3 Miners, politicians talk Pebble Alaska delegation voices concerns over EPA’s handling of copper project 10 Yukon First Nations, miners engage New pacts add to roster of existing agreements on resource development 13 A new Ethos emerging in Yukon With C$9M in the bank, junior has plethora of options going into 2013

Prophecy Platinum Corp.’s Wellgreen PGE-nickel-copper project in southwestern Yukon could represent 15-20 percent of total platinum production in North America when it goes into production, according to Prophecy’s management. Platinum, a precious metal 10 times more rare than gold and 100 times more rare than silver, is used primarily in catalytic converters, a growing and vital A special supplement to Petroleum News market in an increasingly environment-conscious world. Page 18. WEEK OF

PROPHECY PLATINUM CORP. November 18, 2012 2 NORTH OF 60 MINING PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18, 2012 PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18, 2012 NORTH OF 60 MINING 3

● ALASKA Pebble, politics pervade AMA gathering Alaska’s entire D.C. delegation made appearances at annual mining convention; share views on provocative copper project

SHANE LASLEY sions based on a not co-exist with Bristol Bay’s fish,” Tim Mining News kind of check-the- Bristol, program director, Trout box exercise from Unlimited, said. “We call on President ebble and politics are two matters an agency that may Obama to implement necessary protec- Pthat loomed large in the minds of the have already made tions for this sportsman’s paradise.” mining community that gathered in up its mind.” Though the peer review panel did not Anchorage for the 2012 Alaska Miners make any judgments on the risks a mine Association Convention in early Assessment in the Bristol Bay watershed may pose on November. The weight of these provoca- scrutinized the fish there, it did find EPA’s assess- tive and inexorably related matters was REP. DON YOUNG SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI SEN. MARK BEGICH Whether by ment lacking on several fronts. reflected in conversations and presenta- “The peer review panel’s recommen- lain by a permanently frozen layer that chance or design, tions at the annual gathering. dations make it clear that the EPA has a prohibits water drainage. three days following the 2012 U.S. elec- With the trade show and technical ses- lot of work left to do if the goal is to issue Although the Corps has been relegated tions and on the final day of the AMA sion portion of the AMA convention typ- a scientifically-sound document,” the authority over the discharge permits convention, EPA released the final peer ically starting on the day after the U.S. Murkowski commented on the report. on these wetlands, the EPA was granted review report for its draft Bristol Bay elections, the juxtaposition of politics and Based on the input provided by the the power to prohibit, restrict, or deny Watershed Assessment; checking off mining is customary at the annual gather- panel, EPA said it is CWA Section 404 permits that poses an another box as it ing. taking the following unacceptable adverse impact to fisheries advance the study A visit by U.S. Rep. Don Young, R- “We made it very clear to the steps to bolster its or other water uses. toward finalization. Alaska, who won his 21st term Nov. 6 as administrator of the EPA, assessment: A group opposed to the development A 12-person panel Alaska’s sole representative in the U.S. Lisa Jackson, that there is no Clarifying the over- of Pebble petitioned the EPA to use this was charged with scru- House, also has become tradition. room, no option, no all purpose and objec- veto power to pre-emptively deny the tinizing the EPA draft “The day after the election you have tive of the assessment; Pebble Partnership discharge permits that watershed assessment, opportunity for any pre- your convention and you have me speak. Clarifying the devel- would be needed to build a mine at the a report that confirms emptive strike.” – U.S. Sen. I am just waiting for the day I lose,” opment and use of a world-class copper-gold-molybdenum Bristol Bay is a world- Mark Begich, D-Alaska quipped the longstanding congressman. realistic mining sce- deposit. Responding to the request, the class salmon region Once the laughter faded, Young vault- nario; environmental agency initiated the and describes potential ed into more sobering topics, including Expanding the use of the conceptual Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment to see risks that large-scale mining may pose to big government, over-reach by federal models to better illustrate how mining if this unprecedented stretch of its author- the fishery. agencies and the controversial Pebble activities could potentially affect Bristol ity is justified. While the peer review report did not copper-gold-molybdenum project in Bay’s fishery resources; and, “The EPA was asked to shut us down produce any new information, Pebble Southwest Alaska. Enhancing the review of modern min- before we go into permitting, something opposition was quick to seize the oppor- “Whether you are for or against the ing practices to consider additional strate- that has not been tunity to advance its position. Pebble Mine, I gies for mitigation of potential adverse done to a project in “The peer review report underscores don’t really care. “If they impose a restriction on the the history of our what we’ve known all along: mining on What I am con- country,” Pebble the scope and scale of Pebble simply can- see PEBBLE page 4 cerned about is that ability to develop that mine, on the Partnership CEO Pebble is on state state of Alaska and the company John Shively told land. Our pioneers itself, we have lost the state of his counterparts Contact North of 60 Mining News: picked that land for Alaska.” – U.S. Rep. Don Young, during the miners the state – part of Publisher: Shane Lasley • e-mail: [email protected] R-Alaska convention. the 103 million Though EPA Phone: 907.229.6289 • Fax: 907.522.9583 acres of land – and vigorously denies it has predetermined we put it up for discovery, and it was whether to exercise its veto authority, the found,” Young proclaimed. draft assessment published by the agency North of 60 Mining News is a monthly supplement of the weekly Using fiery rhetoric, the congressman in surmises that development of Pebble newspaper, Petroleum News. It will be published in the fourth or said that if the federal government bans fifth week of every month. may pose a threat to a world-class salmon the Pebble Partnership from pursuing per- fishery found there. mits to develop the enormous copper- ADDRESS “They developed a mine that could not Shane Lasley PUBLISHER & NEWS EDITOR gold-molybdenum deposit, Alaska P.O. Box 231647 be permitted and then went on to show would, in effect, be demoted to territorial Rose Ragsdale EDITOR-IN-CHIEF (contractor) Anchorage, AK 99523-1647 people that since it could not be permitted status. it would kill fish,” Shively summarized. Mary Mack CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER NEWS “If they impose a restriction on the Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and 907.229.6289 ability to develop that mine, on the state Susan Crane ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Mark Begich, D-Alaska told the mining [email protected] of Alaska and the company itself, we community gathered at the AMA conven- Heather Yates BOOKKEEPER have lost the state of Alaska,” he told the CIRCULATION tion that they would stand up against any Bonnie Yonker AK / INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING miners Nov. 7. 907.522.9469 effort by the EPA to deny the Pebble Clint Lasley GM & CIRCULATION DIRECTOR [email protected] No option for pre-emptive strike Partnership its right to have its copper- gold-molybdenum project vetted by the Marti Reeve SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS DIRECTOR ADVERTISING Young’s anxiety, which mirror’s the permitting process. Susan Crane • 907.770.5592 Steven Merritt PRODUCTION DIRECTOR concern of Alaska’s resource develop- “A pre-emptive veto makes no more [email protected] ment community, is centered on the sense than a pre-emptive approval,” is a Curt Freeman COLUMNIST Bonnie Yonker • 425.483.9705 potential outcome of a study the U.S. message Murkowski reiterated during her J.P. Tangen COLUMNIST [email protected] Environmental Agency carried out on the speech at the Nov. 8 luncheon at the Bristol Bay Watershed, a 15-million-acre AMA convention. Allen Baker CONTRIBUTING WRITER FAX FOR ALL DEPARTMENTS region of Southwest Alaska where the This sentiment was echoed by her Judy Patrick Photography CONTRACT PHOTOGRAPHER 907.522.9583 massive Pebble copper-gold-molybde- Democratic counterpart in the Senate. num deposit is located. Forrest Crane CONTRACT PHOTOGRAPHER “We made it very clear to the adminis- Several of the individuals This Bristol Bay Watershed trator of the EPA, Lisa Jackson, that there Tom Kearney ADVERTISING DESIGN MANAGER listed above are Assessment, which could result in a ban is no room, no option, no opportunity for independent contractors of the development of Pebble project any pre-emptive strike,” Sen. Begich told Julie Bembry CIRCULATION SALES EXECUTIVE before developers have an opportunity to the mining community Nov. 9. Mapmakers Alaska CARTOGRAPHY apply for permits, is currently being final- Murkowski went on to say the Pebble ized by EPA. Partnership has a right to due process. Under Section 404 of the Clean Water “The fact is: A mine that causes NORTH OF 60 MINING NEWS is a monthly supplement of Petroleum News, Act, the Army Corps of Engineers is irreparable harm to fisheries is not going a weekly newspaper. To subscribe to Petroleum News and receive the monthly charged with issuing permits for dis- to receive permits, it’s not going to hap- mining supplement, call (907) 522-9469 or sign-up online at charge into wetlands. Some 130 million pen, but mining projects that haven’t acres of Alaska, about the combined area www.PetroleumNews.com. The price in the U.S. is $78 per year, which includes applied for permits shouldn’t be deprived online access to past stories and early access to Petroleum News every week. of California and Kentucky, are consid- of the right to do so,” said Alaska’s senior (Canada/Mexico subscriptions are $165.95; overseas subscriptions are $200) ered wetlands. Much of this vast expanse, senator. “There is a process out there, and including the location of Pebble, is tree- there is a reason for that process. We can’t Or, just purchase the online edition of Petroleum News, which also includes the less areas of moist and wet tundra under- have the outcome of development deci- mining supplement and online access to past stories, for $49 per year. 4 NORTH OF 60 MINING PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18, 2012

continued from page 3 Assessment was flawed from conception environmental issues makes it impossible process, ladies and gentlemen, I’m afraid and cannot be fixed. Other resource to forecasting what impacts a hypotheti- it may just be the first of many times that PEBBLE development advocates reason that the cal mine will have until a mine-design is we may see that abuse of process; so we unprecedented assessment prior to project proposed. simply can’t allow it to happen,” the sen- impacts of mining. proposal sets a dangerous precedent and “A pre-design assessment will always ator said. Once EPA addresses the issues raised adds another layer to an already burden- use incorrect mine design features Once the Pebble Partnership submits by the peer reviewers, the agency said it some permitting process in the United (because the design permit applications will convene a group of qualified experts States. has not been done); under the National to review the revised draft assessment Bob Loefler, a visiting professor at the it will always lack “If EPA should decide to deny the Environmental before releasing a final version. University of Alaska Anchorage Institute important environ- Pebble Partnership the benefit of Policy Act, state and EPA had previously said it planned to of Social and Economic Research, articu- mental features of due process, ladies and gentlemen, federal regulatory publish the finalized assessment around lated the miners association’s argument the site (because I’m afraid it may just be the first of agencies would the end of 2012. The regulatory agency during a Nov. 8 presentation at the 2012 most or all of the have at least three- has not indicated whether the additional AMA convention. facility sites have many times that we may see that and-a-half years to layer of scrutiny will affect this date. Loefler, who is also a partner in the not been identi- abuse of process; so we simply review the applica- Jade North environmental consultancy fied); and it will can’t allow it to happen.” – U.S. tions and exercise Cannot be fixed firm, said the uniqueness of mine designs, omit prevention Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska proper authorities – The Alaska Miners Association con- mining conditions and the creative solu- and mitigation providing the EPA tends that the Bristol Bay Watershed tions companies come up with to address measures (because plenty of time to they have not been identified by the com- complete a thorough study before devel- pany or the government). For these rea- opment began. sons, the pre-design ecological risk Given this rigorous environmental per- assessment is an unsupportable methodol- mitting process, Moriarty said it makes no ogy that cannot produce reliable conclu- sense to carry out additional reviews sions,” Loefler wrote. before permitting even begins. Alaska Oil and Gas Association According to a 2012 study by the Executive Director Kara Moriarty told the Beher Dolbear Group, three-and-a-half miners at the convention that her organi- years would actually be a fast-track for a zation is concerned that if the EPA is left mine like Pebble to get permitted in the unchecked it will only be a matter of time United States. Out of 26 countries evalu- before these pre-permitting studies spill ated by the international mining advisory into other resource sectors, such as oil and group, the United States, at seven to 10 gas. years, is tied for last place with Papua Murkowski agrees. New Guinea when it comes to the length “If EPA should decide to deny the of time it takes to get a proposed mining Pebble Partnership the benefit of due project through the permitting process. Dan McGroarty, president of the American Resources Policy Network, told the mining community gathered at the 2012 AMA Convention that the EPA assessment adds to this already arduous seven-to-10-year permitting process. www.connorsdrilling.com ARPN is a Washington D.C.-based Our Services Our Core Values Sustainability organization that advocates for less for- eign dependency on minerals that can be t Surface Coring t Safety Excellence Meeting the needs of the produced in the United States. Heliportable t Productivity present without “It is hard enough to fight to get Skid, Crawler, Truck t Innovation compromising through the permitting process,” he said. t Value the needs of the future t Underground “Can you imagine that we enter a period t Professionalism Coring of time that you have to fight to get into Reverse Circulation the permitting process?” ● Blasthole, Infastructure PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18, 2012 5 NORTH OF 60 MINING

