The Whistler gold/silver/copper prospect is located on the Skwentna River, about 100 miles northwest of Anchorage. The current official resource estimate (a sum of the indicated plus inferred resource) is around 3 million ounces of gold, 13 million ounces of silver, and 770 million pounds of copper. However, the company behind the project, Kiska Metals Corporation, believes that the area explored is only a small portion of a much larger series of deposits. Major exploration targets on the property include Island Mountain, Raintree West, Raintree North, Rainmaker, and Muddy Creek.
The prospect is in a relatively advanced stage of exploration, but no development plans have been published. No information yet exists on the potential for acid mine drainage, the use of cyanide at a future mine, or even the location or scope of a mine. Unlike some mining prospects in Alaska, Whistler has, potentially, several options for delivering power to a future mine. It is near the existing the Beluga gas power station, as well as three different proposed projects: a gas pipeline to the proposed Donlin Creek Mine, the Mt. Spurr geothermal project, and the Chackachamna hydropower project.
In March 2011, Kiska commenced a major drilling operation, aimed at delimiting some of the other deposits surrounding the already characterized area. This has entailed construction of an ice road on the Skwentna River which is being used to transport equipment to the site.
| Exploration: | |
|---|---|
| 2010 | Exploratory drilling consisting of at least 19 holes and extensive surface sampling and mapping. |
| 2011 | Extensive drilling program consisting of at least 30 holes. |
By David Coil, Elizabeth Lester, Bretwood Higman, Ground Truth Trekking
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Date Created: Fri, 18 Mar 2011 12:15:01 -0800
Last Modified: Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:41:23 -0900
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