Red Dog is a zinc and lead mine located about 46 miles (74 km) inland from the Chukchi Sea coast in the DeLong Mountains, approximately 62 miles (100 km) northwest of Kotzebue and 16 miles (26 km) southeast of Kivalina, Alaska. It is connected by road to an export terminal. This metal sulfide mine ranks as the second-largest zinc producer globally and is operated by Teck Resources, a Canadian mining company. The land is owned by NANA Regional Corporation, one of 13 for-profit Alaska Native Regional Corporations established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. Under the Act, NANA must share about half of its profits from natural resources with the other 11 land-based regional native corporations. If the mine remains profitable at its current level, this will mean distributing several hundred million dollars a year in profits to the regional native corporations.

In the mid-1950s, Bob Baker, a local bush pilot and prospector, noticed red-stained creeks in the area. In 1968, a U.S. Geological Survey geologist sampled rocks and stream sediments, naming Red Dog Creek after Baker’s dog. In 1975, the U.S. Bureau of Mines conducted a mineral examination of the site. Interest in mining these deposits emerged from the NANA Regional Corporation Inc. and Cominco, which later became Teck. Active exploration began in 1975, with the first claims staked in 1978. By 1980, Cominco Alaska had drilled nine holes totaling about 3,000 feet (915 m) to assess the deposit’s size. Geologic mapping occurred from 1977 to 1984. In 1986, the State of Alaska agreed to build a shallow-water port on the Chukchi Sea and a road to connect it to the mine site. Construction of the port, road, and open-pit mine began in 1987. 

The main ore deposit extends 5,249 feet (1,600 m) northwest, with widths from 492 to 3,200 feet (150 to 975 m). High-grade sections are 443 feet (135 m) thick. The deposit contains chalcopyrite, covellite, and bornite, with copper at 0.3% and gold at 1 gram per ton. These features suggest formation near a deep ocean vent. Mining began in 1989, depleting the main ore body by 2011. Subsequently, mining commenced at the nearby Aqqaluk deposit, expected to sustain production until 2031. Exploratory drilling has identified similar deposits. Ore from the Red Dog mine is extracted year-round and transported 55 miles (89 km) to a storage facility on the Chukchi Sea coast. Shipments occur during four ice-free months, with lightering to ships via small barges due to shallow waters. The ore is shipped to a metallurgical facility in Trail, British Columbia, and to Asia and Europe. Read more here and here. Explore more of Red Dog Mine and the Chukchi Sea here: