Fort Knox gold production down

Kinross Gold Corp. Aug. 2 reported that its Fort Knox Mine near Fairbanks, Alaska, produced 91,848 ounces of gold during the second quarter, a nearly 6 percent decrease from the 97,221 oz recovered there during the same period last year.

The company attributes the 5,373-oz decrease to a colder spring that affected heap leach performance, which was partially offset by an increase in mill grades.

"Fort Knox had a solid quarter as higher mill grades largely offset heap leach performance which was impacted by a colder-than-normal spring," said Kinross COO Lauren Roberts.

The Fort Knox mill processed 3.07 million metric tons of ore averaging 0.86 grams per metric ton gold during the second quarter, compared to 3.47million metric tons averaging 0.64 g/t during the second quarter of 2016.

Additionally, 5.8 million metric tons of ore averaging 0.26 g/t was processed on the heap leap pad, compared to 4.9 million metric tons averaging 0.28 g/t during the same period last year.

The per-ounce cost of Fort Knox gold sold during the second quarter was US$635, a 20 percent drop from the US$793 production cost of sales during the same period last year.

During the first six months of 2017, Fort Knox produced 184,886 oz of gold, down very slightly from the 185,021 oz during the first half of last year.

Gold production at this Interior Alaska mine increases during the second half of the year due to improved recoveries from the heap leach pad during the summer and fall.

-SHANE LASLEY