● ALASKA Gold lights the way forward at Fort Knox To meet Kinross’ initiative to generate free cash flow, Alaska mine targets record annual gold production, lower energy costs

BY SHANE LASLEY from.” Mining News He said the same ideology applies to assuring workers are trained for the job at inross Gold Corp.’s Fort Knox hand. KMine is on pace to retake the position “If you want a quality work force you of the top gold producer in Alaska. The are going to have to invest in training,” he open-pit operation situated about 26 miles said. (42 kilometers) north of Fairbanks reigned This will be an important element as as the state’s most prolific gold operation Fort Knox expands its work force from 550 for a decade before relinquishing the title to workers this year to 624 in 2013. the Pogo Mine in 2008. In addition to having 550 ambassadors During the third quarter of this year, circulating in the community, Fort Knox however, Fort Knox churned out 106,698 provided tours to 488 3rd and 4th grade ounces of gold, a 48 percent surge from students and some 300 locals and visitors 71,952 ounces produced in the second in 2012. quarter and a 40 percent increase from 76,261 ounces produced during the third High performance quarter of 2011 – a presage to a record-set- Though Snodgress outlined a number of ting year coming in 2013. initiatives being implemented at Fort Knox David Quandt, technical services man- that meet Kinross’ high performance cul- ager at Fort Knox, told attendees at the ture core value, the acceleration of heap 2012 Alaska Miners Association annual leach production is the one aspect that is convention in early November that the most directly contributing to the record-set- operation is on track to produce about ting gold production at Fort Knox. 360,000 ounces of gold in 2012 and Going into 2012 Fort Knox had 4.3 mil- 425,000 ounces in 2013. The latter projec- lion ounces of gold reserves, slightly more tion would top the previous record of than when the mine went into operation in 411,220 ounces of gold mined at Fort Knox 1997. While this gold is locked up in near- in 2001. ly twice the ore at about half the grade, the As the Interior mine settles into a company now has the Walter Creek Heap record-setting gold production pace, Leach, a facility that can economically Kinross has launched a company-wide process low-grade material, while the high- capital and project optimization initiative er grades reserves can continue to be fed aimed at growing its global gold mining through the mill. business and generating free cash flow. “This was a game-changer for Fort “As we go through our budgeting Knox,” Snodgress told the crowd at the process for 2013, and looking beyond, we 2012 AMA Convention. are seeking every available opportunity to While heap leaching – a process in control costs, with a focus on margins and which a weak cyanide solution dissolves free cash flow across our operations,” ing company can increase efficiencies in its values: gold from low-grade ore – is not itself Kinross CEO Paul Rollinson said in com- operations in other parts of the world. putting people first; innovative, the ability to operate such a menting on the company’s third-quarter “Fort Knox is by far the lowest cash- outstanding corporate citizenship; facility without freezing during the brutal performance. “To that end, we have cost (open-pit) producer within the Kinross high performance culture; and cold of Interior Alaska winters is a chal- launched a systematic, long-term program portfolio,” touted Snodgress. rigorous financial discipline. lenge. which we call internally, ‘The Kinross Way Rollinson, which was promoted from “Kinross has established four core val- During 2010, the first full year of pro- Forward,’ with the objective of delivering Kinross CFO to CEO at the beginning of ues; every planning and business decision duction, roughly 83,000 ounces of gold greater value at both our mines and proj- August, took a tour of the company’s glob- that is made, whether you are in Africa or was recovered from about 14 million tons ects. Our focus will be on quality, and not al operations. Alaska, need to be in alignment with these of lower grade ore was stacked on the heap just quantity, in our mine planning, produc- “As I moved from West Africa to South values,” explained the Fort Knox general leach pad. With the surety the system tion, exploration and resource strategy, and America to North America, I witnessed a manager. works well at its Interior Alaska operation, on margins and free cash flow in all of our gradual but clear step-up in our operational Upfront investment and planning is a Kinross has stepped up the heap leaching business decisions.” efficiency,” Rollinson observed. single theme that resonates across all four operation. In 2012, about 33 million tons of Fort Knox General Manager Dan He hopes to apply the efficient mining sectors of Fort Knox’s adherence to these ore is being stacked on the heap leach pad, Snodgress told the mining community methods being exercised in places like Fort values. contributing a projected 125,000 ounces to gathered at the 2012 AMA convention that Knox to its more challenged operations. People and community the 2012 gold production at Fort Knox. his team’s priorities are in line with “We know we can improve in West To accommodate the additional ore, a Kinross’ global initiative. Africa and South America and we are Snodgress said the safety and well- larger pumping system and recovery “Our priority is generating free cash increasing our focus on operating perform- being of the Fort Knox employees is his capacity is needed. flow,” he told the crowd. “It is not neces- ance in those regions. That said, both No. 1 priority and a key component of the “Instead of circulating and processing sarily that we are going to mine 360,000 regions have growth opportunities in the Interior Alaska’s contribution to Kinross’ 8,000 (gallons per million), we are now ounces, which is what will happen in 2012, medium term, and we will continue to corporate citizenship. pumping 16,000. We are increasing our or 425,000 ounces, like we believe we will work with our teams to bring lessons Being proactive in investing the time pregnant solution grade, and we are build- be doing next year – it is quality versus learned in North America and Russia into and money needed to foster a culture of ing a second CIC (carbon-in-column) plant quantity and that theme is permeating those regions,” said the Kinross chief exec- safety is a primary objective at Fort Knox. that will be able to take care of all 16,000 through our organization now.” utive. “Safety and the incentives and bonuses gpm,” Snodgress explained. This is not the first time Kinross was paid are not cheap. I would rather spend the The new CIC plant is scheduled to be The Kinross Way Forward inspired by success at Fort Knox. money upfront with the employees on completed in July 2013. “We have successfully executed this “The Kinross Way Forward” has seven those types of things versus the backend,” knowledge transfer between our regions key elements: said the Fort Knox general manager. Expensive power before. For example: our experience at Fort • mine plan optimization; Snodgress said the upfront investment Rigorous financial discipline is the one Knox in Alaska combined with our long • continuous improvement; in safety has a direct effect on the bottom area in which Fort Knox is most chal- history in northern Russia was invaluable • cost management and labor productiv- line and to make this point he cited the lenged. Not because management lacks fis- as we launched Kupol, where today our ity; steep drop in workers compensation cases cal restraint, but due to the fact that Interior team is operating at the top of their game,” • capital efficiency; from some 65 in 2003 to just two so far in Alaska is an expensive place to operate a Rollinson noted. • supply chain management; 2012; resulting in less workers compensa- mine. The theme at the 2012 AMA convention • energy management; and, tion expenses. “For us, a huge issue is power,” was the “Business of Mining,” providing • working capital management. The investments in the work force res- Snodgress explained. Snodgress an opportunity to outline why Though Fort Knox is not without its onate beyond the workplace. The light bill at Fort Knox in 2012 is Fort Knox is Kinross’ lowest cash-cost pro- challenges, especially in the realm of ener- “Our actions define whether or not we roughly US$110,000 per day, or about ducer despite being located in a region that gy management, in terms of meeting the are seen as a responsible company,” US$40 million for the year. is notorious for high costs. objectives of this project optimization ini- Snodgress said. “We realize we operate Snodgress has been charged with find- The Fort Knox manager framed his dis- tiative, the Alaska gold mine provides a under a microscope, and we accept that; it ing ways to bring down the power costs at cussion on the business of mining at Fort blueprint for how the Toronto-based min- is not something we shy away from, it is Knox within the context of Kinross’ core not something our employees shy away see GOLD page 6 6 PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18, 2012 NORTH OF 60 MINING SHANE LASLEY

During 2010, when this photo was taken, roughly 83,000 ounces of gold was recovered from about 14 million tons of lower grade ore stacked on the Walter Creek Heap Leach Pad (fore- ground) at Fort Knox. In 2012, about 33 million tons of ore is being stacked on the pad, contributing a projected 125,000 ounces to the year’s gold production at the Interior Alaska mine. continued from page 5 The Fort Knox Way Forward Knox. A grade cut-off for material that could be sent to the mill is 0.77 g/t gold. Teryl said total gold resources at Gil GOLD Considering that Fort Knox ranks as the lowest cash- for a run-of-mill scenario are 309,304 ounces of gold con- cost gold producer amongst the open-pit operations in tained in 8.51 million short tons of ore. Fort Knox. While the general manager has worked to bring Kinross’ portfolio and management is looking at longer Another potential source of ore near the Fort Knox mine down electrical consumption at the operation, he said the term solutions to energy costs, it is hard to imagine the sun is Freegold Ventures Ltd.’s Golden Summit property, situ- real savings can be found in lowering the per-unit cost of setting on the Interior Alaska operation. ated about five miles (eight kilometers) north of the electricity. According to Kinross’ most recent projections, there is Kinross operation. “When I am paying 78 percent more for the same unit enough ore in the immediate Fort Knox mine area to feed According to a resource released by Freegold on Nov. 1, cost of power than my sister mine in Washington and 68 the mill until 2018 and to continue the heap leach operation at a 0.35 g/t gold cut-off grade, the Dolphin zone at Golden percent more than they are in Nevada, I struggle with that,” through 2021. Summit has an indicated resource of 62.62 million metric the Fort Knox manager protested. “If this mine was locat- The Gil gold property, located about five miles (eight tons averaging 0.73 g/t gold for 1.46 million ounces and an ed near Anchorage, near Southcentral, versus the Interior kilometers) east of Fort Knox, is a potential source of ore inferred resource of 191.92 million metric tons averaging of Alaska, the cost differential of power is substantial.” to extend the life of the mine. Kinross, which held a long- 0.67 g/t gold for 4.1 million ounces. He said one of the potential ways to lower the price is standing partnership with junior explorer Teryl Resources Though Kinross has not publically expressed an interest to make better use of the intertie between the Southcentral Corp. at Gil, bought full ownership of the property in 2011. in Golden Summit, the nearly 6 million ounces outlined so and Interior Alaska power grids. Trucking liquefied natural While Kinross has not announced what work it has done far at the neighboring project could point the way forward gas down from the North Slope to fuel Interior Alaska on the property since the purchase, Teryl reported an NI for Fort Knox. power plants is another possible scenario. 43-101-compliant pre-feasibility resource estimate for Gil “Our way forward is focused on quality versus quantity Snodgress said lowering power costs in the Fairbanks shortly before selling its stake in the property. and let me stress that this focus on quality also applies to region is not only important to the bottom line at Fort Knox According to this estimate, Gil has a heap leach our exploration and resource-base strategy,” Rollison com- but is crucial to developing other projects in the area. resource of 514,916 ounces of gold contained in 19.86 mil- mented during Kinross’ third-quarter report. “Mining in the Interior is expensive and if we are going lion tons of mineralized rock. A cut-off grade for a hypo- Time will tell if Golden Summit or other Interior Alaska to develop new mines, we are going to have to figure out thetical heap leaching scenario for the Gil ore is expected gold deposits meets this criterion. ● how we reduce the power rate,” he told the mining com- to be 0.51 grams per metric ton gold, which corresponds to munity. the heap leach cut-off grade currently being used at Fort PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18, 2012 7 NORTH OF 60 MINING

● GUEST COLUMN Alaska seeks data-gathering efficiencies Mining industry input welcome in preparing state’s annual minerals industry report and improving its accuracy and timeliness

