UCORE RARE METALS INC.

U.S. Forest Service approves permits for Ucore Rare Metals to complete a field program that will generate the data engineers need to finalize a plan of operationand feasibility study for the Bokan-Dotson Ridge rare earth elements project on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. Page 5

A special supplement to Petroleum NewsWEEK OF

September 29, 2013

3 Anglo bids farewell to Pebble $500M closer to permitting, Northern Dynasty regains title for copper project

10 Yukon’s Generation eXploration “Children of industry” lead some the most exciting mining projects in territory

13 Explorer targets Pistol Bay gold Northquest reveals Nunavut gold trend that mirrors Agnico’s Meliadine Trend

2NORTH OF 60 MINING PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

By SHANE LASLEYMining News

After spending more than half a bil-lion dollars to take the Pebble

Project to the cusp of permitting, AngloAmerican plc has pulled out of ThePebble Limited Partnership, an alliance itforged six years ago with junior NorthernDynasty MineralsLtd. to gain a 50 per-cent stake in one ofthe largest copper-gold-molybdenumdeposits on the plan-et.

According to themost recent pub-lished resource esti-mate, Pebble con-tains 80.6 billionpounds of copper,107.4 millionounces of gold and5.6 billion pounds ofmolybdenum. Thatis enough copper tosupply the copper needs of every personon Earth for four years, based on 2012consumption, and as much gold as is heldby Germany, which has a gold reservesecond only to that of the United States.

“Despite our belief that Pebble is adeposit of rare magnitude and quality, wehave taken the decision to withdraw fol-lowing a thorough assessment of AngloAmerican’s extensive pipeline of long-dated project options,” explained AngloAmerican CEO Mark Cutifani.

To earn a 50 percent stake in Pebble,Anglo American agreed to invest US$1.5billion towards exploring, permitting anddeveloping a mine at the world-class min-ing deposit. This all-or-nothing agree-ment means that the early departureeffectively results in a more-than zero-dilution US$500 million financing forNorthern Dynasty, as the junior regainssole-ownership of Pebble.

Northern Dynasty CEO Ron Thiessensaid, “Northern Dynasty will again own100 percent of one of the world’s mostimportant copper and gold resources andwill have the benefit of US$541 millionworth of expenditures, which opens thedoor to a number of exciting possibilitiesfor Northern Dynasty and its shareholdersand the Pebble Project and its stakehold-ers.”

Thiessen said the Pebble partnershipwill remain intact, providing a vehicle forbringing another partner to the project.The Vancouver B.C.-based junior, mean-while, is hammering out its plan to takethe project the final step into permitting.

Constipated pipelineLike many of the global-scale mining

companies, Anglo American recentlyreplaced their top executive and chargedthe new leader with seeking ways to real-ize greater value for its shareholders.

Cutifani, which took the helm at AngloAmerican in April, began looking at wayshe could trim a glut of projects in theglobal mining company’s pipeline.

“In terms of our project pipeline we’reconstipated,” the CEO explained in July.“We spend US$950 million from pre-con-cept through to approval on new projectpipelines.”

He said Anglo American is weighingrisks versus rewards when determiningwhich of the early stage projects it canactually digest.

“Our focus has been to prioritize capi-tal to projects with the highest value andlowest risks within our portfolio, andreduce the capital required to sustain suchprojects during the pre-approval phases ofdevelopment as part of a more effective,value-driven capital allocation model,”Cutifani explained in cutting Pebbleloose.

Pebble in recent years has been weight-ed by an increasingly well-funded andvocal opposition. This group contendsthat the Bristol Bay Watershed and theworld-class salmon fishery it supports istoo important a resource to allow a miningproject on the scale of Pebble.

It is unclear, though, to what extent thisanti-Pebble movement played intoAnglo’s decision to lay Pebble by thewayside.

“Anglo American’s choice to withdrawfrom development of the Pebble mine wasa private business decision driven by avariety of economic factors. The companyhas stated its reasons, and I have no reasonto question the decision,” said U.S. Sen.Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. “Mining is animportant part of our state’s economy, andI continue to believe that Alaska’sresources can be developed responsiblyfor the benefit of all.”

Rewards unclear

While the risks of developinga Pebble-scale mine in theBristol Bay region of SouthwestAlaska have been discussed indetail, the potential economicrewards of the project have notbeen so publicly scrutinized. Infact, an economic analysis –preliminary economic assess-ment, prefeasibility study or fea-sibility study – has never beenpublished by either AngloAmerican or the Pebble partner-ship.

A PEA commissioned byNorthern Dynasty, independentof the Pebble Partnership, fore-cast positive economics for developingPebble. This scoping level study, com-pleted by Wardrop Engineering Inc. in2011, envisions an open-pit mine feedinga 219,000-metric-ton-per-day mill.

Using long-term metal prices ofUS$2.50 per pound copper, US$1,050 perounce gold, US$13.50/lb molybdenum,US$15/oz silver, US$3,000 per kilogramrhenium and US$490/oz palladium, a 45-year mining scenario yields a pre-taxinternal rate of return of 14.2 percent; apayback period on initial capital invest-ment of 6.2 years; and a pre-tax net pres-ent value (seven percent discount) ofUS$6.1 billion.

Over that 45-year span, the mine

would produce 31 billionpounds of copper, 30 millionounces of gold, 1.4 billionpounds of molybdenum, 140million ounces silver, 1.2 mil-lion kilograms (2.6 millionpounds) of rhenium and907,000 ounces of palladium,while mining only 32 percentof the total Pebble mineralresource.

Updating this PEA with apre-feasibility study is one ofthe items currently up for dis-cussion as Northern Dynastydetermines the best path toadvance Pebble as the sole

owner.“That’s another one of the milestones

that we need to determine from a timing-and cost-perspective,” Northern DynastyVice President of Public Affairs SeanMagee told Mining News.

Although the Pebble Partnership hasnot published a feasibility study, it hascommissioned a report on the potentialeconomic benefits that could ripple outfrom the mine, if developed.

“The Economic and EmploymentContributions of a Conceptual PebbleMine to the Alaska and United StatesEconomies,” a 69-page report released in

� A L A S K A

Anglo American cuts Pebble looseMajor eliminates massive copper project from ‘constipated’ portfolio; Northern Dynasty regroups to advance venture to permitting

3NORTH OF 60 MINING

PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

North of 60 Mining News is a monthly supplement of the weeklynewspaper, Petroleum News. It will be published in the fourth orfifth week of every month.

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“In terms of ourproject pipelinewe’re constipated.We spend US$950million from pre-concept through toapproval on newproject pipelines.” – Anglo AmericanCEO Mark Cutifani

“We are functionallydone with all theheavy lifting andwhat remains, real-ly, for this project isthe permittingprocess.” –NorthernDynasty CEO RonThiessen

see ANGLO OUT page 4

May, forecasts a mine at Pebble couldcontribute US$1.1-US$1.4 billion annu-ally to gross state product during the ini-tial 25 years of operation.

Compiled by IHS Global Insight,which is considered among the leadingeconomic analysis and forecasting firmsin the world, the economic report esti-mates that some US$4 billion in taxes androyalties from mining the ore at Pebble isprojected to be deposited into Alaska cof-fers over the first 25 years of production.The federal government would collectanother US$4.4 billion in taxes during thesame time-span.

“Pebble is a substantial multibillion-dollar state asset as shown by this report,which provides great insight regardingthe long-term positive economic impactsthe project could have for the region, stateand the Lower 48,” said PebblePartnership CEO John Shively.

Undo risks Sen. David Vitter, R-Louisiana, blames

the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency for adding undo risks that couldstymie these economic rewards.

In response to Anglo pulling out of thePebble Partnership, the top Republican onthe Senate’s environment committee said,“This is a prime example of why the econ-omy isn’t recovering. EPA and their far-left environmental allies are usingunprecedented tactics to shut down poten-tial projects and corresponding jobsbefore they’ve even begun the permit-ting.”

The “unprecedented tactics” for whichSen. Vitter is referring include: a multi-million-dollar study of the affects a large-

scale mining operation might have on theenvironment where the Pebble project islocated; and a threat to deny the develop-er the opportunity to have its mine plansvetted under the permitting process.

A coalition of environmental andAlaska Native groups opposed to Pebblepetitioned the EPA to test the extent of itspower under the federal Clean Water actby denying the Pebble Partnership theoption of applying for permits to developa mine at its world-class copper-gold-molybdenum deposit in the Bristol Bayregion of Southwest Alaska.

Responding to the request, the environ-mental agency initiated the Bristol BayAssessment to evaluate the salmon andother ecological resources in the region;gain a better understanding of the impactsof large-scale mining on these resources;and determine if this extraordinary stretchof its CWA authority is justified.

While EPA has a handful of times exer-cised its authority to veto a project duringand after permitting, the environmentalagency has never denied a project beforeit has been proposed.

In an opinion piece published in Forbesa week prior to the Anglo American

announcement, American ResourcesPolicy Network Daniel McGroarty pre-saged that wielding such power wouldadd risks that could deter investment.

“Such a move would fundamentallychange the way companies assess therisks of even conducting preliminaryresearch on a potential project. Importantideas that can create jobs, drive innova-tion, and produce value for the economymay never make it off of the drawingboard, as EPA’s Sword of Damocles dan-gles precariously overhead,” pennedMcGroarty.

This sentiment echoes a predictionmade by the world’s largest business fed-eration.

“EPA’s decision to choose a poor-per-forming hypothetical mine plan to basetheir study on is problematic and is stack-ing the deck against the project before ithas even been proposed. At a minimum,this exercise by EPA prejudices the fairand unbiased consideration of a mine pro-posal that would actually provide muchneeded jobs – thousands of them – forAmerica’s economy,” the U.S. Chamberof Commerce penned in a May commentletter to EPA.

Next stepWhether it was risk or reward that

tipped the scales for Anglo American, theeconomic blow caused by the pullout ofthe global mining company is rippling outfrom the region of Southwest Alaskawhere the Pebble deposit is located.

Though Northern Dynasty is deter-mined to continue advancing the world-class copper deposit, the Vancouver-basedcompany does not have the deep pocketsof its former partner.

Spending is likely to be a fraction ofthe roughly US$90-million-per-year- out-lay averaged since Anglo American cameon board.

“The program spending going forwardin 2014 is going to be less,” Magee said.

While this reduced budget is partly thenatural development of a project that isentering permitting, Northern Dynasty hasindicated that it will likely need to cutmuch of the ancillary programs that AngloAmerican could afford.

“We are functionally done with all theheavy lifting and what remains, really, forthis project is the permitting process,”Thiessen explained.

“Certainly, we don’t need US$1 billionto get this project through permitting,which is roughly what was left in theAnglo expenditure to retain their 50 per-cent interest,” he added.

To ensure an orderly exit, the detailedaspects of Anglo American’s withdrawalfrom the Pebble project are being devel-oped and implemented.

“We are beginning what will be anegotiation with Anglo American in thedays and weeks ahead. At the end of a 60-day notice period Anglo will withdrawfrom the partnership,” Thiessenexplained.

As Anglo American moves out,Northern Dynasty is readying the PebblePartnership for the permitting processunder its ownership.

While Anglo American was stillonboard, the Pebble Partnership had indi-cated that the project would be ready toenter permitting by the end of the year, atimeline that Northern Dynasty is strivingto adhere to.

“At this point we haven’t made anydecisions to alter that timeline and cer-tainly all the preparations that have beenunderway to meet that timeline continueunabated, so we will be in a position to gointo permitting by the end of the year,”Magee expounded.

Northern Dynasty, though, is still in theearly stages of reviewing its personnel andfinancial resources in the context ofadvancing the Pebble Project as a soleowner.

“The project is ready to take that nextstep – we, as a sole owner, are trying todetermine the optimal timing for doingthat,” Magee explained.

CEO Shively said the exit of AngloAmerican does not change the Pebblepartnership’s resolve to develop a minethat balances the risks and rewardsdemanded of developing a world-classcopper deposit in Southwest Alaska.

“Development of the mineral resourcesat Pebble, with our stated commitment toco-exist with the fishery, remains animportant project for Alaska,” Shivelysaid. “The project, when developed, willgenerate almost 1,000 direct Alaskan jobs,nearly US$200 million in annual revenuefor the state and local governments, andover one billion dollars in annual econom-ic activity.”

Leaving a half-a-billion-dollar gift onthe doorstep, Cutifani waved a cordialfarewell to the estranged PebblePartnership.

