Teck Resources Ltd. Oct. 24 reported that equipment failures at Red Dog impacted third-quarter production at this world-class zinc mine in Northwest Alaska.

Over the three months ending Sept. 30, Red Dog produced 124,600 metric tons (274.7 million pounds) of zinc, which is 21% lower than the 157,800 metric tons (347.9 million lb) produced during the same period of 2022.

Teck attributes the drop in zinc output to a drop in the tonnage of ore fed into the mill due to equipment failures. During the third quarter, the mill at Red Dog processed 941,000 metric tons of ore averaging 16.1% zinc, compared with 1.14 million metric tons of ore averaging 15.8% during the same period last year.

Higher lead grades, however, more than offset the roughly 18% drop in mill throughput. During the second quarter, Red Dog produced 21,400 metric tons (47.2 million lb) of lead, which is 13% higher than the 19,000 metric tons (41.9 million lb) produced during the three-month period ending Sept. 30, 2022.

Severe snowstorms, power system issues, and equipment failures have impacted production at Red Dog through the first three quarters of 2023.

Despite the weather and power system issues, Red Dog has produced 384,500 metric tons (847.7 million lb) of zinc during the three quarters of 2023, which is down about 11% from the 433,200 over the first nine months of last year.

As a result of the slow start, Teck has lowered the 2023 zinc sales guidance for Red Dog to 545,000 to 575,000 metric tons (1.2 billion to 1.27 billion lb), which is 5,000 metric tons lower than the original guidance of 550,000 to 580,000 metric tons (1.21 billion to 1.28 billion lb) of zinc for 2023.

During the winter and spring, zinc and lead concentrates produced at Red Dog are stored in a large warehouse at the Delong Mountain Transportation System port facility about 50 miles west of Red Dog for shipping during the ice-free summer and fall months at the Northwest Alaska operation.

The first ships of the 2023 season were loaded with Red Dog concentrates beginning on July 4.

"Red Dog has had a strong shipping season this year and zinc-in-concentrate sales increased 14% year-over-year to 269,700 tonnes, which was within our guidance range," Teck Resources CFO Crystal Prystai informed analysts during the company's third-quarter earnings call.

The company currently expects sales of Red Dog zinc in concentrate to be in the range of 130,000 to 150,000 metric tons during the fourth quarter of 2023, reflecting the normal seasonal pattern of sales from the Northwest Alaska mine.

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