BY CURT FREEMEN mesh). Furthermore, the majority of the grading 0.76 grams per metric ton gold For Mining News The large flake graphite is greater than 40 mesh during the third quarter. Recovery from the author (64.8 percent, 65.8 percent and 73.3 per- mill for the quarter was 84 percent versus recent letter distributed to the miner- cent, respectively) and is considered jumbo 77 percent in the year-previous period. The Aals industry by the Alaska The author flake, some of the highest unit value carbon mine’s strong performance was due to an Department of Natural Resources’ Division Curt Freeman, on the market. The company intends to cal- increase in metric tons of ore mined and of Geological and Geophysical Surveys CPG #6901, is a culate the project’s first industry-compliant processed, as well as higher mill grades, and the Department of Commerce, well-known geol- resource estimate shortly. mill recoveries and accelerated heap leach Community and Economic Development’s ogist who lives in NovaGold Resources Inc. announce production. Division of Economic Development is Fairbanks. He pre- that it has completed the transfer of sub- Freegold Ventures Ltd. reported a dra- seeking faster and more efficient ways to pared this column CURT FREEMAN sidiary Alaska Gold Company LLC, whose matic resource increase at its Golden gather, collate and publish Alaska’s Annual Nov. 12. Freeman can be reached by primary asset is the Rock Creek gold proj- Summit project. Using a 0.30 g/t gold cut- mail at P.O. Box 80268, Fairbanks, AK Minerals Industry Report. The agencies are ect, to Bering Straits Native Corp. for off, indicated resources came in at 99708. His work phone number at looking for feedback regarding what items US$6.265 million. The company also 73,580,000 metric tons grading 0.67 g/t Avalon Development is (907) 457-5159 the industry thinks is important to retain in announced that the State of Alaska accept- gold (1,576,000 ounces) while inferred and his fax is (907) 455-8069. His email the report, what items are not in the report ed completion of the initial phase of the resources came in at 223,300,000 metric is [email protected] and his website is that should be included and how the agen- www.avalonalaska.com. Rock Creek closure plan and released tons grading 0.62 g/t gold (4,437,000 cies might streamline the process of data US$6.8 million of the US$20.3 million ounces). These results came from 177 drill gathering from industry participants to financial assurance bond associated with holes (35,829 meters) which have now third quarter, compared to the same period ensure that the data published is more time- Rock Creek. The balance of the financial joined the Dolphin and Cleary Hill mine a year ago due to lower ore grades and ly, more accurate and more economical to assurance has been transferred to Bering areas into a single resource block. The milling rates which were lowered to reduce prepare and publish. While some news Straits Native Corp. which has assumed deposit remains open to expansion and the silica in the zinc concentrate. A band of from the Alaskan mineral industry is avail- full responsibility and liability for the company intends to continue resource and extremely fine grained, high silica content able via the Internet and company web- remainder of the reclamation activities exploration drilling with two drill rigs start- ore was encountered, requiring a reduction sites, much is not. Gathering these data is requested by regulatory authorities at Rock ing in January, 2013. in mill throughput to achieve acceptable always a slow and expensive process. Creek. International Tower Hill Gold Mines concentrate quality. Milling rates are However, five years from now, the Annual Full Metal Minerals Ltd. (49 percent) announced an update of activities at it expected to return to normal in the fourth Minerals Industry Report for 2012 will still and partner Antofagasta Minerals Ltd. Livengood gold project. The company quarter. The 2012 shipping season was represent a valuable, readily available ref- (51 percent) released final drill results from completed its critical path 2012 geotechni- completed on Oct. 9 with zinc concentrate erence. That cannot be said of many of the its Pyramid porphyry copper project on the cal drilling program, totaling 199 holes, shipments totaling 950,000 metric tons and current digital sources containing news of Alaska Peninsula. During the 2012 season, 15,731 meters utilizing core, sonic, and lead concentrate, totaling 175,000 metric the Alaska mineral industry. If you have 13 core holes were completed, totaling auger drilling methods, within budget. The tons. During the third quarter, the mine ideas or opinions on this matter, please 3,241 meters. Hole PY12-023 is the west- drilling program evaluated facility sites to paid out US$52 million in royalties to its contact Bob Swenson, Director of the ernmost drill hole completed to-date on the obtain the technical information required partner, NANA Regional Corp., which 25 Division of Geological and Geophysical property and intersected primarily super- for use in sub-arctic engineering design. percent interest in the project was sched- Surveys or Wanetta Ayers, Director of the gene copper mineralization from 10 meters The pump testing of the large diameter uled to increase to 30 percent in the fourth Division of Economic Development. depth to the end of the hole at 283 meters. water wells required for hydrogeological quarter of 2012. This hole returned 273.0 meters averaging modeling was also completed. Western Alaska Graphite One Resources Inc. reported 0.267 percent copper, including 124 meters Metallurgical test work and engineering drill results from the past three holes of its Teck Resource Ltd.’s announced third- of 0.371 percent copper. Additional ground studies are on-going to advance the feasi- 18-hole, 4,248-meter 2012 drill program at quarter 2012 results from its Red Dog mine magnetic and geological mapping surveys bility study, which is on schedule for its Graphite Creek graphite prospect on the which turned in operating profits of were completed on the property during release in the first half of 2013. Included in Seward Peninsula. Results include hole US$111 million versus an operating profit 2012. Multiple hydrothermal centers have this effort is optimization of project eco- 12GC010, which intersected 216.67 meters of US$213 million in the same period in been identified at Pyramid, within an oval- nomics, including considering a future of 3.13 percent graphitic carbon including 2011. For the quarter, the mine generated shaped 2,300-meter by 1,400-meter strategic alliance to enhance future devel- 83.55 meters of 6.03 percent graphitic car- 128,900 metric tons of zinc and 22,400 mapped extent of phyllic and potassic alter- opment and construction economics. bon and 21.55 meters of 11.0 percent tons of lead in concentrate versus 151,100 ation zones. Alaska newcomer Bluestone graphitic carbon. The company also report- and 19,400 metric tons of zinc and lead, Resources Inc. announced that they had ed that surface samples analyzed for respectively, in the third quarter of 2011. Interior Alaska acquired 100 percent of Tri-Valley Corp.’s graphite flake sizes included high grade The mine sold 141,200 tons of zinc and interest in the Richardson gold project and rock grab samples averaging 56.9 percent Kinross Gold Corp. announced third- 46,400 tons of lead during the third quarter. Shorty Creek copper-gold project, both in graphitic carbon, mixed grade rock grab quarter 2012 production results from its Average zinc and lead grades mined were Interior Alaska. The projects were acquired samples averaging 14.5 percent graphitic Fort Knox mine near Fairbanks. For the 18.1 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively, for $200,000 from Tri-Valley through a carbon and rock grab samples with dissem- quarter, the mine produced 106,698 ounces versus 19.3 percent and 4.8 percent in the Bankruptcy Court approved sale of assets. inated graphite averaging 8.2 percent of gold versus 76,261 ounces produced in third quarter of 2011. Mill throughput of Limited drilling conducted at Shorty Creek graphitic carbon. From these three sam- the 3rd quarter of 2011. Cash costs were 880,000 metric tons in the third quarter was US$648 per ounce versus US$712 per in 1989-1990 returned 70 meters grading well below the 959,000 metric tons milled ples, 84.3 percent; 93.6 percent and 76.5 percent of graphite recovered was classi- ounce in the previous third quarter. The in the third quarter 2011. The mine’s zinc mine processed 16,111,000 tons of ore see FREEMAN page 8 production declined by 15 percent in the fied as large flake graphite (greater than 80 8 NORTH OF 60 MINING PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18, 2012 continued from page 7 more hydroelectric power. Underground exploration drilling continues to extend FREEMAN ore-grade mineralization along trend of the Southwest Bench, 200 South, 1.2 g/t gold including 7.6 meters of 4.6 g/t Gallagher, 5250 and 9a zones. Significant gold in hole RH8909, 16.8 meters grading results include 70 feet of 0.3 oz/t gold, 1.0 g/t gold in hole RH9019, 7.6 meters 13.8 oz/t silver and 21 percent combined grading 1.7 g/t gold in hole RH9017 and zinc and lead at the 200 South; and 73 feet 18.3 meters grading 0.8 g/t gold in hole of 0.17 oz/t gold, 17.58 oz/t silver and RH9016. Several areas of the Richardson 23.7 percent combined zinc and lead at the project have been targeted for drilling Southwest Bench. In 2013, modeling of based on geological mapping, soil sam- these intersections could result in signifi- pling and ground geophysical surveys con- cant additions to the resource. Surface ducted in 2011. Welcome to Alaska drilling has successfully identified miner- Bluestone Resources! alization at Killer Creek 1.5 miles west- Alaska Range northwest of the mine that contains cop- per-rich veins and bands and one mile Corvus Gold Inc. announced that fol- west of the mine at West Gallagher that low up mapping and sampling at the contains pyritic intervals that have carried Chisna project during the summer of 2012 anomalous base and precious metal grades identified a new porphyry copper system at in the past. Killer Creek and West the West Green target. Ridge and spur soil Gallagher will be priority targets for the sampling conducted in 2011 revealed sig- 2013 summer drilling program. withdrawn from the joint venture and giv- RC12-212 and 14.3 meters grading 1.31 nificant copper, gold, molybdenum and Coeur d’Alene Mines reported third- ing Corvus 100 percent interest in the proj- percent copper in hole RC12-213. The tungsten anomalies in an area immediately quarter production results from the ect. company indicated that 16 of 19 holes north of a major regional shear zone in the Kensington mine. During the third quar- Westmountain Index Advisors Inc. drilled in the South Reef zone in 2012 Golden Range target area. Follow-up ter the mine produced 24,391 ounces of announced final results from its four-hole encountered high-grade copper mineral- exploration during 2011 revealed an area of gold at a cash operating cost of $1,298 per (3,782 feet) 2012 drilling program at the ization. The mineralization is consistent extensive copper staining, high-grade gold, ounce versus 25,687 ounces of gold at a Terra property, under option from Corvus over an area measuring 300 meters wide silver, copper and molybdenum mineraliza- cash operating cost of US$973 per ounce Gold Inc. The high grade “Ben Vein” zone by 700 meters along strike. Mineralization tion with up to 126 g/t gold, 198 grams-per- in the third quarter of 2011. Cash operat- was intercepted on a 100 meter step-out remains open to expansion. The company metric-ton of silver, 17 percent copper and ing costs are expected to decline to drill hole to the south of prior drilling, is hoping to release the South Reef zone’s 0.13 percent molybdenum at the Jolly US$950 per ounce in 2013. The mine thereby extending the known system to first industry-compliant resource estimate Green target on the north side of the promi- processed 123,428 tons of ore grading 1,500 meters. Significant results include in the first quarter of 2013. nent ridge that runs through the area. In 0.21 oz/t gold. Average mill recovery was 0.62 meters grading 21.55 g/t gold and 2012, the West Green and Jolly Green soil 95.9 percent. Exploration drilling at 10.72 g/t silver in hole WGC-12-36 and 1.3 Southeast Alaska anomalies were followed up with prospect- Kensington focused on new targets meters grading 10.48 g/t gold and 28.08 g/t ing and mapping. This work indicates that Hecla Mining Co. announced third around the main mine. Encouraging silver in hole WGC-12-37. Additionally, a the mineralization in both areas is related to quarter production results from its Greens results were obtained from Kensington hole in the “Fish Vein” zone, 2 kilometers north-northwest trending structures that ter- Creek mine with Admiralty Island. The South and Elmira. Hole KX12-003 at to the north of the Ben Vein, extended min- minate in a regional shear to the south. The cash cost per ounce of silver for the quar- Kensington South cut 10 feet of mineral- eralization there an additional 100 meters high-grade structurally controlled copper ter was US$3.52 compared to a negative ization grading 1.72 oz/t ton. This drill to the north of previous high-grade drill mineralization at Jolly Green has now been US$2.98 in the third quarter of 2011. The intercept is situated about 750 feet south intersections. Significant results include 1.5 traced for over 700 meters of strike and is average grade of ore mined during the of the current Kensington mine and over meters grading 2.23 g/t gold and 1.97 g/t related to the West Green target. The min- quarter was 10.56 ounces-per-ton silver 500 feet deeper on the south-striking silver in hole WGC-12-39. Final recovery eralization at West Green is typical por- compared to 9.64 oz/t silver in the year mine trend. results from over 20 tons of vein material phyry copper style mineralization with previous period. Average by-product Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. bulk sampled from the Ben and Fish veins sheeted veins and vein stockworks as well grades were 0.11 oz/t gold per ton, 3.4 announced the signing of a non-binding is expected shortly. as chalcopyrite veinlets and disseminations percent lead and 9.12 percent zinc. During letter agreement on the Palmer vol- in a strongly potassic altered quartz diorite the third quarter, the mine produced Northern Alaska canogenic massive sulfide project with porphyry surrounded by broad propylitic 1,619,110 ounces of silver, 14,024 ounces Alaska newcomer Dowa Metals and alteration zone. This newly discovered NovaCopper Inc. and NANA of gold, 5,499 tons of lead and 16,649 tons Mining Co., Ltd. of Japan. Under terms potassic altered porphyry core is associated Regional Corp., Inc. announced addi- of zinc. Mining costs per ton were up by of the agreement, Dowa will have an with weak magnetite mineralization, which tional 2012 drilling results from the South 23 percent and milling costs were 19 per- option to earn a 49 percent interest in the has now highlighted a magnetic anomaly Reef zone of their Upper Kobuk project. cent lower in the third quarter, compared project by making aggregate expenditures 500 meters west of the currently mapped Significant results include 39.7 meters at a with the same period in 2011. The higher of US$22 million over a four-year period. potassic zone, thus significantly enlarging grade of 4.74 percent copper and an addi- mining costs were primarily due to the Expenditures for each year shall not be the target. After spending US$11 million in tional 111.5 meters grading 2.80 percent increased use of contract miners, and the less than US$3 million with Dowa fund- exploration on the project, joint venture copper in hole RC12-211, 50.6 meters lower milling costs resulted from higher ing a minimum of US$3 million in year partner Ocean Park Ventures Corp. has grading 2.05 percent copper in hole mill throughput and the availability of one as a firm commitment. Included in the aggregate expenditure are cash pay- ments to Constantine totaling US$1.25 million over four years. Constantine is expected to be the operator during the earn-in period. Welcome to Alaska Dowa Metals and Mining! )TT;MI[WV[ Grande Portage Resources Ltd. announced additional 2012 results from its Herbert Glacier gold project near Juneau. Significant drilling results Fuel Systems include hole 12J-3 which returned 79.41 Portable Tent Camps g/t gold over 2.05 meters, including 192.5 g/t gold, 227 g/t silver, 1.0 percent lead Expediting Services and 0.7 percent zinc over 0.8 meters, hole Camp Catering & 12J-4 which returned 12.66 g/t gold over Services 1.10 meters, hole 315E which returned 2700 S. Cushman, Fairbanks, Alaska 99701 | (907) 452-6631 | Fax: (907) 451-8632 48.12 g/t gold over 1.13 meters and hole 351 East 92nd Ave., Anchorage, AK 99515 | 907-245-3123 12O-8 which returned 11.72 g/t gold over [email protected] | www.taigaventures.com 2.12 meters. The Goat vein, from which hole 12J-3 and six other holes were drilled, can be traced on surface for near- Baroid ly 1,000 meters. Drilling from the J Pad Johnson Screens also intersected other gold-bearing struc- Pacto Waterless tures both above and below the main Goat Toilets shear zone, such as 1.10 meters with 12.66 g/t gold near the top of hole 12J-4. Well Monitoring The 2012 drilling included 8,900 meters Supplies of core drilling in 62 holes. An updated resource calculation is expected in the first quarter of 2013. ● PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18, 2012 NORTH OF 60 MINING 9

