With the Gil-Sourdough satellite deposit now delivering ore to the mill, the upward trend of gold production at Kinross Gold Corp.'s Fort Knox Mine in Alaska continues into 2022.

During the fourth quarter of 2021, Fort Knox produced 73,830 ounces of gold, roughly a 3% increase over the 71,482 oz produced during the third quarter and about a 28% jump over the 57,523 oz produced during the same period of 2020.

With gold production steadily trending higher as the year progressed, Fort Knox produced 264,283 oz of gold during 2021, an 11% increase over the 237,925 oz recovered at the Interior Alaska mine during 2020.

Kinross attributed the increased gold production during the fourth quarter to increased output from the mill, which was partially offset by lower contributions from the heap leach pad.

Crews stacked 8.19 million metric tons of ore averaging 0.19 g/t gold on the Barnes Creek heap leach pad at Fort Knox during the last three months of last year, compared to 7.02 million metric tons averaging 0.2 g/t gold stacked on the pad during the fourth quarter of 2020.

In addition, the mill at Fort Knox processed 2.14 million metric tons of ore averaging 0.73 g/t gold during the fourth quarter, compared to 2.58 million metric tons averaging 0.61 g/t gold processed during the last three months of 2020.

Going into 2022, Fort Knox hosted 231.4 million metric tons of proven and probable reserves averaging 0.3 g/t (2.47 million oz) gold.

First Gil gold

Gil, a satellite mine about eight miles east of the Kinross Alaska mill, contributed to fourth-quarter gold production at Fort Knox.

"Mining the Gil deposit has been a long-time goal for Kinross. Seeing the first ore go into the mill is a very satisfying achievement for the Gil team," said Clint Connelly, project superintendent at Fort Knox. "We look forward to maintaining safe production over the next few years at Gil."

On Nov. 10, the Kinross Alaska team celebrated the first gold pour from this satellite mine about eight miles east of the Kinross Alaska mill.

Gil is the first mine developed under the Kinross Alaska strategy, which is leveraging the underutilized 14-million-metric-ton-per-year mill and storage capacity at Fort Knox to process higher-grade ore mined from projects within a roughly 300-mile radius of the gold operation.

It was previously estimated that approximately 10 million metric tons of ore averaging 0.6 g/t (193,000 oz) of gold will be mined from Gil and trucked to the Fort Knox mill for processing. At current mill recovery rates, this ore is expected to contribute around 160,000 oz of gold to Fort Knox production over the next two years.

In its updated reserve statement, Kinross says Gil is now contributing 205,000 oz to the overall reserves at Fort Knox.

Further details on Gil-Sourdough and its expected contributions to Kinross' overall Alaska strategy can be read at Kinross Alaska breaks ground at Gil Mine in the October 1, 2021 edition of North of 60 Mining News.

Big program at Manh Choh

After the roughly two years of mining at Gil-Sourdough, Kinross Alaska plans to begin feeding the Fort Knox Mill much higher-grade ore from Manh Choh, a mine project about 250 road miles southeast of Fort Knox.

Being advanced by the Peak Gold joint venture between Kinross (70%) and Contango ORE Inc. (30%), Manh Choh now hosts 9.2 million metric tons of measured and indicated resources averaging 4.1 g/t (1.2 million oz) gold and 14.2 g/t (4.2 million oz) silver.

Based on this resource, Kinross expects Manh Choh to contribute 1 million oz of gold-equivalent, which includes the value of both the gold and silver recovered, to the Kinross Alaska mill production over 4.5 years, or roughly 222,000 oz of gold-equivalent per year.

To carry out the work necessary to complete a feasibility study for Manh Choh, the Peak Gold JV invested roughly US$19 million into the project last year and has budgeted another US$26 million for 2022. (See editor's not at the end of article.)

The 2021 program at Manh Choh included 10,050 meters of drilling, most of which infilled the deposits to support a mine plan that will be detailed in the feasibility study. The program also included drilling to continue collecting the geotechnical, metallurgical, environmental studies, and water quality data needed for permitting and mine development.

In addition, the Peak Gold JV submitted a permitting package to the US Army Corps of Engineers for a Wetlands Dredge and Fill permit, also known as a 404 permit, just before the end of the year. This permit will allow the JV to upgrade an existing road that runs across the Tetlin property to the deposits.

Taking advantage of the warm weather and long summer days in Alaska, the 2022 program is expected to include the start of initial construction at Manh Choh. This will consist of building a camp to provide housing in support of ongoing construction efforts as well as future operations of the mine itself. Other areas of construction include roads and lay-down areas.

The Manh Choh feasibility study is currently slated for completion by the end of this year, and depending on permitting, production from the mine near the town of Tok is expected in 2024.

Contango ORE Inc.

An aerial view of the Peak Gold deposit on the Manh Choh property near the communities of Tetlin and Tok, Alaska.

In addition to the feasibility and permitting work, Kinross is continuing to prioritize transparent engagement with local communities and the Village of Tetlin as it develops the project, building on its long and successful history of safe, responsible mining in Alaska. Manh Choh is expected to generate significant economic benefits in the area and across the state, and the planned transport of the ore to Fort Knox for processing reduces the gold project's environmental footprint by avoiding the construction of a mill and tailings facilities.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Following the publication of this article on Feb. 18, the 2022 budget for Manh Choh was revised to US$26 million, which is less than the US$47.9 million previously announced on Feb. 10. The reduced budget is not currently expected to affect the timing of the feasibility study or production from the project. Further details of the 2022 budget and program adjustments will be reported in the February 25, 2022 edition of North of 60 Mining News.

Author Bio

Shane Lasley, Publisher

Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.

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