informed analysts and investors on Feb. 22. Red Dog delivered concentrates containing 155,300 metric tons of zinc and 25,400 metric tons of lead to the Delong Mountain Transportation System port during the fourth quarter of 2023. While the 2024 zinc output at Red Dog is expected to remain on par with 2023 levels, Teck is forecasting a roughly 30 percent drop to around 382,500 metric tons (843 million pounds) by 2027. As of the beginning of 2023, Red Dog hosted 38.5 million metric tons of proven and probable reserves averaging 12.4 percent (4.03 million metric tons) of zinc, 3.6 percent (670,000 metric tons) of lead, and 66.2 grams per metric ton (81.9 million ounces) silver. This is enough ore to keep Red Dog in operation until 2031. Teck’s Aktigiruq, Anarraaq, and Lik deposits on state lands 10 miles northwest of the current Red Dog operations could provide future supplies of high-grade ore to the Red Dog mill. Aktigiruq and Anarraaq are large deposits on lands held by Teck with grades on par with what is currently being mined at Red Dog. Lik, which is being explored under a 50-50 partnership with Solitario Zinc Corp., hosts 17.6 million metric tons of potentially open-pit mineable resource. Combined, these deposits have the potential to provide the Red Dog mill with ore for several more decades at current production rates. To ensure Red Dog remains a globally significant source of zinc, Teck is conducting extensive exploration across the district. Nearly 1 million ounces gold per year Falling zinc output from Red Dog opens the door for gold to be crowned as the most valuable metal mined in Alaska. Thanks to strong prices and rising production profiles at Alaska’s largest gold mines, this precious metal could take the throne before zinc production falls. During 2023, Alaska’s hardrock and placer mines produced approximately 728,000 ounces of gold in 2023. At the $1,940 per ounce average price during 2023, this puts the value of the gold produced in the state at around $1.4 billion, which is only a touch under the value of zinc produced at Red Dog and Greens Creek. So far in 2024, the price for an ounce of gold has held above $2,000. While continued strength in the price of this precious metal would bolster the value of Alaska gold output this year, it is an expected increase in the number of ounces that could unseat zinc. The largest gold producer in Alaska, Kinross Gold Corp.’s Fort Knox Mine, could also be the biggest contributor to gold production growth in the state in 2024 and beyond. Last year, the iconic mine about 20 miles northeast of Fairbanks produced 290,651 ounces of gold, edging out the 259,573 ounces produced at Northern Star Resources Ltd.’s Pogo Mine about 90 miles southeast of Alaska’s Golden Heart City. The gold output from Fort Knox is expected to get a major boost from the much higher-grade ore being delivered from Manh Choh, a mine about 200 miles southeast of Fort Knox that is being developed under a partnership between Kinross (70 percent) and Contango Ore Inc. (30 percent). Going into 2024, Manh Choh hosted 4.1 million metric tons of proven and probable reserves including one million ounces of gold and 1.8 million ounces of silver, which is an order of magnitude higher gold grade than the ore currently being fed into the Kinross Alaska Mill at Fort Knox. Kinross reports that the development of Manh Choh is complete, and ore is being trucked the 250 roadmiles to Fort Knox. “In Alaska, construction of the Manh Choh project is essentially complete and is on budget and on schedule for initial high-grade production in the second half of the year,” said Kinross Gold President and CEO Paul Rollinson. With the higher-grade ore from Manh Choh, the annual production at Fort Knox is expected to increase to half a million ounces over the coming five years. While not as steep a rise, Northern Star is anticipating more gold output from Pogo. Since completing an expansion of the Pogo mill to 1.3 million metric tons per year in 2022, Northern Star has been working to ramp up the annual gold production at the high-grade underground mine to 300,000 ounces. Aside from the first three months of 2023, which was impacted by a six-week shutdown of the mill for repairs, the mill at Pogo ran near or above its nameplate capacity during 2023. The expected increases in gold production at Fort Knox and Pogo, along with steady output from the Kensington, Greens Creek, Dawson, and 145 placer mines, could elevate Alaska’s gold output to the realm of one million ounces per year by 2025. Linking Alaska’s Resources to Alaska’s People 46 2024 Meet Alaska Conference & Trade Show CONTINUED from PAGE 45 Photo Courtesy Greens Creek Mine
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