Operator seeks to expand Red Dog mine

A quest by Teck Cominco Alaska Inc. to expand operations at the Red Dog Mine in northwestern Alaska is moving forward as regulators prepare to conduct a series of public scoping meetings Oct. 2-5 in affected communities.

Red Dog, the world's largest producer of zinc concentrate, began production in 1989. It is located 82 miles north of Kotzebue on land owned by NANA Regional Corp., the Alaska Native regional corporation for northwest Alaska.

Current mining of Red Dog's main deposit is scheduled to wind down between 2010 and 2012. But Teck Cominco has proposed extending the mine's life by extracting concentrates from nearby deposits, notably the Aqqaluk deposit, which the Canadian major estimates could extend mining operations at Red Dog until after 2030.

In May, Teck Cominco asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to modify its water discharge permit issued under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System to include development of the Aqqaluk Project.

Modifying the NPDES permit to include development of the Aqqaluk deposit triggered a National Environmental Policy Act review, with EPA as the lead regulatory agency.

The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, State of Alaska, National Park Service, and nine tribal governments represented by the Maniilaq Association (the Native Village of Buckland, the Native Village of Kiana, the Native Village of Kivalina, the Native Village of Kobuk, the Native Village of Kotzebue, the Native Village of Noatak, the Noorvik Native Community, the Native Village of Selawik, and the Native Village of Shungnak) will participate closely in the review as cooperating agencies.

A Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) must be completed to update the environmental impact statement developed in 1984 when regulators issued the first NPDES permit for Red Dog's discharges.

EPA selected Tetra Tech Inc. to be the third-party contractor to work with the lead agency and cooperating agencies to write the SEIS.?

First public meetings scheduled

Scoping is the first step in the NEPA public process. It began when EPA published in the Federal Register a notice of intent to prepare the SEIS Aug. 31.

EPA plans to host Aqqaluk project scoping open houses/public meetings in Anchorage Oct. 2; Kotzebue Oct. 3; Noatak Oct. 4; and Kivalina, Oct. 5. Informal open houses are scheduled for 3:30-5:30 p.m. at each location, to be followed by public meetings from 6:30-9 p.m.

At the public meetings, EPA and the cooperating agencies will make presentations on the project and hear formal public testimony.

The scoping comment period ends Oct. 15. EPA will review all comments, identify the issues, and distribute a final scoping document along with a scoping responsiveness summary to the public and to state and federal agencies and tribal governments by the end of November. The scoping responsiveness summary will include comments received during the scoping period and describe how EPA intends to respond to them during the SEIS process.

Comments may be submitted at the open houses (in writing or recorded verbally), or they may be submitted to EPA in writing, by e-mail, or by fax, until the comment period deadline at the close of business Oct. 15. Comments should be sent to: Patty McGrath, Email: [email protected], US EPA Region 10, Fax: (206) 553-0165, 1200 Sixth Avenue, OWW-135, Seattle, WA 98101.

Following the scoping process and identification of issues, Tetra Tech will prepare the SEIS under EPA's direction.

Public input is welcome, and there are specific points at which it is specifically sought. Here's a look at the tentative schedule for the public participation process:

• Distribution of draft SEIS for public/agency review, summer 2008;

• Draft SEIS open houses and public hearings, summer 2008;

• Close of public/agency Draft SEIS review period, late summer 2008

• Distribution of Final SEIS, December 2008;

• EPA record of decision and NPDES permit, open.

Aqqaluk promises 18-plus years of production

The Aqqaluk deposit is immediately to the northeast of Red Dog's main deposit on the north side of Red Dog Creek. It has probable reserves and indicated resources totaling 55.7 million metric tons, grading 16.4 percent zinc, 4.3 percent lead and 79 g/t silver. By comparison, the main Red Dog deposit had proven reserves of 19.7 million metric tons, grading 20.5 percent zinc, 5.7 percent lead and 109 g/t silver.

Teck Cominco proposes to begin developing the Aqqaluk Pit in 2010. Another deposit, Qanaiyaq, is located south of the main deposit. It would be developed at a later date.

Mining the Aqqaluk deposit would occur in four phases, according to Teck Cominco. The first, starting in about 2010, would be a low strip-ratio/high zinc grade starter pit. Stripping of the second phase would start in about 2011, while mining of a third phase would start in 2013. The fourth phase would begin in about 2015. The latter two phases would target lower grade reserves with elevated iron levels.

The ultimate Aqqaluk pit would cover about 135 acres. Another 110 acres of disturbance also may occur within the area as a "disturbance buffer" around the pit rim to provide access, room for constructing freshwater diversions, and for access to exploration targets, the company said. Haul trucks would cross Red Dog Creek over a culvert crossing on route to the mill and waste stockpiles.

Ore from the Aqqaluk deposit would initially be blended with ore from the main deposit, at a combined production rate of about 3.3 million metric tons per year, which is the same as current and planned production rates from the current main pit operations. In 2012, when ore from the main deposit has been depleted, to 2015, all of the production would be from the Aqqaluk deposit. From 2016 to 2025, mill feed would be blended with ore from the Qanaiyaq deposit, and then from 2026 to the end of mining in 2031, production would be entirely from the Aqqaluk deposit, Teck Cominco said.

The ore production rate would remain relatively constant at 3.3 million metric tons per year until 2021, when it would drop to about 3 million metric tons annually. About 56 million metric tons of ore would be mined from the Aqqaluk deposit over the life of the project. Some 86 million metric tons of waste rock and 7.1 million metric tons of low grade ore also would be produced from Aqqaluk.

State review for solid waste permit, reclamation update

In addition to the NEPA SEIS process, the state's large mine project team is currently working with Teck Cominco Alaska, NANA, local governments and the indigenous people of the region to update Red Dog's reclamation plan and review an application for a solid waste permit for the mine expansion, according to state officials.

Red Dog is an important component of the economy of Northwest Alaska, employing some 450 people directly and creating an additional 150 jobs indirectly. A majority of the mine's employees are NANA shareholders.

One of the important issues to be addressed in the state's permitting efforts will be ensuring that necessary steps are taken to minimize, monitor and control acid rock drainage during and after mine life, state officials said.

The solid waste permit is expected to be issued in 2008 and cover the period from 2008 to 2013, with a renewal review every five years.