“We wish the project well through itsforthcoming permitting process andexpress our thanks to all those who havesupported Pebble and who recognize theopportunities and benefits that such aninvestment may bring to Alaska,” he con-cluded. �

4NORTH OF 60 MINING PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

MARKE TING

RE SE ARCH

PR

GR APHIC DE SIGN

WEB

MOBILE

PRINT

V IDEO

R ADIO

a proud subsidiary of

SOLSTICEADVERTISING.COM

To earn a 50 percent stake inPebble, Anglo American agreed to

invest US$1.5 billion towardsexploring, permitting and

developing a mine at the world-class mining deposit. This all-or-

nothing agreement means that theearly departure effectively results

in a more-than zero-dilutionUS$500 million financing for

Northern Dynasty, as the juniorregains sole-ownership of Pebble.

continued from page 3

ANGLO OUT

5NORTH OF 60 MINING

PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

� A L A S K A

Ucore gets green light at BokanU.S. Forest service approves drill program, interim camp; program to provide engineers with data to finalize rare earth mine plan

By SHANE LASLEYMining News

The United States Forest Service hasgiven Ucore Rare Metals Inc. the

green light to complete a field program thatwill generate the data engineers need tocomplete a plan of operations and feasibili-ty study for the Bokan-Dotson Ridge rareearth element project on Prince of WalesIsland in Southeast Alaska.

Ucore plans to deliver these advancedengineering studies tothe U.S. ForestService, providing theregulatory agencywith the informationto initiate a NationalEnvironmental PolicyAct review, the firststep in gaining thepermits needed todevelop a mine atBokan Mountain.

“The development of the plan of opera-tions is a significant step forward for theproject and submitting the document to theUSFS to initiate the NEPA review will be animportant milestone for the company,” saidUcore President and CEO Jim McKenzie.

The permits granted by the U.S. ForestService allow Ucore to drill 27 holes, a pro-gram that includes infill and geotechnicaldrilling as well as the development of mon-itoring wells, generating valuable informa-tion for project engineers.

The construction of an interim fieldcamp to serve as a base of operations atBokan Mountain was also permitted, anallowance Ucore is not taking lightly as thecompany closes in on seeking permission tobuild a mine in the Tongass National Forest.

“Permission to build an onsite camp toreplace the company’s former barge-basedfacility is a significant milestone not grant-ed lightly by the US Forest Service. Thisachievement, together with Bokan’s loca-tion in an area already designated forresource development – known as a USFSMineral Prescription – are positive indica-tors for future development at Bokan,”

McKenzie said.

Engineering criticalEngineering is playing a critical role in

keeping the footprint small and the eco-nomics robust at Bokan Mountain, a strate-gic source of rare earth elements located inthe United States’ largest national forest.

A preliminary economic assessmentcompleted late in 2012 proposes a 1,500-metric-ton-per-day underground mine, a750-tpd mill and a state-of-the-art process-ing facility. This operation is anticipated toproduce 2,250 metric tons of rare earthoxides per year during the first five years of

full production; including an annual outputof 95 metric tons of dysprosium oxide, 14metric tons of terbium oxide, and 515 met-ric tons of yttrium oxide.

Now it’s up to Knight Piésold Ltd.,Tetra-Tech Inc. and PND Engineering tohammer out the details of the avant-gardeoperation offered in the scoping level study.

At a 0.4 percent total rare earth oxidecut-off grade, the Dotson Zone deposit atBokan Mountain hosts an inferred resourceof 5.3 million metric tons averaging 0.65percent total rare earth oxides. While notparticularly high grade, this deposit has twoimportant features: roughly 40 percent ofthe rare earths in the resource are the highervalue heavy rare earth oxides; and the REEmineralization is concentrated in a swarmof steeply dipping veins.

“The key thing is the waste rock inbetween the veins is absolutely barren,”according to Ucore COO Ken Collison.

Collison, a mining engineer with exten-sive experience in operations and permit-ting, explained that this stark contrastbetween REE-enriched veins and barrenrock allows for the use of an x-ray sorter toscan mined material as it heads up a con-veyor and use a blast of high pressure air toreject REE-barren rocks before they dropinto the grinder, reducing the mill feed byhalf.

Ucore, which has been testing this tech-nology for the past couple of years, contin-ues to get better results as it increases the

see BOKAN PROGRESS page 18

JIM MCKENZIE

UC

OR

E R

AR

E M

ETA

LS I

NC

.

A barge anchored in Kendrick Bay has served as a camp for exploration and other activitiesat Ucore Rare Metals Inc.’s Bokan Mountain rare earth elements project. The U.S. ForestService recently approved permits to build an interim land-based camp – an allowance Ucoreconsiders a positive indicator for future developments at Bokan Mountain.

By CURT FREEMANFor Mining News

Having enjoyed one of the warmestand driest summers on record, most

of Alaska is now paying the piper asunseasonably cold and in many areas,snowy, weather takes hold of the state.With the termination dust come news thatis both good and bad, a common theme inwhat is turning out to be a year of signifi-cant cutbacks for exploration, developmentand production plans.

Earlier in 2013, I summarized theexpected decrease in exploration expendi-tures this year. Now that the bulk of theexploration is completed or in the laststages of being completed, a little update isin order. Of the 49 exploration projects Ihave been tracking around the state, thetwo largest (Pebble and Donlin), willaccount for one-third of this year’s estimat-ed exploration expenditures. The top fivewill account for almost 50 percent of thisyear’s estimated exploration spending.Unfortunately, 30 of the 49 “active” explo-ration projects in Alaska look to be ontrack for spending nothing on explorationduring 2013. As far as actual dollars intothe ground, it is looking like 2013 explo-ration expenditures are going to be in theUS$125 million range, down almost 50percent from what we saw in 2012 andonly a third of the peak exploration spend-ing levels we saw in 2011.

Western AlaskaThe news that has dominated the Alaska

scene this month is not the kind of newsour industry was hoping to hear but here itis just the same. NORTHERN DYNASTYMINERALS LTD. announced that ANGLOAMERICAN has given notice under thePebble limited partnership agreement thatit has chosen to withdraw from the Pebblecopper-molybdenum-gold project, leavingNorthern Dynasty with 100 percent interestin the project. Anglo American explainedtheir decision to withdraw from the projectas part of a corporate move to prioritize itsadvanced-stage investments in projectswith the highest value and lowest risks.

Anglo American has invested approximate-ly US$541 million in exploration expensessince it entered into the project.

REDSTAR GOLD CORP. announcedthat it has raised funds to complete the pur-chase of 100 percent ownership of theUnga project from MAGNUM HUNTEREXPLORATION. This property is host totwo parallel epithermal vein systems, theShumagin and Apollo-Sitka trends, the for-mer with an estimated resource of 254,000metric tons grading 27.4 grams per metricton gold and 127 g/t silver. Immediateexploration plans for the project were notreleased.

Interior AlaskaFREEGOLD VENTURES LTD.

announced additional drilling results fromits summer – 2103 infill and expansiondrilling program at the Dolphin – ClearyHill deposit on the Golden Summit project.Significant results include 522.6 metersgrading 0.68 g/t gold of which 27.13meters averaged 3.00 g/t gold in holeGSDL1312 and an additional 66.14 metersgrading 1.76 g/t gold, of which 8.53 metersaveraged 7.49 g/t gold in hole GSDL1312.Hole GSDL1313 returned 21.79 metersgrading 1.15 grams of gold per tonne andan additional 26.82 meters grading 1.39grams of gold per tonne. Holes GSDL1312and 1313 tested the deposit to the northwhere limited past drilling has been done

and multi-ounce gold bearing veins cropout at surface. This area hosts a northeast-trending, south dipping vein swarm con-taining multiple high grade gold-quartzveins which were mined at several loca-tions by underground methods prior to1942. The most prominent of these veins,the Tolovana vein, extends for at least 700meters across the north end of the Dolphindeposit. Gold production from this vein hasbeen limited (approx. 5,000 ounces) how-ever it is noted for its extremely highgrade, with published production gradesfrom 1912 ranging from 34 to 171 gpt. TheTolovana vein, along with the high gradeScheuyemere and Parenteau veins, all formpart of a swarm of sub-parallel high gradegold-bearing veins hosted in quartz-sericite-sulfide-bearing schist which extendover a true width of approximately 100meters north-south. Limited recent explo-ration had been conducted on the Tolovanavein swarm until Freegold conducted arotary air blast drilling program in 2007and 2008 along a 300-meter portion of thecenter of this vein swarm. This drillingreturned significant grade-thickness inter-vals suggesting potential for near-surfacebulk tonnage mineralization within thevein swarm. Significant intercepts fromthis shallow rotary air blast programinclude 6.4 meters grading 4.26 grams ofgold per tonne, 11.9 meters grading 3.25grams of gold per tonne, 23.8 meters grad-ing 4.11 grams of gold per tonne and 21meters grading 2.18 grams of gold pertonne. Historic underground workings onthe Tolovana vein swarm extend only 60meters below surface, however, coredrilling conducted by Freegold in 2013extended high grade gold mineralization onthe Tolovana vein swarm to at least 450

meters below surface and mineralizationremains open to depth and along strike inboth directions. In addition to drilling addi-tional ground geophysics was also com-pleted, including a 3-D induced polariza-tion survey over the Dolphin deposit. Theresults of this survey have indicated thepresence of a strong chargeability anomalyto the north and at depth which corre-sponds favorably to the area of the previ-ous rotary air blast drilling. This may rep-resent increasing sulfide concentrations atdepth which warrant future drill testing.Freegold intends to conduct additionaldrilling along the Tolovana vein swarmwith the intention of pulling these highergrade ounces into its existing Dolphin-Cleary Hill resource base. The companyalso indicated that comprehensive metal-lurgical test work was underway and thatbaseline environmental work had com-menced on the project.

CONTANGO ORE reported additional2013 drilling results from its Tetlin gold-copper-silver project near Tok. The resultsreleased encompassed data from 34 holesout of a total of the 60 holes completed bymid-September. All of the drilling releasedis part of the Peak zone, discovered by thecompany in June 2012. The company indi-cated that it expected to complete an addi-tional 20-25 exploration holes before theend of the drilling season in early October.Significant results include 27.94 metersgrading 2.648 g/t gold, 3.1 g/t silver and0.123 percent copper in hole TET13078,37.85 meters grading 4.366 g/t gold, 3.7 g/tsilver and 0.203 percent copper in holeTET13079, 21.97 meters grading 5.378 g/tgold, 2.7 g/t silver and 0.070 percent cop-per in hole TET13080, 87.59 meters grad-ing 4.025 g/t gold, 19.3 g/t silver and 0.3percent copper in hole TET13082, 25.38meters grading 5.086 g/t gold, 9 g/t silverand 0.244 percent copper in holeTET13084 and 138.02 meters grading3.626 g/t gold, 11.4 g/t silver and 0.113percent copper in hole TET13088. Thecompany indicated that it believed the min-eralization in the Peak zone is part of agold-enriched skarn deposit associatedwith a nearby intrusive system. The com-pany said it intended to find the limits ofthe Peak zone as well as explore for similardeposits using its airborne data and exten-sive surface geochemical data. The compa-ny expects to complete its 2013 drillingprogram in early October, and hopes torelease its initial industry-compliantresource estimate during the first quarter of2014.

Alaska RangeWESTMOUNTAIN GOLD, INC.

announced that bulk sampling at the Terraproject in the western Alaska Range is pro-gressing as planned. The 2013 millupgrade was complete and mineralizationis being processed. Assays received ofsamples taken from the Ben Vein open cutlevel 1338 graded 236.68 grams of goldper tonne and 520.17 grams of silver per

� C O L U M N

Termination dust heralds good, bad newsUnseasonal cold follows record warm and dry summer as mining exploration cutbacks dominate results of 2013 field season in Alaska

6NORTH OF 60 MINING

PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

TheauthorThe author

Curt Freeman,CPG #6901, is awell-known geol-ogist who lives inFairbanks. He pre-pared this column CURT FREEMANSept. 24. Freeman can be reached bymail at P.O. Box 80268, Fairbanks, AK99708. His work phone number atAvalon Development is (907) 457-5159and his fax is (907) 455-8069. His emailis avalon@alaska.net and his website iswww.avalonalaska.com.

see FREEMAN page 15

Unfortunately, 30 of the 49 “active” exploration projects in Alaska lookto be on track for spending nothing on exploration during 2013. As far

as actual dollars into the ground, it is looking like 2013 explorationexpenditures are going to be in the US$125 million range, down almost

50 percent from what we saw in 2012 and only a third of the peakexploration spending levels we saw in 2011.

