Value of Alaska’s mines soars to nearly $5B in ‘24
Dunleavy said during his State of the State address. “This is unprecedent- ed — and demonstrates his view of the importance of Alaska as a solution to America’s energy, manufacturing, and national security issues.” On the minerals side of that solu- tion, DGGS has identified 110 proj - ects on the Alaska mine development pyramid — 55 early-stage mineral exploration projects, 37 mid- to ad- vanced-stage exploration projects, six mineral projects in the economic evaluation stage, four in permitting, and eight in production pinnacle of the pyramid. According to preliminary data com- piled by DGGS, roughly $205 million was invested last year into pushing mineral exploration projects toward the top of this pyramid. This figure, which is slightly lower than the ap- proximately $230 million invested in 2023, will rise somewhat when late- year exploration figures are included. — Shane Lasley, North of 60 Mining News
ities are having a tough time deliver- ing electricity and natural gas to their customers. To help boost the energy supply and help ensure it does not need to initi- ate a rolling blackout, GVEA is leaning on increased output from its coal-fired power plants at the mouth of Usibelli Coal Mines operations in Healy. Usibelli delivers roughly 1 million tons of coal per year to GVEA’s two Healy power plants at the mouth of its mining operations, capable of gen- erating a combined 57 megawatts of electricity, plus three other Interior Alaska power plants capable of gener- ating another 70 MW of electricity. Unleashing Alaska’s mineral potential Unleashing Alaska’s mineral and other resource potential is so high on the Trump administration’s priority list that the President signed an exec- utive order addressing this on his first day back in office. “President Trump singled out Alaska out of all the 50 states for its own series of Executive Orders,” Gov.
200,000 ounces this year, adding to the nearly 300,000 ounces of gold ex- pected to be recovered from ore mined at Fort Knox in 2025. At the same time, gold output from Northern Star Resources Ltd.’s Pogo Mine, about 85 miles southeast of Fairbanks, is on the rise. The Pogo mill recovered 279,427 ounces of gold last year, a 10% in- crease over the 254,492 recovered during 2023. The ongoing improvements in per- formance at Pogo are expected to con- tinue into 2025. “The Pogo plant is forecast to op- erate at a targeted throughput of 1.4 million tonnes per annum,” said Northern Star Resources Managing Director Stuart Tonkin. This milling rate, with ore grades similar to last year, would put Pogo on the cusp of hitting 300,000 ounces of gold during 2025. “So, we’re pretty happy with where Pogo is at,” Tonkin said. Three hardrock mines in South- east Alaska — Coeur Mining Inc.’s Kensington, Hecla Mining Company’s Greens Creek, and Sundance Mining Group’s Dawson — produced approxi - mately another 162,000 ounces of gold last year. When you add in the gold recovered from around 150 placer operations across the state, Alaska mines were on the cusp of producing 1 million ounc- es of gold during 2024 — a milestone expected to be reached this year. Usibelli keeps Railbelt lights on For residents, businesses, and communities living along the Alaska Railbelt, the roughly 1 million tons of coal produced at Usibelli Coal Mines operations near Healy has a greater significance than the roughly 2% it contributed to Alaska’s mineral pro - duction value in 2024. Usibelli’s significance rests on a paradox that is similar to the discrep- ancy between Alaska’s world-class copper resources and nearly non-ex- istent production. The paradox that makes Usibelli so valued to Alaska Railbelt energy customers is Alaska has both world-class reserves and a shortage of natural gas. The natural gas shortage has be- come so dire that Alaska Railbelt util-
begin in that project by 2027 and the mine could be producing as early as 2029.” In addition to being on Gov. Dun- leavy’s radar, the Graphite Creek proj - ect being advanced by Graphite One Inc. fits within the domestic criti - cal mineral priorities outlined in the “Unleashing American Energy” and “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential” executive orders signed by President Donald Trump on his first day back in the Oval Office. The Alaska-centric executive or- der follows up on a commitment made by the President two days after being elected. “During my second term, we will continue the fight for Alaska like never before,” he said during the Nov. 8 ad- dress to Alaskans. “We will maximize Alaska’s mining potential.” That potential includes more than 100 mineral projects in various stages of exploration, evaluation, and per- mitting, according to Dave (Zoom) Szumigala, a mineral resources geolo- gist at the Alaska Division of Geologi- cal & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS). Zoom told attendees of the AME Roundup mining convention held in Vancouver, British Columbia, in Janu - ary, that more than $200 million was invested into exploration and other ac- tivities needed to advance these proj- ects closer to production during 2024. While not all the projects in the Alaska mineral production pipeline will make it across the finish line, and others are likely decades away from production, there are plenty of ex- traordinary mineral projects ready to be unleashed over the coming years. In the meantime, Alaska’s eight hardrock metal mines, one energy fuel mine, 150 placer gold mines, as well as numerous sand, gravel, and rock quarries contributed to a banner year in 2024.
At the cusp of 1 million ounces of gold The opening of the Manh Choh Mine, increased production at Pogo, and climbing precious metals prices combined to push the value of gold produced in Alaska to about $2.3 bil- lion in 2024, a 64% surge over the $1.4 billion of the precious metal produced in the state during 2023. Alaska’s hardrock and placer mines produced approximately 959,000 ounces of gold during 2024, which is roughly 32% higher than the 728,000 ounces produced in 2023. The rest of the boost to Alaska gold production values comes from an equally impres- sive surge in gold prices from an aver- age of $1,943/oz in 2023 to an average of $2,407/oz in 2024. With gold prices continuing to climb to above $2,800/oz and $3,000/ oz level prices in the forecast for lat- er this year, the surge in Alaska’s gold production value is expected to con- tinue into 2025. The forecasted continued strength in gold price is expected to be aug- mented by further rises in ounces pro- duced in Alaska this year. The largest addition of the ounces of gold produced in the state this year is expected to come from Manh Choh, a mine about 200 miles southeast of Fairbanks that came online in mid- 2024. Being operated under a joint ven- ture between Kinross Gold Corp. (70%) and Contango ORE Inc. (30%), Manh Choh is a satellite mine that delivers high-grade ore to the Kinross Alaska mill at the Fort Knox Mine about 20 miles north of Fairbanks for process- ing. A total of 139,000 ounces of gold and 54,380 ounces of silver were re- covered from three batches of ore pro- cessed during the second half of 2024. The gold recovered from Manh Choh ore is expected to climb to about
Gold output rises to $2.3B amid new production At a value of roughly $2.3 billion, gold dethroned zinc as the most valu- able metal produced in Alaska during 2024. While zinc had a strong year both in terms of tons produced and total production value, the galvaniz- ing metal was surpassed by gold due to rising prices and production of the precious metal. Thanks in large part to a surge in gold production value, the U.S. Geo- logical Survey (USGS) calculates that the total value of non-fuel minerals produced in Alaska last year — gold, zinc, silver, lead, and sand and gravel products — at $4.7 billion. When you add in the coal produced for in-state power plants, the total value of all the materials extracted at Alaska mining operations during 2024 comes in at around $4.8 billion. This is a roughly 13% increase over the $4.25 billion of mined commodities produced in the 49th State during 2023. However, due to likely drops in pro- duction from the Red Dog zinc mine beginning this year, Alaska’s mine production value has likely reached its apex until a new source of ore for the world-class operation in Northwest Alaska becomes available or the next generation of mines comes online. During his State of the State ad- dress, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy pointed to one such project that could contribute to Alaska’s mine production value by the end of the decade. “The Graphite One deposit, the largest in North America, north of Nome, continues to move ahead with support from a Defense Department grant,” he said. “Construction could
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