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Red Dog mine
The Red Dog mine is a large zinc and lead mine located in the CDP of Red Dog Mine, part of the Northwest Arctic Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. Located about 80 miles (130 km) north of Kotzebue, the facility is operated by the Canadian mining company Teck Resources on land owned by the NANA Regional Corporation.
The mine is the world's largest producer of zinc and has the world's largest zinc reserves. Red Dog accounts for 10% of the world's zinc production. Red Dog accounted for 66% of the mineral value produced in Alaska in 2018. In 2008 the mine produced 515,200 metric tons (507,100 LT; 567,900 ST) of zinc, 122,600 metric tons (120,700 LT; 135,100 ST) of lead, and 283 metric tons (9,100,000 ozt) of silver, for a total metal value of over one billion dollars. At the end of 2008 the mine had reserves of 61,400,000 metric tons (60,400,000 LT; 67,700,000 ST) of zinc at a grade of 17.1% and 61,400,000 tonnes (60,400,000 LT; 67,700,000 ST) of lead at a grade of 4.5%, as well as significant additional zinc and lead in the less well-measured resource category.
According to a 2007 EPA report, the mine, which produces from an open pit, was mining the Aqqaluk ore body, immediately adjacent to the previous pit. Aqqaluk contains an additional 56 million metric tons (62 million short tons) of lead and zinc ore. The expansion was expected to keep the mine operating until 2031.
Red Dog is located on land owned by the for-profit NANA Regional Corporation (NANA)—one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) as part of the settlement of Alaska Native land claims. NANA's land base in the Kotzebue area in northwest Alaska. NANA's Alaska Native shareholders are of Inupiat descent. The mine is operated by the Canadian giant mining company Teck Resources in partnership with NANA Development Corporation. Ore concentrate taken from the mine is trucked westward on the Red Dog Mine Haul Road to the state-owned but Teck Resources-operated DeLong Mountain Port facilities on the Chukchi Sea, where it is stored until the shipping season.
The Iñupiaq villages of Kivalina with a population of 377, and Noatak with 428 inhabitants, are the nearest permanent settlements to the mine.
In the mid-1950s, Bob Baker, a local bush pilot and prospector, noticed red-stained creeks in the area, but was unable to land his plane nearby. In 1968, at Baker's urging, a U.S. Geological Survey geologist sampled rocks and stream sediments in the region, including samples from the future site of the Red Dog mine, and named Red Dog Creek after Bob Baker's dog, an Irish Terrier (Tailleur; USGS Open File 70-319). In the mid-1970s, after investigations by BLM-contracted geologists confirmed significant mineralization, interest in the region from major mining companies and NANA intensified. Significant exploration, soon including drilling, of deposits in the region began in 1975 (Alaska Minerals Yearbook 1978-1979).
In 1980 the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) became law and NANA officially selected the land underlying Red Dog. Drill exploration of the Red Dog deposit began in 1980, by Cominco American. In 1982 NANA and Cominco American (a mining company that had staked the land, and later became Teck Cominco) signed an agreement to develop the deposit.
In 1986 the State of Alaska agreed to fund and take ownership of a road (DeLong Mts. Transportation System) from Red Dog to the coast, and a shallow-water port site. Also in 1986, residents of Kotzebue and 10 other area villages voted to form the Northwest Arctic Borough, to be economically based on taxing the Red Dog mine. Construction of the road, port site, and mine began in July 1987. Mine operations commenced in December 1989.
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Red Dog mine
The Red Dog mine is a large zinc and lead mine located in the CDP of Red Dog Mine, part of the Northwest Arctic Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. Located about 80 miles (130 km) north of Kotzebue, the facility is operated by the Canadian mining company Teck Resources on land owned by the NANA Regional Corporation.
The mine is the world's largest producer of zinc and has the world's largest zinc reserves. Red Dog accounts for 10% of the world's zinc production. Red Dog accounted for 66% of the mineral value produced in Alaska in 2018. In 2008 the mine produced 515,200 metric tons (507,100 LT; 567,900 ST) of zinc, 122,600 metric tons (120,700 LT; 135,100 ST) of lead, and 283 metric tons (9,100,000 ozt) of silver, for a total metal value of over one billion dollars. At the end of 2008 the mine had reserves of 61,400,000 metric tons (60,400,000 LT; 67,700,000 ST) of zinc at a grade of 17.1% and 61,400,000 tonnes (60,400,000 LT; 67,700,000 ST) of lead at a grade of 4.5%, as well as significant additional zinc and lead in the less well-measured resource category.
According to a 2007 EPA report, the mine, which produces from an open pit, was mining the Aqqaluk ore body, immediately adjacent to the previous pit. Aqqaluk contains an additional 56 million metric tons (62 million short tons) of lead and zinc ore. The expansion was expected to keep the mine operating until 2031.
Red Dog is located on land owned by the for-profit NANA Regional Corporation (NANA)—one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) as part of the settlement of Alaska Native land claims. NANA's land base in the Kotzebue area in northwest Alaska. NANA's Alaska Native shareholders are of Inupiat descent. The mine is operated by the Canadian giant mining company Teck Resources in partnership with NANA Development Corporation. Ore concentrate taken from the mine is trucked westward on the Red Dog Mine Haul Road to the state-owned but Teck Resources-operated DeLong Mountain Port facilities on the Chukchi Sea, where it is stored until the shipping season.
The Iñupiaq villages of Kivalina with a population of 377, and Noatak with 428 inhabitants, are the nearest permanent settlements to the mine.
In the mid-1950s, Bob Baker, a local bush pilot and prospector, noticed red-stained creeks in the area, but was unable to land his plane nearby. In 1968, at Baker's urging, a U.S. Geological Survey geologist sampled rocks and stream sediments in the region, including samples from the future site of the Red Dog mine, and named Red Dog Creek after Bob Baker's dog, an Irish Terrier (Tailleur; USGS Open File 70-319). In the mid-1970s, after investigations by BLM-contracted geologists confirmed significant mineralization, interest in the region from major mining companies and NANA intensified. Significant exploration, soon including drilling, of deposits in the region began in 1975 (Alaska Minerals Yearbook 1978-1979).
In 1980 the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) became law and NANA officially selected the land underlying Red Dog. Drill exploration of the Red Dog deposit began in 1980, by Cominco American. In 1982 NANA and Cominco American (a mining company that had staked the land, and later became Teck Cominco) signed an agreement to develop the deposit.
In 1986 the State of Alaska agreed to fund and take ownership of a road (DeLong Mts. Transportation System) from Red Dog to the coast, and a shallow-water port site. Also in 1986, residents of Kotzebue and 10 other area villages voted to form the Northwest Arctic Borough, to be economically based on taxing the Red Dog mine. Construction of the road, port site, and mine began in July 1987. Mine operations commenced in December 1989.