bill Gates, a moon-faced little American smooth-talker who was transformed from a penniless dishwasher in Circle City, Alaska, to a potential millionaire.

He might have become a millionaire, had he managed to hold on to his wealth, the bulk of which came from a share he held in Claim No. 13 on Eldorado Creek. Considered unlucky at first because of its number, it turned out to be one of the richest pieces of ground in the gold fields.

A legendary gambler and skirt-chaser, he dropped $500 in less than five minutes at faro and promptly stood drinks for the crowd at a cost of $112. He also lost $5,000 on one bet during a stud poker game he was just watching. When short of cash, he would borrow it at 10 per cent a month in interest so he could shoot pool at $100 a frame.

[Joe Boyle] King of the gold diggers – by Pierre Berton (Globe and Mail – September 25, 2004)

August 16, 2017

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

“Placer gold is known as Poor Man’s Gold because a lone prospector can
wrest it from the ground with little more than a spade and a sluice box.”

Joseph Whiteside Boyle was a force of nature, albeit a flawed one. In the early days of the 20th century, he was famous, even notorious, on two continents. A man who craved action for its own sake, he had an uncanny instinct for finding where the action was. When the first news of the Klondike strike was making headlines in Seattle and San Francisco, Boyle was already in the vanguard of the ragtag army of gold seekers stampeding north.

Old-time mining methods were not for him. Though he began with virtually nothing, he went on to build, under almost impossible conditions, the largest gold dredges in the world — monstrous floating machines that churned up the storied creek beds and helped revolutionize the placer mining industry in the Yukon.

He came from a middle-class family of four siblings, and there is no suggestion that his upbringing in the quiet ambiance of Woodstock, Ont., was anything but happy. He feared no man but held no grudges. He got along with his opponents, both legal and financial, and they got along with him.

‘Hey gorgeous’: Meet 2 women sick of sexism and discrimination in mining – by Jamie Malbeuf (CBC News North – August 15, 2017)

August 15, 2017

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

Some women stay silent and endure unwelcome situations, others quit the industry

The crass, sexist attitudes that lead to a camera being planted in the women’s washroom of the Ekati diamond mine don’t surprise some women with experience working in the mining industry. On July 27, a camera hidden in the women’s washroom of the mine was brought to a camp administrator’s office for safe-keeping until security could arrive. But by the time they got there it was missing.

Ekati is about 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife. Workers live at the mine, typically working shifts of two weeks on and two weeks off. RCMP and mine security are still investigating the camera incident, but two women with experience in the industry say the conditions that make an episode like this possible are all too common.

Kari Lentowicz worked at a mine in Saskatchewan for more than 12 years before she said she couldn’t take it anymore. “It was just a hard environment to work in,” said Lentowicz. “The men far outnumber the women and as far as mining goes, they really hardwire that gender disparity in there, into their camps.”

The Yukon: Where Mineral Potential is Coming of Age – by Jeff Desjardine (Visual Capitalist – August 8, 2017)

August 9, 2017

In a remote corner of Canada’s north lies the Yukon – a territory that is renowned for both its legendary mineral potential and its storied mining history.

But while the Yukon only produced 2.2% of Canada’s gold in 2016, the territory’s considerable potential may finally be getting realized in a big way. In the last few years, globally significant discoveries have been made, and now mining giants such as Barrick, Goldcorp, and Agnico Eagle are making their move into the Yukon to get in on the action.

A COMING OF AGE STORY

Today’s infographic comes from Strikepoint Gold, and it showcases some of the reasons on why the most important chapter in the Yukon’s mining story may just be beginning.

Arctic heating up for gold exploration – by Jeff Nielson (Stockhouse.com – August 2, 2107)

August 3, 2017

http://www.stockhouse.com/

This is not another story about global warming. The “heat” being generated in Canada’s far north by the gold mining industry is economic heat. As gold mining companies hunt for increasingly elusive projects which offer both robust grades and multi-million ounce potential, more and more of these companies are looking north – as in far north.

One of the companies cashing in on this new, northern gold-rush is Cache Exploration Inc. (TSX: V.CAY, OTCQB: CEXPF, Forum). CAY’s base of operations is Nunavut. The Company’s operational focus is the Kiyuk Lake Gold Project.

Kiyuk Lake is a huge land package, encompassing approximately 491 square kilometers. This is a true “district” play, as management was intent on locking up the majority of the entire Kiyuk Basin, a Proterozoic geological formation. Mineralization has already been identified along a 15 kilometer strike length.

The Arctic Could Be the Next South China Sea, Says Coast Guard Commandant – by Caroline Houck (Defense One – August 1, 2017)

August 3, 2017

http://www.defenseone.com/

Rich with energy resources, minerals and strategic positioning, the warming Arctic is ripe for territorial disputes, Adm. Zukunft warns.

No one’s creating and arming islands in the Arctic today, but that doesn’t mean territorial disputes couldn’t soon heat up in those waters, the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard warned today.

“As I look at what is playing out in the Arctic, it looks eerily familiar to what we’re seeing in the East and South China Sea,” Adm. Paul Zukunft said Tuesday at an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

That means first, audacious territorial claims, Zukunft said: “Russia has claimed most of the Arctic Ocean, all the way up to the North Pole and as a signatory of the Law of the Sea Convention has filed this claim.”

Nunavut economy to grow 6.4 per cent in 2017: study – by Beth Brown (Nunatsiaq News – August 2, 2017)

August 2, 2017

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

New mines expected to generate new wealth in the future

Nunavut’s economy will grow by 6.4 per cent in 2017—due to mining and construction. With four mines expected to reach operation by 2020, the Conference Board of Canada forecasts a steady expansion in Nunavut’s gross domestic product, or GDP, which has been rebounding since a drop in 2014.