● GUEST COLUMN I wonder what the king is doing tonight The Administration has resumed printing money, which invites inflation which is a flat tax; but it’s good for the price of gold

cash to pay for the social programs he is BY J. P. TANGEN Inflation is a rather cruel For Mining News Mining enamored with, and he can do it all with- & the out having to deal with those nasty fel- syndrome. It strikes almost lows (and fellow-ettes) from red states. everyone equally because it is or reasons that escape me at the law Fmoment, the re-election of President But how does he pull such a rabbit out of intrinsic to every commodity. Want Obama brings to mind another fairy-tale The author, the hat? Simple math – he dilutes the dol- a hamburger, it’s up a buck. Want administration that led our nation barely J.P. Tangen has lar so that it takes more of them to pay a steak it’s up two. Inflation is 50 years ago. To be sure, it was a differ- been practicing for anything, including labor. The min- regressive as well. In a very real ent era with different priorities and prej- mining law in ions who get dirt under their fingernails J.P. TANGEN sense, when the government udices, but it captured for America a Alaska since 1975. He can be reached at for a living, however, cannot survive on mystical place which few could hope to [email protected] or visit his Web site at the paltry wage they earned last year, so dilutes the currency to pay for the visit, but which everyone wanted to www.jptangen.com. His opinions do not they get a raise, and that has the axiomat- programs on its wish list, it is reach for – a rock candy world without necessarily reflect those of the publishers ic effect of driving the cost of goods and using the Office of the President to the cavities. Realists cynically shake of Mining News and Petroleum News. services up throughout the economy. impose a tax. – J.P. Tangen, their heads in wonder at the ragtag troupe In a word, the workers of the nation guest columnist that danced with glee as the election there is economic stability, but economic do not get more goodies in exchange for returns rolled in, but the true believers their blood, sweat and tears; it just takes stability is such a drag. The Obama Americans are “Taxed Enough Already.” revel on. more dollars to get those goodies. That is administration, through a program called They pledge their public service to So far this century we have watched inflation, plain and simple. If you could “Qualitative Easement Three,” resumed ensuring that there will be no increase in financial bubble follow financial bubble buy a gallon of milk for three dollars last printing money last month “to stave off a income taxes. Apparently they are will- until we have arrived at a point where the year and this year it takes $3.50 for the recession.” ing to overlook “tax-flation.” masses are truly excited to see unem- same quantity of the same quality milk, President Obama has telegraphed We Alaskans who think that increases ployment figures dipping to below 8 per- that’s inflation. It is impossible for the repeatedly over his first term that he in the price of gold and other mined com- cent of the labor force. Our leader has President of the United States not to wishes to raise taxes on those who report modities is extremely positive, should be headed a government without a know that; and if the current inflation is income in excess of $250,000. The very grateful to Mr. Obama. Through his Congressional approval for a budget for by design, then what is the end game? House of Representative has telegraphed surreptitious practices he has imposed a more than three years. Truly, it may be Inflation is a rather cruel syndrome. It back that no such thing will ever happen. tax on the American people across the said that money seems to mean nothing strikes almost everyone equally because Since the House, under the Constitution, board, and what’s more, it is a flat tax, to the incumbent. Got a debt limit? Get it it is intrinsic to every commodity. Want a is the body where appropriations are con- the most regressive form of tax one can raised. Need some cash, turn on the hamburger? It’s up a buck. Want a steak? ceived, it seems mildly confusing that the think of. It is borne equally by everyone, presses. It’s up two. Inflation is regressive as Executive Branch is able to generate so rich and poor alike. It is a dream, come In broad general terms, the national well. In a very real sense, when the gov- much revenue without someone, anyone, true. It is Camelot redux. I’ve said it money supply should grow at something ernment dilutes the currency to pay for complaining that it is probably a viola- before, and I will say it again, please join close to the same rate as the population. the programs on its wish list, it is using tion of the Separation of Powers pro- me in a toast to the President of the If you print money at a greater rate, you the Office of the President to impose a scription in the Constitution. United States. ● have inflation. If you print money at a If the truth be known, however, the tax. slower rate, you have recession. If you President has it right. By printing money There is an American constituency print money at exactly the right rate, at an extra-ordinary rate, he has excess hiding in the bushes who proclaim that

FortFirst K thingsno firstx. At Fort Knox, our priorities are simple. Our people. Our community. Our environment. We invest in our people, so they are trained to do the best job possible. We support our community with charitable donations, volunteer hours and local purchases. We adhere to the toughest standards to protect water and air quality. These are our priorities. Because at Fort Knox, it’s about putting first things first.

Fairbanks Gold Mining Inc. A Kinross company kinross.com 10 NORTH OF 60 MINING PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18, 2012

● YUKON TERRITORY Pace picks up for aboriginal engagement Territory’s 11 self-governing First Nations seek rightful place in and benefits from mineral, other resource development in 2012 BY ROSE RAGSDALE planning phase which is due to be com- For Mining News pleted in two to three years. Further, five local governments, agen- 012 brought unprecedented engage- cies and corporations reported in July that ROSE RAGSDALE 2ment of First Nations in mining they are working together to look into the industry activities in Yukon Territory. possibility of a biomass project for the While tight financial markets appeared to community of Haines Junction. The slow the pace of mining exploration, Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, efforts of mining companies, local and the Dakwakada Development territorial governments and others to Corporation, Yukon Energy, Cold Climate advance and/or initiate various coopera- Innovation of the Yukon Research Centre, tive agreements with the 11 self-govern- and the Village of Haines Junction are ing aboriginal groups with traditional ter- investigating the potential for a two to ritories in the Yukon seemed to intensify. three megawatt biomass plant in the com- Adding to a significant roster of exist- munity. ing agreements, mining companies forged If approved, proponents say the plant new pacts with a number of Yukon First would provide some much-needed renew- Nations, including the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in able electricity for the Yukon. It also has First Nation, the Kluane First Nation, the the potential to produce district heat and First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun and the create economic opportunities for local Ross River Dena Council and Liard First businesses and corporations. Nation on behalf of all Kaska communi- Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Chief Eddie Taylor joins Golden Predator Corp. Chairman William Sheriff ties, including Daylu Dena Council, Successful engagement in a celebratory signing ceremony in August for the Amended and Restated Socio Kwadacha, and Dease River First Nation. Cooperative agreements between min- Economic Accord that the First Nation entered into this summer with the mining company for its flagship Brewery Creek Gold Mine Project east of Dawson City. In addition, First Nations affected by ing companies and Yukon First Nations are legacy contamination at the abandoned nothing new. Some of the most successful that have been formalized since in cooper- face and mineral rights. Faro Mine, including the Selkirk First and comprehensive pacts have been inked ative agreements that provide numerous Since 2008, the Minto mine has paid Nation, the Ross River Dene Council, and in recent years between the territory’s socioeconomic benefits to Selkirk, includ- C$12.6 million in mining royalties, of the Liard First Nation, continued their three producing mines – Minto, Bellekeno ing employment opportunities and a front- which 100 percent has been transferred to ongoing discussions with contractors and Wolverine – and the respective First row seat in all decisions relation to envi- the Selkirk First Nation. This sum includes charged with developing a project design Nations whose traditional territories are ronmental management and closure of the C$1,680,398 paid for 2011 production. for traditional knowledge and environ- affected by the mines’ operations. mine. In 2012, a liaison officer was Alexco Resource Corp. and the Na-Cho mental monitoring, cultural awareness and At the Minto copper-gold mine in cen- appointed to facilitate education and train- Nyak Dun First Nation completed an other aspects of the Faro Mine Closure and tral Yukon, developer Minto Explorations ing of Selkirk members to fill jobs offered agreement in 2010 that builds on an explo- Remediation project. The project, which is Ltd. began by the mine. ration cooperation agreement signed in funded by the Canadian government, is working with the Selkirk First Nation at The Minto Mine, located near Pelly May 2008. The newer pact further solidi- expected to cost C$450 million to C$590 the start of its project and inked a memo- Crossing, Yukon, is one of the few mines fied the relationship between Alexco and million. The Affected First Nations are randum of understanding with the First in Canada that operates on lands where a NND as the Bellekeno silver-lead-zinc involved in various aspects of the project’s Nation and the Yukon government in 2006 First Nation government owns both sur- mine neared production and set out com- mon understandings, obligations, and opportunities arising from exploration, care and maintenance, district closure activities and mine production. The Bellekeno mine, located near Keno City and within the Keno Hill Silver District, is historically the second largest silver producer in Canada. Alexco pur- chased the assets of the previous operator, United Keno Hill Mines Ltd. in 2005. A key milestone in the revitalization of

