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Red Dog

Red Dog

Red Dog Operations is one of the world's largest zinc mines, located in northwest Alaska, USA.

Red Dog's Response to COVID-19

Updated October 28, 2021

 

Red Dog Operations has enacted COVID-19 response measures to safeguard the health and safety of employees and contractors at site. 

  • Increased testing and expanded testing capacity at site  
  • Availability of COVID-19 vaccination on site for all personnel
  • Increased and enhanced disinfection and cleaning of living and workspaces  
  • Installation of HEPA filtration in all employee bus transportation 
  • All personnel must wear a 3-ply medical mask facial coverings and maintain strict adherence to mandates and occupancy limits
  • Daily documented effectiveness checks to drive adherence to all COVID-19 protocols and identify opportunities for improvement
  •  All individuals with positive test results are in isolation*. Anyone identified as having had close contact with these individuals will be quarantined** and undergo COVID-19 testing. 
  • Employees travelling to local communities in the region are required to be tested twice and will require two confirmed negative tests before departing. Personnel are strongly advised to also follow their community’s COVID-19 mandates when returning home.
  • Additional COVID-19 testing is being conducted at site. 
  • A ‘real-time’ body temperature monitoring system was installed, including four thermal imaging cameras as a means of early symptom detection. 

Red Dog Operations is focused on safeguarding the health and safety of our employees and the communities in which they live. Red Dog Operations is following response protocols to ensure the health and safety of all personnel at the operation is maintained. We are also working with public health authorities and taking precautionary steps to manage the risk of transmission. 

* An individual in isolation or self-isolation has tested positive for COVID-19
** An individual in quarantine has been identified as having had close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-1

 

DIRECT* COVID-19 case status at Red Dog – Updated October 28, 2021

Red Dog Active Cases at Site Red Dog Active Cases in region Red Dog Active Cases out of region Recovered Total
2 0 0 210 212
* Direct cases do not include offsite positive COVID-19 cases that were prevented from coming to site.
 

 

FAQ

Red Dog has enhanced COVID-19 protocols in place.

Red Dog has implemented a rigorous testing protocol for all Red Dog personnel at site as well as daily health checks at the beginning of every shift. This testing protocol has been an effective measure in limiting transmission at site and within regional communities. All personnel are encouraged to continue to follow all specific travel protocols and community COVID-19 guidelines while traveling and on their R&R.

Red Dog has made the COVID-19 vaccination available on site and the State of Alaska has made the vaccine readily available at the Anchorage International Airport for all travelers, regardless of their residency. All employees are strongly encouraged to get fully vaccinated as soon as possible, if medically able. Full vaccination significantly reduces the chances of becoming seriously ill or dying from COVID-19, reduces transmission of the virus, and protects against variant strains.

Additionally, personnel at Red Dog are required to wear a 3-ply disposable mask in all public and work spaces, maintain social distancing, and avoid gatherings.

Due to the high level of full vaccination among Red Dog employees and a sustained decrease in COVID-19 cases in our local communities, Red Dog has begun a staged reopening of the exercise areas, gym/track, main cafeteria, and recreation rooms. If an outbreak or ongoing cases are confirmed at site, these spaces will be closed.

All inbound regional personnel are tested the day of arrival to site, and the samples are analyzed at Red Dog using a safe and proven effective rapid test.

All inbound passengers on the Anchorage charter are required to be tested and receive a negative result at the Anchorage International Airport on the day of travel prior to boarding the charter.

All personnel scheduled for a regional flight are required to receive two negative COVID-19 test results prior to departure. The first test (#1) takes place approximately three to four days prior to travel. The second test (#2) is collected on the day of travel. Regional personnel must receive their negative results prior to traveling out of Red Dog.

For all outbound Anchorage personnel, testing occurs on the day of departure. Personnel must receive their results prior to boarding the Anchorage charter.

Isolation occurs when an individual has tested positive for the virus and is separated from people who are not positive.

Quarantine restricts the movement of people who have been exposed to an individual who has tested COVID-19 positive. Individuals may be identified as needing to quarantine based on contact tracing.

Contact tracing helps to identify individuals who have been exposed to—and potentially contracted—COVID-19, and as a result may need to be put in quarantine.

Contact tracing is performed by trained personnel in the Health & Safety department at Red Dog and by the State of Alaska Public Health Nursing.

Contact tracing is a critically important step in reducing spread.

Red Dog has designated a personnel care wing in the Personnel Accommodations Complex (PAC) to house individuals who need to be isolated or quarantined. These individuals will be appropriately supported for their physical and emotional health while isolating or quarantining.

The ventilation system has been configured to only use air supplied from outside of the living facility. Therefore, air is not recycled in the facility. Also, personnel in quarantine are housed on a different floor than those in isolation.

Personnel providing meals and collecting garbage from rooms are required to maintain a minimum six-foot distance and wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when servicing the care wing. They do not enter the rooms of isolated and quarantined personnel.

Additionally, rooms are thoroughly sanitized using sanitizing foggers before they can be used for normal occupancy.

The gestation period for the virus can vary from 2 to 14 days, and infected individuals may initially test negative while the virus is still too low to detect with testing methods. Close adherence to all established protocols is key to managing further spread of the virus on site and in our communities.

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About Red Dog

Red Dog Operations is one of the world's largest zinc mines, located about 170 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle in northwest Alaska, near Kotzebue. 

In 1989, Red Dog Operations was developed through an innovative operating agreement between the operator Teck and the land-owner NANA, a Regional Alaska Native corporation owned by the Iñupiat people of northwest Alaska. The mine and concentrator properties are leased from, and were developed under the agreement with NANA.

Red Dog is an open-pit truck-and-loader operation, using conventional drill and blast mining methods. Concentrates produced at Red Dog are shipped to our metallurgical facilities in Trail, British Columbia, and to customers in Asia and Europe.

The mine life is expected to continue to 2032.


Red Dog Operating Results

($ in millions)

 2020

2019

2018

Revenue

 $1,394

$1,594

$1,696

Gross Profit before depreciation and amortization(1)(2)

 $717

$837

$990

Gross Profit

 $513

$696

$864

Production - Contained in concentrate (000' tonnes)

 491

553

583

Sales (000' tonnes)

 551

561

521
Notes:
(1) Non-GAAP Financial Measure. See “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section for further information.
(2) See “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section for reconciliation.  

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