Manh Choh mine now under construction; to be state’s sixth-largest metals producer

The new Manh Choh gold mine at Tetlin, east of Delta, is now under construction and will start production later this year.

Kinross Gold, which is managing the project, held an official ribbon-cutting Aug. 29 at the mine.

Manh Choh is on the Tetlin Reserve. The Native Village of Tetlin, the local tribe, owns the land and will receive the royalties.

“Our primary goal for Manh Chog is to create a lasting and successful legacy for this region, opportunity for the Tetlin people, and support the preservation of traditions for generations to come,” Kinross President and CEO Paul Rollinson said at the groundbreaking.

“As with all Kinross operations we will be responsible miners that aim to minimize our environmental footprint while making positive and lasting improvements to the community, land and infrastructure,” Rollinson said.

Over 100 people gathered for the ceremony including Gov. Mike Dunleavy, and Rick Van Nieuwenhuyase, president and CEO of Contango Ore which owns 30 percent of the project, with Kinross at 70 percent. Tetlin chief Michael Sam was also there.

Manh Choh will be a surface mine, meaning ore will be extracted at the surface, like a gravel mine. It will be the state’s sixth largest metal mine after it begins production in 2024.

Manh Choh will support 500 to 600 jobs and will be a major employer in the region, drawing workers from Tetlin village as well as other communities in eastern Interior Alaska.

The gold ore from the Manh Choh mine will be trucked about 240 miles to Fairbanks and to the Kinross Fort Knox mine northeast of the city. There, Manh Choh’s high-grade gold ore will be mixed with lower-grade ore from the Kinross Fort Knox Mine and processed in the mill at Fort Knox.

The mine is expected to operate for four to five years, producing about one million ounces of gold.

During its operating life the mine will pay an estimated $600 million in production payroll after $75 million in construction payroll.

The average annual wage of jobs at the mine will be about $125,000 per year. About $425 million will be spent for services and goods. Manh Choh will also contribute several million dollars to the local community for training, education, scholarships and sponsorships.

Even during the planning and initial construction the mine was a substantial contributor to the region with $1.7 million injected into the local area in 2021. Seventy four percent of this spending was with Alaska-based businesses, according to Kinross.

Also, $208,000 was spent in donations to local nonprofits and community organizations, and community support has also been extended to organizations and people in the nearby Tok area.

One significant new project for the community is an elder’s home, which will support 35 beds for elder community members and elders from the surrounding area.

The elder’s home will keep families together, enhance and enrich the lives of children in the community, and support the sharing of traditional knowledge and activities.

Meanwhile, the trucking of ore from Tetlin to Fairbanks has attracted considerable interest, and some concerns. About 3,000 tons of ore will be trucked daily with an average payload of 50 tons per truck.

There will be about 60 round trips done per day, with a frequency of about 2.5 trips per hour on the Alaska and Richardson Highways.

Trial runs with trucks will begin late in 2023 with the frequency ramping up into the second half of 2024. The trucks will meet highway load restrictions and operations will not require special approvals.

Information on the trucking is being provided to the DOTPF (Department of Transportation and Public Facilities) Transportation Advisory Committee that has been formed for the road corridor.

Meanwhile, the addition of Manh Choh ore to that produced at the Fort Knox mine will help sustain Fort Knox, which has now been producing for 27 years and is an important part of the Fairbanks economy. Fort Knox is now the largest gold producer in Alaska and the second largest taxpayer in Fairbanks, with roughly $127 million paid yearly in property taxes.

Fort Knox is also a major employer, with 715 direct jobs in 2021 and $829 million paid in annual payroll and $2.8 billion paid in purchases of goods and services from local vendors over 25 years of operation at the mine.