—Curt Freeman, guest columnist

By J.P. TANGENFor Mining News

I n August, according to all indica-tions, the U.S Environmental

Protection Agency EnvironmentalCrimes Task Force conducted a series ofraids on placer mining operations alongthe Fortymile River under extremelyunusual and questionable circumstances.Despite the reticence of the agency to beforthcoming, these actions bear all theearmarks of an abuse of discretion bythe Agency and beg for public scrutiny.

The undisputed facts indicate thatsworn EPA officers appeared fullydecked-out with sidearms and bullet-proof vests boldly labeled “POLICE” atseveral working operations withoutnotice, proceeded directly to the workingarea, and gathered water samples.According to the reports, when doing so,the officers made no effort to initiatecommunications with the operator, evenafter arriving at the site. When ques-tioned, the officers seemed unclear as totheir purpose. No citations were issuedat the scene of these raids. Insofar as hasbeen disclosed to date, no significant orserious violations were enjoined.Apparently, perhaps with minor excep-tions, the operators were free to proceedwith their operations without change,following the incursions.

It is important to distinguish herebetween regulators and enforcers. Placerminers, as well as virtually everyone elseengaged in earth-moving activities, arewell-acquainted with a variety of regula-tors. Essentially, the official visits ofthese personnel are of the milk andcookies variety. Most operators under-stand and agree that compliance withreasonable water-quality regulations, justas compliance with reasonable healthand safety regulations and a lengthy cas-cade of other regulations, is an appropri-ate cost of doing business. If there areallegations of non-compliance, the con-clusions may be contested, but thatprocess advances through the well-wornadministrative channels, and generallyresults in early detection and some levelof settlement.

Enforcers, on the other hand, are notregulators. Their duty is to stop crimesand support the imposition of penalsanctions such as fines or imprisonmentor both and in this instance there was nomistaking their objective. Curiously,there was little obvious justification forthe Fortymile forays. Sworn officers rep-resenting the agencies who oversee min-ing operations on an ongoing basis, suchas the Bureau of Land Management andthe Alaska Department of EnvironmentalConservation, were briefed on the inves-tigation only after the mission had beenfully crafted. They were literallyobservers.

Consistent reports from the affectedlocations indicated that the enforcementofficers on the ground were apparentlyfearful; and, when asked, were unclearas to whether they were investigatingviolations of section 402 of the CleanWater Act, which requires an EPA/DECapproval, or section 404 of that actwhich is within the purview of the ArmyCorps of Engineers. There is no indica-tion that the Corps supported or partici-pated in the invasions.

We have the deepest respect for the

brave men and women who, at great per-sonal risk, undertake to enforce ourcriminal laws. On a daily basis, they vol-untarily expose themselves to all mannerof danger, while protecting the domestic

tranquility. The reputation they enjoy isjustified because of the sound discretionthey exercise. When an event such as theFortymile raids occurs, it besmirches theintegrity not just of those who wereinvolved, but also of the tens of thou-sands of other sworn officers of whatev-er stripe who depend upon public sup-port and approval in executing their mis-sion.

There can be no doubt that, intention-ally or not, these raids inspired terror inthe hearts of the operators who foundthemselves involuntary hosts to theirsurprise visitors. Clearly, the criminalinvestigators were specifically warnedthat what they were about to do wouldresult in a strong, adverse public reac-tion. Since the raids, the EPA has repeat-edly been invited to explain itself, and

has done everything it can to evade thecalled-for transparency. The time hascome for the Environmental Crimes Unitto lay down its defenses and in no uncer-tain terms disclose what it was lookingfor and why they chose these law-abid-ing operations to look for it. There is noneed for redactions and rationalizations;instead, there is a need for oversight andaccountability.

In a world where the lies and equivo-cations of those charged with our nation-al security are the daily fodder of ambi-tious journalists, it ill-behooves the EPAto cower in the darkness of disingenuousevasion. Alaskans and all Americans areentitled to have those who enforce theClean Water Act and other environmen-tal statutes, publicly demonstrate thatthey also have clean hands. �

� C O L U M N

Cops arbitrarily raid Fortymile placersCourting disaster, teams of frightened, armed and ill-prepared EPA crimes-unit officers storm remote Alaska mining operations

7NORTH OF 60 MINING

PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

We do the digging, you get the gold.From the informative News Nuggets in the comprehensive yet conciseweekly online newsletter to the in-depth analysis provided in the monthlyedition, North of 60 Mining News provides its readers with the most complete coverage available of the issues and events important to miningin Alaska and Canada’s Far North.

The North of 60 Mining News online subscription package – which includes 52 issues of the weekly newsletter, 12 issues of the monthly edition of Mining News and full access to all of the Mining News web sitefeatures—is available for only $59 per year.

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JUD

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Mining & thelaw

The author,J.P. Tangen hasbeen practicingmining law in J.P. TANGENAlaska since 1975. He can be reached atjpt@jptangen.com or visit his Web site atwww.jptangen.com. His opinions do notnecessarily reflect those of the publishersof Mining News and Petroleum News.

By SHANE LASLEYMining News

The U.S, Forest Service Sept. 6agreed to allow Hecla Mining Co. to

expand its tailings facility at the GreensCreek Mine located in the TongassNational Forest in Southeast Alaska, butonly by a fraction of what the silver min-ing company requested.

This middle-of-the-road decisionunderscores the challenges of managingthe integrity of the United States largestforest, protecting the salmon and otherhabitat found there; while allowing localresidents, Alaska and the nation to realizethe economic benefits from harvestingthe rich natural bounty of SoutheastAlaska.

At 17 million acres, the Tongass Forestblankets most of the Southeast AlaskaPanhandle. This vast region encompassesislands of the Alexander Archipelago,fjords, glaciers, and peaks of the CoastMountains. Below the surface of themagnificent scenery that draws touristsfrom around the world lies rich stores ofsilver, gold, copper, platinum group met-als and rare earth elements.

Two mines – Hecla’s Greens Creek sil-ver mine and Coeur Mining Inc.’sKensington gold mine – are located with-in the Tongass Forest. A number of othermining projects, including the Niblackvolcanogenic massive sulfide projectbeing explored by Heatherdale ResourcesLtd. and the Bokan REE project beingadvanced by Ucore Rare Metal Inc., are

also found there.

Middle-of-the-road When Hecla filed for permits to

expand the tailings at Greens Creek, thecompany had hoped it would secure theauthorization to build a facility that couldservice the silver mine for 30-50 years. Inaddition to long-term security, the largefacility would have provided operationalefficiencies and a smaller environmentalfootprint as opposed to two or moresmaller tailings facilities.

This proposal, though, included cover-ing about 4,000 feet of fish habitat inTributary Creek.

To avoid Tributary Creek, the U.S.Forest Service proposed two alternatives.The first, known as alternative C, pro-posed no expansion of the current tailingsstorage area but a new facility in theFowler Creek area some three milesaway. The second, alternative D, allowedfor adding about 10-15 years capacity atthe current tailings area plus added capac-ity at the proposed new site. Both alterna-tives added enough capacity to handlecurrent production rates at Greens Creekfor at least 30 years.

Tongass National Forest SupervisorForrest Cole selected a modified versionof alternative D that allows Hecla to

expand the tailings capacity at GreensCreek, but falls well short of the long-term storage the company had wanted.

“This decision was an unusually diffi-cult one for me to make,” Cole wrote.

Alternative D-modified authorizesHecla to expand the existing tailings dis-posal facility by about 18 acres, farthersouth into Admiralty Island NationalMonument. An additional eight acres isauthorized to be developed outside of themonument for rock quarry and reclama-tion material storage sites and for expand-ing an existing water management pond.

This allows Hecla to expand thecapacity of the facility by about 2.1 mil-lion cubic yards. At the expected rate offill, this expansion will extend the life ofthe Greens Creek Mine by roughly 10years, to around 2029.

While falling far short of what Heclahad requested, the modified alternativeavoids Tributary Creek and provides themining company time to permit a facilityto meet its longer term goals.

“Knowing how strongly people feelabout the issues raised by this project, Iconcluded there will be time to gather andanalyze additional information beforeauthorizing further impacts on theTributary Creek watershed or a secondtailings disposal facility and the associat-ed effects such a facility would have,”Cole explains. ”Thus, while I was hopingto avoid another relatively short-termdecision, I have determined that it is thewiser course of action. It allows time togather and analyze additional informa-tion, to thoroughly consider all feasibleways to provide additional tailings dis-posal capacity, and to clearly and con-vincingly document such considerationthrough future NEPA processes.”

The modified decision drew mixedreviews. Greens Creek advocates said thedecision took too long and fell short ofmeeting the needs of a mining companythat has shown good environmental stew-ardship.

“Since the permitting process began in2010, I have repeatedly explained to theleadership of the USFS and USDA theGreens Creek Mine’s solid track recordand economic importance to northernSoutheast Alaska. Today’s decision pro-vides some mid-term relief, but falls shortof satisfying me or the mine operators orits 400 employees,” Sen. Mark Begich,D-Alaska commented. “While I am dis-appointed in the outcome and the lengthof time it took to get here, USFS has beena good partner in helping to corral otherfederal agencies and keep the minealive.”

Conservationists, on the over hand,said the actions by the forest service drewa prudent equilibrium between environ-mental protections and resource develop-ment.

“We recognize that balancing the needfor employment and resource extractionwith the protection of important fish habi-tat is often difficult and complex, as itwas in this case. Trout Unlimited appreci-ates Supervisor Cole’s concern for

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“This decision was an unusuallydifficult one for me to make.”

–Tongass National Forest Supervisor Forrest Cole

9NORTH OF 60 MINING

PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

© 2013 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other AT&T marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. This document is not an offer, commitment, representation or warranty by AT&T and is subject to change.

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By ROSE RAGSDALEFor Mining News

Young people working on mining proj-ects in Yukon Territory are nothing

new. But young people in charge, runningthe show at some of the most exciting min-ing projects in Canada’s Far North? That’sdifferent and was noticeable in severalcamps during the 2013 field season.

Whether in grassroots exploration, atadvanced projects or in producing mines, anew generation of 30-something and evenyounger professionals, appears to be takingthe lead in the Yukon.

The trend even extends beyond miningto government, where Currie Dixon, elect-ed to public office at age 26 in 2011, nowserves as both Minister of EconomicDevelopment and Minister of Environmentfor the Government of Yukon.

In mineral exploration, the young lead-ers include 18526 Yukon Inc.’s ScottBerdahl, MS, BSc, at the Orwell andEinarson projects, Archer CathroAssociates (1981) Ltd. Partner and SeniorProject Geologist Julia Lane, BSc, GIT atthe Rackla Gold Project, RockhavenResources Ltd. CEO and Director MattTurner and a slew of others.

“Archer Cathro has handed over thereins to a group of five young people, theyoungest of which is 28,” observedBerdahl, who, at 27, may be the youngestand yet the most experienced of this newgeneration of Yukon explorers.

“You see all these children of industrygetting a leg up and then you see people likeJulia Lane, who came into the industry

through college and rose through theranks,” Berdahl said.

Geology consultant Venessa Bennett isanother example of a young geologist whohas emerged as a leader in Yukon mineralexploration, he said.

“Venessa is certainly young and on herway up. She’s a big asset to the Einarsonproject and was to others I won’t namebefore they tucked their tails and ran,”observed Berdahl, referring to the sharpdecrease in mineral exploration activity thisyear in the territory.

“Venessa is as knowledgeable as anyoneI’ve met on geology, in general, and geolo-gy in the Yukon, in particular,” he added.

A grassroots dynastyThough Yukon’s recent mineral explo-

ration boom has allowed numerous youngpeople to gain experience very quickly,Berdahl began doing field exploration 17years ago at age 10 with his dad, longtimeYukon prospector Ron Berdahl.

“A lot of that early work was just haul-ing rocks and picking up rocks, asking

whether they were any good or not, until Igot it,” Scott Berdahl told Mining News inan interview Sept. 18. “I remember doing apaid job when I was 13.”

