Photo Courtesy Teck Resources
Alaska mining production has grown dramatically in the past two years, to exceed $4.5 billion in 2022.
Mine production tops $4.5B
ity Summaries 2023 report. The rise in Alaska mine production value is largely due to increased zinc and gold production, along with strong zinc prices during 2022. According to early estimates by the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Alaska mines produced roughly 1.33 billion pounds of zinc, 215 million pound of lead, 690,000 ounces of gold, and 15.8 million oz silver during 2022. This is about a 6 percent increase for zinc, a 15 percent drop for lead, a 10 percent rise for gold, and a 4 percent increase for silver when compared to 2021. The single largest boost to Alas- ka mine production values for 2022,
however, came from the approxi- mately $1.57/pound average selling price for the zinc being shipped from Teck Resources Ltd.'s Red Dog Mine in Northwest Alaska and Hecla Mining Company's Greens Creek Mine on the state's Southeast Panhandle. As a result, zinc accounted for roughly $2.1 billion of Alaska's min- eral production value last year. Gold accounted for another $1.2 billion, and silver $343 million. The balance of Alaska's 2022 nonfuel mineral value came from lead byproducts at Red Dog and Greens Creek, as well as sand and gravel products. Because the USGS only tracks non - fuel minerals, the nearly 1 million
Critical minerals could add a boost moving forward BY SHANE LASLEY, NORTH OF 60 MINING NEWS Alaska mines produced approxi- mately $4.51 billion worth of nonfuel minerals last year, a 16 percent in- crease over the $3.89 billion in 2021, and an impressive 42.7 percent jump over the $3.16 billion of mined prod- ucts during 2020, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's Mineral Commod -
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The Alaska Miner
Winter 2023
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