The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Teck still expects more than 1.2B lb of zinc from mine in 2023 North of 60 Mining News – July 28, 2023
Along with being one of the world's largest suppliers of zinc, the Red Dog mine on Alaska Native-owned lands is a globally significant source of germanium, silver, and lead.
The Delong Mountain Transportation System port serves as a vital conduit to store and deliver more than 1.2 billion pounds of Red Dog zinc, roughly 4% percent of the world's mined supply of this critical metal, to the global market each year.
Teck Resources Ltd. July 26 reported that power system issues at Red Dog impacted second-quarter production at this world-class zinc mine in Northwest Alaska.
Over the three months ending June 30, Red Dog produced 133,700 metric tons (294.8 million pounds) of zinc, which is 7% lower than the 143,800 metric tons (317 million lb) produced during the same period of 2022.
Teck attributes the drop in zinc output primarily to lower zinc grades, which were expected as part of the mine sequencing. A five-day shutdown of the mill due to power system availability, however, was unplanned and also impacted the operation's second-quarter zinc production.
Higher lead grades more than offset the shutdown. During the second quarter, Red Dog produced 23,500 metric tons (51.8 million lb) of lead, which is 12% higher than the 21,000 metric tons (46.3 million lb) produced during the same period in 2022.
While Red Dog's second-quarter zinc output was down compared to a year ago, it is up significantly from the first quarter, which was impacted by severe snowstorms. As a result, Red Dog produced 126,200 metric tons (278.2 million pounds) of zinc and 23,100 metric tons (50.9 million lb) of lead during the first three months of this year.
Despite the weather and power system issues, Red Dog produced 259,900 metric tons (573.9 million lb) of zinc during the first half of 2023, which is only down about 6% from the first six months of last year.
Despite the slow start, Teck remains confident that Red Dog will meet the zinc sales guidance of 550,000 to 580,000 metric tons (1.21 billion to 1.28 billion lb) of zinc for 2023.
"Red Dog zinc production is expected to improve in the second half of the year due to increased mill throughput, combined with higher grade and recovery," the company penned in its second quarter report.
During the winter and spring, zinc and lead concentrates produced at Red Dog are stored in a large warehouse at the Delong Mountain Transportation System port facility about 50 miles west of Red Dog for shipping during the ice-free summer and fall months at the Northwest Alaska operation.
The first ships of the 2023 season began receiving Red Dog concentrates on July 4.
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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