First quarter earnings reports were just issued by Juneau’s largest gold and silver miners. Coeur d’Alene Mines, operator of the Kensington Mine north of Juneau, announced that silver production declined about 22-percent from the same quarter last year. Total production was 3.8 million ounces. But gold production was up about 30-percent from the same quarter…
Energy & Mining
BBNC, Millrock Agree to Mineral Exploration on BBNC Land
The Bristol Bay Native Corporation and the mineral exploration company Millrock Resources made an agreement to explore for gold, copper, and molybdenum prospects on BBNC land near the Chigniks.
Federal government targets 50 legacy wells for clean-up
On Wednesday, the Bureau of Land Management released a draft plan identifying 50 of these so-called “legacy wells” for clean up.
Pebble Review Panel Finds Flaws With Baseline Studies
Members of a science panel sponsored by the Pebble Partnership are criticizing the Partnership’s own research.
Parnell administration shifts focus from oil to natural gas
The state is looking at the issue of getting a natural gas project online from multiple angles.
Saudi oil minister welcomes U.S. energy boom
Minister Ali al-Naimi scoffed at U.S. leaders who extol energy independence, especially from the Middle East, as a political goal.
Signature collection starts for oil tax referendum
With the signature booklets hot off the printers, opponents of a controversial tax cut for oil companies should be able to start gathering support for their referendum Tuesday.
Stedman: Oil tax break a ‘gift’ to industry
Sen. Bert Stedman calls this year’s rollback of state taxes a “gift” to the oil industry. And while he’s not unhappy with many of the structural changes to the oil tax scheme in Senate Bill 21, he says the numbers just don’t make sense.
Greenpeace searching for Arctic whistleblowers
Greenpeace is trying to coax would-be whistleblowers to come out against the Arctic oil companies they work for.
Shell’s Arctic ‘beer can’ passes federal test in Puget Sound
It took several tries, and neither Shell nor the federal government announced the results. But a contractor successfully deployed Shell’s Arctic oil-spill containment system in Samish Bay in March.