see FIRST NATIONS page 11 PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18, 2012 NORTH OF 60 MINING 11 continued from page 10 and communities is good business practice an environmentally responsible way, and Participation Agreement will guide our and fundamental to fostering mutual provide substantial benefits to both the relationship for the operations phase of the FIRST NATIONS understanding and respect between propo- Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and the community of project.” nents and our citizens,” said First Nation of Dawson. We appreciate the open spirit in “This agreement is another significant the Keno Hill Silver District, the agree- Na-cho Nyak Dun Chief Simon Mervyn which Golden Predator is undertaking this step in our efforts to participate in the ment positioned Alexco to move forward Sr. when the guide was released in August task, and our people look forward to the economy of our traditional lands,” said in all of its current and future activities in 2011. training, employment and contractual Chief Jack Caesar, “By entering this agree- the district with certainty, and ensures that “First Nations culture is fundamentally opportunities which will be available.” ment, Selwyn Chihong has demonstrated NND is well-positioned to maximize ben- linked to the land and the natural environ- Key aspects of the agreement also the level of respect for our people and our efits that increased activity in its tradition- ment, and this guide can assist proponents include: the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in acquiring lands that we expect from all resource al territory will bring. Covering surface to acknowledge and respect these values an equity interest in Golden Predator, and companies operating on our traditional and advanced exploration and environ- when undertaking projects in the Yukon,” participating in profit-sharing from opera- lands. We look forward to working cooper- mental activities, care and maintenance, said Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Chief Eddie tions beyond the original mine plan; fund- atively with Selwyn Chihong and wish closure activities and mine production, the Taylor. ing for training and scholarships for TH them every success with their continued agreement is a comprehensive tool for In the wake of the guide’s publication, citizens; and an annual grant to a commu- project activities.” facilitating and ensuring the continuation at least four major agreements have been nity legacy project for the broader commu- Liard First Nation Chief Liard of a good working relationship into the signed or enhanced. nity of Dawson. McMillan said “the Interim Measures future. The agreement also ensures that In July, Golden Predator Corp. and the Agreement is an important first step in Alexco and NND will work together to Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation reported Selwyn pact terms of the relationship. It governs how facilitate the meaningful participation of entering into an Amended and Restated Selwyn Resources Ltd. also reported in the Kaska will be engaged during the NND in environmental regulatory process- Socio Economic Accord for Golden July that Selwyn Chihong Mining Ltd., the exploration and feasibility discovery phase es concerning the further development of Predator’s flagship Brewery Creek Gold joint venture company formed by Selwyn of the project. We were pleased to be able the Keno Hill Silver District. Mine Project east of Dawson City. The and Chihong Canada Mining Ltd. to to work with SCML and all the Kaska to In October, the Yukon government 2012 Socio Economic Accord updates an advance the Selwyn zinc-lead project, has reach this IMA and look forward to com- reported receiving C$351,525 in royalties existing Socio Economic Accord for the entered into an Interim Measures pleting a Socio Economic Participation from Alexco, reflecting Bellekeno’s first Brewery Creek Project that the First Agreement with Ross River Dena Council Agreement that would define our relation- full year of production. The mine is cur- Nation signed with the previous mine and Liard First Nation on behalf of all ship should SCML decide to advance the rently approaching its second anniversary operator in 1996. Brewery Creek Project is Kaska communities including Daylu Dena project to the next level.” of commercial production. a past-producing heap leach gold mining Council, Kwadacha, and Dease River First Yukon Zinc has been active in the operation that Golden Predators hopes to Nation. Cooperation for Wellgreen southeast Yukon region for more than 10 return to production in late 2013 or early The Selwyn project, which straddles the In August, Prophecy Platinum Corp. years and has taken the Wolverine 2014. Northwest Territories border in east-cen- and the Kluane First Nation signed a zinc�silver mine from exploration Golden Predator and the Tr’ondëk tral Yukon, is one of the world’s largest cooperation and benefits agreement to through development into operation. Hwëch’in First Nation said they will con- undeveloped zinc-lead project with a mas- support Prophecy’s exploration program In 2005, Yukon Zinc Corp., operator of tinue to build on their effective working sive global resource that is still growing. and environmental studies for the devel- the Wolverine Mine, entered into a socio- relationship, fostering successful social “Selwyn Chihong is encouraged by this opment of its flagship Wellgreen Project economic participation agreement for the and economic development of THFN and significant step forward in our relationship located about 25 kilometers (16 miles) Finlayson area holdings (including its citizens while ensuring successful envi- with the Kaska,” said Justin Himmelright, from Burwash Landing, Yukon, near the Wolverine) with the Ross River Dena ronmental screening, licensing and permit- vice president of environment and commu- Alaska-Canada Highway. The Kluane Council on behalf of the Kaska bands ting, financing and construction and oper- nity affairs for Selwyn. “The Interim First Nation’s traditional territory cover- (Liard First Nation, Dease River First ation of the Brewery Creek Project. Measures Agreement establishes the ing 350 square miles in southwestern Nation, Daylu Dena Council and “After intense negotiations, the framework for SCML and the Kaska to Yukon. Kwadacha First Nation) and their respec- Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in are pleased to be forg- work to advance the project through final The new agreement, which is compre- tive members. The agreement provides for ing a beneficial relationship with Golden feasibility, permitting, and into construc- hensive in nature, includes provisions for Kaska participation in the economic and Predator,” said Chief Taylor. “We support tion. We expect to begin negotiations of a employment and training opportunities for social aspects of the development and their efforts to re-open the Brewery Creek Socio-economic Participation Agreement operation of the Wolverine Mine. Mine. We believe this mine can operate in very soon. The Socio-economic see FIRST NATIONS page 12 Since then Yukon Zinc has actively worked to support building the social, cul- tural, environmental and economic health of the communities in the regions where it operates. In addition to a major mine train- ing initiative targeting Kaska members, the company has focused intensively on sup- porting community programs aims at enriching the lives of Kaska youth and improving the overall health of the com- munities. A recipient of the prestigious 2011 Robert E. Leckie award for excel- lence in environmental stewardship that is awarded by the Yukon government, Yukon Zinc was recognized for “innovation and corporate social responsibility for a (quartz) mining operation.” During spring 2012, the company sponsored the 2012 Arctic Winter Games and the Yukon Chamber of Mines Exploration and Discovery Camp during Mining Week. Both spring events were held in Whitehorse, and offered youth and com- munity members an opportunity to learn REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! about the mining industry by participating in interactive activities. FOR MINERAL EXPLORATION ROUNDUP 2013 New agreements In 2011, the Yukon Chamber of Mines, working with the First Nations of Na-cho Nyak Dun and Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, devel- oped “a Quick Reference Guide to Effective and Respectful Engagement Practices with Yukon First Nations and Communities,” a Yukon-specific guide designed to help mining, exploration and development companies working in the JANUARY 28 TO 31, 2013 territory establish sound and respectful working relationships with Yukon First Vancouver, British Columbia, The Westin Bayshore Nations and communities when undertak- ing mineral exploration or development projects or activities. REGISTER TODAY AT WWW.AMEBC.CA/ROUNDUP “Global experience reveals that early, effective engagement with First Nations 12 NORTH OF 60 MINING PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18, 2012 continued from page 11 FIRST NATIONS

Kluane’s citizens, contracting opportunities for the first Traditional Territories of Yukon First Nations nation’s businesses and citizens, funding for the mean- and Settlement Areas of ingful implementation of the agreement, and an equity Beaufort Sea Inuvialuit and Tetlit Gwich'in position in Prophecy Platinum for KFN and its citizens. Herschel Acting reasonably and in good faith, the Kluane First Island YUKON TERRITORY Nation may participate fully and without limitation in all June 2012 μ Inuvialuit regulatory processes concerning the exploration activi- Settlement ties. Other highlights its pact with Prophecy include envi- Administrative centres of First Nations are depicted in Region the colour of their Traditional Territory. ronmental protection through the cooperative design and Inuvik Scale 1:5,500,000 implementation of environmental management and mon- 0 100 200 300 km Old Crow itoring programs, and a framework and mutual commit- Tetlit Gwich'in Secondary Use ment to develop a Comprehensive Cooperation and Tsiigehtchic Vuntut Fort McPherson Benefits Agreement for the eventual development and Gwitchin operation of a mine. Tetlit Prophecy is working to bring platinum-rich Wellgreen, Gwich'in one of the world’s largest nickel-sulphide deposits, into Tetlit Gwich'in Primary Use production by 2016. Alaska “The Kluane First Nation is pleased to be forging a close relationship with Prophecy. We appreciate the open dialogue and proactive approach to engagement with Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in KFN that Prophecy has initiated and continued to demon- strate,” said Chief Mathieya Alatini when the agreement Na-cho Northwest Territories Nyäk Dun was announced Aug. 2. “Having worked with Prophecy Dawson for the past many months, our people look forward to City Elsa Keno City contributing substantially to Prophecy’s exploration Mayo Stewart activities and to strengthening our relationship toward the Crossing development of a mine at Wellgreen.” Selkirk Pelly Beaver Creek Crossing Historic pact Little Salmon/ White Faro Victoria Gold Corp and the First Nation of Na-Cho Carmacks River Carmacks Ross River Nyak Dun in September reported signing an access and Kaska Burwash Ta'an Exploration Agreement on NND Category B Lands adja- Landing Dena Destruction Kwäch'än cent to Victoria’s Dublin Gulch Project, nearly doubling Bay Champagne Kwanlin Victoria’s land package within NND traditional territory Kluane & Aishihik Dün Haines WHITEHORSE Teslin in Yukon. Junction Tlingit The Category B Lands Access and Exploration Carcross/Tagish Watson Teslin Lake Agreement applies to the 1,443 claims Carcross That Victoria staked on two parcels of NND Category B Land adjacent to and to the west and south of the com- Gulf of British Columbia Alaska Environment pany’s existing mineral-rich Dublin Gulch Property. This Geomatics ground is highly prospective, covers an area of 290 Map ID: ENV.020.02 © 2012 Environment Yukon square kilometers (112 square miles) and has not seen any exploration activity in more than 20 years. ing Victoria’s original Dublin Gulch property, which “This agreement is intended to ensure that all Yukon The key points of the Category B Lands Access and hosts the Eagle Gold Deposit and covers about 420 Self-Governing First Nation governments benefit from Exploration Agreement include providing certainty for square kilometers (162 square miles). Victoria is working resource development in the Yukon, whether a producing ongoing exploration; affording the Na-Cho Nyak Dun toward startup of a new gold mine at the Eagle deposit in mine or future resource development is on First Nation with employment and economic opportunities, while 2014. Settlement Land or not,” said Council of Yukon First respecting and promoting NND’s desired environmental Victoria and NND also entered into a letter of intent Nations Grand Chief Ruth Massie. protection objectives; establishing a process for ongoing last fall that provided the first nation’s consent to Victoria The agreement is based on a memorandum of under- communication between Victoria and the first nation so to stake the Category B Lands that border Dublin Gulch standing signed between Yukon Self-Governing First that both parties can identify and pursue contracting and to the west and south. The access and exploration agree- Nations and the Yukon government in May. partnering opportunities; and providing financial support. ment inked in September is the definitive agreement to “This important decision between the Yukon govern- “The signing of this agreement is a historic moment in conduct exploration on these Category B Lands. ment and self-governing First the evolution of our relationship with mining resource Nations demonstrates the government’s commitment companies. It is the first time First Nation Land has been Resource royalty sharing to ensuring all Yukoners benefit from resource develop- explored with the prior consent of the Nation,” said NND Capping this spate of advancements, the Yukon gov- ment in the territory,” Yukon Premier Darrell Pasloski Chief Simon Mervyn. “We applaud Victoria for their ernment Oct. 29 said it has agreed to the terms of a new said in announcing the agreement. commitment to working with our Nation and in particular resource royalty sharing agreement with Yukon’s 11 self- The new arrangement, which will be formally signed for respecting the land and environmental values put for- governing First Nations that would provide the First during the Yukon Geoscience Forum Nov. 18-21, could ward within our traditional territory.” Nation governments with increased royalties from min- see Yukon’s Self-Governing First Nations share up to an In October 2011, Victoria and the Na-Cho Nyak Dun ing and oil and gas activity in the territory. additional C$4.7 million in royalties each year. ● completed a comprehensive benefits agreement govern-

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● YUKON TERRITORY Ethos eyes changing the game at Betty 2012 exploration identifies “Greens Creek-style” mineralization in large anomaly sandwiched between Coffee and Casino deposits BY ROSE RAGSDALE For Mining News

thos Gold Corp. recently wrapped up Ea second phase of 2012 exploration ETHOS GOLD CORP. aimed at identifying a multimillion-ounce gold deposit on its Betty Property located in the White Gold district of Yukon Territory. The junior Sept. 19 reported complet- ing 7,500 meters of reverse circulation drilling in 61 holes, and collecting 8,700 grid soil samples and 166 prospecting samples in 2012 that targeted the 17- square-kilometer (6.56 square miles) Mascot Creek gold-in-soil anomaly at Betty that Ethos outlined in 2011 and where the junior identified gold in pit trenches at widespread locations. Due to the dismal financial markets, Ethos also scrapped plans for a diamond drilling program in 2012, and ended up spending a relatively modest C$4 million on exploration at the Betty Project. At one point earlier in the year, Ethos has talked about spending C$12 million and drilling 16,000 meters in about 95 holes. The anticipated geological target, based on work in 2011, was bulk-tonnage epithermal mineralization similar to Kaminak’s Coffee gold discovery which borders the Betty Property 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) to the northwest; instead the gold mineralization intersected by RC drilling within the Mascot Creek anomaly at Betty is developed within “bonanza veins” which exhibit colloform quartz and bladed calcite indicative of epither- mal or bonanza silver-gold environments of deposition, the company said. Drill holes were generally spaced 200 meters to 500 meters apart on interpreted soil/fault structures, to maximize the area Along the Coffee fault structure on Ethos Gold Corp.’s Betty Property in the White Gold district of Yukon Territory, follow-up prospecting tested. For example, holes BETR12-023 in 2012 identified areas of impressive quartz veins and quartz breccia hosted by faulted Klondike schist. Seven reconnaissance-grab sam- ples assayed between 0.7 grams per metric ton to 3.9 g/t gold with 11 g/t to 86 g/t silver. and -024 tested the same fault target at 500-meter spacing, and holes -004, -003, Betty Project and considers the gold Ethos had C$9 million in working capital ue to be excited by the exploration poten- -002, -001, -018, and -048 tested the potential of the project area to be at the end of the field season, an ample tial of our properties within the prolific Bond target over a 2-kilometer (1.24 “robust.” sum to fund a 2013 exploration program. Tintina Gold Belt,” Freeman added miles) strike length also at about 500- “The company plans to follow up “The drill program will help our geol- In work completed earlier in the 2012 meter spacing. these discoveries with a diamond drill ogy team determine the extent of the field season, Ethos conducted reconnais- Highlights of the widespread drilling core program next summer,” Freeman gold-mineralized systems we have sance drilling to identify gold grades over include: said in the Sept. 19 statement that report- encountered and to allow an understand- • BETR12-012: 3.0 meters of 29.8 ed the drilling results. He also noted that ing of the structural controls. We contin- see ETHOS page 14 grams per metric ton gold and 27 g/t sil- ver (30.3 g/t gold-equivalent) from 27.2 meters in the Perriault Target; • BETR12-014: 12.2 meters of 2.0 g/t gold and 19 g/t silver (2.4 g/t gold-equiv- alent) from 108.2 meters; • BETR12-022: 41.1 meters of 2.6 g/t gold and 107 g/t silver (4.7 g/t gold- equivalent) from 16.8 meters in the Marshall Target; • BETR12-023: 1.5 meters of 3.8 g/t gold and 292 g/t silver (9.6 g/t gold- equivalent) from 78.7 meters; SUBSCRIBE • BETR12-024: 1.5 meters of 0.9 g/t gold and 280 g/t silver (6.5 g/t gold- equivalent) from 14.9 meters; TODAY • BETR12-027: 1.5 meters of 1.1 g/t Buy yourself a New One Year print gold and 98 g/t silver (3.1 g/t gold-equiv- alent) from 15.3 meters and also 22.9 subscription and give one as a gift to a meters of 0.5 g/t gold from 103.6 meters; • BETR12-052: 3.0 meters of 0.9 g/t friend, family or colleague for ONLY $1! gold and 91 g/t silver (2.7 g/t gold-equiv- alent) from 83.8 meters; and, • BETR12-061: 3.0 meters of 0.9 g/t gold and 85 g/t silver (2.6 g/t gold-equiv- alent) from 106.7 meters.

