The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
TCK: NYSE/ TCK.B: TSX
Chairman: Norman Keevil
President and CEO: Don Lindsay
VP, Exploration: Alex Christopher
Zinc continues to be a primary exploration focus for Teck Resources Ltd. In Alaska, this work is dedicated to extending the life of the Red Dog Mine by upgrading high-grade resources in nearby deposits to reserves and seeking out new deposits in the larger Red Dog area.
Going into 2015, Red Dog had 45.4 million metric tons of ore in reserves, averaging 15.8 percent (6.05 million metric tons) zinc, 4.1 percent (1.86 million metric tons) lead and 72.6 grams per metric ton (106 million ounces) silver.
Qanaiyaq and Paalaaq are potential sources of near-term higher-grade ore to supplement reserves currently being mined from the adjacent Aqqaluk pit.
This includes the first-ever reserves of 7.4 million metric tons averaging 24.7 percent zinc and 6.9 percent lead for Qanaiyaq, a near-surface deposit that lies to the south of the mined out Red Dog main deposit.
Teck has not released a resource for Paalaaq, a deeper deposit immediately north of Aqqaluk.
In addition to the near-mine deposits, Teck continues to explore some 224,000 acres of highly prospective lands in the larger Red Dog region of Northwest Alaska.
Anarraaq-Aktigiruq, situated roughly eight miles (13 kilometers) northwest of the current operations, is among the high-quality targets Teck is pursuing.
Teck discovered Anarraaq in 1999, subsequently establishing an inferred resource of about 19 million tons grading 15.8 percent zinc, 4.8 percent lead, and 2.1 oz/t silver.
For about two decades, Teck and joint venture partner Korea Zinc Co. have been investigating zinc prospects in both Yukon Territory's Selwyn Basin and the Kechika Trough of northern British Columbia.
In 2013, Teck cut a deal with Canada Zinc Metals Corp. to explore the Pie, Yuen and Cirque East properties, which lie adjacent to Teck and Korea Zinc's Cirque property in the Kechika Trough.
Under the agreement, Teck can earn up to a 51 percent interest in the properties by spending C$3.5 million on exploration by the end of Sept. 2017, a stake that can be increased to 70 percent by investing an additional C$5 million by 2019.
In 2015, Teck had an airborne gravity gradiometry survey flown over the Pie, Yuen and Cirque East properties.
Canada Zinc Metals had similar surveys flown over two of its adjacent properties.
Together, the surveys covered a 45-kilometer (28 miles) stretch of the zinc-rich Kechika Trough.
Teck (75 percent) also entered into a joint venture in 2013 with Copper Fox Metals Inc. (25 percent) on the Schaft Creek copper-gold project in the Golden Triangle region of Northwest British Columbia.
A 2013 feasibility study outlined a 130,000-metric-ton-per-day open-pit mine operating for 21 years at Schaft Creek based on proven and probable reserves of 940.8 million metric tons averaging 0.27 percent copper, 0.19 grams per metric ton gold, 0.018 percent molybdenum and 1.72 g/t silver.
For 2015, Teck funded a C$4.8 million program that included a 2,500-meter drill program to test the depth of surface copper-gold mineralization at the LaCasse zone, located north of the area included in the current mine plan for Schaft Creek, as well as the continuation of optimization studies that were started in 2014.
Early in 2014, Teck elected to take up an option on Kiska Metals Corp.'s Kliyul gold-copper project located 67 kilometers (42 miles) southeast of the shuttered Kemess Mine in north-central British Columbia. Teck can earn a 51 percent interest in the property by spending C$5.5 million on exploration by Jan. 31, 2018. Early in 2015, Kiska reported that Teck had invested C$765,000 in exploration at Kliyul and planned to drill the property in 2015. Teck also completed minimal work at GJ and Galore Creek, two other northwestern B.C. copper-gold projects in which the company holds ownership interests.
Cash and short-term deposits: C$1.3 billion (June 30, 2015)
Working capital: C$2.4 billion (June 30, 2015)
Market capitalization: C$5.7 billion (Sept. 18, 2015)
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