Judy Patrick Photography

More than 290,000 oz of gold were poured at Fort Knox during 2023. Kinross anticipates that this annual production will climb to nearly 500,000 oz once the mill begins processing Manh Choh ore.

As trucks deliver Manh Choh ore, Kinross invests in near-pit resource growth, workforce growth in AK.

Kinross Gold Corp. Feb. 17 reported that its Fort Knox Mine in Alaska produced 290,651 ounces of gold during 2023. While this is on par with the 291,248 oz produced in 2022, the company expects gold output from the Kinross Alaska mill at Fort Knox to rise sharply with the introduction of much higher-grade ore from the Manh Choh mine later this year.

The nearly 300,000 oz of gold produced at Fort Knox last year was recovered from approximately 28.7 million metric tons of ore averaging around 0.22 grams per metric ton gold stacked on a heap leach pad, plus 8.13 million metric tons of ore averaging around 0.77 g/t gold fed through the Kinross Alaska mill.

Ore being delivered from Manh Choh, a mine about 200 miles southeast of Fort Knox that is being developed under a partnership between Kinross (70%) and Contango Ore Inc. (30%), is an order of magnitude higher grade than what was fed through the Kinross Alaska mill last year.

Going into 2024, Manh Choh hosted 4.1 million metric tons of proven and probable reserves averaging 7.6 g/t (1 million oz) gold and 13.5 g/t (1.8 million oz) silver.

Kinross reports that the development of Manh Choh is essentially complete, and ore is being trucked the roughly 250 road miles to Fort Knox.

As the trucking and stockpiling of Manh Choh ore increases over the coming months, crews are preparing the Kinross Alaska mill to accept and process the higher-grade material. Once the conveyors, additional buildings, associated buildings, interior piping, and mechanical installations are complete, the commissioning and operational readiness team will begin pre-commissioning activities.

"Our development projects are progressing well, and we look forward to first production from Manh Choh in the second half of the year," said Kinross Gold President and CEO Paul Rollinson.

With the higher-grade ore from Manh Choh, the annual production at Fort Knox is expected to increase to nearly half a million oz over the coming five years.

More Fort Knox gold

While Manh Choh represents a major jump in gold production starting later this year, Kinross continues to add to the reserves on the Fort Knox property itself.

Even after producing more than 9 million oz of gold over the past 27 years, Fort Knox continues to host 136.62 million metric tons of proven and probable reserves averaging 0.4 g/t (1.59 million oz) gold.

The 2023 drill program at Fort Knox both expanded gold mineralization around the Fort Knox pit and discovered deeper high-grade gold that could be reached with underground mining.

Highlights from drilling around the pit include:

• 58.8 meters averaging 0.8 g/t gold in hole FFC23-1868.

• 24.7 meters averaging 3.5 g/t gold in hole FFC23-1879.

• 38.7 meters averaging 1.8 g/t gold in hole FFC23-1903.

• 24.3 meters averaging 1.3 g/t gold in hole FFC23-1904.

FFC23-1871, the best hole to drill into the underground Dandelion shear target, cut 3.2 meters averaging 25.7 g/t gold.

Kinross Gold Corp.

Kinross says none of these holes have been included in the current resource and may offer the potential to augment medium-term production plans at Fort Knox.

At Manh Choh, 2,090 meters of drilling was completed across six target areas. The near-mine exploration area was expanded to include several new targets identified along the mine road corridor. Regional reconnaissance work also continued this year and will continue across the greater Tetlin lease area in 2024.

Future Leaders Scholarship

In addition to gearing up for the next stage of production, Kinross is investing in the next generation of workers for Fort Knox and other resource projects across Alaska.

In May, the gold mining company donated $350,000 to the University of Alaska Fairbanks to establish the Kinross Alaska Future Leaders Scholarship, which will focus on advancing the inclusion of underrepresented people in the resource development industry.

It's the first scholarship of its kind at UAF.

"For 26 years, Kinross Alaska has been investing in Alaskans and building partnerships in the communities we serve. We are proud of our partnership with UAF," Kinross Alaska General Manager Terence Watungwa said upon announcing the donation during the 2023 UAF Blue & Gold Celebration in Fairbanks. "Through the creation of the Kinross Alaska Future Leaders Scholarship we hope to foster an inclusive culture in the mining industry where those people who are historically underrepresented feel included and welcomed to contribute their perspectives, their values and their cultures."

UAF photo by Eric Engman

Left to right: University of Alaska Chancellor Dan White accepts a Kinross Alaska Future Leaders Scholarship check from Anna Atchison, Terence Watungwa, and Brenna Schaake.

With the contribution from Kinross, UAF received more than $435,000 in scholarship donations during the event, a record for the university.

"I firmly believe that student scholarships are one of the most important investments we can make in our future," said UAF Executive Director of Advancement Samara Taber. "Scholarships give students the tools they need to succeed, and they benefit our entire society by creating a more educated and equitable population."

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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