Robust gold potential Call a circulation representative today at 907-522-9469 or email “Gift Sub Offer” with your name and phone number to Ethos Gold CEO and President Gary [email protected] and a representative will contact you. Freeman said the company identified gold showings in two environments at the Offer only available for new 1yr subscriptions. 14 NORTH OF 60 MINING PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18, 2012

● ALASKA Mining powerhouses seek Bering Sea gold AngloGold-De Beers JV runs into rough seas during an initial investigation of its placer project off the golden beaches of Nome

BY SHANE LASLEY “Placer Marine Mining is focused on dollar gold deposit believed to lie below sealed bids for the tracts larger than 160 Mining News the Nome Offshore Project whereas the sea. acres added slightly more than US$6 mil- AuruMar, based in Cape Town (South “Both the sampling and surveying pro- lion to state coffers. oughly a mile beyond the golden Africa), performs services for the joint grams were significantly affected by Placer Marine accounted for US$5.5 Rbeaches of Nome, Placer Marine venture partners across the world,” adverse weather conditions, which is a million of this take, grabbing nearly 70 Mining Inc. – a joint venture that com- AuruMar General Manager Gary van Eck valuable lesson to be learnt for future off- percent of the 23,793 acres of marine bines the gold mining expertise of explained during a Nov. 8 presentation at shore operations,” according to Placer placer gold prospects auctioned by AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. with the marine the 2012 Alaska Miners Association Marine Mining. DNR’s Division of Mining, Land and mining experience of De Beers – is inves- Convention in Anchorage. Water. All told, the company submitted tigating the potential of dredging a vast Since the discovery of gold there in 10 million ounces? winning bids on 26 of the lease tracts, placer gold deposit lying beneath the icy 1899, the Nome Mining District has pro- Placer Marine Mining picked up its including a US$1.6 million bid on tract waters of the Bering Sea. duced roughly 5 million ounces of placer properties beyond the gold-rich beaches 74, the largest and most prospective of These gold-rich placer deposits in gold. of Nome during an offshore lease sale the lot. Alaska’s Arctic Northwest are not the Based on historical exploration, it is held by the Alaska Department of Natural The tracts secured by Placer Marine first marine mining endeavors undertaken believed that the 16,581 acres of offshore Resources in September 2011. Mining start about a mile (1.6 kilometers) jointly by AngloGold Ashanti and De leases secured by Placer Marine Mining The state divided its offering into two offshore and run out to about the three- Beers. In 2009, the mining powerhouses about a mile beyond the golden beaches groups – 53 smaller near-shore parcels, mile (4.8 kilometers) limit of state-owned formed AuruMar Ltd., a partnership to of Nome could hold as much gold as has ranging from 40 acres to 160 acres, and land and for some 20 miles (32 kilome- explore and ultimately mine marine plac- been recovered from the legendary Nome 31 larger tracts measuring up to 2,794 ters) parallel to the shoreline. ers rich in gold and other heavy metals on Mining District over the past 113 years. acres located in the deeper waters from While the Nome beaches and near- the continental shelves of the world. The AngloGold-De Beers joint ven- roughly one mile off the beach to the shore marine gold deposits have been “By combining one of the world’s ture spent some US$6 million during the three-mile limit of Alaska-owned land. continuously worked and reworked for most successful gold exploration teams short summer season of 2012 to begin to During an outcry auction held in more than a century, the depth of the icy with the foremost authority in ocean min- find out just how much gold lies below on Nome, small-scale miners, including water covering the deposits leased by ing and exploration, we’re creating a its portion of the gold-rich placer deposits some Nome residents, bid US$6,500 to Placer Marine Mining has prevented indi- powerful base to tackle this new frontier,” in the Bering Sea. US$90,000 to win the smaller lots viduals and -cale operations from dredg- AngloGold Ashanti Chief Executive While this work applied an array of amenable to suction dredge mining. The ing there. Officer Mark Cutifani said upon the for- state-of-the-art exploration techniques, final tally of the state’s take on these One semi-successful attempt at a com- mation of AuruMar. the unruly weather may have provided smaller near-shore tracts remains unclear mercial operation to mine the marine While AuruMar and Placer Marine some of the most crucial data for Placer due to a technical dispute on 12 of the placers in these deeper waters was carried Mining have identical shareholders, they Marine Mining to process as it considers parcels. have different objectives. the feasibility of mining the multibillion- The winning submissions among see BERING SEA page 15

continued from page 13 Silver-dominant veins million-ounce gold resource, it continues within the property. Three new areas of to elude Ethos explorers. gold-enriched soils associated with Tallman told Mining News during a ETHOS Tallman told Mining News Nov. 14 arsenic, antimony, silver, and lead were site visit in early August that the 20- that the bonanza veins discovered at Betty identified; the first and primary anomaly square-kilometer soil anomaly at Betty width in bedrock beneath gold-bearing this summer, with 10:1 silver to gold is a roughly 12-square-kilometer (4.6 could have the potential to yield a 10 mil- surface trench pits or anomalous gold ratios along with significant base metals, square miles) anomaly with gold-in-soil lion-ounce gold deposit, given its location soils. Most of the RC holes drilled by late more closely resemble the mineralization results up to 1.2 g/t. These anomalies are along strike from Kaminak’s Coffee dis- June intersected limonite and clay alter- found at the Greens Creek Mine in all associated with the Coffee Fault zone. covery and adjacent to Western Copper ation and arsenopyrite mineralization, Southeast Alaska than it does the major A total of 166 prospecting rock grab and Gold Corp.’s Casino Project, which with or without quartz veining and silici- gold deposits of the Tintina Belt. samples were collected and two new currently boasts an 8-million-ounce gold fication. “It was bothering me in August what areas of anomalous sub-cropping gold resource. Ethos said there appears to be several we were finding in the RC holes, but I mineralization were identified. In the “The original size of the Pogo soil phases of progressive or overprinting didn’t put it together until a little later. I vicinity of Mercedes, two grab samples anomaly in Alaska was 20 square kilome- alteration and mineralization which is a did find it surprising,” Tallman said. collected 400 meters and 600 meters ters,” Tallman said. Pogo, currently “very positive” exploration indication. “What Kaminak found this summer in north of the Mercedes target area assayed Alaska’s largest gold mine producing Some holes have intersected mineralized the Sugar Zone on its Coffee property is 1.4 g/t gold with 576 g/t silver and 0.4 g/t about 380,000 ounces annually, celebrat- andesite and felsite dykes within alter- also similar as is the mineralization that gold with 78 g/t silver. ed its 2 millionth ounce in gold output in ation zones. Some 14 of the first 22 holes Rockhaven (Resources Ltd.) is finding at Tallman said he followed up this sum- July. Pogo’s resources and reserves, at drilled during the season yielded gold- its Klaza Project. These bonanza veins are mer’s soils program with some prospect- December 2011, totaled 12.32 million bearing intervals. 70 million years old and related to and ing late in the season and did find Coffee- metric tons of ore averaging 12.5 g/t gold In reporting the early results June 26, drive from the Casino deposit,” Tallman style mineralization in the area. for 4.95 million ounces. Peter Tallman, chief operating officer of said. Along the Coffee fault structure, the “Three current Alaska projects – Ethos, said, “The sizeable intersections of Kaminak’s Coffee-style mineraliza- follow-up prospecting identified areas of Donlin, Livengood and Pebble – (togeth- both higher and lower gold grades, as tion, by comparison, is 100 million years impressive quartz veins and quartz brec- er) have gold resources that total 175 mil- well as the presence of intense wide- old as is the mineralization found at cia hosted by faulted Klondike schist. lion ounces and only 25 million ounces of spread alteration is very encouraging at Kinross Gold Corp.’s Golden Saddle Seven reconnaissance-grab samples gold are on the books in the Yukon.” this early stage of exploration.” deposit, he said. Even so, the two White assayed between 0.7 g/t to 3.9 g/t gold But if the Betty property hosts a multi- Gold district deposits are among the with 11 g/t to 86 g/t silver. youngest of the Tintina belt’s mineraliz- The geologist said he also did a little ing events. placer mining in Sunshine and Isaac “It’s possible to develop a mine with creeks on the Betty property, and found this, but we don’t have the infrastructure gold nuggets that most likely come from to make it economically feasible because Coffee-style mineralization in the area. we’re located in the middle of nowhere,” Ethos is currently re-evaluating its Tallman explained. “What you need for a options as to whether to proceed with mine in the middle of nowhere is a fairly additional exploration at Betty in 2013 or big bulk tonnage deposit. As a standalone pursue other alternatives. In addition to project, it’s just not going to cut it.” considering ways to enhance the value of the Betty property for Ethos shareholders, Signs of epithemal gold Tallman said management has been talk- The Betty property still could host sig- ing with other juniors about potential nificant gold to the north under the Coffee acquisitions or joint ventures. Fault. The poor financial markets bode well A total of 8,700 detailed grid soils for Ethos because it still has significant were collected in 2012 in the north-cen- working capital, while many companies tral portion of the property, extending grid have emptied their wallets and investors soil coverage to about 35 percent of the have failed to refill them. Betty project. The new soils targeted the “The world is our oyster right now Coffee fault structure and identified new because we have 9 million bucks,” gold potential in a different environment Tallman observed. ● PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18, 2012 NORTH OF 60 MINING 15