“Metal mining is the single largest contributor to economic growth, and all operating mines are planning increases in production,” said an Aug. 1 report from the conference board on all three territorial economies. This year, mining output will grow by 23.7 per cent, following the opening of TMAC Resources Inc.’s Doris North mine in the Kitikmeot and increased production at Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.‘s’s Mary River mine and Agnico Eagle Ltd.’s Meadowbank.

That output will increase by 27 per cent by 2019 when Agnico Eagle brings its Meliadine and Amaruq projects into production, the biannual report said. Since dwindling reserves at Agnico Eagle’s Meadowbank site mean operations there will soon wind down, the territory should see a 0.2 per cent decline in total GDP in 2018, said the report.

Construction at Nunavut’s Meliadine gold mine on schedule, on budget – by Beth Brown (Nunatsiaq News – August 1, 2017)

August 2, 2017

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

Gold project near Rankin Inlet on track to start production in 2019

Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. has reported that work at its Meliadine project, which received construction approval in February from Agnico Eagle’s board, is progressing as planned and is even slightly ahead of schedule.

The mining company operates the Meadowbank mine, which is currently nearing its end of lifespan, near Baker Lake in Nunavut’s Kivalliq region. To replace the exhausted mine, the company is building its long-awaited gold mine at Meliadine near Rankin Inlet and developing a satellite deposit near Meadowbank at a property called Amaruq.

Agnico Eagle included an update for its Meliadine and Amaruq deposits in a July 26 quarterly report, which cites a net income of $61.9 million, or 27 cents per share, for the second quarter of 2017, compared with income of $19 million, or nine cents per share over the same period in 2016.

In search of the motherlode: Why Yukon is experiencing a 21st century gold rush – by Sunny Freeman (Financial Post – August 2, 2017)

August 2, 2017

http://business.financialpost.com/

You can find gold in Yukon riverbeds but original deposits have yet to be discovered, adding a mysterious mythology to the territory’s riches

Yukon gold has been legendary since bullion was first discovered in Dawson City in 1896, but a wave of investment from major miners in the past year suggests the territory could be on the brink of a 21st century gold rush.

Companies including Goldcorp Inc., Newmont Mining Corp. and Barrick Gold Corp. have lined up to invest more than US$600 million in the Yukon since 2016 — more than anywhere else in the world. “It’s a modern-day gold rush and, most surprisingly, it’s happening even though the Yukon has yet to host a significant hard rock gold mine,” said Gwen Preston, editor of the Resource Maven newsletter.

“Miners have pulled many millions of ounces from the Yukon’s rivers and gravel beds, but the territory has yet to offer up a large gold deposit that makes it to production.”

Mines can create Indigenous middle class in Ring of Fire: Opinion – by Stan Sudol (Toronto Star – August 1, 2017)

August 1, 2017

https://www.thestar.com/

Ontario needs to follow the lead of Nunavut, where Inuit communities have benefitted from successful gold and iron ore mines.

It’s been 10 years since the world-class Ring of Fire mineral district was discovered in the isolated James Bay Lowlands, about 500 kms northeast of Thunder Bay. Not one mine has been built.

During those 10 years, the equally isolated territory of Nunavut has built two gold mines (Agnico Eagle’s Meadowbank and TMAC Resources’ Doris) and one iron ore operation (Baffinland’s Mary River).

A fourth gold mine (Agnico Eagle) should be in production in 2019 — and Sabina Gold and Silver Corp. A junior exploration company with a very rich precious metal deposit has just been given continued development approvals by the Nunavut Impact Review Board.

[Yukon Mining] Junior shakeup in the White Gold District – by Andrew Topf (Mining.com – July 23, 2017)

July 24, 2017

http://www.mining.com/

The White Gold District in the Canadian Yukon territory is continuing to see movement, this time among junior gold explorers hoping to grab a piece of the action.

Last week Taku Gold (TSXV:TAK) said it has picked up four White Gold properties from Golden Predator Mining (TSXV:GPY), including one from Golden Predator’s subsidiary, Golden Predator Exploration. The four properties are 40 Mile, Korat, Chopin and Lucky Joe.

According to Taku Gold the highlight of the all-share deal is the acquisition of the Lucky Joe prospect, since it butts up against Taku’s Rosebute project to the north. The company adds that it will be able to capitalize on Goldcorp (NYSE:GG, TSX:G) recently building a road to access the Coffee gold project the gold major acquired from Kaminak Gold:

COMMENT: Dominion Diamond accepts sweetened offer from Washington Companies – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – July 17, 2017)

July 21, 2017

http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

YELLOWKNIFE, NWT – The management of Dominion Diamond Corp. has agreed to accept the sweetened takeover offer of the Washington Companies, the private company based in Missoula, Montana.

In March, Washington offered US$13.50 per share, and the Dominion board turned down the deal. Now offering US$14.25 per share, Washington looks to be the new, sole owner of the Ekati diamond mine (Canada’s first) and 40% of the Diavik diamond mine (operated by 60% owner Rio Tinto). The offer is a 44% premium over the March 17, 2017, share price and puts a value of US$1.2 billion on Dominion.

When that news hit my desk this morning, I thought, “There goes another one.” Readers will remember 10 years ago when Vale bought up Inco and Xstrata (now Glencore) scooped up Noranda/Falconbridge. Most of the writers who marked that anniversary recently thought the change in ownership did little to further Canadian mining or our place in the global minerals industry.