Interior People Worry About Plans For Mining Alaska's Resources and Road Use

PEOPLE OF THE ROADS

 CEO Alarms Alaskans By Bragging About Takeover Of Alaska's Mineral Resources 

January 26th, 2024 

CLICK TO VIEW WEBINAR 

Contango Ore Talks Of Its Future In Alaska  

Contango Ore has a 30% stake in the Manh Choh Mine being developed near Tok. Kinross, a Canadian company owns 70%.

 

The Manh Choh Mine has started a plan to use Alaskan rural highways, including the Alcan, Richardson and Steese, to run oversized ore trucks, 24 hours a day, round the clock starting in Tetlin and ending at Fort Knox, north of Fairbanks. The rock hauling is being promoted by the State of Alaska. The Tetlin ore will be milled at the Fort Knox Mine. Contango Ore intends to expand its operations in Alaska including the Lucky Shot Mine near the Parks Highway.

Summary of Highlights of Contango Video On Canadian Plans For Alaska 

By Kitty Lancaster 

• Contango has opened a new office in Fairbanks.

• The ore will be run through the mill twice to get every last drop of gold.

•  First gold pour from Manh Choh will be before end of June, 2024.

• They've bought enough diesel fuel for a year.

• Lucky Shot ore (15g/ton) is similar to Manh Choh ore and can be processed the same. However, the Lucky Shot rock is not PAG rock, like Manh Choh. [NOTE:"PAG" means "potentially acid-generating rock" – which is oxidized by surface weathering and may form acid, which can then leach metals.]

• Lucky Shot ore will probably be railed to Fairbanks and trucked to Ft Knox.

• Lucky Shot production is due to begin in 2026.

• Community concerns over trucking are discussed around Minute 21 of the above link. 

• There is a lawsuit in play which is mentioned but they are not concerned about it.
    

• There are 5-10 days built into the trucking plan for restrictions (bad weather, extreme low temps etc)

•  The Tetlin lease agreement is for 15 years with 15-year renewals. 

• They've only explored 5% of the 675,000 acres under lease.

• There's $4.7M in the budget for more exploration at Manh Choh and expect years of additional production at Manh Choh.

•  Operations at the Manh Choh mine can continue until the temperature hits -40ºF. 

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EDITOR'S NOTE: This summary and the accompanying webinar link was sent by Kitty Lancaster, who lives in Fairbanks. 

Kitty Lancaster has a long history in Alaska, including rural Alaska. She's lived in Alaska for 44 years and lived in Tok for 17 years. In the 1980s she worked for the Tanana Valley Clinic in Tok. She was also a volunteer ambulance driver. In the 1990s, she worked for Trooper Dispatch, including DMV work – issuing trucking permits, vehicle registrations, learner permits, drivers' licenses and giving road tests. 

On a personal level, Kitty Lancaster believes she has a background in highway safety. "I am very familiar with the necessity to keep our Alaska highways safe. My children waited along the Alaska Highway for the school bus.... I'm scared to death for our elders who would have to go to Fairbanks for medical care they can't get in Tok. For emergencies, for ground travel for the ambulance, Troopers responding to accidents... We only have so many roads. We only have 4 or 5 main roads in Alaska. What's that going to do to everything? Our infrastructure, our roads, our tourism?"

The Contango Ore webinar was distributed on December 12th, 2023.