The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News – November 10, 2023
The nine millionth ounce of gold being poured at the Fort Knox Mine in Alaska on Sept. 27.
From left to right: Native Village of Tetlin Chief Michael Sam, Contango ORE President and CEO Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, and Avalon Development President Curt Freeman at the Aug. 29 Manh Choh gold mine groundbreaking ceremony.
Kinross Gold Corp. Nov. 8 reported that its Fort Knox Mine in Alaska produced 71,611 ounces of gold during the third quarter of 2023, which included the nine millionth ounce recovered from this iconic mine about 25 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska.
"As we celebrate this remarkable milestone of pouring nine million ounces of gold from the Fort Knox refinery, we also look to the future with great optimism," Kinross Alaska General Manager Terrence Watungwa said during the milestone gold pour on Sept. 27.
One reason for Kinross Alaska's optimism is that the million-ounce milestones at Fort Knox are expected to come with more frequency in the coming years than they have in the recent past.
It took Fort Knox roughly 27 years to pour the first 9 million oz, which comes to around 330,000 oz per year. In recent years, that annual production has dropped to about 250,000 oz/year, as evidenced by the almost exactly four years since the 8-million-oz gold pour at the Interior Alaska mine.
With the first ore from the new Manh Choh mine near the Village of Tetlin slated to be fed into the mill at Fort Knox next year, Kinross Alaska expects its annual gold production pace to increase to nearly half a million oz over the coming years.
"Our commitment to responsible mining stewardship is unwavering, and with the addition of ounces from Manh Choh and Gil, we aim to become a major producer, processing over 500,000 oz annually," said Kinross Alaska General Manager Terence Watungwa.
The 9-millionth-oz gold pour was not the only, and maybe not the most important, milestone achieved by Kinross during the third quarter.
On Aug. 29, Kinross Alaska (70%) and joint venture partner Contango ORE Inc. (30%) broke ground on the Manh Choh Mine about 200 miles southeast of Fort Knox.
"We officially broke ground at Manh Choh as the project continues to advance on schedule and on budget for initial production in the second half of next year," Kinross Gold President and CEO Paul Rollinson informed shareholders on Nov. 8.
Located on lands owned by the Alaska Native Village of Tetlin, Manh Choh hosts 3.9 million metric tons of proven and probable reserves averaging 7.88 grams per metric ton (998,000 oz) gold and 13.6 g/t (1.7 million oz) silver.
These grades are an order of magnitude higher than the 0.8 g/t gold ore currently being fed into the Kinross Alaska mill, which is what will contribute to the substantial increase in gold production going forward.
The breaking of ground at Manh Choh was also a major milestone for the Native Village of Tetlin, which owns the land where the high-grade gold mine is located.
"With the development of this mine, we will be able to be financially self-sufficient and continue to live our cultural and traditional way of life," Native Village of Tetlin Chief Michael Sam penned in a recent letter.
The plan to ship ore approximately 250 highway miles from Manh Choh to the Kinross Alaska mill, however, has raised concerns and opposition from some Interior Alaska residents who live along the route.
"It is really disappointing that people from an urban area, 250 miles away, are trying to block a project because they perceive that it might impact their daily commute," said Chief Sam. "In doing so, they are effectively blocking our ability to have any sort of financial security and hope for the future."
Sam says Kinross Alaska, Contango ORE, and their contractors at Manh Choh are going above and beyond what is required to ensure that both the ore mining and hauling are done safely.
"So, I respectfully ask that you look beyond the highway to the larger picture of what this mine means not only to us, but to the region and to the state," Chief Sam wrote. "It means good, high-paying jobs and excellent benefits. It means almost half a billion in new dollars for Alaska businesses. It means more revenues to the state. And it means we can continue to live our traditional way of life for many more years to come."
Manh Choh remains on budget and schedule for initial gold production in the second half of 2024.
While preparing to process the first ore from Manh Choh, Kinross Alaska continues to process ore mined from the main and Gil deposits on the Fort Knox property.
Fort Knox produced 206,436 oz of gold over the first nine months of 2023, putting the Interior Alaska operation on pace for a total of around 280,000 oz for the full year.
The 71,616 oz produced at Fort Knox during the third quarter is 3% higher than the previous quarter but 5% lower than the corresponding period of 2022. Kinross attributes the quarter-over-quarter increase to more gold recovered from the heap leach pads.
During the third quarter, 5.96 million metric tons of ore averaging 0.21 g/t gold was stacked on the Barnes Creek heap leach pad. At the same time, 1.91 million metric tons of ore averaging 0.81 g/t gold was fed through the mill.
Gold production from the heap leach pads at Fort Knox tends to increase toward the end of each year due to improved leaching recoveries as the summer progresses into fall.
As Kinross Alaska looks forward to pouring its 10 millionth oz of gold, it also looks ahead to continuing to be a beacon of responsible mining at Fort Knox and Manh Choh, as well as an economic driver for Interior Alaska and across the Last Frontier.
"Kinross Alaska is dedicated to the state of Alaska, its people, and the sustainable development of our mining operations," Watungwa said. "We are not just mining gold; we are mining the future."
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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