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THE JOURNAL - AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION BY THE ALASKA MINERS ASSOCIATION
FEBRUARY 2026 | WWW.ALASKAMINERS.ORG
Mitchell, Schaake Earn ATHENA Awards
C ongratulations to Alaska Resource Education's Naomi Mitchell on receiving ATHENA Awards from the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Kinross Alaska's Brenna Schaake (pictured) and
Commerce in January. The ATHENA Award was
founded in 1982 in Lansing, Mich., to recognize outstand- ing business and professional men and women in the com- munity and those who create leadership opportunities for women. The program is now celebrated internationally in more than 600 communities. It continues to honor those who help foster the poten- tial of all women as valued members and leaders of the community.
Pogo Mine Yields 270K Ounces of Gold in '25 BY SHANE LASLEY
N orthern Star Resources Ltd. reported in late January that its Pogo mine produced 52,832 ounces of gold during the final three months of 2025, marking the second straight quarter of fall- ing gold output at this high-grade underground operation about 85 miles southeast of Fairbanks. Pogo started 2025 at a blistering pace — producing 155,855 ounces of gold over the first six months, including a whopping 84,339 ounces during the second quarter. Output from the Australian mining company's Alaska operation, howev- er, faded during the second quarter. During the third quarter of the calen- dar year (the first quarter of Northern Star's fiscal year 2026), Pogo pro- duced 65,208 ounces of gold, a 23%
drop from the 84,339 oz produced during the previous three-month period. The company attributed the drop in production primarily to lower gold grades, a trend that continued into the fourth quarter. The average grade of ore fed into the Pogo mill over the final three months of 2025 was 5.5 grams per metric ton gold, a more than 15% drop from the previous quarter and 30% less than the overall reserve grades at the mine. The company says a combina- tion of dilution and ore loss contrib- uted to the drop in ore grades. "While mined grades were impacted by the introduction of new mining areas and higher dilution rates, grades improved towards the end of the quarter as improvement ini- tiatives took effect," Northern Star stated in its quarterly report.
Northern Star COO Simon Jessop informed investors and analysts that the improved mill feed grades have continued into the new year. On the mine development front, Northern Star reports that it com- pleted the two portals during the fourth quarter that will provide access to the more than 1.1-mil- lion-ounce Goodpaster gold deposit about a mile northwest of the cur- rent mining area at Pogo. On its way to Goodpaster, the new underground workings will pass through Central Lodes, a depos- it immediately north of the Liese Vein system currently being mined, and Central Links, a discovery area between Central Lodes and Goodpaster.
GROWING OPPORTUNITY. ROOTED IN RESPECT.
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