US Senator Lisa Murkowski chaired the Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s first hearing of the 116th Congress, to examine the outlook for energy and minerals markets. The hearing featured witnesses from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), ClearView Energy Partners, the R Street Institute, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
Three world-class mining prospects are the Donlin Gold prospect in Southwest Alaska, the Upper Kobuk Mineral Project in Northwest Alaska, and Pebble in the Bristol Bay region of the state. All three are near or in the permitting phase.
In August, a joint Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and US Army Corps of Engineers Federal Record of Decision (ROD) was handed down to Barrick Gold Corporation and NOVAGOLD Resources, who jointly own Donlin Gold.
One of the highlights of a visit to the Fort Knox gold mine is posing at the end of the tour with a gold bar produced at the mine.