Arctic Deposit
The Arctic deposit is geographically isolated.
No current road access or nearby power infrastructure
Located 168 miles (270 kilometers) east of the town of Kotzebue, 22 miles (36 kilometers) northeast of the village of Kobuk, and 162 miles (260 kilometers) west of the Dalton Highway
The broader Ambler Mining District is located in the southern Brooks Range, in the Northwest Arctic Borough of Alaska.
Geology & Mineralization
Polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) mineralization is found along the entire 68-mile (110-kilometer) strike length of the district. The Ambler Sequence includes a group of Middle Devonian to Early Mississippian, metamorphosed, bimodal volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks with interlayered metasedimentary rocks.
Mineralization at the Arctic deposit occurs as semi-massive to massive sulfide beds within primarily graphitic and quartz mica (+/- chlorite) schists. The sulfide beds average 13 feet (4 meters) in thickness but vary from less than 3.3 feet (1 meter) to as much as 59 feet (18 meters) in thickness. The bulk of the mineralization is within an area of roughly 0.4 mi2 (1 km2) with mineralization extending 820 feet (250 meters) below the surface.
Mineralization is predominantly coarse-grained sulfides
Chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, tetrahedrite, arsenopyrite, pyrite and pyrrhotite
Trace amounts of electrum and enargite
Current Design Assumptions
Operations:
Open pit mine at approximately 10,000 tons per day, and 12 years of operations
Integrated tailings, waste rock and water management, and water treatment
Concentrate moved to the Port of Anchorage
By truck to Fairbanks via Ambler Access Road and Dalton Highway, then via rail to Anchorage
Minimized environmental footprint
Minerals:
High Grade Copper ~2.24%, with Cu Equivalent at ~4.2% when other metals (Zn, Pb, Au, and Ag) are included
Three concentrate products (Cu, Zn, and Pb)
Workforce:
Construction workforce of approximately 600
Operating workforce of approximately 450
