Congratulations to Kinross Fort Knox for receiving a prestigious award for the reclamation of its True North mine. True North is the first large mine in Alaska to be reclaimed, a tribute to the dedication and planning of our reclamation team at Fort Knox.
The reclamation of True North, an open pit mine roughly 16 km northwest of Fort Knox, began in 2005. Since mining completion, water quality monitoring and reclamation work have been ongoing, with long-term monitoring beginning last year. The area of disturbance – where trees were felled, rocks moved and dirt scraped off for mining – measured roughly 275 hectares.
Jennifer Pyecha (Senior Environmental Engineer), who has been leading the reclamation efforts since 2011, said the biggest challenge of the reclamation was dealing with scattered pockets of frozen ground that have thawed over the years. The bulk of the reclamation work involved blending the 25 million tons of non-gold bearing waste rock to match the contours of the surrounding topography. In the case of True North, reclamation had to be completed during the warmer months of May through August.
After the waste rock had been was blended, all the displaced dirt had to be hauled and spread over the area. The 194 hectares were then graded before 220 tons of fertilizer were applied and native grasses were seeded using fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. Having completed the final seed and fertilize last year, the regulators are satisfied that Jennifer and her team have achieved what was in their reclamation plan. The process of returning the leased True North land to the State of Alaska has begun.
Jennifer attended the annual Interstate Mining Compact Commission (IMCC) award ceremony in Baltimore on April 28 to receive the Honorable Mention. It’s a prestigious distinction: each year, only one such award is handed out in three categories – coal, non-coal and small operator. When merited, Honorable Mentions are given out as well.
The IMCC, which comprises 26 member states, is the only interstate body of its kind for mining in the USA. Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources recommended that Kinross Fort Knox apply for a reclamation award for its work at True North.
Before: The True North mine during operation
After: Waste rock dumps at True North in 2013
From left to right: Brent Goodrum, Division Director, Alaska Department of Natural Resources Mining Land and Water; Gregory Conrad, Executive Director, IMCC; Jennifer Pyecha, Senior Environmental Engineer, Kinross Fort Knox; Edmund Fogels, Deputy Commissioner, Alaska Department of Natural Resources