Berdahl has worked in the Yukon fieldfor more than 13 seasons, first as aprospecting assistant to his father and lateras a company geologist. He also hasworked on the geology of the southwesternUnited States and Euboea, Greece. In addi-tion, he studied geology, aerospace engi-neering and writing at the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology, obtaining a bache-lor’s degree in geology in 2008 and a mas-ter’s degree in science writing in 2010.

This year, father and son managed thefamily’s operation while Ron’s brother,Andrew, took a break to pursue doctoralstudies in philosophy at PrincetonUniversity. Scott provided consulting serv-ices to Anthill Resources Ltd. at itsEinarson “Carlin-style” gold project justeast of Atac Resource Ltd.’s Rackla GoldProject and exploring their own properties.

Located near the Yukon-NorthwestTerritories border, Einarson covers about1,100 square kilometers (424.6 squaremiles) due east of the Rackla project.Anthill optioned the Einarson propertyfrom the Berdahls in 2010 and now holds a30 percent interest and the right to acquireup to a 100 percent interest.

The Berdahls also explored their OrwellProject located just south of the Einarsonproject for Carlin-style gold.

“Due to the ‘Mom and Pop’ nature ofour business, I’ve just shipped those sam-ples to the lab and the results are pending,”Berdahl said in mid-September.

Berdahl said he and his father also“plowed ahead” with exploration of some20 other properties in Southwest Yukon,including units with geology analogous tothe White Gold district and Juneau-RubyRange prospects. These include the CliffProperty, which is anomalous for gold overa large area, and the PoshingermannProperty, which is located 100 kilometers(62 miles) south of Kinross Gold Corp.’sWhite Gold Project but is similar structural-ly.

“We’ve now defined some big multi-ele-ment anomalies, including one over twokilometers (1.24 miles) long and anotherone we’ve defined for one kilometer (0.62miles),” he said.

Berdahl said some of the properties havebig geochemical signatures in the Kluanearea near the Wellgreen PGM-nickel proj-ect and others that are located northeast ofthe Alaska Highway across the DenaliFault.

“I think many of these road-accessibleproperties have been overlooked, but wewere pleased to see that Teck (ResourcesLtd.) moved in nearby a couple of yearsago, and they keep coming back,” he added.

Studying Carlin-style goldArcher Cathro, one of the premiere inde-

pendent geological consulting companies inCanada, specializes in grassroots explo-ration to resource definition programs inYukon and northern British Columbia. Thecompany was formed in 1965 by Al Archer,P.Eng., and Bob Cathro, P.Eng., and is nowin its fourth generation of partners.

Young geologists taking the lead atArcher Cathro include Sara EatonDrechsler, Heather Smith, Matthew R.Dumala, P. Eng. and Dylan Wallinger,along with Lane.

� Y U K O N T E R R I T O R Y

Young geologists take on key projectsVeteran explorers make way for new crop of professionals to manage mineral exploration companies, projects and mining operations

10NORTH OF 60 MINING PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

Our PeopleOur Community

kinross.com see YOUNG GEOLOGISTS page 11

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At 27, Scott Berdahl, MS, BSc, a consulting geologist at Anthill Resources Ltd.’s EinarsonProject, is one of the youngest grassroots prospectors in Yukon Territory. Berdahl’s familybusiness, 18526 Yukon Inc., is exploring more than 20 option-ready properties, including theOrwell Project just south of Einarson where Berdahl recently found a rock sample with real-gar, a pathfinder mineral for Carlin-style gold.

In 2013 Atac President Rob Carne took aseason-long vacation, tapping Lane to directAtac’s C$6 million-plus exploration pro-gram during the field season.

“I realized that if my wife and I took theyear off, we could afford to keep two younggeologists on the job for the summer,”Carne told Mining News in early August.

Lane, a self-described student of allthings related to Carlin-style gold mineral-ization, relates the story of the search forgold at the Rackla project with the precisionand unbridled enthusiasm of a key partici-pant.

“What we’ve determined in the last fewyears is our deposits are hosted in whatappears to be fairly simple geology. But itgets more complex the closer you look intoit,” Lane told a group of reporters in August.

Like most geologists, Lane said shelearned about Carlin-style gold in school,but no one knew how to find it. So Atacbrought in 10 consultants, including struc-tural, chemical and stratigraphic experts andaccomplished exploration managers to takea look at the Rackla property. The companyalso encouraged its technical team, includ-ing Lane, to bone up on Carlin-style miner-alization by taking as many short courses asthey could during the three years since theoriginal Osiris and Isis discoveries.

“So this summer, we’re going back tothe basic skills of knowing where the min-eralization is before you invest the dollars indrilling,” Lane explained.

Atac’s regional exploration programwhich mainly involves getting boots on theground to prospect, conduct geochemicalsampling and perform excavator trenching,has chalked up impressive recent successes.

“Every year, we’re coming up with moreand more discoveries. We’ve all learned anextraordinary amount in three years,” Lanesaid. “What’s been the most useful explo-ration tool here is gaining an understandingof these systems and knowing where thefirst places are to focus our efforts.”

The Anubis discovery, for example, wasmade after a “hand” sample returned 100grams per metric ton gold.

“That was from an outcrop, and weknew we wanted to drill it as soon as possi-ble. So we basically stepped the drill back50 meters, drilled straight towards (the out-crop) and got a very nice intercept,” Lanesaid.

Carne said Atac hoped to close the 2013field season with about C$19 million in itstreasury, enough for at least two more yearsof similar exploration programs.

“We started the season with C$26 mil-lion in the bank. We didn’t want to spend allthat endowment during this field season andbe facing depressed markets next year. Sowe elected to do a very selective program,getting some geological details together,”he said.

Carne said he expects exploration tocontinue at Rackla for another two to threefield seasons before the project will come tofull maturation. “So our goal is to carry on,demonstrating the economic potential of theproject,” he said.

In the interim, Carne said the companyaims to strike a “delicate balance” with tar-geted aggressive exploration, especiallyaround its 2012 discoveries, the Anubis andPharoah Carlin-style sub-districts within theNadaleen Trend located about 10 kilometers(six miles) west and 13 kilometers (eightmiles) northeast, respectively, of theConrad/Osiris area.

Following up on Atac’s 2013 objectiveof finding more significant targets atRackla, Carne said the company would liketo have as many as six drills turning on theproperty next spring.

Encouraging results at KlazaTurner, 34, earned a bachelor’s degree in

geology from University of BritishColumbia in 2002, though he has beenactively involved in mineral explorationsince he graduated from high school in1997.

Turner supervised field work atRockhaven’s Plata Project for two summersand before that, managed and participatedin numerous exploration projects through-out Western Canada, focusing mainly onprecious metal vein, IOCG and diamonddeposits.

Turner is following in the footsteps of hisgrandfather (A. Mark Turner, in whosememory a scholarship in geology is award-ed at the University of Western Ontario), hisfather, (retired geologist Terry Turner) andhis uncle (Independence Gold Corp.President and CEO Randy Turner), all ofwhom distinguished themselves asCanadian mineral explorers.

A father of two sons, himself, Turnersaid during a recent interview that his chil-dren have very few options in choosing pro-fessions.

“My kids really have no choice. Theyhave to become geologists or NHL hockeyplayers,” he said, laughing.

This year, Turner managed a C$1 millionfield program – 50-60 percent financed bycompany insiders – at Rockhaven with an

eight-person crew, including six locals.By contrast, Rockhaven spent C$5.5

million in 2011 and C$7 million in 2012 onexploration.

“In years like this, it may seem likewe’re losing ground, but we were able tofigure out a lot geologically this year interms of zones and zonation,” Turner said.“Before, we were too busy chasing thedrills. I feel like we’ve advanced the projectthis year to the point where we’re justifiedin spending another $7 million in 2014.”

The 2013 program focused on follow-upexploration at its road-accessible Klazagold-silver project in the Dawson Gold Beltof south-central Yukon. The company com-pleted about 5,000 meters of excavatortrenching on the 73-square-kilometer (28.2square miles) property, and “a lot of thatwas on new ground,” Turner said.

Rockhaven Sept. 24 reported initial 2013excavator trench assays and preliminarygravity and bulk sulphide flotation metal-lurgical results from one of eight knownmineralized zones on Klaza. With 38 exca-vator trenches completed, the explorer suc-cessfully confirmed continuity of mineral-ization in the Central and Western Klazazones, including new high-grade exposuresreturning 5.61 g/t gold and 300 g/t silver(11.61 g/t gold-equivalent) over 18.79meters in TR-51, 16.20 g/t gold and 158 g/tsilver (19.36 g/t gold-equivalent) over 6.84meters in TR-52; 25.70 g/t gold and 449 g/t

silver (34.68 g/t gold-equivalent) over 2.27m in TR-66; 8.29 g/t gold and 295 g/t silver(14.20 g/t gold-equivalent) over 4.60 metersin TR-69; and 16.76 g/t gold and 1,052 g/tsilver (37.80 g/t gold-equivalent) over 3.03meters in TR-70.

Preliminary sequential gravity and flota-tion tests on sulphide-bearing drill corefrom holes in this area produced high com-bined recoveries of 97.3 percent for goldand 99.0 percent for silver. “Detailed exca-vator trenching at the highly prospectiveCentral and Western Klaza zones hasidentified priority near-surface drill tar-gets for 2014,” Turner said Sept. 24.“Also, we are highly encouraged by thepreliminary metallurgical test results,which suggest gold and silver should berecoverable through conventional flota-tion techniques.”

The known strike length of the KlazaZone has been traced for 2,400 metersand drilled to 300 to 335 meters depth,and the property’s BRX Zone has beentraced for another 2,400 meters anddrilled to 400 meters depth.

Turner also told Mining News thatRockhaven has completed numerous drillholes on 200-meter centers across theKlaza property, “which the majors like tosee.” �

11NORTH OF 60 MININGPETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

A New in Remote Site AccessEra

F l y i n g i s o u r p a s s i o n , S a f e t y i s o u r m i s s i o n

continued from page 10

YOUNG GEOLOGISTS

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Senior project geologist Julia Lane, BSc, GIT, is managing the Rackla Gold Project in YukonTerritory for Atac Resources Ltd. A 2008 University of British Columbia graduate in earth andocean science, Lane, 27, shows off the ridge-top Osiris discovery hole. She joined consult-ants Archer Cathro Associates (1981) Ltd. while still in college in 2007 and was promoted topartner in the firm in March 2012. Lane is a geoscientist in training with the Association ofProfessional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia.

Matt Turner, CEO of Rockhaven ResourcesLtd., displays core from the company’s Klazagold-silver project at 2013 Dawson RocksAug. 7 in Dawson City, Yukon. Turner, 34,represents a third generation of geologistsin his family, and he hopes his sons willcarry on the tradition.

By ROSE RAGSDALEFor Mining News

K ennady Diamonds Inc. is wrappingup what its management describes

as a very successful 2013 explorationseason at its Kennady North Projectlocated immediately north and west ofthe Gahcho Kué Joint Venture where DeBeers Canada (51 percent) and MountainProvince Diamonds Inc. (49 percent) inNorthwest Territories about 280 kilome-ters (174 miles) east-northeast ofYellowknife.

The Gahcho Kué JV is currentlyworking to develop the world’s largestand richest diamond mine.

The 13 leases and claims coveringabout 12,356 hectares (30,532 acres)next door at Kennady North could pro-vide another important source of

Canadian diamonds.Considered highly prospective, the

Kennady North project hosts threeknown kimberlites –Kelvin, Faraday andHobbes (two of which are diamond-bear-ing), discovered between 2000 and 2003.

A 2011 airborne gravity survey flown

by Fugro Airborne Surveys identified106 geophysical anomalies, of which 39are considered high-priority targets asthey resemble the signatures of knownkimberlite bodies in the Kennady Lakeregion.

Mountain Province spun out theKennady North project in a separatecompany, Kennady Diamonds, in July2012 to follow up on the anomalies.

Aggressive 2013 programAfter encouraging 2012 exploration

highlighted by the recovery of 444 dia-monds from the Kelvin kimberlite and 70diamonds from the Faraday kimberlite,the explorer completed a round ofground geophysics in February, includ-ing ground gravity and horizontal�loopelectromagnetic surveys over theKelvin�Faraday kimberlite corridor and

then undertook a 5,000�meter winterdrill program in March using results ofthe ground geophysics work.

