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THE JOURNAL - AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION BY THE ALASKA MINERS ASSOCIATION
AUGUST 2025 | WWW.ALASKAMINERS.ORG
Red Dog Mine zinc output tops expectations BY NORTH OF 60 MINING NEWS
conditions allow – typically, from July until October. This year, the shipping season at Red Dog began on July 11. Based on the performance over the first half of 2024, Red Dog is on pace to produce roughly 507,000 metric tons (1.11 billion lb) of zinc this year, which accounts for nearly 4% of all the annual zinc mined globally, according to annual production numbers provided by the U.S. Geological Survey. Teck, however, expects annual zinc production at Red Dog to fall signifi- cantly over the coming years as the quantity and quality of ore dwindle in the deposits immediately surround- ing the mill. Here is Teck's current Red Dog metals production guidance out to 2028: • 410,000 to 460,000 metric tons (903.9 million to 1.01 billion pounds) of zinc and 70,000 to 90,000 metric tons
upper end of this annual production guidance as it enters the second half of the year. At 14.3% zinc, the grade of the ore processed through the mill at Red Dog during the second quarter remains world-class; however, it was 10% lower than the 15.8% zinc grades processed during the first quarter of 2024. The lower grades were partially offset by an 8% increase in ore pro- cessed through the mill and slightly higher zinc recoveries. The production metrics were similar for lead. The Red Dog mill recovered 27.5 metric tons of the battery mate- rial during the second quarter, which is down roughly 5% from the second quarter of 2024. Zinc and lead concentrates pro- duced at Red Dog over the winter months are stored in large buildings at the Delong Mountain Transporta- tion System port, roughly 50 miles southwest of the mine and mill, to be loaded on ships when ice
Dog operation, is one of the world's largest undeveloped zinc deposits. While an industry-compliant resource has yet to be published, Teck has previously reported that Aktigiruq hosts 80 to 150 million metric tons of material averaging 16 to 18% combined zinc and lead. This would be enough ore to provide the Red Dog mill with high-grade feedstock for 25 to 50 years at current production rates. Anarraaq, which lies just south of Aktigiruq, hosts 19.4 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 14.4% zinc and 4.2% lead, according to the most recent calculation published by Teck. In mid-December, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved permits to build a road and other infrastruc- ture to support exploration and development activities at the Akti- giruq-Anarraaq Extension Project.
(154.3 million to 198.4 million pounds) of lead in 2026. • 365,000 to 400,000 metric tons (804.7 million to 881.8 million pounds) of zinc and 60,000 to 80,000 metric tons (132.3 million to 176.4 million pounds) of lead in 2027. • 290,000 to 320,000 metric tons (639.3 million to 704.5 million pounds) of zinc and 50,000 to 65,000 metric tons (121.3 to 143.3 million pounds) of lead in 2028. The current reserves are expected to be completely exhausted by 2031. Teck, however, is currently advancing additional world-class zinc deposits on state lands in the wider Red Dog district that could provide future ore. This includes the Aktigiruq-Anar- raaq Extension Project north of the mill, which hosts a large orebody with zinc grades similar to what is currently being mined from the pits adjacent to the mill at Red Dog. Aktigiruq, which lies about nine miles north-northwest of the current Red
T eck Resources Ltd. Reported in late July that its Red Dog Mine in Northwest Alaska produced 136,600 metric tons (301.1 million pounds) of zinc during the second quarter of 2025, a 17% increase over the first quarter 116,800 metric tons (257.5 million pounds), but down 2% from the 139,400 metric tons (307.3 million pounds) produced during the same period last year. While Red Dog zinc output was down slightly from last year, the second quarter production from the lower-grade reserves being fed through the mill as the more than three-decade-old mine reaches the end of its reserves.
"Red Dog performed well despite lower grades that we expected in the mine plan," Teck Resources CFO Crystal Prystai informed analysts and investors on July 24. With zinc grades dropping as crews reach the last of the ore in the two pits currently being mined, Aqqaluk and Qanaiyaq, Teck went into 2025 expecting Red Dog to produce 460,000 to 510,000 metric tons (1.04 billion to 1.1 billion pounds) of zinc this year – a nearly 20% drop from the 555,600 metric tons (1.22 billion pounds) produced last year. Thanks to the strong production during the second quarter, Red Dog is on pace to come in near the
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