Alaska is one of the premier locations to explore for base and precious metal deposits in the world. The robust geological endowment combined with political and regulatory stability present Full Metal Minerals with a unique opportunity.
Over the past decade, mining companies working in Alaska have discovered 104 million ounces of gold on top of levels already considered legendary. During the same time period, over US$400 million was spent on exploration. This works out to a cost average of just $4.00 per ounce of gold discovered. In stark contrast, the worldwide industry average exploration cost is about US$20 per ounce.
Facts
Alaska has approximately 640,000 residents occupying 570,374 square miles, or 365,039,104 acres of land. Alaska is the largest state, about 2.3 times the size of Texas and about one-fifth the size of the Lower 48 states.
Alaska Comparisons (U.S.)
1st in zinc production
2nd in silver production
3rd in gold production
Why Alaska
The State is largely unexplored, of the $243 million spent in the U.S. on non-fuel exploration in 2002 only $22 million was spent in Alaska.
Potential for large discoveries: Pogo, Red Dog, Pebble, Donlin Creek, Greens Creek
250,000 sq. miles available for mineral exploration, the same size as Chile and twice the size of Nevada. The land status is well known, stable and has no encumbrances
Proactive state government that strongly supports responsible mineral development through various departments and incentives
New infrastructure to access resources is being proposed
Alaska Native Lands
44 Million Acres of Opportunity
There are twelve for profit Native Corporations that were formed in (1971). Alaska Native Corporations have clear ownership and title to 44 million acres of land. The Corporations are very proactive in seeking partners to help develop their mineral resources. Full Metal currently has an agreement with the Aleut Corporation, and Bristol Bay Native Coporation to explore their lands (1.4 million acres).
Important Alaskan Discoveries
1994 Pogo (Gold) - Gold Resource of 5.5 million ounces at 0.5 oz/ton
1989 Pebble (Copper, Gold) - 27 million ounces of gold and 16.5 billion pounds of copper in resource
1988 Donlin Creek (Gold) - 25 million ounces of gold in resource
1984 Fort Knox (Gold) - Produces 400,000 ounces of gold annually
1979 Greens Creek (Silver, Zinc, Lead, Gold) - 3rd largest silver producer in N. America 1974 Quartz Hill (Molybdenum)
1968 Red Dog (Zinc, Lead) - World's largest zinc reserve
1910 Kennecott Mine (Copper) - Turned Kennecott into an industry leader 1902 Fairbanks Gold Placers
1900 Nome Gold Placers
1880 AJ Treadwell (Gold)
Impact on Alaska of Mining
Mining leads the list of high paying jobs in the State, averaging $80,000 per year
Total economic benefit of the mining industry to Alaska, $1 billion-plus
Red Dog - $700 million in revenues Fort Knox - spends $35 million annually on local goods and services, generates $4.4 million in revenue for the Borough
Greens Creek - largest private employer in Juneau with a payroll of $26 million