During the winter drill program, kim-berlite was intersected in 24 out of 26infill drill holes, with intersects of up to100 meters. Interpretation of the drillresults suggests that the Kelvin andFaraday kimberlites should be treatedseparately. Both kimberlites appear tohave a strike length of more than 1 kilo-meter (0.62 mile) trending southwest tonortheast.

A 1.1 metric-ton sample collected dur-ing the winter drilling returned an excep-tional sample grade of 8.44 carats permetric ton. The largest three diamondsrecovered were a 2.48 carat off-whitetransparent octahedral, a 0.90 carat off-white transparent irregular, and a 0.75carat off-white transparent octahedral.

Kennady Diamonds Sept. 18 said infurther analysis, 110 Kelvin diamondslarger than 0.85 millimeters were recov-ered from 16 different drill holes acrossroughly a 1-kilometer (0.62 mile) strikeof the Kelvin kimberlite. Also, 26Faraday diamonds larger than 0.85mmwere recovered from five different drillholes in separate locations at the Faradaykimberlite. The three largest diamondsdescribed above were also recoveredfrom three different drill holes at theKelvin kimberlite. The commercial-sizediamonds from the Kelvin kimberlite hada sample grade of 7.24 cpt, while thecommercial-size Faraday diamondsgraded 9.93 cpt.

“Based on these results, it is apparentthat both the Kelvin and Faraday kimber-lites host ‘commercial’ size diamondsacross the length, breadth and depth ofthe kimberlites rather than being concen-trated in particular areas of the kimber-lites, the company observed.

Management also said recovery ofdiamonds of this size and quality from a1.1-metric-ton sample was “very encour-aging.”

But one diamonds industry analyst,posting his reaction online, called theresults, “HUGE!”

“I know it sounds like ‘old news,’ butthese grades are for the most marketablediamonds, and the high grades were stillmaintained! What is particularly impor-tant for Kelvin is that the diamondsabove 0.85mm were from16 boringslocated over the full ‘length and breadth’of the 1 kilometer strike length ofKelvin! Faraday’s five borings were alsospread out on the strike length of thissecond dyke. This information gives memore confidence that the high gradeshave the very real possibility of beingmaintained with the summer 2013 sam-ples,” the analyst added

Encouraging drill resultsThis summer, the company’s drill pro-

gram focused mainly on infill drillingalong the Kelvin�Faraday kimberlitecorridor to further define the Kelvin andFaraday kimberlites to a level sufficientto prepare the first resource statementsfor Kennady North, as well as drill test-ing newly identified geophysical targetswithin the corridor.

Fourteen out of the 15 Kelvin infilland step-out drill holes intersected kim-berlite during the current 2,500-metersummer drill program enabled the com-

� N O R T H W E S T T E R R I T O R I E S

Kennady North yields promising resultsEarly-stage exploration project situated next door to Gahcho Kué Joint Venture could deliver another diamonds resource for Canada

12NORTH OF 60 MINING

PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

Cu29

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World-class project. World-class science.

Pebble is a world-class copper deposit and one of North America’s most significant copper

discoveries. Since 2001, more than 100 independent scientists and technicians have

conducted one of the most extensive environmental studies program in Alaska.

The Pebble Partnership is committed to responsible resource development in Southwest

Alaska — recognizing that a world-class project requires world-class science.

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see KENNADY NORTH page 15

“We are very pleased with thehigh success rate we’ve achievedduring the current Kelvin drill

program … We are particularlyencouraged that the step-outdrilling continued to intersect

kimberlite more than 300 metersto the northwest of the main

Kelvin kimberlite.” –Patrick Evans, president and CEO,

Kennady Diamonds Inc.

By ROSE RAGSDALEFor Mining News

An exploration gamble undertaken insouthern Nunavut in late 2010 by

Northquest Ltd. is proving to be a goodbet.

The Toronto-based junior Sept. 4reported results from three holes drilled inthe Vickers Target on the Pistol Bay GoldProject in Nunavut, including 158.4meters averaging 3.46 grams per metricton gold from 9.95 meters depth in holePB-13-03. Two intervals of high-grademineralization were encountered including16 meters averaging 9.47 g/t gold at 17.51meters depth and 18 meters averaging11.33 g/t gold at 70.51 meters depth. Inaddition, visible gold was documentedfour times from 24.67-110.71 meters(86.04 meters of core length).

The project covers 861 square kilome-ter (332 square miles) and encompasses a90-kilometer (56 miles) strike length of thePistol Bay Trend, a series of surface goldoccurrences and gold zones that have beenintersected by drilling in three field sea-sons.

The newly recognized trend is parallelto, and 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of,the Meliadine Trend of gold deposits,which is owned by Agnico-Eagle MinesLtd. and reportedly contains 3.0 millionounces of gold reserves, plus 2.2 millionoz of indicated and 2.9 million oz ofinferred resources.

Veteran explorer Jon W. North, Ph. D.,MSc, BSc, P. Geo, has led Northquestsince the junior was organized in 2008.North is a specialist in area selection andtarget evaluation in exploration for a widevariety of mineral deposits, includingProterozoic nickel-copper deposits andiron-oxide-copper-gold ore (IOCG)deposits. He has distinguished himselfover 25 years working around the worldon various exploration projects for numer-ous major and junior mining companiesincluding Western Mining Corp.International, Agip Mining Zambia Ltd.and BHP Minerals International.

The Pistol Bay area was brought toNorth’s attention in 2010, and after duediligence sampling, his company quicklysnapped up options to acquire six claimscovering about 4,500 square miles (17.4square miles).

The company’s exploration conceptwas that a group of gold occurrences nearthe Hamlet of Whale Cove, Nunavut,seemed to line up in a west-trending clus-ter, parallel to the westerly, linear trend ofthe Meliadine gold deposits to the north.Located on the opposite side of a sterile,granitic gneiss block, the Pistol Bay Trendappeared to be a mirror image of theMeliadine Trend.

After two field seasons, Northquest hasvalidated the hypothesis and appears tohave further strengthened it in 2013 withadditional exploration.

Rapidly expanding projectAs it explored the property, Northquest

rapidly expanded its size, primarilythrough periodic claim staking, as it tracedpromising stratigraphy westward.

In April, the company reported staking58 additional mining claims covering anabout 500 square kilometers (193 squaremiles).These claims tie on to the west ofthe property’s former claim block andcover an additional 45-kilometer long (28

miles) strike length of the Pistol BayTrend. The claims also increased the pro-ject’s size to 845 square kilometers (326.2square miles).

Within these new claims, only a nomi-nal amount of previous exploration workhas been completed and most of the area is

unexplored. However, assessment recordsand government summary reports indicatethat minor surface exploration was com-pleted in the 1980s in the central part of thenew claims, an area some 10 kilometers(six miles) long and 3 kilometers (twomiles) wide was mapped as a mixture ofdiorite, gabbro, basalt, and clastic sedi-mentary rocks, which is stratigraphy that issimilar to that observed at the VickersTarget some 60 kilometers (31 miles) tothe east. Within this new area, four rocksamples were collected which contained91 to 575 parts-per-billion gold.

Northquest said it is very likely thatexplorers in the 1980s emphasized sam-pling quartz veins; as a result, it is unlike-

ly that rock types analogous to those at theVickers Target, which is devoid of largequartz veins, would have been sampled,and in the western part of the new claims,government mineral occurrence mapsindicate that there are four gold occur-rences and one base metal occurrence. Inaddition, minor prospecting in the 1980swas carried out by an exploration compa-ny and some rock samples were collected.Assessment files indicate that in asequence of basalt and chloritic clasticsedimentary rocks, glacially-transportedboulders contain up to 2.0 g/t gold, andoutcrops contain up to 960 ppb gold.

� N U N A V U T

Another gold search looks promisingExplorer’s quest leads to Pistol Bay, a west-trending series of mineral showings that mirrors stratigraphy at the Meliadine Trend

13NORTH OF 60 MININGPETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

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see PISTOL BAY page 15

The Pistol Bay area was brought toNorth’s attention in 2010, and after

due diligence sampling, hiscompany quickly snapped upoptions to acquire six claims

covering about 4,500 square miles(17.4 square miles).

By ROSE RAGSDALEFor Mining News

Like many ideas conceived on the backof napkin, the hottest new mineral

exploration innovation sweeping explo-ration camps in Yukon Territory this fieldseason might have languished for years in adesk drawer, if not for the innate talent andtenacity of a young entrepreneur who cameto Canada’s North country from Ontarioeight years ago and stayed on to make hishome in the Yukon.

The innovation, called “Geoprobe,” is asmall, track-mounted hydraulic drilldesigned to take soil and rock-chip samplesfrom the soil-bedrock interface on an explo-ration property, essentially doing the samework as a trench sampling program butwithout the significant scarring of the sur-face that occurs with the use of an excava-tor.

Tao Henderson, 36, developed theGeoprobe in his spare time during the pasttwo years and this year, watched the neat,little machine take the exploration commu-nity in the Yukon’s White Gold district bystorm.

Developing the GeoprobeAfter tossing around the idea with

Yukon gold prospector Shawn Ryan overthe past few years, Henderson got to workand perfected the technology over thecourse of two years.

“We had a prototype last year thatworked pretty well, but we wanted to havelow impact on the environment, while cap-turing bedrock samples,” Henderson toldMining News in a recent interview.

Doing extensive research, Hendersonpulled together the components of theGeoprobe from several separate pieces ofequipment. He chose to mount the drillingunit on tracks so it can be navigated easilythrough the dense brush typically found onthe steep mountain slopes of the Klondikeand White Gold districts south of Dawson.

Drawing on his extensive experience asa remote-controlled aircraft enthusiast,Henderson also developed a RC wirelesscommunication system for the Geoprobe toeliminate the need for an operator to sit onthe unit, and he designed full hydraulics forthe system.

“Knowing the ins and outs of RC wire-less helped,” he said. “I fly my own person-al RC aircraft.”

It took about six months to design thedevice on the computer and to assemble allof its parts.

“It took a little trial and error, but wemade it strong, light, versatile and very effi-cient,” Henderson said.

Offered along with other early-stagemineral exploration services by DawsonCity –based Groundtruth Exploration Ltd.,the improved Geoprobe attracted a steadystream of customers throughout the 2013field season.

“It hit the field and it’s been out all sum-mer. It came back once for routine mainte-nance,” Henderson said.

The Geoprobe is capable of drilling 2.5-meter holes and collecting up to 30 samplesa day at five-meter spacing. It is also heli-portable in two sling loads.

“It’s extremely low impact with less thanone (pound-per-square-inch) ground pres-sure, and it’s enabled us to capture samplesof the bedrock interface. We’ve gotten fan-tastic samples, and we can hardly tell wherewe’ve drilled,” he enthused.

Honing innate talentHenderson sees the Geoprobe as a natu-

ral progression of his own creative develop-ment.

“I’m self-taught. I didn’t go to school forthis. I’ve got a background in buildingthings, and it comes naturally to me,” heexplained.

Henderson grew up a farm in southernOntario and worked for the family business,learning from his grandfather and uncle.Still, his talent was evident, almost from thebeginning.

“I’m told that when I was two years ago,I was playing in my mother’s bedroomwhen she woke up and found that I hadtaken her alarm clock apart,” Hendersonrecalled. “After that, she would go to the

Salvation Army and buy toasters and othersmall appliances, cut the cords off and givethem to me. I’d take them apart until I wasabout six years old, when one day I putsomething back together, and we plugged itin and it worked.”

After coming to the Yukon in search of alifestyle change that would bring him clos-er to the Canadian wilderness in 2005,Henderson said the intensely outdoor-ori-ented atmosphere he found suited him per-fectly.

After meeting Ryan and Ryan’s wife,Cathy Wood, Henderson went to work forthe couple and soon was applying his talentwith all things mechanical to various pur-suits.

“This enabled me to fine-tune my skillsand do creative things,” he said.

In 2011, Henderson formed his owncompany, Talus Exploration Ltd., in part-nership with Wood. Talus offered excavatortrenching services to mining companies atthe height of the recent modern gold rush tocentral Yukon in cooperation with Ryan’sGroundtruth Exploration, which offered thesame mining companies its soil samplingservices.

Recently, Talus was merged withGroundtruth, and the resulting company isnow jointly owned by Isaac Fage, a formersoil sampler, and Henderson.

Called “The Doctor” in the bush by hisemployees, Henderson says his “guys liketo have me in the field because I can makethings work with basically nothing.”

Still, the Geoprobe’s success in the fieldis at least partly due to the outstanding crewthat operates the machinery, he said.

