Red Dog mine

Site Name

Primary: Red Dog mine
Secondary: Qanaiyaq (Hilltop)
Secondary: Aqqaluk
Secondary: Paalaaq
Secondary: Main

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Commodity

Primary: Silver
Primary: Lead
Primary: Zinc
Secondary: Barium-Barite
Tertiary: Copper
Tertiary: Gold
Tertiary: Barium-Barite

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Location

State: Alaska
District: Lisburne

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Land Status

Land ownership: Private
Note: the land ownership field only identifies whether the area the mine is in is generally on public lands like Forest Service or BLM land, or if it is in an area that is generally private property. It does not definitively identify property status, nor does it indicate claim status or whether an area is open to prospecting. Always respect private property.

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Holdings

Type: Fee Ownership

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Workings

Type: Surface

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Ownership

Owner Name: Teck Cominco (now Teck Resources)
Info Year: 1992

Owner Name: Nana Regional Corp.
Percent: 100.0
Home Office: Alaska
Info Year: 1980

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Production

Year: 1992
Material type: Zn, Pb, and ISF (Imperial Smelter Furnace) concentrates shipped
Year: 1991
Material type: Zn, Pb, and ISF (Imperial Smelter Furnace) concentrates shipped
Year: 1990
Material type: Zn, Pb, ISF (Imperial Smelting Furnace) concentrates shipped

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Deposit

Record Type: Deposit
Operation Category: Producer
Deposit Type: sedex and shale-hosted
Plant Type: Beneficiation (Mill)
Plant Subtype: Flotation
Operation Type: Surface-Underground
Mining Method: Open Pit
Milling Method: Flotation
Year First Production: 1989
Discovery Year: 1968
Discovery Method: Geochemical Anomaly
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y

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Physiography

Not available

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Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Sedimentary exhalative Zn-Pb

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Orebody

Form: TABULAR

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Structure

Type: R
Structure: Thrust faulting important

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Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration: Silicification of host black shale.
Alteration Text: Silicification of host mudstone.

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Rocks

Not available

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Polybasite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Barite
Ore: Marcasite
Ore: Tetrahedrite
Ore: Polybasite
Ore: Boulangerite
Gangue: Quartz

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Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active

Comment (Geology): Age = Mississippian to Permian.

Comment (Identification): Claims names - Mac 5546-5553, Mac 5646-5653, Mac 5336-5353, Mac 5246-5253, Mac 5446-5453

Comment (Reserve-Resource): 86 BROOK-HUNT & ILZSG DATA/PAH REPORT.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): 2008 reserves notes: Reserve changes at Red Dog are consistent with normal mining depletion. Mine production removed 3 million tonnes of reserves from the main pit in 2008. Proven reserves have been drill defined at 30 metre centres, probable reserves at 60 metre centres and indicated resources at greater than 60 metre centres. All mineral reserves and indicated resources are mineable by open pit methods and assume a US$0.75/lb zinc and US$0.40/lb lead price.

Comment (Workings): Mining at the Main deposit is by open pit with a stripping ratio of 1:1. Paalaak will likely be underground.