all of the geophysics to produce a 3-D model to help us build up our resource estimates.” He said the company anticipates the majority of the gold lies in the top two to three meters (6.5 to 10 feet) of the ocean floor. PLACER MARINE MINING INC. PLACER Placer Marine Mining hired Denali Drilling, a company that also did sam- pling for WestGold, to test this gold-laden layer. Mounting a sonic rig on a landing craft known as Polar Bear, Denali drilled 146 holes during a 40-day sampling program. To confirm historical drilling, Placer Marine Mining completed 130 holes in two claim blocks previously sampled by WestGold. In general these holes were drilled on 100-meter centers along lines spaced 200 meters apart. The remaining 16 holes explored a previously untested 700-by-1,000-meter area revealed by the seismic surveys car- ried out earlier in the season. While the marine gold company tested this explo- ration area on a wider spacing, each sam- ple site was tested with two holes to increase the confidence in the data. Results from Placer Marine Mining’s drilling are still pending, according to A sonic drill rig mounted on a landing craft called the Polar Bear completed 146 holes during a 40-day sampling program at Placer Marine Fraser. Mining’s Nome Offshore project in 2012. Not unlike the geophysical program and the Bima, Placer Marine Mining’s The specialist began work on a 100- the-clock operations, was inactive about continued from page 14 drill program was hampered by unruly day geophysical program that involved a 43 percent of the time due to the harsh BERING SEA weather. Fraser said the drill ship was detailed bathymetric – the underwater conditions. only available for operation for about 37 equivalent of topographic – program and Despite weather delays, the survey out by Western Gold Exploration and percent of the allotted time. The AuruMar a 925-line-mile (1,490 kilometers) seis- was successfully completed. With the Mining Co. Limited Partnership General Manager said the landing craft mic survey. bathymetric survey providing an accurate (WestGold) in the late 1980s. upon which the sonic drill was mounted Placer Marine Mining ran geophysical view of the ocean floor and the seismic Purchasing Bima, a secondhand buck- was not ideal for the conditions off the lines 100 meters apart parallel to the survey providing geological information et dredge used for mining tin off the shores of Nome, and the company hopes shore and then 300 meters apart in a per- on the various layers for up to 150 meters shores of Indonesia, WestGold set out to a better suited ship will increase their pendicular direction. (500 feet) further down, Placer Marine mine a section of the “Central Core,” a time at sea when they return to the project “Because of the difficulty of mobiliz- Mining is gaining a better understanding region that had been partially drill-tested in 2013. ing vessels up into the area, we decided to of its Nome Offshore Project. by Shell Oil Co. in 1967 and Asarco in The AngloGold-De Beers partnership do as detailed a survey as possible,” In June, AuruMar announced it had 1973. believes it will have collected the geolog- explained AuruMar Exploration Manager purchased Maptek Vulcan 3D modeling From 1986 through 1990, WestGold ical and environmental data needed to Neil Fraser. software for its marine continental shelf recovered just over 118,000 ounces of advance the project into permitting by The company hired two local boats to gold exploration. AuruMar said it will gold from the submerged placer deposit. mid-2014. conduct the extensive survey – apply Vulcan GeoModeller to the 26 plac- Frequent storm swells, harsh Arctic “Our intentions are that by the middle Quicksilver, a 32-foot vessel, was used to er gold mining leases that make up the weather and tough mining conditions bat- of 2014 we will have completed our proj- conduct side scan sonar and swath- Nome Offshore Project. tered Bima over its five seasons off of ect feasibility studies to the point that our bathymetry surveys and the 60-foot “We wanted to be able to look at and Nome. Structural failures coupled with shareholders will be able to make an Thunder was utilized for the seismic sur- model our geological data in 3D,” said gold prices sinking to around US$370 per informed investment decision, and we veys. Urban Burger, AuruMar geologist. “The ounce proved to be the undoing of the can proceed with the permitting,” van Eck “Weather played a major issue with Vulcan platform also offers us the oppor- oceangoing dredge. told the audience. our season up in Nome,” Fraser said. tunity in the future to do resource model- During its five-season tenure off the If all goes well, Placer Marine Mining Quicksilver, which was operating on ing, mine planning and reconciliation in coast of Nome, WestGold drilled 2,479 intends to begin recovery of Bering Sea 12-hour shifts, was anchored about 20 the same environment.” holes, considerably enhancing the density gold by the 2017 season. ● percent of the time due to weather. Fraser told attendees at the 2012 AMA in the gold-laden marine placers. Thunder, which was slated for around- Convention, “We are busy going through In 2000, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Department of Mining and Geological Engineering applied geo- graphical information system technology to the data collected from some 3,200 holes drilled by WestGold, Shell and Asarco. After digitizing and processing the historical information, UAF engineers estimated that more than 3.3 million ounces of gold lies in the tested regions. All told, it is commonly believed that more than 10 million ounces, or roughly US$17 billion, of economically viable gold lies beneath Norton Sound. AuruMar’s 2012 exploration program set out to test these historical assump- tions. Harsh conditions While the rough seas that pounded Bima are well-known, the west coast of Alaska was hit hard by a series of storms during the 2012 season, providing Placer Marine Mining with firsthand insight on what it could be up against if it decides to mine its golden leases off the west coast of Alaska. As soon as the ice relinquished its grip on Norton Sound this summer, the marine miner began investigating the gold poten- tial of its Nome Offshore Project. Companies involved in Alaska and DIRECTORY northwestern Canada’s mining industry

The Red Dog mine in northwest Alaska.

Mining Companies Fax: (206) 392-2641 Phone: (907) 561-1188 E-mail: [email protected] Toll free: (800) 770-0969 (AK only) Website: www.alaskacargo.com Fax: (907) 561-2935 Kinross Fort Knox/Fairbanks Gold Mining Inc. Award winning cargo services to more places, more E-mail: [email protected] Fairbanks, AK 99707 often, with more lift to, from, and within the state of Fairbanks Office: Contact: Lorna Shaw, Government and Community Alaska. 2800 South Cushman Relations Manager Contact: Dan Socha, branch mgr. Phone: (907) 490-2218 Fax: (907) 490-2250 Alaska Analytical Laboratory Phone: (907) 456-2719 • Fax: (907) 451-0449 E-mail: [email protected] 1956 Richardson Highway Kenai Office: Website: www.kinross.com North Pole, AK 99705 205 Trading Bay Rd. Located 25 miles northeast of Fairbanks, Fort Knox is Phone: (907) 488-1266 • Fax: (907) 488-077 Contact: Will Bolz, branch mgr. Alaska’s largest producing gold mine; during 2011, E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (907) 283-3880 • Fax: (907) 283-3759 Fort Knox achieved 5 million ounces of gold pro- Environmental analytical soil testing for GRO, DRO, Rebar Division duced, a modern record in Alaska mining. RRO, and UTEX. Field screening and phase 1 and 2 1200 W. Dowling site assessments also available. Kiska Metals Anchorage, AK 99518 Contact: Mike Galyon, rebar mgr. Suite 575 – 510 Burrard Street Alaska Earth Sciences Phone: (907) 561-1188 • Fax: (907) 562-7518 Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 3A8 Anchorage, AK 99515 Full-line steel, aluminum, and rebar distributor. Contact: Jason Weber: President and CEO Contact: Bill Ellis, Rob Retherford, owners Complete processing capabilities, statewide service. Contact: Dustin Henderson: Investor Relations Phone: (907) 522-4664 • Fax: (907) 349-3557 Specializing in low temperature steel and wear plate. Phone: (604) 669-6660 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: (604) 669-0898 A full service exploration group that applies earth sci- Alaska Telecom Email: [email protected] ences for the mining and petroleum industries provid- 6623 Brayton Dr. Website: www.kiskametals.com ing prospect generation, evaluation and valuation, Anchorage, AK 99507 Gold and Copper projects in Alaska, BC, and exploration concepts, project management, geo- Contact: Dan Boone Australia. graphic information systems and data management. Phone: (907) 344-1223 We also provide camp support and logistics, geologic, Usibelli Coal Mine Fax: (907) 344-1612 Fairbanks, AK 99701 geochemical and geophysical surveys. E-mail: [email protected] Contact: Bill Brophy, VP Customer Relations Alaska Frontier Constructors Website: www.alaskatelecom.com Phone: (907) 452-2625 P.O. Box 224889 Providing telecommunications support to oil explo- Fax: (907) 451-6543 Anchorage, AK 99522-4889 ration and production companies and contractors. Email: [email protected] Contact: John Ellsworth or Chris Ledgerwood Satellite communications, voice, data, microwave, Website: www.usibelli.com Phone: (907) 562-5303 VHF/UHF radio, engineering and installation. Other Office Fax: (907) 562-5309 PO Box 1000 E-mail: [email protected] Arctic Foundations Healy, AK 99743 Website: akfrontier.com Anchorage, AK 99518-1667 Phone: (907) 683-2226 Alaskan heavy civil construction company specializing Contact: Ed Yarmak Usibelli Coal Mine is headquartered in Healy, Alaska in Arctic and remote site development with the expe- and has 700 million tons of coal reserves. UCM pro- Phone: (907) 562-2741 • Fax: (907) 562-0153 rience, equipment and personnel to safely and effi- Email: [email protected] duces an average of 2 million tons of sub-bituminous ciently complete your project. coal each year. Website: www.arcticfoundations.com Alaska Interstate Construction (AIC) Soil stabilization – frozen barrier and frozen core dams Service, Supply & Equipment 301 W. Northern Lights Blvd., Suite 600 to control hazardous waste and water movement. Anchorage, AK 99503 Foundations – maintain permafrost for durable high Air Liquide Contact: Fred Hargrave capacity foundations. Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: (907) 562-2792 • Fax: (907) 562-4179 Aurora Geosciences Contact: Brian Benson Email: [email protected] 3506 MacDonald Dr. Phone: (907) 273-9762 • Fax: (907) 561-8364 Website: www.aicllc.com Yellowknife, NT Canada X1A 2H1 Email: [email protected] AIC provides cost-effective solutions to resource Contact: Corey Segboer Air Liquide sells, rents, and is the warranty station for development industries. We provide innovative ideas Phone: (867) 920-2729 Lincoln, Miller, Milwaukee, Victor and most other to meet each requirement through the provision of Email: [email protected] welding equipment and tool manufacturers. best-in-class people and equipment coupled with Website: www.aurorageosciences.com exceptional performance. Geological, geophysical and exploration support services. Alaska Air Cargo • Horizon Air Cargo P.O. Box 68900 SEAFZ Alaska Steel Co. Austin Powder Company Seattle, WA 98168 1200 W. Dowling P.O. Box 8236 Contact: Joe Sprague, Vice President of Cargo Anchorage, AK 99518 Ketchikan, AK 99901 Phone: (206) 392-2705 or 800-2ALASKA Contact: Joe Pavlas, outside sales manager Contact: Tony Barajas, Alaska manager PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18, 2012 NORTH OF 60 MINING 17

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Phone: (907) 278-2208 Fax: (907) 677-7261 Constantine Metal Resources Pacific Rim Geological Consulting Email: [email protected] Construction Machinery ...... 20 Fairbanks, AK 99708 The 100 percent Alaska Native owned and operated Everts Air Cargo Contact: Thomas Bundtzen, president catering company at the Donlin Creek Prospect and Fairbanks Gold Mining/Fort Knox Gold Mine . . . . 9 with North Slope experience, catering and housekeep- Phone: (907) 458-8951 GCI Industrial Telecom ...... 18 ing to your tastes, not ours; providing operations and Fax: (907) 458-8511 General Refining Corp. camp maintenance. Email: [email protected] Greer Tank Inc...... 15 Geologic mapping, metallic minerals exploration and Construction Machinery Industrial, LLC Jackovich Industrial & Construction Supply. . . . . 12 industrial minerals analysis or assessment. 5400 Homer Drive Judy Patrick Photography ...... 6 Anchorage, AK 99518 Last Frontier Air Ventures...... 4 Pebble Partnership Contact: Robert Fairbanks, Sales Manager 3201 C St., Suite 604 Phone: (907) 563-3822 Lynden...... 2 Fax: (907) 563-1381 MRO Sales Anchorage, AK 99503 Email: [email protected] Nature Conservancy, The Phone: 907-339-2600 Website: www.cmiak.com Northern Air Cargo www.pebblepartnership.com Pacific Rim Geological Consulting ...... 18 ERA Helicopter PND Engineers Inc. 6160 Carl Brady Drive Pebble Partnership ...... 19 1506 W. 36th Ave. Anchorage, AK 99502 PND Engineers Inc. Anchorage, AK 99503 Contact: David Sell, Business Development Alaska Salt+Light Creative Phone: (907) 561-1011 Phone: (907) 550-8607 Sourdough Express Inc. Fax: (907) 563-4220 Fax: (907) 550-8608 Taiga Ventures/PacWest Drilling Supply ...... 8 Website: www.pndengineers.com E-mail: [email protected] Total Safety Full-service engineering firm providing civil, structural, Website: www.erahelicopters.com URS Corp. and geotechnical engineering, including mining sup- Helicopter charters, flight-seeing tours, aerial photogra- Usibelli Coal Mine port, resource development, permitting, marine and phy, oil and gas support, mineral exploration, construc- coastal engineering, transportation engineering, tion, seismic remote site work, internal and external hydrology, site remediation, and project management. load, heli-hiking and sled-dog adventures. outreach; agency consultation; and environmental, civil, transportation, energy, and heavy structural engineering. TTT Environmental LLC Everts Air Cargo 4201 “B” St. 6111 Lockheed Avenue Jackovich Industrial & Construction Supply Anchorage, AK 99503 Anchorage, AK 99502 Fairbanks, AK 99707 Contact: Tom Tompkins, general manager Phone: (907) 249-4317 Contact: Buz Jackovich Phone: 907-770-9041 • Fax: 907-770-9046 Fax: (907) 248-0458 Phone: (907) 456-4414 • Fax: (907) 452-4846 Contact: Paul Abad, Sales Manager Email: [email protected] Anchorage office E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.tttenviro.com Phone: (907) 277-1406 • Fax: (907) 258-1700 Website: www.evertsair.com Alaska’s preferred source for instrument rentals, sales, 24- hour emergency service. With 30 years of experi- An Alaskan owned and operated air carrier that pro- service and supplies. We supply equipment for air mon- ence, we’re experts on arctic conditions and extreme vides scheduled freight service to 12 bush communities itoring, water sampling, field screening, PPE and more. & charter service to anywhere in Alaska with suitable weather. runway conditions. Passenger Charters, HAZMAT, bulk Taiga Ventures Judy Patrick Photography fuel, small package, oversized. Based in Anchorage & 2700 S. Cushman Fairbanks. 511 W. 41st Ave, Suite 101 Anchorage, AK 99503 Fairbanks, AK 99701 GCI Industrial Telecom Contact: Judy Patrick Mike Tolbert - president Anchorage: Phone: (907) 258-4704 Phone: 907-452-6631 • Fax: 907-451-8632 11260 Old Seward Highway Ste. 105 Fax: (907) 258-4706 Other offices: Anchorage, AK 99515 E-mail: [email protected] Airport Business Park Phone: (907) 868-0400 Website: www.judypatrickphotography.com 2000 W. International Airport Rd, #D-2 Fax: (907) 868-9528 Creative images for the resource development industry. Anchorage, AK 99502 Toll free: (877) 411-1484 Phone: 907-245-3123 Web site: www.GCI-IndustrialTelecom.com Last Frontier Air Ventures Email: [email protected] Rick Hansen, Director 39901 N. Glenn Hwy. [email protected] Sutton, AK 99674 Web site: www.taigaventures.com Mark Johnson, Business Development Manager Contact: Dave King, owner Remote site logistics firm specializing in turnkey [email protected] Phone: (907) 745-5701 portable shelter camps – all seasons. Deadhorse: Fax: (907) 745-5711 Aurora Hotel #205 Total Safety U.S. Inc. E-mail: [email protected] Deadhorse, Alaska 99734 209 E. 51st Ave. Anchorage Base (907) 272-8300 Phone: (907) 771-1090 Anchorage, AK 99503 Web site: www.LFAV.com Mike Stanford, Senior Manager North Slope Contact: Tyler Zollinger, District Manager. Helicopter support statewide for mineral exploration, [email protected] Phone: (907) 743-9871 survey research and development, slung cargo, Houston, Texas: Fax: (907) 743-9872 8588 Katy Freeway, Suite 226 video/film projects, telecom support, tours, crew trans- E-mail: [email protected] Houston, Texas 77024 port, heli skiing. Short and long term contracts. Phone: (713) 589-4456 Website: www.totalsafety.com Hillary McIntosh, Account Representative Lynden A full service safety company specializing in Remote [email protected] Alaska Marine Lines • Alaska Railbelt Marine Medical Services, H2S Services, Industrial Hygiene, and GCI Industrial Telecom provides innovative solutions to Alaska West Express • Lynden Air Cargo Safety Consultants. Total Safety provides Service, Rental, the most complex communication issues facing industri- Lynden Air Freight • Lynden International or Sales of Safe Breathing Air, Gas Detection, and al clientele. We deliver competitive services, reputable Lynden Logistics • Lynden Transport Technical Safety Equipment. expertise and safely operate under the most severe Anchorage, AK 99502 working conditions for the oil, gas and natural resource URS Corp. Contact: Jeanine St. John industries. GCI-your best choice for full life cycle, expert, 700 G Street, Suite 500 Phone: (907) 245-1544 • Fax: (907) 245-1744 proven, industrial communications. Anchorage, AK 99501 Email: [email protected] HDR Alaska Inc. The combined scope of the Lynden companies includes Contact: Joe Hegna, Alaska Vice President/Alaska 2525 C St., Ste 305 truckload and less-than-truckload highway connections, Operations Manager Anchorage, AK 99503 scheduled barges, intermodal bulk chemical hauls, Phone: (907) 562-3366 • Fax: (907) 562-1297 Contact: Jaci Mellott, Marketing Coordinator scheduled and chartered air freighters, domestic and E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (907) 644-2091 international air forwarding and international sea for- Website: www.urscorp.com Fax: (907) 644-2022 Provide engineering, construction and technical services Email: [email protected] warding services. with capabilities to support all stages of project life Website: www.hdrinc.com HDR Alaska provides engineering, environmental, plan- MRO Sales cycle. We offer a full range of program management; ning, and consultation services for mining and mineral Anchorage, AK 99518 planning, design and engineering; construction and exploration clients. Services include: biological studies; Contact: Don Powell construction management; operations and mainte- cultural resources; project permitting; NEPA; stakeholder Phone: (907) 248-8808 • Fax: (907) 248-8878 nance; and decommissioning and closure services. 18 NORTH OF 60 MINING PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18, 2012

