Red Dog Mine is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Northwest Arctic Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. The population was 5 at the 2020 census, down from 309 in 2010.

Economy

The Red Dog mine is the only economic activity and the mine is the only inhabited site within the Red Dog Mine CDP.

Mining

thumb|right|The Red Dog mine

The Red Dog Mine CDP derives its name from the Red Dog mine, the United States' largest source for zinc and a significant source of lead and germanium. Construction of the Red Dog mine began in 1987, after exploration revealed that the area was rich in metals.

The Red Dog ore body is one of the world's most significant zinc deposits, containing a number of ore bodies. The mine is located in Alaska's Northwest Arctic Borough, in the DeLong Mountains of the western Brooks Range, 90 miles north of Kotzebue and 55 miles from the Chukchi Sea.

At the end of 2007, the site's proven and probable reserves plus indicated resources amounted to 77.5 million tons, containing 17.5 percent zinc and 4.8 percent lead, as well as 2.8 ounces per ton of silver. In addition, Red Dog also contains 36.6 million tons of inferred resources. The entire deposit lies inside a relatively small area (one mile by one-half mile). The deposit is essentially flat-lying at the surface, making open pit mining the extraction method of choice.

Geography

Red Dog Mine is located at . It is in the DeLong Mountains in the remote western Brooks Range about north of Kotzebue and from the Chukchi Sea.

Red Dog Mine is very isolated. It is located within the Northwest Arctic Borough, an area approximately the size of Indiana with only 11 communities, none connected by roads, with a total population of only 7,523 people at the 2010 census. The nearest of those communities are Noatak, population 514, roughly south and Kivalina, population 374, roughly west at the 2010 census.

Although native populations have historically used the nearby area for seasonal food-gathering, there are no permanent residents at the mine or the port site. The mine's workforce consists of about 460 employees and contractors, of which somewhat more than half will be on-site at any given time. At the mine, everyone stays in the single large housing unit, tucked in among the process buildings near the edge of the open pit, while a small portion of the work force stays at the port site.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all land.

Climate

The climate type of Red Dog Mine belongs to the subarctic climate (Köppen: Dwc), which is mainly characterized by cold and long winters and warm and short summers. June and July are the warmest months of the year and the only months with average temperatures above . In midsummer, daytime temperatures average around , while in winter, nighttime temperatures average around . In summer, there are 13 days with highs of each year; in winter, there are 76 days with lows below . Temperature extremes ranged from on February 1, 2012, to on June 19, 2013.

Demographics

Red Dog Mine first appeared on the 2000 U.S. census as a census-designated place (CDP).

As of the census of 2000,

The rest of the year, the area is only accessible by air, served by the Red Dog Airport. Mine workers from remote villages in the region are ferried to the mine on small aircraft. Alaska Airlines is contracted by the mine to fly other mine workers out of Anchorage.

References

  • NANA Regional Corporation
  • Red Dog Mine