Comment (Workings): The first reported visit to the Red Dog area was in 1968 by the U.S. Geological Survey. In 1975, the U.S. Bureau of Mines conducted a mineral examination of the Red Dog site. Active exploration of the site and adjacent area began in 1975 and the first claims were staked in 1978. In 1980, Cominco Alaska drilled 9 holes that totaled 915 meters, to determine the size of the deposit. Geologic mapping at a scale of 1:12000 was done in the region from 1977 to 1984. The Red Dog deposit was mapped at a scale of 1:2400 in 1982 and 83. One hundred core holes were drilled from 1981 to 1984 for a total of 9800 meters. This provided a 30-meter drill spacing for the first five years of production. It also provided information for metallurgical testing. Geophysical methods used at Red Dog include CS-ATM, Input, Induced Polarization, and Gravity (Young, 1989). An open pit mine and associated facilities were designed and constructed; the first ore was processed by the mill in late 1989.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): 1998 Reserves total 146 million metric tons grading 16.1% zinc, 4.3% lead and 2.6 ounces silver per metric ton. Specifically, the Main deposit contains indicated reserves of 50.6 million metric tons grading 19.5 % Zn, 5.2% Pb and 3 ounces silver per ton. The Aqqaluk has inferred reserves of 72.9 million metric tons grading 13.7% Zn, 3.6% Pb and 2 ounces silver per ton. The reddogalaska.com website states it as 51.6 Mt reserves at 16.7% Zn, 4.4% Pb. Qanaiyaq (Hilltop) holds probable reserves of 9.6 million tons grading 17.8% Zn, 5.5 % Pb and 3.6 ounces silver per ton. Paalaaq has possible underground resources of 13 million tons grading 15% Zn, 4.3% Pb and 2.8 ounces silver per ton. 1989 The Main Red Dog ore body reserves were 85 million short tons of ore grading 17.1% zinc, 5.6% lead and 2.2 ounces of silver per ton.

Comment (Production): 2009 Red Dog produced a record 582,500 mt Zn and 131,500 mt Pb. Main orebody expected to be exhausted by mid 2011. Expecting formal approval for Aqqaluk deposit which would maintain production at current levels until 2031. 1999 The mine processed 2.5 million metric tons of ore which produced 100,000 metric tons of lead and 650,000 metric tons of zinc concentrate. After the 1999 expansion program, the mine was projected to produce 175,000 metric tons of lead and 975,000 metric tons of zinc concentrate from 3.2 million metric tons of ore (Phelps, 1998). Stripping ratio less than 1:1. 1997 Production was 3.1 million metric tons ore.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Young, 1989; Kulas, 1992; Phelps, 1998

Comment (Deposit): When considered as a single deposit, the Red Dog Main, Qanaiyaq (Hilltop), Aqqaluk, and Paalaak orebodies constitute the world's second or third largest lead-zinc deposit, exceeded only by Broken Hill, Australia and perhaps Howards Pass, Canada. Red Dog annual zinc production is the largest in the world (2002) and often accounts for 80% of US zinc production. Red Dog went into production in 1990 at 3,000 metric tons per day. In 1999, reserves and mining plans gave it a 50+ year mine life.

Comment (Geology): The DeLong Mountains are characterized by stacked and folded, thrust allochthons. The structurally lower allochthons are composed of Devonian through Cretaceous clastic and chemical sedimentary rocks. The two uppermost allochthons contain Jurassic or older mafic and ultramafic igneous sequences. Minor igneous rocks of basic composition are exposed 0.6 mile northeast of Red Dog (Kulas, 1992). The Red Dog deposit complex comprises multiple, superimposed thrust fault slices of stratabound, massive sulfides and barren mudstones. It occurs in black, siliceous shale and chert of the Mississippian to Pennsylvanian Kuna Formation. The Kivalina unit, an interbedded calcarenite and calcareous shale, is the footwall of the deposit. Most Zn-Pb mineralization formed by subseafloor replacement of syngenetic barite, together with lesser planar veins in the shallow footwall. Only a small portion of the Zn-Pb ore is truly syngenitic (Kelley et al., 2004a, b). Silicification occurs within and peripheral to the main mass of sulfides. A barite facies is concentrated toward the top and periphery of the deposit. Major sulfides in decreasing order of abundance are sphalerite, pyrite, marcasite, and galena. Rare disseminated chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite occur in sphalerite. The ore textures are massive, fragmental, chaotic, and veined; they rarely show typical sedimentary layering. The upper portion of the ore body is oxidized. The deposit is weakly enriched upward in lead relative to zinc. The Main deposit is composed of two major mineralized thrust fault slices and one lesser mineralized fault slice. It extends 1,600 meters in a northwest direction and varies in width from 150 to 975 meters. High-grade portions of the deposit are 135 meters thick. The base of the Main deposit is a tectonic melange zone which separates it from the Cretaceous Okpikruak Formation. The Qanaiyaq (Hilltop) occurrence is a flat-lying klippe of the same ore body as the Main deposit (Moore and others, 1986). The mineralized zone is 490 meters long by 245 meters wide and the mineralized package is less than 100 meters thick. The mineral assemblage is similar to that at the Main deposit except that copper sulfides occur at Qanaiyaq (Hilltop). Significant amounts of chalcopyrite, covellite, and bornite occur locally. The deposit contains 0.3% Cu, along with gold values of about 1 gram per ton. The presence of copper and gold may indicate that this deposit formed near a vent (Kulas, 1992). The Aqqaluk deposit was discovered during a drilling program in 1995. The ore is similar to that at the Main deposit. Sphalerite and galena occur in silica rock, barite and shale. Sulfides are disseminated, semi-massive to massive, and rarely laminated. Late crosscutting sulfide veins and stringers occur in the host shale and occasionally in the mineralized rock.(Phelps, 1998). The Paalaaq deposit is the newest and deepest exploration target in the Red Dog complex.

