Red Dog q&a.

• Author: Cutler, Debbie
• Position: MINING

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The Red Dog Mine, located 106 miles above the Arctic Circle in Northwest Alaska, about 82 air miles from Kotzebue and even less from the small village of Noatak in a land of tundra, meandering rivers, lakes and streams, lush treeless hills and mountains is impressive. The largest zinc mine in the world, located on less than 2,000 acres of lands belonging to NANA Regional Corp., which is in partnership with Teck Alaska Inc. (a subsidiary of Teck American Inc., which is owned by Teck Resources Ltd. whose headquarters are in Vancouver, Canada), has two years left of operation with its current openpit mine that removes lead and zinc through blasting techniques to form lead and zinc concentrates.

The mine has been in operation since 1989, with the main deposit containing 77 million tonnes of rock containing 17 percent zinc, 5 percent lead, and 2.4 ounces silver, according to background materials. Other deposits bring the total ore zones to 119 million tonnes at 18 percent zinc and 5 percent lead, with each tonne of ore mined containing 440 pounds of rich zinc metal, the report stated.

Speaking with ABM about the mine and its future is Jim Kulas, manager of environmental and public affairs for Teck Alaska.

ABM: You say safety is first and foremost in your operations and have significantly reduced lost-time incidents and hope for zero incidents in 2010. How do you plan to achieve this?

KULAS: We are pleased with the progress we have made so far. In 2007, we had 23 lost-time incidents (those that are serious enough to keep the injured individual from working their next shift). In 2008, we had one. We achieved this by changing the structure of our Loss Control Department, increasing the property's safety awareness and conducting SafeStart training (a behavioral-based program). Our future plans are to implement Courageous Leadership and provide it to all our employees and contractors. Courageous Leadership is a process and a philosophical change of being. It focuses on values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors, which together create a culture. It then develops the personal leadership and courage of each individual so they understand that they make a difference and are all safety leaders. The safety vision is "Everyone Going Home Safe and Healthy Every Day" and achieving zero injuries to the work force.

ABM: The mine currently is not overly profitable, but provides a bounty of dividends to 12,000 NANA Inupiat shareholders, more...