www.AlaskaAlliance.com 35 Kinross trucking ore to process mill at Fort Knox mine Kinross Gold is now at full production at its new Manh Choh gold mine near Tetlin, east of Delta. About 60 ore trucks per day are moving along the Alaska and Richardson Highways to the Kinross Fort Knox Mine near Fairbanks where the ore is being processed. Manh Choh is about 10 miles south of Tok and 12 miles west of the Alaska Native village of Tetlin. Kinross is the majority owner and operator of a joint venture at Manh Choh with Contango ORE, but the mine is also a direct partnership with the Native Village of Tetlin. The project is on land leased from the native village of Tetlin. About 390 people are now working at Manh Choh including Kinross employees and contractors. Mining of gold ore started last fall and is estimated to continue through mid2028. The Manh Choh gold ore is high grade, in contrast with the lower-grade gold ore at the Fort Knox mine. Manh Choh is a small deposit and small open-pit mine. A standalone process mill at the site would have made the project less than economical. Trucking the ore to Fort Knox for processing solved this problem. In production the mine will employ about 500 on average, with an estimated direct annual payroll estimated at $75 million, Kinross has said. The site is reached from the Tetlin Village road, which connects to the Alaska Highway. The mine is on land owned and controlled by the Native Village of Tetlin, which owns the fee-simple surface and sub-surface mineral rights. Work on access roads, including a twin road and a site road as well started in 2022 along with as site preparation. Kinross operates its headquarters for Manh Choh operations at Tok as well as a support facility at the refurbished and expanded former Tok Westmark Hotel. Services at the facility are supported by Arctic Catering. Meanwhile, the truck traffic along the 240 miles of highway is being monitored closely by Kinross as well as state and community leaders. Black Gold Transport, of North Pole, is the trucking contractor. Black Gold has operated in Alaska since 1987. State-of-the-art technology is being used in the trucking, such as Samsara, which monitors drivers and includes cameras in the cabs and external cameras to track interactions on the road. “Geofencing” is also used to alert drivers when they are coming to specific areas such as bridges, speed reduction zones and school bus stops, Kinross said in briefing materials. The manufacturer of the ore trailers also made suggestions on trailer design that will effectively reduce the number of trips needed by 10 percent. Another modification was changing the trailer design to have 16 axles and 32 tires with a wider thread on the tire to reduce accumulation of debris. The trucks are carrying legal loads that do not require special permits or exemptions for highway use. They are 95 feet in length and are similar to double-trailer fuel or cargo trucks commonly used. They carry a payload of 50 tons of ore and have a gross vehicle weight of 82.5 tons. Improvements are also being along the 240 miles of highways from Tetlin to Fairbanks being used including additions of 10 passing lanes, asphalt replacement and other resurfacing. Upgrades were also planned to five bridges including one dating to 1944. The project will bring many career and business opportunities to the region. Manh Choh is also supporting a range of programs in the surrounding communities including education, community activities, local development, and environmental sustainability. Kinross has invested over $700,000 in community development since work began at Manh Choh. This includes programs with the Alaska Gateway School District on mining career pathways. In the most recent school semester 34 students completed this program, learning about career opportunities in mining. — Tim Bradner Photos Courtesy Kinross Alaska
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