About 80 miles north of Kotzebue nestled in the Delong Mountains, the Red Dog Mine stands out on the otherwise remote tundra. Red Dog is one of the largest lead and zinc mines in the world, but its clock is ticking. The last of the mine’s three developed deposits, the Aqqaluk deposit, could run out of ore as soon as 2031.
The land is owned by NANA Regional Corporation, which expects mine revenues to dwindle every year until the ore runs out. Canadian mining company TECK Resources owns and operates the mine itself. In hopes of keeping the mine going, NANA and Teck are pursuing two deposits about 10 miles from the mine.
For NANA, the eventual end of the mine looms large. The corporation created a permanent fund last September, in hopes that shareholders could retain earnings when the mine closes.
“We cannot stress enough the impact of Red Dog’s planned closure on shareholders and the region as a whole,” said Liz Cravalho, vice president of lands for NANA.
Last year, the corporation took in nearly $100 million in revenue from Red Dog.
NANA shareholders also receive a hiring preference. In 2023, about a thousand shareholders worked at the mine, earning about $62 million in wages, according to Wayne Hall, Red Dog’s community and public relations manager.
The Northwest Arctic Borough also benefits from the mine through what's known as a payment in lieu of taxes — also known as the PILT agreement. Red Dog contributed around $26 million to the PILT in 2023 – about 80% of the borough's revenue – and another $8 million for village improvement projects in the region.
On top of that, Red Dog revenue has contributed around $2 billion to other Alaska Native Corporations. It also pays millions to the state in mining licensing fees and taxes.
The new deposits
The two deposits Teck wants to explore are on state land, which could mean less mining revenue for NANA. The deposits, called Anarraaq and Aktigirug, are farther below the surface and would require underground mining, instead of the open pit mining Red Dog currently uses.
Hall said getting underground to evaluate the deposits is a more challenging process.
“We've been conducting surface exploration now for a number of years and that's supported via helicopters,” Hall said. “It's quite a timely or time-consuming process.”
In order to get a better estimation of whether the deposits are worth developing, Hall said Teck needs to build an access road.
“It allows the drilling to occur much closer to where the deposit is,” Hall said. “So, you can get a lot more information over a shorter period of time.”
According to permitting documents, the proposed road would be temporary and include half a dozen gravel pads and pits, an exploration camp, water treatment plant, underground vents and mining portal, several bridges and five dozen culverts.
The 12 total miles of connecting gravel roads would pass through NANA and state-owned land, as well as wetlands in the Ikalukrok Creek watershed, which feeds the larger Wulik River. Ikalukrok Creek is home to several varieties of fish, and includes spawning grounds for Dolly Varden and several salmon species.
Permits for the project from the state and Northwest Arctic Borough have already been approved. Now Hall says Teck is waiting on an environmental assessment from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in order to dredge and fill wetlands the road would cross.
Hall said the permitting timeline has taken longer than Teck had anticipated, so the company could not begin construction during the winter.
A corps spokesperson said via email that the agency received a permit extension until the end of June but anticipates the review process will require more time.
“It's in all of our best interests to do whatever we can to shorten these timelines so that there is not a gap in production,” Hall said.
Hall said once Teck receives the permits for the access road, the company anticipates it will take six years of exploration to determine if developing new deposits is feasible. The six-year timeframe falls just one year short of the projected end of the mine’s life.
Hall said during the exploration work, Teck plans to simultaneously develop a mine plan if the deposits are found economically and environmentally feasible. Hall said the company will continue to meet with Kivalina and Noatak, the closest communities to the mine, during the process.
If Teck decides to develop the deposits, the company will have to go through a separate permitting process for construction of a mine and a permanent haul road to transport the ore.
There’s also another underground deposit closer to Red Dog’s current operation called the Paalaaq deposit. A representative from Teck said via email that, while the company has no definite findings at this time, Teck is “continuing to evaluate the economic viability of the Paalaaq deposit.”
