Mining Technology
What is Heap Leaching? Gold and Copper Extraction Explained
Heap leaching is one of the most widely used, lowest-cost methods of extracting valuable metals from ore anywhere in the mining industry — and it appears constantly in company press releases and technical reports, particularly for gold and copper projects. Understanding how it works, and why companies choose it over other processing methods, gives investors…
How Does Open Pit Mining Work? The Process Explained
Open pit mining is the most widely used method of extracting minerals on the planet, responsible for the majority of the world’s copper, iron ore, and a significant share of its gold production. Anyone who has seen a satellite photo of a mine — concentric rings stepping down into the earth like an amphitheater —…
Alaska Mining Regulations — Opportunity, Permitting, and What Investors Need to Know
Alaska is one of the world’s great frontier mining jurisdictions. The largest US state by area — at more than 586,000 square miles, roughly one-fifth the size of the contiguous United States — Alaska hosts extraordinary deposits of gold, copper, zinc, cobalt, nickel, rare earths, and a wide range of critical minerals that have attracted…
Nevada Mining Regulations — What Investors Need to Know
Nevada is the most important mining state in the United States and one of the most significant mining jurisdictions in the world. The Silver State — its nickname refers to historic silver discoveries, though it is gold that drives the modern industry — is the number one gold-producing state in the US and regularly ranks…
Mining on Indigenous Land in Canada — Duty to Consult and FPIC Explained
For any mining company operating in Canada, the relationship with Indigenous peoples — First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities — is not a matter of corporate social responsibility alone. It is a legal obligation rooted in the Canadian Constitution and shaped by decades of Supreme Court decisions. Getting it wrong does not just create reputational…
What is the General Mining Act of 1872? The Law That Still Governs US Hardrock Mining
On May 10, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a law that fundamentally shaped the American West and the US mining industry for the next 150 years. The General Mining Act of 1872 — sometimes called the Hardrock Mining Law or simply the 1872 Mining Law — was designed to encourage settlement and economic development…
What is FAST-41? The US Federal Mining Permitting Fast-Track Program Explained
If you follow mining news in the United States, you will increasingly see press releases announcing that a company’s project has received “FAST-41 status” or been added to the “Federal Permitting Dashboard.” Trilogy Metals’ Arctic copper project in Alaska is one well-known recent example — the acceptance of that project into FAST-41 was treated as…
How Does Mining Permitting Work in the United States?
The United States holds vast reserves of gold, copper, lithium, uranium, and critical minerals — many of them on federal lands managed by agencies like the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the US Forest Service. But turning a mineral discovery into an operating mine in the US involves one of the most complex permitting…
How Does Mining Permitting Work in Canada? A Guide for Investors
Canada is one of the world’s great mining nations — home to more than 40% of the world’s publicly listed mining companies and a vast geological endowment spanning gold, copper, lithium, nickel, uranium, and critical minerals. But turning a mineral discovery into an operating mine in Canada is a complex, multi-year process that involves both…