Looking to the futureWe’ve gotten a return on our invest-

ment,” he said. “We’re gaining traction andlooking at building a second Geoprobe thiswinter. We’d like to keep the technology inhouse. It takes lots of time to develop and toput into action. But without a doubt, it’s def-initely paying for itself.

“Right now, we’re focusing on buildinga package of services” that will include TheDrone, an aerial system for creating digitalelevation photographs that Henderson andRyan jointly developed, hand-soil sam-pling, induced polarization surveys and theGeoprobe, he said.

Henderson envisions building two orthree more of the Geoprobe units andbelieves their development will go quickly.Also, “we would be interested in replicatingour business outside the Yukon but nothinghas been put into motion,” he added. �

14NORTH OF 60 MINING

PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

� Y U K O N T E R R I T O R Y

Young entrepreneur develops ‘Geoprobe’Dawson City resident uses talent, skills to create innovative technology that is growing in popularity among mineral explorers

RO

SE R

AG

SDA

LE

RO

SE R

AG

SDA

LE Above, Dan Murray, operator of theGeoprobe remote-controlled driller, makesan adjustment as the machine extracts 2.5-inch soil and rock-chip samples for PacificRidge Exploration Ltd. on the KingSolomon Property near Dawson City inYukon Territory.At left, Tao Henderson, developer of theGeoprobe remote-controlled driller that istaking Yukon mineral exploration camps bystorm this year, also collaborated withShawn Ryan on development of the“Drone,” an aerial digital elevation photog-raphy system that is attracting customersin several industries, including mining.

pany to recover more than three metrictons of kimberlite from about 3,000meters of drilling.

Drill holes KDI-13-044 and KDI-13-045 were drilled some 100 meters fromKelvin Lake and more than 300 metersfrom the main Kelvin kimberlite. Basedon the lengths of the kimberlite inter-sects, it is believed that these holesdefine the north-west limit of the Kelvinkimberlite emplacement.

When the company’s 3,848-metersummer drill program concluded, drilltesting of three geophysical targets com-menced at the south end of FaradayLake. Drilling of these targets wasexpected to be completed within 10 days.

The company reported Sept. 18 that itdispatched 3,454 kilograms of kimberliteto Geoanalytical Laboratories DiamondServices at the Saskatchewan ResearchCouncil for recovery of diamonds bycaustic fusion.

The first results are expected early inthe fourth quarter, with final resultsanticipated before the end of November.

Kennady Diamonds hopes to identifya resource on the Kennady North proper-ty along the Kelvin – Faraday kimberlitecorridor of between 5 million and 8 mil-lion metric tons and to identify new kim-berlites outside of the corridor.

The tonnage estimate is based ondrilling completed at Kennady North todate, but the potential quantity is concep-tual in nature as there has been insuffi-cient drilling to define a mineralresource, and it is uncertain if furtherexploration will result in the target beingdelineated as a mineral resource.

Still, the company’s management is

optimistic. “We are very pleased with the high

success rate we’ve achieved during thecurrent Kelvin drill program, KennadyDiamonds President and CEO PatrickEvans said in a statement Sept. 3.“Fourteen out of 15 drill holes intersect-ed kimberlite, enabling us to recovermore than three tonnes of kimberlitefrom approximately 3,000 meters ofdrilling. We are particularly encouragedthat the step-out drilling continued tointersect kimberlite more than 300meters to the northwest of the mainKelvin kimberlite.”

The company is reportedly alreadyplanning a winter 2014 drilling programwith 10,000 meters of sampling from theKelvin and Faraday kimberlites, a 25-metric-ton mini-bulk sample fromKelvin, and a number of exploration bor-ings in the area of Kelvin and Faraday inhopes of finding more kimberlite inKelvin and Faraday, expanding the sizesof the dykes and its conceptual resourceestimate. �

15NORTH OF 60 MININGPETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

In August, the company reported staking two addition-al claims comprising 16 square kilometers (about 4,000acres) to cover prospective stratigraphy, bringing theexpanded Pistol Bay Gold Project to about 861 squarekilometers (332 square miles).

Encouraging early explorationOver the 30 months since its field operations began in

April 2011, Northquest has completed two airborne geo-physical surveys and 9,113 meters of diamond drilling in49 drill holes (including those drilled in 2013), of which5,616 meters of drilling and 24 drill holes were completedat the Vickers Target.

The junior also obtained economically interestingdrilling intersections at the Sako and Bazooka targetswhich occur over the 20-kilometer (12.4 miles) long seg-ment of the Pistol Bay Trend. The best drilling intersectionto date from the property is in drill hole PB-12-22 from theVickers Target which intersected 156.48 meters grading8.23 g/t gold.

In January Northquest said it is committed to increas-ing the rate of drilling and improving the continuity ofnews flow from the Pistol Bay Project. Accordingly, anall-weather camp facility was constructed on the site of itsformer summer camp, with the goal of commencingdrilling operations on May 1. However, because of the dif-ficulty in raising new capital for mineral exploration, thecompany postponed construction of the new camp. It wascompleted in June and occupied in July 2013.

The objective of the all-weather camp is to havedrilling operations at the project for a minimum of eightmonths per year, which should be feasible given the avail-able infrastructure of the project, including an all-seasongravel road that runs through the center of the property, theArctic Ocean coastline within the property boundary, andan airstrip with daily flights from Winnipeg situated justone kilometer (0.62 mile) from the property boundary.

Ambitious 2013 exploration This season Northquest budgeted C$5 million for an

exploration program that includes following up earlierexploration of the Vickers, Sako and Bazooka targets andinvestigating the Mauser Group of gold occurrences aswell as prospect for other targets on the Pistol Bay prop-erty.

By August, the junior had completed ground HLEMgeophysical surveying at the Bazooka Target, which con-tains gold in sulphidized iron formation. The best drillingintersection to date at Bazooka covered 11.17 metersgrading 2.10 g/t gold in PB-12-04.

Induced polarization/resistivity surveys commencedin late August at the Sako Target, which consists of goldin silicified felsic volcanic rocks and iron formation. Thebest drilling intersection at Sako was in PB-12-02, whichintersected 15.53 meters averaging 1.76 g/t gold.

Upon completion of the IP/Resistivity survey at Sako,additional surveying was planned for Vickers, which con-tains gold in the margin and footwall of a gabbro/dioriteintrusion.

Northquest said the purpose of the geophysical sur-veys is to provide direction in the selection of future drillholes at the Bazooka, Sako, and Vickers Targets, particu-larly in areas covered by overburden.

The company conducted reconnaissance mapping andprospecting in July and August. The reconnaissance workhas covered the entire property with traverses of varyingspacing with the objectives of discovering and samplingall mineralized outcrops and boulders on the property,and sampling historical gold occurrences that are docu-mented in government summary reports.

In July and August, Northquest completed an addi-tional 10 drill holes covering 2,016 meters in the VickersTarget. The company had two drill rigs on the property inlate August, ready to re-commence drilling contingent

upon the results of the completed work.Vickers is an elliptical gabbro-diorite intrusive com-

plex with a long axis of 1,000 meters. The gabbro-dioriteintrusion is within silicified felsic schist and mylonite ofa linear zone referred to as the Pistol Bay corridor. Goldin surface outcrops occurs in a silicic, chloritic, brecciabody exposed in the margin and footwall of the intrusion.

Nine of the drill holes intersected the V1 (Main) Zonewhich also was encountered in 14 drill holes in 2012. Onedrill hole intersected the V2 Zone which lies about 200meters south of the V1 zone.

“The exploration that has been completed to date in2013 has been multi-dimensional and very exciting,”North said in an Aug. 28 statement.

Reporting initial results of the drilling Sept. 4,Northquest said hole PB-13-01 is an overcut of PB-12-22(156.48 meters grading 8.23 grams per metric ton gold),and there is close correlation of the geology of the drillholes. PB-13-01, which intersected visible gold at fourlocations in the drill hole between 172.93 and 210.28meters, cut 77.5 meters averaging 1.2 g/t gold. PB-13-02is an undercut of PB-12-22, and there is close correlationof the geology of the drill holes. This hole, which inter-sected visible gold at five locations between 104.8 to280.8 meters, cut 75 meters averaging 1.05 g/t gold and23.8 meters averaging 3.6 g/t gold. PB-13-03, whichencountered the longest and highest grade intercepts inthe 2013 drilling, so far, is an overcut of PB-12-20(168.69 meters grading 2.15 g/t gold) with good geologi-cal correlation between the drill holes. Visible gold wasdocumented four times from 24.67 to 110.71 meters(86.04 meters of core length).

“The objective of the 10 holes that have been drilledso far this year has been to test the continuity of the zoneat relatively shallow depths with fill-in holes that com-plement the 14 drill holes drilled in 2012,” said North.“Upon completion of the ongoing geophysical survey atVickers, the next phase of drilling will include deeperdrilling and step-out holes to determine the limits of thezone, as well as more fill-in drilling.”

Northquest, meanwhile, curtailed its exploration activ-ity in 2013 on its three gold projects in Mali, the compa-ny did apply for a exploration permit to also pursue itsgold prospects in Myanmar. �

continued from page 13

PISTOL BAY

continued from page 12

KENNADY NORTH

Over the 30 months since its field operationsbegan in April 2011, Northquest has completed

two airborne geophysical surveys and 9,113meters of diamond drilling in 49 drill holes(including those drilled in 2013), of which

5,616 meters of drilling and 24 drill holes werecompleted at the Vickers Target.

tonne while samples from level 1336returned 335.7 grams of gold per tonneand 623.41 grams of silver per tonne.This material has been mined andmoved to the mill for bulk sampling.The company also reported that roadconstruction from camp to the Ben Veinis complete, exploration drilling is on-going, and surface construction of theunderground mine portal is underway.

Northern AlaskaGOLDRICH MINING CO.

announced that its 50 percent-ownedsubsidiary, GOLDRICH NYACAUPLACER, LLC has received the neces-sary permits to expand its placer goldmining operations at its Chandalar proj-ect where production began this sum-mer. The new permit allows for suffi-cient space to install multiple washplants. Fabrication of a feeder capable offeeding three wash plants has been sub-stantially completed. It will be shipped

to Alaska this winter and will be com-missioned for use with the existing plantin 2014. A second and third plant areplanned to be added after 2014. Thecompany has completed about 15,000feet of drilling to date and have outlineda resource of 10.5 million cubic yards atan average head grade of 0.025 ouncesof gold per cubic yard, for an estimatedtotal of 250,000 contained ounces.

Southeastern AlaskaUCORE RARE METALS INC.

reported that the U.S. FORESTSERVICE has approved permitting forthe company’s upcoming field programat its Bokan - Dotson Ridge rare earthelement project in Southeast Alaska. Theplanned fieldwork will generate baselineinformation required for the completionof the final Bankable Feasibility Study,as well as the preparation of the mineconstruction permit applications. Theplanned work included infill resourcedrilling, geotechnical drilling and moni-tor well drilling as well as constructionof an interim field camp from which tobase operations. �

continued from page 6

FREEMANThe company is reportedly already

planning a winter 2014 drillingprogram with 10,000 meters ofsampling from the Kelvin and

Faraday kimberlites, a 25-metric-ton mini-bulk sample from Kelvin,

and a number of explorationborings in the area of Kelvin andFaraday in hopes of finding morekimberlite in Kelvin and Faraday,expanding the sizes of the dykes

and its conceptual resourceestimate.

Mining Companies

Kinross Fort Knox/Fairbanks Gold Mining Inc.Fairbanks, AK 99707Contact: Anna Atchison, Manager, Community and Government RelationsPhone: (907) 490-2218 Fax: (907) 490-2290E-mail: anna.atchison@kinross.comWebsite: www.kinross.comLocated 25 miles northeast of Fairbanks, Fort Knox isAlaska’s largest producing gold mine; during 2011,Fort Knox achieved 5 million ounces of gold pro-duced, a modern record in Alaska mining.

Usibelli Coal MineFairbanks, AK 99701Contact: Bill Brophy, VP Customer RelationsPhone: (907) 452-2625Fax: (907) 451-6543Email: info@usibelli.comWebsite: www.usibelli.comOther OfficePO Box 1000Healy, AK 99743Phone: (907) 683-2226Usibelli Coal Mine is headquartered in Healy, Alaskaand has 700 million tons of coal reserves. UCM pro-duces an average of 2 million tons of sub-bituminouscoal each year.