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References

Reference (Reserve-Resource): Bundtzen, T.K., Eakins, G.R., Green, C.B., and Lueck, L.L., 1986, Alaska's mineral industry 1985: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Special Report 39, 68 p.

Reference (Deposit): Eakins, G.R., Bundtzen, T.K., Robinson, M.S., Clough, J.G., Green, C.B., Clautice, K.H., and Albanese, M.D., 1983, Alaska's mineral industry 1982: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Special Report 31, 68 p.

Reference (Deposit): Kelley, K.D., Leach, D.L., Johnson, C.A., Clark, J.L., Fayek, M., Slack, J.F., Anderson, V.M., Ayuso, R.A., and Ridley, W.I., 2004b, Textural, compositional, and sulfur isotope variations of sulfide minerals in the Red Dog Zn-Pb-Ag deposits, Brooks Range, Alaska: Implications for ore formation: Economic Geology, v. 99.
Pages: 1509?1532

Reference (Deposit): Morelli, R.M., Creaser, R.A., Selby, D., Kelley, K.D., Leach, D.L., and King, A.R., 2004, Re-Os sulfide geochronology of the Red Dog sediment-hosted Zn-Pb-Ag deposit, Brooks Range, Alaska: Economic Geology, v. 99.
Pages: 1569?1576

Reference (Reserve-Resource): Swainbank, R.C., Bundtzen, T.K., Clough, A.H., Hansen, E.W., and Nelson, M.G., 1993, Alaska's mineral industry 1992: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Special Report 47, 80 p.

Reference (Deposit): Slack, J.F., Kelley, K.D., Anderson, V.M., Clark, J.L., and Ayuso, R.A., 2004, Multistage hydrothermal silicification and Fe-Tl-As-Sb-Ge-REE enrichment in the Red Dog Zn-Pb-Ag district, northern Alaska: Geochemistry, origin, and exploration applications: Economic Geology, v. 99.
Pages: 1481-1508

Reference (Reserve-Resource): Eakins, G.R., Bundtzen, T.K., Lueck, L.L., Green, C.B., Gallagher, J.L., and Robinson, M.S., 1985, Alaska's mineral industry 1984: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Special Report 38, 57 p.

Reference (Deposit): Plahuta, J. P., Geologic Map and Cross Sections of the Red Dog Prospect, De Long Mountains, Northwestern Alaska. US Bureau of Mines Open File Report 65-78. 11 p.

Reference (Deposit): Eakins, G.R., Bundtzen, T.K., Lueck, L.L., Green, C.B., Gallagher, J.L., and Robinson, M.S., 1985, Alaska's mineral industry 1984: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Special Report 38, 57 p.