● YUKON TERRITORY Wellgreen heats up, despite cool market New CEO touts multiple advantages of PGE-nickel-copper sulphide deposit, including location, elevation and expansion potential ROSE RAGSDALE PROPHECY PLATINUM CORP. PROPHECY PLATINUM

Prophecy Platinum Corp. has extensive drill core inventory at its Wellgreen Project located Nearly four kilometers (2.5 miles) of underground tunnels from which Hudson Bay mined in southwestern Yukon Territory that dates back to the 1970s when the nickel-copper-PGM the Wellgreen nickel-copper-PGM resource in the 1970s provide Prophecy Platinum Corp. resource was mined for several years by a previous owner. with strategic locations for ongoing exploratory drilling. Nearly 800 surface and under- ground holes have been drilled at Wellgreen. BY ROSE RAGSDALE 30-million-ounce-plus resource, chuckled For Mining News before he responded. at NovaGold. assessment, an early metallurgical study “With the caliber of asset that we have “This is my focus. This is where I will and a transportation and logistics study. reporter recently asked Greg at Wellgreen, the company may not be be concentrating my efforts, and the team With the appointment of an experi- AJohnson, the newly appointed presi- here in five years, with the development will be concentrating our efforts. We are enced management team, the company dent and CEO of Prophecy Platinum work ahead of us and the potential value committed to making this work,” he appears to be on a roll at Wellgreen. Corp., if he was committed enough to his that this project may represent to the added. new role as head honcho of the compa- major mining companies,” Johnson said. Johnson’s appointment, reported Nov. High demand for Wellgreen resources ny’s emerging Wellgreen Project in Prophecy, seeking to advance the 5, followed closely the hiring of proven Platinum, a precious metal 10 times southwestern Yukon Territory to stick highly prospective PGE-nickel-copper mine builder John Sagman as senior vice rarer than gold and 100 times more rare around for five years. play at Wellgreen, recently hired several president and chief operating officer and than silver, is used primarily in automobile Johnson, one of the original architects senior executives. immediately preceded the appointments of catalytic converters, a growing and vital of NovaGold Resources Inc. which built Johnson told the reporter that he tends Jeffrey Mason as chief financial officer market in an increasingly environment- the world-class Donlin gold deposit in to stick around, citing his 10 years at and Samir Devendra Patel as corporate conscious world. Alaska from a few million ounces into a Placer Dome/Barrick Gold and 12 years secretary. The Wellgreen deposit has strong Sagman, a professional engineer who strategic value because it is located in held the position of vice president of tech- politically stable Yukon Territory, which is nical services with Capstone Mining currently ranked among the world’s top 10 Corp., led the phase V and phase VI mining jurisdictions. Some 93 percent of prefeasibility studies at the Minto open pit the world’s current platinum output comes copper-gold mine located about 150 kilo- from the more politically risky jurisdic- meters (93 miles) northeast of Wellgreen. tions of South Africa, Russia and Minto produced 37 million pounds of cop- Zimbabwe. per in 2011. Wellgreen could represent 15-20 per- Prophecy has already hit several key cent of total platinum production in North milestones at Wellgreen in 2012, including America when it goes into production, completion of a preliminary economic according to Prophecy’s management. Platinum, a precious metal 10 times more rare than gold and 100 times more rare than silver, is used primarily in catalytic converters, a growing and vital market in an increasingly environment conscious world. As for nickel, Prophecy says declining ore grades and laterite technical challenges resulting in rising nickel mining costs should lead to rising prices. Though nickel markets are expected to have surplus sup- ply in the near term, the junior says smelters will need new sources of nickel sulphide feed and demand is expected to surpass supply, starting in 2014. The Wellgreen deposit is situated at 1,300 meters altitude near the Alaska- Canada Highway in southwestern Yukon Territory and ranks as one of the world’s top undeveloped nickel-copper massive sulphide resources with significant PGM credits and a low second quartile C1 cost of US$2.18/lb nickel (net of PGM and copper credits). The deposit covers an area 2.6 kilometers (1.5 miles) long by 200-400 meters wide and 800 meters deep and is believed to have excellent expansion potential along strike and at depth. These factors significantly minimize the project’s indirect costs.

see WELLGREEN page 19 PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18, 2012 NORTH OF 60 MINING 19

Central East Wellgreen (3,077E). Upside surprises? The underground drill program this An airborne magnetic survey in 2011 year didn’t manage to set up station 6 at identified a 2.3-kilometer anomaly imme- 2,800E, where the highest historic under- ROSE RAGSDALE diately to the east of the main mineralized ground drill results were recorded. To zone that remains open to the east. date, 27 underground holes have been Drilling in this area returned results that reported with assays pending from one suggest this anomaly may be an extension remaining hole drilled at station 5. of the existing resource. The surface drill program had com- Hole 188, which intersected 120.9 pleted 19 holes by late September and is meters averaging 1.26 g/t PGM + gold, continuing at a steady pace with two 0.36 percent nickel and 0.30 percent cop- active rigs and assays pending for 10 per within 457 meters grading 0.47 per- holes. The Central East and Central West cent nickel-equivalent, proved that zones span more than 2.3 kilometers end Wellgreen Central East and Central West to end (1,600E to 3,900E). One rig is are connected, further establishing both drilling from Central West and the other the continuity and tonnage of the deposit. from Central East with the goal of con- Johnson said the project offers a good verging at 2,600E. chance for “upside surprises.” Prophecy Chairman John Lee said “There is a tremendous opportunity for 2012 drill results demonstrated mineral- upside expansion,” he added. Prophecy Platinum Corp. intends to develop the Wellgreen deposit into a major precious ization of significant strike and width, Prophecy has initiated the environ- and base metals producer. The road-accessible property covers more than 17.5 kilometers with several high-grade intercepts. of claims that offer significant expansion potential for the Wellgreen deposit, which cur- mental process for the project and begun “We are bullish on PGM and nickel rently measures 2.6 kilometers (1.5 miles) long by 200-400 meters wide by 800 meters planning its 2013 exploration campaign. deep and remains open along strike and at depth. prices going forward. The price of nickel In 2013, the company also intends to appears to be embarking on a stealthy run continued from page 18 resource model. update the resource estimate for recently (up 10 percent at $8.2/lb in Underground holes with the exception Wellgreen, complete 10,000 to 20,000 September). We expect further positive WELLGREEN of WU12-541 were stopped short of tar- meters of drilling and conduct confirma- drill results from Wellgreen shortly,” Lee get width due to difficult ground condi- tion and additional metallurgical testing. added. The PEA study, released in July, rec- tions. All underground holes reported Completion of a prefeasibility study is ommends development of the Wellgreen here were from station 5 located at targeted for 2014. ● deposit as a conventional, diesel truck- shovel open pit mine. The deposit will be processed using a conventional concen- trator to produce bulk nickel-copper-plat- inum-group-elements concentrate at a nominal production rate of 32,000 metric tons of mill feed per day with average annual stripping ratio estimated at 2.57 over the life of mine. Based on these estimates, Wellgreen is expected to produce 2 billion pounds of nickel, 2 billion lbs. copper, and 7.1 mil- lion ounces of platinum and palladium plus gold in concentrate over a 37-year mine life. Surface and underground advances Prophecy controls 17.5 kilometers of prospective strike length in the Wellgreen west, central and east claims and believes the area to be highly prospective, not only for nickel, copper and platinum-palladi- um +gold but also for less common PGEs with rhodium, ruthenium, osmium and iridium appearing in assays from hole 188 and in grab samples from underground. The junior has completed more than 11,000 meters of infill drilling and explo- ration drilling in its ongoing 2012 pro- gram to test the eastern extension of Wellgreen. The company Sept. 24 reported further drill results of five surface (WS12-195, 196, 197, 200, & 206) and four under- 29 ground holes (WU12-541, 543, 546, & 547), all of which intercepted significant mineralized widths highlighted by 268 meters of 0.52 percent nickel-equivalent, Cu including 44.04 meters grading 0.47 per- 63.55 cent copper, 0.24 percent nickel, and 1.03 grams per metric ton platinum group met- World-clWorld-class project. World-clWorld-class science. als + gold (WU12-541). Prophecy said the style and occurrence Pebble is a world-class copper deposit and one of North America’s most significant copper of the mineralization are predominantly discoveries. Since 2001, more than 100 independent scientists and technicians have consistent with the geological model adopted by the company for the conducted one of the most extensive environmental studies program in Alaska. Wellgreen deposit. Higher grade portions The Pebble Partnership is committed to responsible resource development in Southwest are noted nearer to the footwall contact that represents the paleo-basal portion of Alaska — recognizing that a world-class project requires world-class science. the intrusion. Surface holes drilled on Central East (WS12-195, 196, 197, & www.pebblepartnership.comwww.pebblepartnership.com 200) all ended in massive sulphide, and stopped upon entering the footwall lithologies outside of the Wellgreen intru- sion, which hosts significant massive sul- phide sections modeled from historic underground drill results. WS12-206 was drilled on the western end of Central West (1,525-foot eleva- tion), and intercepted five meters of 0.71 percent nickel-equivalent outside of the 20 NORTH OF 60 MINING PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18, 2012

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