Fort Knox Mine
Type of Ore and
Current Production
Fort Knox
The Fort Knox deposit is a
low-grade gold deposit hosted
in and along the margins of
quartz veins, shears, fractures,
and pegmatites within a granite
intrusion. Gold is associated
with anomalously high bismuth
and it is a low-sulfide deposit.
In 2009, FGMI mined 11.96
million tons of mill grade ore,
4.11 million tons of transition
grade ore, and 12.70 million tons
of leach grade ore, producing
263,260 gold equivalent ounces.
The average grade of ore is 0.024
ounces/ton.
Initially, Fort Knox was given a
life estimate of eight years. In
February 2008, FGMI began the
construction of the Walter Creek
heap leach facility to process
large volumes of low grade ore
and mineralized waste material.
Construction of the heap-leach
facility was completed in 2010,
extending the life of the mine
to 2018 and increasing Fort
Knox’s production to an average
370,000 gold ounces per year for
five years.
True North Mine site © D. Chambers
FACT SHEET
Location
Overview of Fort Knox Mine and Mill.
The Fort Knox mine is located
approximately 25 miles northeast
of Fairbanks and two miles from
the community of Cleary Summit.
The satellite True North mine is
situated on the western side of
Pedro Dome, 11 miles northwest
of Fort Knox. A dedicated ore
haul road connects the two
properties.
Ownership
The Fort Knox Mine is operated
by Fairbanks Gold Mining,
Inc. (FGMI), a wholly owned
subsidiary of Kinross Gold
Corporation.
Status
Pit, waste rock dump and mill.
Operating.
True North
The True North Mine was developed in
2001 to provide additional reserves to the
Fort Knox Mill. At the end of 2004, mining
the True North Mine was terminated and
in 2009, FGMI decided to permanently
cease operations at the site. In the summer
of 2009, FGMI began final reclamation of
the site.
Northern Alaska Environmental Center 830 College Rd, Fairbanks, AK 99701 www.northern.org (907)452-5021
Operation
The Fort Knox pit covers approximately 332 acres,
and is roughly a half a mile wide by a mile long.
Mining occurs below the water table, thus there
are dewatering pumps that keep the pit dry during
mining. At True North, mining was done only above
the water table, in an oxidized ore zone. Mining
techniques used include standard drilling and
blasting. In 2009, Fort Knox produced 20.03 million
tons of waste rock, which is stored in massive rock
dumps on the property.
The Fort Knox mill uses a cyanide vat leach system
to recover gold from the ore, processing between
36,000 and 50,000 tons of ore a day; in 2009, it
processed 14.14 million tons of ore. The Walter Creek
heap leach facility began production in 2009. At this
facility low-grade ore is piled on a thin impermeable
liner and sprayed with a cyanide solution; the gold
dissolves out of the ore and the pregnant cyanide
solution is collected at the base of the heap and
treated to recover the gold.
The 300-400 acre tailings storage pond, created by
the construction of an earthen dam, is in the upper
Fish Creek drainage. The dam, keyed into bedrock, is
raised each year as more and more tailings are stored
behind it. In its final configuration, it will require
approximately 23 million cubic yards of fill, and
measure 350 vertical feet from the toe of the dam.
Waste rock piles.
Tailings pond.
Mine Reclamation & Bond
Fort Knox
In 2009, reclamation at Fort Knox focused on disturbed areas associated with the Tailings Storage Facility (TSF).
FGMI is currently revising the reclamation plan for the Fort Knox Mine to reflect changes to the life of mine
plan of operations including the expansion of the pit, raising the TSF dam, and the construction of the Walter
Creek heap leach facility, as well as to address disturbances from the expansion of the mine pit and associated
changes to waste rock dumps.
The current financial assurance for the mine and mill is a $39.6 million dollar letter of credit. An additional
adjustment to the financial assurance for Fort Knox and True North is anticipated for 2010.
True North
Following the decision not to conduct additional mining at the True North mine, FGMI began final reclamation
of the site in 2009. (Initial reclamation of True North began in 2005.) In 2010, FGMI plans to complete all major
reclamation activities of the site and monitor thereafter.