The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
KGC: NYSE / K.TO: TSX
Chairman: John Oliver
Chief Executive Officer: Paul Rollison
Chief Operating Officer: Warwick Morley-Jepson
Kinross Gold Corp. continues to carry out robust exploration at and around its Fort Knox gold mine in Interior Alaska, while quietly investigating other prospects around the state.
When Kinross began mining at Fort Knox in 1996, the deposit had 4.1 million ounces of proven and probable gold reserves; going into 2014 the mine continues to boast 2.86 million ounces of gold contained in 183.11 million metric tons of reserves averaging 0.49 grams per metric ton gold.
This is enough ore to last the operation until roughly 2018.
Continued exploration at and around the immediate mine area is expected to continue to augment these reserves, including upgrading a portion of the projects measured and indicated resources of 78.15 million metric tons averaging 0.46 g/t (1.15 million ounces) gold.
Fort Knox produced 421,641 ounces of gold during 2013, topping the operation's previous annual record of 411,220 ounces recovered in 2001.
As a result of the record-setting pace, the six-millionth ounce of gold was poured at the Interior Alaska operation in December, 2013.
Fort Knox's success is not only measured by the record number of ounces recovered, but the low costs to extract that gold.
It cost US$569 to produce an ounce of gold at the Interior Alaska mine during 2013, ranking it as the lowest cost open pit mine in Kinross' portfolio.
High output and low costs at Fort Knox are primarily attributable to improved performance of the project's heap-leach facility, including the addition of a second carbon-in-column circuit brought online in mid-2013.
The efficiency of the heap-leach facility means that Kinross can continue to mine lower grade material found on the fringes of the deposit.
In July, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management said it has received a proposal from Kinross subsidiary, Fairbanks Gold Mining Inc., to conduct mineral assessment work on BLM-managed lands adjacent to the open-pit at Fort Knox that were previously withdrawn for use by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Fairbanks Gold Mining's proposed work on this adjacent property includes soil sampling, geologic mapping, and drilling.
This activity would occur on land near the western boundary of the Fort Knox mine.
The Gil gold property, located about five miles (eight kilometers) east of Fort Knox, is a potential source of ore to extend the life of the mine.
Kinross, which held a longstanding partnership with junior explorer Teryl Resources Corp. at Gil, bought full ownership of the property in 2011.
Shortly before selling its stake in the property, Teryl reported an NI 43-101-compliant heap leach resource of 514,916 ounces of gold contained in 19.86 million short tons of mineralized rock.
Kinross has not announced results from the drilling, trenching and other exploration completed at Gil since 2010.
Fairbanks Gold Mining is also completing early-stage gold exploration its PB and NPB claims located in the Circle Mining District roughly 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Fort Knox.
Kinross also owns the White Gold property about 60 miles (95 kilometers) south of Dawson City, Yukon Territory. The 2008 discovery at this property sparked the recent Yukon gold rush, and Kinross picked up the project in 2010. At the end of 2013, Kinross reported 9.8 million metric tons of indicated resources at White Gold averaging 2.67 g/t (840,000 ounces) gold, and 2.17 million metric tons of inferred resources at 1.79 g/t (125,000) ounces gold.
Cash and short-term deposits: US$738.7 million (June 30, 2014)
Working capital: US$1.86 billion (June 30, 2014)
Market capitalization: US$928.7 million (Sept. 26, 2014)
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Toronto, ON M5J 2V5
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Fax: 416-363-6622
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