Reference (Deposit): Leach, D., Sangster, D., Kelley, K., Large, R.R., Garven, G., Allen, C., Gutzmer, J., and Walters, S., 2005, Sediment-hosted lead-zinc deposits: A global perspective. Economic Geology, 100th Aniversary Volume. pp. 561-607. Also Appendices A, B, C, D, E, and Supplement
Pages: Appendix A, Table A1

Reference (Deposit): Kelley, K.D., Dumoulin, J.A., and Jennings, S., 2004a, The Anarraaq Zn- Pb-Ag and barite deposit, northern Alaska: Evidence for replacement of carbonate by barite and sulfides: Economic Geology, v. 99.
Pages: 1577?1591

Reference (Deposit): OF445 (OPEN FILE?)

Reference (Deposit): N MINER 820225 p. 1

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., Mayfield, C.F., and Brosge, W.P., 1981, Summaries of data on and lists of references to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral occurrences in Arctic, Baird Mts., Chandler Lake, De Long Mts., Demarcation Pt., Howard Pass, Misheguk Mtn., Mt. Michelson, Noatak, Point Lay, and Table Mtn. quadrangles: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-767-A, 24 p.

Reference (Deposit): Mayfield, C. F., Curtis, S. M., Ellersieck, I. F., and Tailleur, I. L., 1979, Reconnaissance geology of the Ginny Creek zinc-lead-silver and Nimiuktuk barite deposits, northwestern Brooks Range, Alaska. US Geological Survey Open File Report 79-1092

Reference (Deposit): AMR 81-82 p. 9

Reference (Reserve-Resource): THE MINING RECORD, VOL., 107 #44, OCT., 30, 1996.
Pages: 2

Reference (Reserve-Resource): COMINCO LTD. 1995 ANNUAL REPORT.
Pages: 37

Reference (Deposit): MINING ENGINEERING, DECEMBER 1986.
Pages: 1099-1100

Reference (Deposit): THE MINING RECORD, V107, #44, OCT. 30, 1996.
Pages: 2

Reference (Deposit): CRU ZINC MONITOR-SEPTEMBER 1996.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): COMINCO LTD. 1993 ANNUAL REPORT.
Pages: 35

Reference (Deposit): MTA 82 No. A-7

Reference (Deposit): RED DOG PROJECT NOTES.

Reference (Deposit): COMINCO ALASKA'S "1990 RED DOG FACTS" PAMPHLET.

Reference (Deposit): Canadian Mining Journal, May 1983.
Pages: 7-8

Reference (Deposit): JULY 1990 RED DOG FACTS OVERVIEW, COMINCO ALASKA.

Reference (Deposit): MINING ENGINEERING, JANUARY 1992.
Pages: 43-49

Reference (Deposit): MINING ENGINEERING, DECEMBER 1988.
Pages: 1102-1103

Reference (Deposit): Jansons, U., and Bottge, R.G., 1977, Economic Mining Feasibility of Selected Minera Deposit Types in the Western Brooks Range, Alaska. USBM Open File Report 128-77. 96p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the DeLong Mountains quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF 404, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Kulas, J.E., 1992, Geology of the Red Dog Mine, Western Brooks Range, Alaska: Society of Mining Engineers Annual Meeting, February, 1992, Phoenix, AZ, reprint # 92-70, 10 p.

Reference (Deposit): Grybeck, D.J., 1977, Known mineral deposits of the Brooks Range, Alaska: US Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-166C, 41 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Tailleur, I.L., Ellersieck, I., and Mayfield, C.F., 1977, Mineral resources of the western Brooks range: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 751-B.
Pages: B24-B25

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1975, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in northern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 75-628, 106 p.