Service, Supply & Equipment

Alaska Air Cargo • Horizon Air CargoP.O. Box 68900 SEAFZSeattle, WA 98168Contact: Joe Sprague, Vice President of CargoPhone: (206) 392-2705 or 800-2ALASKA

Fax: (206) 392-2641E-mail: joe.sprague@alaskaair.comWebsite: www.alaskacargo.comAward winning cargo services to more places, moreoften, with more lift to, from, and within the stateof Alaska.

Alaska Analytical Laboratory1956 Richardson HighwayNorth Pole, AK 99705Phone: (907) 488-1266 • Fax: (907) 488-077E-mail: jlovejoy@mappatestlab.comEnvironmental analytical soil testing for GRO, DRO,RRO, and UTEX. Field screening and phase 1 and 2site assessments also available.

Alaska Earth SciencesAnchorage, AK 99515Contact: Bill Ellis, Rob Retherford, ownersPhone: (907) 522-4664 • Fax: (907) 349-3557E-mail: wellis@alaskaearthsciences.comA full service exploration group that applies earthsciences for the mining and petroleum industries pro-viding prospect generation, evaluation and valua-tion, exploration concepts, project management,geographic information systems and data manage-ment. We also provide camp support and logistics,geologic, geochemical and geophysical surveys.

Alaska Frontier ConstructorsP.O. Box 224889Anchorage, AK 99522-4889Contact: John Ellsworth or Chris LedgerwoodPhone: (907) 562-5303Fax: (907) 562-5309E-mail: afcinfo@ak.netWebsite: akfrontier.comAlaskan heavy civil construction company specializing

in Arctic and remote site development with theexperience, equipment and personnel to safely andefficiently complete your project.

Alaska Steel Co.1200 W. DowlingAnchorage, AK 99518Contact: Joe Pavlas, outside sales managerPhone: (907) 561-1188Toll free: (800) 770-0969 (AK only)Fax: (907) 561-2935E-mail: j.pavlas@alaskasteel.com Fairbanks Office:2800 South CushmanContact: Dan Socha, branch mgr.Phone: (907) 456-2719 • Fax: (907) 451-0449Kenai Office:205 Trading Bay Rd.Contact: Will Bolz, branch mgr.Phone: (907) 283-3880 • Fax: (907) 283-3759Rebar Division1200 W. DowlingAnchorage, AK 99518Contact: Mike Galyon, rebar mgr.Phone: (907) 561-1188 • Fax: (907) 562-7518Full-line steel, aluminum, and rebar distributor.Complete processing capabilities, statewide service.Specializing in low temperature steel and wear plate.

Arctic FoundationsAnchorage, AK 99518-1667Contact: Ed YarmakPhone: (907) 562-2741 • Fax: (907) 562-0153Email: info@arcticfoundations.comWebsite: www.arcticfoundations.comSoil stabilization – frozen barrier and frozen coredams to control hazardous waste and water move-

Companies involved in Alaska andnorthwestern Canada’s mining industry

D I R E C T O R Y

The Red Dog mine in northwest Alaska.

17NORTH OF 60 MININGPETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

ment. Foundations – maintain permafrost for durablehigh capacity foundations.

Austin Powder CompanyP.O. Box 8236Ketchikan, AK 99901Contact: Tony Barajas, Alaska managerPhone: (907) 225-8236 • Fax: (907) 225-8237E-mail: tony.barajas@austinpowder.comWeb site: www.austinpowder.comIn business since 1833, Austin Powder providesstatewide prepackaged and onsite manufacturedexplosives and drilling supplies with a commitmentto safety and unmatched customer service.

Calista Corp.301 Calista Court, Suite AAnchorage, AK 99518Phone: (907) 279-5516 • Fax: (907) 272-5060Web site: www.calistacorp.com

Construction Machinery Industrial, LLC5400 Homer DriveAnchorage, AK 99518Contact: Robert Fairbanks, Sales ManagerPhone: (907) 563-3822Fax: (907) 563-1381Email: r.fairbanks@cmiak.comWebsite: www.cmiak.com

ERA Helicopter6160 Carl Brady DriveAnchorage, AK 99502Contact: David Sell, Business Development AlaskaPhone: (907) 550-8607Fax: (907) 550-8608E-mail: dsell@erahelicopters.comWebsite: www.erahelicopters.comHelicopter charters, flight-seeing tours, aerial pho-tography, oil and gas support, mineral exploration,construction, seismic remote site work, internal andexternal load, heli-hiking and sled-dog adventures.

GCI Industrial TelecomAnchorage:11260 Old Seward Highway Ste. 105Anchorage, AK 99515Phone: (907) 868-0400Fax: (907) 868-9528Toll free: (877) 411-1484Web site: www.GCI-IndustrialTelecom.comRick Hansen, DirectorRichard.Hansen@gci.comMark Johnson, Business Development ManagerMark.Johnson@gci.comDeadhorse:Aurora Hotel #205Deadhorse, Alaska 99734Phone: (907) 771-1090Mike Stanford, Senior Manager North SlopeMike.Stanford@gci.comHouston, Texas:8588 Katy Freeway, Suite 226Houston, Texas 77024Phone: (713) 589-4456Hillary McIntosh, Account RepresentativeHillary.Mcintosh@gci.comGCI Industrial Telecom provides innovative solutionsto the most complex communication issues facingindustrial clientele. We deliver competitive services,reputable expertise and safely operate under themost severe working conditions for the oil, gas andnatural resource industries. GCI-your best choice forfull life cycle, expert, proven, industrial communica-tions.

Global Equipment Services Inc. 3820 Schact St. Fairbanks, AK 99701Contact: Jeff Dahl, General ManagerPhone (425) 531-1854Email: jdahl@gesequipment.comWebsite: www.GESequipment.comGlobal Equipment Services Inc. purchases, sells andrents high quality heavy equipment worldwide witha strong emphasis on high quality work readyCaterpillar Track type tractors.

HDR Alaska Inc. 2525 C St., Ste 305Anchorage, AK 99503Contact: Jaci Mellott, Marketing CoordinatorPhone: (907) 644-2091Fax: (907) 644-2022Email: Jaci.Mellott@hdrinc.comWebsite: www.hdrinc.comHDR Alaska provides engineering, environmental,planning, and consultation services for mining andmineral exploration clients. Services include: biologicalstudies; cultural resources; project permitting; NEPA;stakeholder outreach; agency consultation; and envi-ronmental, civil, transportation, energy, and heavystructural engineering.

Jackovich Industrial & Construction SupplyFairbanks, AK 99707Contact: Buz Jackovich

Phone: (907) 456-4414 • Fax: (907) 452-4846Anchorage officePhone: (907) 277-1406 • Fax: (907) 258-170024- hour emergency service. With 30 years of experi-ence, we’re experts on arctic conditions and extremeweather.

Judy Patrick Photography511 W. 41st Ave, Suite 101Anchorage, AK 99503Contact: Judy PatrickPhone: (907) 258-4704Fax: (907) 258-4706E-mail: jpp@mtaonline.netWebsite: www.judypatrickphotography.comCreative images for the resource development indus-try.

Keller Williams Commercial101 West Benson, Ste. 503Contact: Stewart Smith, Associate BrokerAnchorage, AK 99503Phone: (907) 865-6505Cell: (907) 727-8686Email: stewart@stusell.comContact: Ryan Mae Lucas, AssociateCell: (907) 360-7135Email: ryan@stusell.comWebsite: www.stusell.com;www.AKMiningClaims.comMining Claims to buy, sell, or lease, call the Alaskaprofessionals. We provide real estate brokerage serv-ice to the mining industry, with over 35 years of com-mercial experience. Call for a list of our featuredproperties.

Last Frontier Air Ventures39901 N. Glenn Hwy. Sutton, AK 99674Contact: Dave King, ownerPhone: (907) 745-5701Fax: (907) 745-5711E-mail: helicopter@LFAV.comAnchorage Base (907) 272-8300Web site: www.LFAV.comHelicopter support statewide for mineral exploration,survey research and development, slung cargo,video/film projects, telecom support, tours, crewtransport, heli skiing. Short and long term contracts.

LyndenAlaska Marine Lines • Alaska Railbelt MarineAlaska West Express • Lynden Air CargoLynden Air Freight • Lynden InternationalLynden Logistics • Lynden TransportAnchorage, AK 99502Contact: Jeanine St. JohnPhone: (907) 245-1544 • Fax: (907) 245-1744Email: custsvc@lynden.comThe combined scope of the Lynden companiesincludes truckload and less-than-truckload highwayconnections, scheduled barges, intermodal bulk

chemical hauls, scheduled and chartered airfreighters, domestic and international air forwardingand international sea forwarding services.

Northern Air Cargo3900 W. International Airport Rd. Anchorage, AK 99502Contact: Mark Liland, acct. mgr. Anch./Prudhoe BayPhone: (907) 249-5149 • Fax: (907) 249-5194Email: mliland@nac.aero • Website: www.nac.aeroServing the aviation needs of rural Alaska for almost50 years, NAC is the states largest all cargo carriermoving nearly 100 million pounds of cargo on sched-uled flights to 17 of Alaska’s busiest airports. NAC’sfleet of DC-6, B-727, and ATR-42 aircraft are availablefor charters to remote sites and flag stops to 44 addi-tional communities.

Pacific Rim Geological ConsultingFairbanks, AK 99708Contact: Thomas Bundtzen, presidentPhone: (907) 458-8951Fax: (907) 458-8511Email: bundtzen@mosquitonet.comGeologic mapping, metallic minerals exploration andindustrial minerals analysis or assessment.

Pebble Partnership3201 C St., Suite 604Anchorage, AK 99503Phone: 907-339-2600www.pebblepartnership.com

PND Engineers Inc.1506 W. 36th Ave. Anchorage, AK 99503Phone: (907) 561-1011Fax: (907) 563-4220Website: www.pndengineers.comFull-service engineering firm providing civil, structur-al, and geotechnical engineering, including miningsupport, resource development, permitting, marineand coastal engineering, transportation engineering,hydrology, site remediation, and project manage-ment.

TTT Environmental LLC 4201 “B” St.Anchorage, AK 99503Contact: Tom Tompkins, general managerPhone: 907-770-9041 • Fax: 907-770-9046Email: info@tttenviro.comWebsite: www.tttenviro.comAlaska’s preferred source for instrument rentals,sales, service and supplies. We supply equipment forair monitoring, water sampling, field screening, PPEand more.

Taiga Ventures2700 S. CushmanFairbanks, AK 99701Mike Tolbert - presidentPhone: 907-452-6631 • Fax: 907-451-8632Other offices:Airport Business Park2000 W. International Airport Rd, #D-2Anchorage, AK 99502Phone: 907-245-3123Email: mike@taigaventures.comWeb site: www.taigaventures.comRemote site logistics firm specializing in turnkeyportable shelter camps – all seasons.

Total Safety U.S. Inc.209 E. 51st Ave.Anchorage, AK 99503Contact: Tyler Zollinger, District Manager.Phone: (907) 743-9871Fax: (907) 743-9872E-mail: tyler.zollinger@totalsafety.comWebsite: www.totalsafety.comA full service safety company specializing in RemoteMedical Services, H2S Services, Industrial Hygiene,and Safety Consultants. Total Safety provides Service,Rental, or Sales of Safe Breathing Air, Gas Detection,and Technical Safety Equipment.

URS Corp.700 G Street, Suite 500Anchorage, AK 99501Contact: Joe Hegna, Alaska Vice President/AlaskaOperations ManagerPhone: (907) 562-3366 • Fax: (907) 562-1297E-mail: joe_hegna@urscorp.comWebsite: www.urscorp.comProvide engineering, construction and technical serv-ices with capabilities to support all stages of projectlife cycle. We offer a full range of program manage-ment; planning, design and engineering; constructionand construction management; operations and main-tenance; and decommissioning and closure services.

