Niblack expectations: Southeast project advances.

AuthorColby, Nicole A. Bonham
PositionMINING

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Southeasterners experienced several tense hours this spring after learning that a small plane transporting personnel during a crew change from the Niblack Project exploration site crashed on Prince of Wales Island in March. The pilot and passenger both made it out safely.

Such incidents are a reminder of the challenges--both historic and contemporary--that come with laboring in remote, rugged terrain to pull minerals from the earth. In Alaska--Southeast, in particular--mining was the impetus that opened the region to northwest-ward migration from the Lower 48. Evidence of the early rush for minerals still litters a handful of backcountry coves and forest inlets, where the final vestiges of old miners' cabins and rusty metal equipment from over a century ago melt back into the Tongass.

Today, projects like Niblack help keep the fire of the early Alaskan mincal rushes alive. For the residents of Prince of Wales Island and nearby commercial center of Ketchikan, the influx of supply dollars to support the project is a glint of hope as the region struggles to maintain a diverse industrial landscape and population base. In the long term, the prospect of skilled jobs and financially healthy livelihoods is on the horizon, yet not for some time, company leaders caution. That said, Heatherdale Resources Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Patrick Smith recently spoke with Alaska Business Monthly about the status of the project and its upcoming economic assessment report.

Now UNDER SOLE OWNERSHIP

In January, Vancouver, British Columbia-based exploration and development company Heatherdale Resources Ltd., an affiliate of global development company Hunter Dickinson, announced it had acquired a 100 percent interest in the Niblack copper-gold-zinc-silver project in Southeast. "Consolidating the ownership of the Niblack Project in Heatherdale will provide more flexibility for development and financing options, and enable us to move forward more aggressively with the project to the benefit of all shareholders," announced Chairman Scott Cousens at the time.

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The Niblack Project site is located along Moira Sound on southeastern Prince of Wales Island, about 30 miles southwest of Ketchikan. Heatherdale Resources Ltd. began its involvement with the Niblack project back in 2009 with a three-year agreement with Edmonton, Alberta-based CBR Gold Corp. Through the agreement, Heatherdale was able to increase its stake in the...

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