The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Three of the five satellites are in Alaska's Red Dog District North of 60 Mining News - May 16, 2022
A rainbow touches down at Lik, an advanced-stage zinc-lead-silver project in the Red Dog District being explored under a 50-50 partnership between Teck Resources and Solitario Zinc.
With global zinc demand outpacing supply and the transition to renewable energy creating even more need for the galvanizing metal, Teck Resources Ltd. has launched an initiative to realize value from its portfolio of world-class zinc development assets – most of which are in Alaska and Northern British Columbia.
"The market outlook for zinc is strong, due to declining production from existing primary zinc mines, underinvestment in global exploration for zinc, and long-term demand driven by decarbonization, which is galvanized steel-intensive," said Teck Resources CEO Don Lindsay.
The initiative, called Zinc Satellite, will build on the technical and commercial expertise of Teck's Project Satellite team, which has successfully advanced and grown the value of the mining company's copper growth projects over the past five years.
"Zinc Satellite will leverage our successful Project Satellite approach of making prudent investments to advance each asset by identifying pragmatic development options and paths to value. Value could ultimately be realized through a standalone investment, a partnership, or other transaction," Lindsay continued.
This initiative will focus on leveraging the value of five world-class zinc development assets in Alaska, Northern BC, and Australia's Northern Territory.
Red Dog satellites
Three of the five assets are satellite deposits near the company's Red Dog Mine in Northwest Alaska.
During 2021, Red Dog produced 1.1 billion pounds of zinc, which singlehandedly accounted for roughly 4% of the total zinc produced globally last year.
Going into 2021, Red Dog had roughly 46 million metric tons of proven and probable reserves averaging 12.9% (10.8 billion lb) zinc and 3.6% (1.8 billion lb) lead. This is enough ore to keep the world-class zinc mine in operation until 2031.
Aktigiruq and Anarraaq, deposits fully owned by Teck, could provide ore for the Red Dog mill deep into the 21st century.
"Looking to the future, Red Dog remains a premium zinc district with high-quality mine life extension potential at Aktigiruq and Anarraaq deposits," Teck Resources Senior Vice President of Exploration Alex Christopher said in September.
Aktigiruq, which lies about nine miles north-northwest of the current Red Dog operation, is one of the largest undeveloped zinc deposits on Earth.
While an industry-compliant resource has yet to be published, Teck has previously reported that Aktigiruq hosts 80 to 150 metric tons of material averaging 16 to 18% combined zinc and lead.
This would be enough ore to feed the Red Dog mill for 25 to 50 years at current production rates.
Teck says a scoping study that is currently underway will provide a first look at the economic and engineering parameters of a mine at Aktigiruq.
Anarraaq, which lies about seven miles north-northwest of Red Dog and just south of Aktigiruq, hosts 19.4 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 14.4% zinc and 4.2% lead, according to the most recent calculation published by Teck.
In addition to Anarraaq and Aktigiruq, Teck is exploring the Lik zinc project about 11 miles northwest of Red Dog under a 50-50 partnership with Solitario Zinc Corp.
Lik hosts 17.3 million metric tons of potentially open-pit mineable indicated resource averaging 8.1% zinc, 2.7% lead, and 50.1 grams per metric ton silver; plus 2.9 million metric tons of inferred resource at 8.6% zinc, 2.7% lead, and 37.5 g/t silver.
Potentially underground mineable mineralization also occurs on the Lik property.
Teck was the operator of a jointly funded 2021 program at Lik that included sampling, geophysics, and drilling to test new exploration concepts and expand resources along a 2.5-mile prospective trend northeast of the deposit.
Northern BC Cirque
Cirque, a Northern BC zinc project Teck is advancing under a 50-50 partnership with Korea Zinc, is another world-class asset being explored as part of the company's Zinc Satellite initiative.
Cirque is found in the Kechika Trough, a region of northeastern BC rich in sediment-hosted zinc-lead-silver deposits and prospects. According to a calculation completed in the 1990s, the Cirque Main deposit hosted 24.7 million metric tons of historical reserves averaging 8.5% zinc, 2.3% lead, and 50.8 g/t silver.
These reserves were never mined, and Teck has carried out additional exploration in recent years. An updated resource calculation, however, has not been published.
Located close to existing infrastructure, Teck says concentrates from Cirque could easily be delivered to Trail, a Southern BC smelting and refining facility owned by the company that processes concentrates from the Red Dog Mine.
The Teck-Korea Zinc JV also owns a 51% interest in three properties adjacent to Cirque – Pie, Cirque East, and Yuen.
ZincX Resources Corp., which holds the other 49% interest in these projects, has a total of 11 properties that cover a 140-kilometer- (87 miles) long stretch of the Kechika Trough.
Teena in Australia
Teck's Zinc Satellite initiative also includes the Teena project in Australia's Northern Territory.
Located about four miles west of Glencore's McArthur River zinc-lead mine, Teena hosts 58 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 11.1% (6.5 million metric tons) zinc and 1.6% (900,000 metric tons) lead, according to a calculation completed prior to Teck's 2016 acquisition of Teena.
Teck says its Zinc Satellite project represents five of the largest 25 undeveloped zinc deposits globally and are all located in stable jurisdictions.
"We have established work programs and teams to advance these potential zinc growth options with prudent investments to improve our understanding of each asset's potential, and define associated development options and paths to value for each one," the company penned in a statement.
CORRECTION: Red Dog produced 1.1 billion pounds of zinc during 2021, the previous version incorrectly stated the units as tons. Also, the inferred resource grade for zinc at Teena is 11.1% and the Lik resource estimate was updated.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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