Advertiser IndexAlaska Airlines Cargo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Alaska Analytical Laboratory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Alaska DreamsAlaska Earth SciencesAlaska Frontier ConstructorsAlaska Steel Co.Arctic FoundationsAustin Powder Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Calista Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Constantine Metal ResourcesConstruction Machinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Fairbanks Gold Mining/Fort Knox Gold Mine. . . 10GCI Industrial Telecom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19General Refining Corp.Global Equipment ServicesGreer Tank Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6IFR Workwear Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Jackovich Industrial & Construction SupplyJudy Patrick Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Keller Williams CommercialLast Frontier Air Ventures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Lynden. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Nature Conservancy, TheNorthern Air CargoPacific Rim Geological Consulting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Pebble Partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12PND Engineers Inc.Salt+Light CreativeSourdough Express Inc.Taiga Ventures/PacWest Drilling Supply . . . . . . . 13Total SafetyURS Corp.Usibelli Coal Mine

scale of testing.A 20-metric-ton sample, collected earlier

this year from three locations within theDotson Ridge deposit, was processed by alarge scale x-ray transmission ore sorter at aTOMRA (formerly Commodas Ultrasort) inGermany. Results show that 52 percent ofthe feed was rejected as waste, with 96.3percent of the rare earth oxides remaining inthe material to be fed into the mill.

“The confirmation of XRT effectivenessat large scale is an important milestone inUcore’s march to mine construction,” saidMcKenzie. “The company is the first in therare earth industry to demonstrate XRT as abeneficiation technique; a technologyalready well-established in the tungsten anddiamond mining sector. XRT shows theclear potential to dramatically reduce thevolume of material feeding the mill facilityand an equally dramatic increase in TREOore grade without a great deal of process-ing.”

After initial grinding, half of the remain-ing material can be skimmed by magneticseparation before getting a bath in nitricacid.

“So we are going to have 1,500 tons perday coming out of the mine, but we aregoing to have a 750-ton-per-day grindingcircuit and then the leaching circuit, whichis extensive, is only 375 tons per day,”explained Collison.

In addition to the economic advantagesassociated with purchasing and operating asmaller mill, this setup provides environ-mental rewards.

While the PEA envisions a small, tempo-rary facility to store tailings during the earlystages of development, at a certain point themine will consume all of the tailings pro-duced to fill underground voids.

“The addition of an XRT circuit prospec-

tively reduces capital and operating costs,with a smaller processing footprint than isthe norm for REE facilities, and with no tail-ings facility at surface upon mine closure,”said McKenzie. “A zero tailings footprint isa unique environmental objective, and weare aware of no other mine, rare earth orotherwise, that has accomplished such adesign feature.”

A 30-metric-ton bulk sample of DotsonRidge material has been sent for XRT sort-ing. Ucore said the output from this samplewill provide feed for a pilot plant at Bokan.

The pilot plant, scheduled for the fourthquarter, is the final stage of bulk-scale test-ing of the production circuit prior to therelease of a bankable feasibility study andthe prospective commencement of mineconstruction.

Pilot plantRather than an onsite, scaled-down ver-

sion of the facility Ucore plans to operate atBokan, the pilot plant will involve up-scaletesting of the various components plannedfor the cutting-edge operation.

The XRT sorting being conducted inGermany is one portion of the pilot plant;the testing of a state-of-the-art techniquethat utilizes nanotechnology to separate the16 different rare earth elements found in theDotson Ridge deposit at Bokan is another.

Ucore is working with Montana-basedIntelliMet LLC to pioneer an REE process-ing technique known as solid-phase extrac-tion.

Though cutting edge, the SPE procedurefollows a much simpler flowsheet than sol-vent exchange extraction, the method tradi-tionally used to separate REEs. The less-complex nanotechnology process is expect-ed to result in a smaller and more efficientfacility for transforming Bokan Mountainore into rare earth oxides.

In bench-scale tests, IntelliMet treated arepresentative sample of Bokan ore withnitric acid, generating a solution containingthe rare earths and other elements containedin the ore. Before precipitating the REEs outof solution, the Montana-based lab was ableto pull out more than 99 percent of the non-REE elements – including iron, uraniumand thorium.

Once these “nuisance” elements areremoved, the proposed SPE processingfacility will use three stages of subclass seg-regation that will result in pure REE oxidesprecipitated out of the solution.

This promising technology has caughtthe Pentagon’s attention. Last October, theU.S. Department of Defense entered into acontract with Ucore to conduct a miner-alogical and metallurgical study at BokanMountain.

This six-month program, managed bythe U.S. Defense Logistics Agency, isinvestigating the possibility of developingBokan Mountain into a mine and process-ing facility that could supply the U.S. mili-tary with a domestic source of heavy rareearths.

While Bokan Mountain is rich in yttri-um, dysprosium, terbium and a suite ofother rare earths needed in weapons sys-tems, the Pentagon’s interest in Ucoreseems to be as much about the state-of-the-art extraction technology as it is about thestrategic metals stowed at its SoutheastAlaska deposit.

“The Department of Defense’s invest-ment in the Bokan deposit and Ucore’s pro-prietary SPE technology represents a signif-icant step toward recapturing the rare earthstechnological lead surrendered to Chinadecades ago,” said McKenzie.

Under an agreement with the DefenseDepartment, Ucore will provide thePentagon with the most up-to-date data onthis nanotechnology research.

A portion the pilot-scale testing is takingplace in the Mineral Industry ResearchLaboratory at the University of AlaskaFairbanks.

This work – funded with US$297,000provided by the Alaska Department ofCommerce, Community and EconomicDevelopment in 2012 – will augment otherstudies on the processing and separation ofrare earths as well as research conducted onprocedures for handling waste rock.

State supportIn addition to the UAF research funding,

the State threw its weight behind SJR. 8, anAlaska Senate resolution that aims to boostrare earth exploration and development inthe 49th state and Bokan Mountain, in par-ticular.

“I think that is a significant move peopleshould pay attention to because Alaska hasa program to develop a total rare earthindustry. They want, not just to be a suppli-er of the resource, they want to be a suppli-er of end-use goods using processed rareearths,” said Jack Lifton, co-founder ofTechnology Metals Research.

SJR 8 recognizes the deposits at BokanMountain as “rich in the heavy rare earthelements of europium, gadolinium, terbium,dysprosium, thulium, holmium, erbium,ytterbium, lutetium, and yttrium” and “theonly known (heavy rare earths) deposits inthe world that have deepwater access,accessible labor, and prospective powersources.”

Lesil McGuire, R-South Anchorage,sponsor of SJR 8, said, “Several expertshave said it is likely that Alaska has one ofthe most significant rare-earth prospects inNorth America,” said McGuire. “If we playour cards right, this could secure our futureas the lead supplier of America’s rare earthmineral needs.”

Following unanimous support in boththe Alaska House and Senate, Gov. Parnellsigned the resolution into law in June.

Ucore hopes broad support, positiveeconomics and relatively simple develop-ment plan will result in a short runway toproduction at Bokan Mountain.

If the company’s schedule holds, Ucorehas a target of 2016 to begin providing theUnited States with heavy rare earths fromthe Southeast Alaska deposit. �

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The sharp contrast between rare earth-enriched veins and waste rock at the Dotson Ridgedeposit is allowing for the use of an x-ray sorter to identify and remove REE-barren rockbefore it enters the mill. This technology is expected to provide economic and environmen-tal advantages to a mine at Ucore Rare Metals’ Bokan Mountain project.

Admiralty’s critical fish habitat as well ashis thoughtful and measured approach tothe mine’s expansion,” Trout UnlimitedSoutheast Alaska Project Director MarkKaelke.

Although the particulars of the select-ed alternative apply to this decision, theU.S. Forest Service said other actionalternatives outlined in the final EIScould be reconsidered through futureanalyses.

Rigid “Roadless Rule” While the U.S. Forest Service endeav-

ored to strike a balance when consideringexpansion of the Greens Creek tailingsfacility, the so-called “Roadless Rule” pro-vides the agency with little room to harmo-nize responsible resource development andenvironmental conservation on 9.3 millionacres of the Tongass that has been deemedroadless.

“This cookie-cutter rule is a bad fit forAlaska,” Begich said. “With high unem-ployment and high energy costs inSoutheast Alaska, the Forest Service needsgreater flexibility to address these issues.

Established in 2001 by the Clintonadministration, the Roadless AreaConservation Rule prohibits road-buildingand logging in more than half of theSoutheast Alaska Forest. Some see thisconservation measure aimed at preventingfurther encroachment into national forestsas establishing de facto wilderness.

In 2003, the Bush administrationexempted the Tongass from the RoadlessRule, but a ruling by U.S. District JudgeJohn W. Sedwick reversed the exemptionin 2011.

The re-instatement of the Clinton-eraconservation measure almost immediatelyadded extra red tape for mining companieswanting to conduct exploration programsin the Tongass.

In 2011, four companies had to get per-mission from U.S. Forest Service’sWashington D.C. office to conduct explo-ration programs on their respective proper-ties.

The first two such approvals, UcoreRare Metals Inc.’s Bokan Mountain rareearth element project on Prince of WalesIsland and a locally owned polymetallicprospect on Woewodski Island, came fromUSDA Undersecretary for NaturalResources and the Environment HarrisSherman.

Two weeks later, Forest Service ChiefTom Tidwell gave the green light for Heclaand Heatherdale Resources Ltd. to conductdrill programs at Greens Creek andNiblack, respectively.

“These two projects will help employAlaskans on important projects while pro-viding crucial environmental safeguards,”Sherman explained. “Both the Niblack andGreen Creek projects will have minimalfootprints – less than an acre apiece – withthe potential for substantial boosts to localeconomies.”

Sen. Begich applauded the decision buttook the opportunity to highlight the needto cut red tape in the Tongass.

“Unfortunately, the fact that permits forthese projects continue to require specialreview in Washington D.C. underscores theneed to re-instate the Tongass exemption tothe roadless rule,” the democratic senatorsaid at the time. “Undersecretary Shermanand Chief Tidwell have been receptive toour outreach on behalf of these projects inSoutheast Alaska, and I am grateful.However, I think we would all be betterserved with a little less bureaucracy.”

In 2011, Sen. Begich and Rep. DonYoung introduced legislation aimed at

exempting the Tongass from the RoadlessRule and re-introduced the companion billsin 2013.

"As we have seen time and time again,the one-size-fits-all approach rarely everapplies to Alaska,” Rep. Young explained.“The economic well-being and way of lifefor many Alaskans relies on responsibleresource development and this legislationwill ensure that this rule doesn't harmAlaska more than it already has.”

“With high unemployment and highenergy costs in Southeast Alaska, theForest Service needs greater flexibility toaddress these issues. Repealing the rulewill help keep the few existing mills aliveand allow for the development of hydroprojects throughout the region as well astwo promising mining projects on Prince ofWales Island,” Begich said.

Instead of the all or nothing manage-

ment style provided by the roadless rule,the Alaska Delegation would rather seestewardship of the national forest be guid-ed by the the Tongass Land ManagementPlan, an adaptive management strategyimplemented by Alaska-based U.S. ForestService personnel.

Some flexibility U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska,

hosted Tidwell on an August visit to theTongass, providing the forest service chiefan opportunity to see first-hand the eco-nomic restraints the roadless rule places onthe Tongass and the people who live there.

“With a five-year review of the TongassNational Forest Land and ResourceManagement Plan under way, it’s timelyand important for the chief to see things forhimself on the ground,” Sen. Murkowskiexplains on her website.

“Conservation is an important part ofmanagement, but it cannot be the only con-sideration. If our communities are going tosurvive and grow, the Tongass must sup-port a full range of uses, including timberharvest, fishing, mining, and renewableenergy development, as well as recreation

and tourism,” she added. During the tour of the Tongass,

Murkowski took Tidwell on a fly-over ofthe southern end of Prince of Wales Island,where the Bokan rare earth and Niblackpolymetallic mine project are located.

In January Sen. Murkowski introducedS.181, a bill that calls for building a roadthrough otherwise roadless areas of theTongass – linking these prospect mines tothe roughly 2,500 miles of roads that con-nect most of the communities on Prince ofWales Island.

U.S. Rep. Don Young introduced a com-panion bill, HR 587, in the House.

Both pieces of legislation, though, havestalled in committee and hold a slim chanceof getting any further.

During his visit to the Tongass, Tidwelltold reporters that the government has anobligation to provide reasonable accesswhen there is a mining right involved. TheU.S. Forest Service chief suggested theremay be some flexibility under the roadlessrule that would allow for moving aheadwith projects important to the economicvitality of the Tongass and therebySoutheast Alaska. �

19NORTH OF 60 MININGPETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

continued from page 8

GREENS CREEKEstablished in 2001 by the Clintonadministration, the Roadless AreaConservation Rule prohibits road-building and logging in more than

half of the Southeast Alaska Forest.

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PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

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