Reference (Deposit): Schmidt, J.M. and Zierenberg, R.A., 1988, Reconstruction of primary features and isotopic evidence for multiple sulfur sources at the Red Dog zinc-lead-silver deposit, Noatak district, Alaska: in K.S. Schindler, ed., U. S. Geological Survey Research on Mineral Resources-1989 Program and Abstracts, fifth Annual V.E. McKelvey Forum on Mineral and Energy Resources: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1035.
Pages: 62-63

Reference (Deposit): Young, L.E., 1989, Geology and genesis of the Red Dog deposit, western Brooks Range, Alaska: Canadian Institute of Mining Bulletin, v. 82.
Pages: 57-67

Reference (Deposit): Degenhart, C.E., Griffis, R.J., McQuat, J.F., and Bigelow, C.G., 1978, Mineral studies of the western Brooks Range performed under contract to the U.S. Bureau of Mines, Contract #JO155089: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 103-78, 529 p., 11 sheets.

Reference (Deposit): Young, L.E. and Moore, D.W., 1987, Geologic setting, petrology, and geochemistry of stratiform sphalerite-galena-barite deposits, Red Dog Creek and Drenchwater Creek areas, northwestern Brooks Range-A discussion: Economic Geology, v. 82.
Pages: 1077-1079

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., and Henning, M.W., 1978, Barite in Alaska: Mines and Geology Bulletin, v. 27, no. 4, p. 1-4.

Reference (Deposit): Tailleur, I.L., 1970, Lead, zinc and barite-bearing samples from the western Brooks Range, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 70-319, 16 p.

Reference (Deposit): Grybeck, D.J., and De Young, J.H., 1978, Map and tables describing mineral resource potential of the Brooks Range, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-1-B, 19 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Plahuta, J.T., 1978, Geologic map and cross section of the Red Dog prospect, DeLong Mountains, northwestern Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 65-78, 11 p.

Reference (Deposit): Lange, I.M., Nokleberg, W.J., Plahuta, J.T., Krouse, H.R., and Doe, B.R., 1985, Geologic setting, petrology, and geochemistry of stratiform sphalerite-galena-barite deposits, Red Dog Creek and Drenchwater Creek areas, northwestern Brooks Range, Alaska: Economic Geology, v. 80.
Pages: 1896-1926

Reference (Deposit): Phelps, R., 1998, Leader of the Pack, Red Dog Mine 'Grows Up': Engineering and Mining Journal, v. 199.
Pages: 34-44

Reference (Deposit): Moore, D.W., Young, L.E., Modene, J.S., and Plahuta, J.T., 1986, Geologic setting and genesis of the Red Dog zinc-lead deposit, western Brooks Range, Alaska: Economic Geology, v. 81.
Pages: 1696-1727

Reference (Deposit): Cominco Alaska Staff, 1998, Red Dog Facts 1990-1998: NANA Regional Corp and Cominco, 15 p. (Report held by NANA Regional Corporation, Anchorage, Alaska).

Reference (Deposit): Jennings, S., and King, A.R., 2002, Geology, exploration history and future discoveries in the Red Dog district, western Brooks Range, Alaska: Hobart, University of Tasmania Centre for Ore Deposit Research Special Publication 4.
Pages: 151?158

Reference (Deposit): Mayfield, C.F., Curtis, S.M., Ellersieck, I., and Tailleur, I.L., 1979, The Ginny Creek zinc-lead-silver and Nimiuktuk barite deposits, northwestern Brooks Range, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 804B.
Pages: B11-B12

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., Eakins, G.R., Clough, J.G., Lueck, L.L., Green, C.B., Robinson, M.S., and Coleman, D.A., 1984, Alaska's mineral industry 1983: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Special Report 33, 56 p.

Reference (Deposit): Grybeck, D.J., and Nokleberg, W.J., 1979, Metallogeny of the Brooks Range, Alaska, in Johnson, K.M., and Williams, J.R., Jr., The United States Geological Survey in Alaska: Accomplishments during 1978: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 804-B.
Pages: B19-B22

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