Kinross Alaska and Contango Ore intend to pour the first gold from the Manh Choh Mine on July 8 at Kinross Fort Knox.
“This is indeed a grand milestone event for the company and its shareholders,” Contango CEO Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse said in a news release. “Since its discovery, the Manh Choh project has stood out as a very high-quality deposit with an exceptional grade for an open pit gold mine.”
Kinross and Contango co-own Mahn Choh Mine under the joint venture company Peak Gold. Kinross owns 70% of the stake and Contango has a 30% share.
Kinross started mining operations in August 2023 and began stockpiling gold and silver ore from the mine at its Fort Knox milling facility near Fox.
It started hauling the ore on the Alaksa, Richardson and Steese highways in November.
Manh Choh mining operations are currently expected to last four to five years and produce around 225,000 ounces per year.
Kinross made serious investments and improvements to the Fort Knox facilities in order to process the gold ore. According to the mining company, Manh Choh ore is a much higher grade than of that mined at Fort Knox.
Contango based its anticipated revenue from the project to acquire the HighGold-owned Johnson Tract project, a gold/copper/zinc mining prospect located on land leased from the Cook Inlet Region Inc., a regional Alaska Native Corporation.
The Native Village of Tetlin will receive royalties from Manh Choh throughout the mine’s operational life and will benefit from road and building infrastructure after mining operations wind down.
