Delong Mountain Transportation System
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DELONG MOUNTAIN TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM Asset Management Review December 2017 Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority Delong Mountain Transportation System Asset Management Review December 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION .............................................................................................................. 3 PROJECT GOALS/PURPOSE .............................................................................................................................. 3 PROJECT OVERVIEW ......................................................................................................................................... 3 PROJECT LOCATION ......................................................................................................................................... 5 KEY PLAYERS/STAKEHOLDERS........................................................................................................................... 5 OVERVIEW OF DMTS OPERATIONS .................................................................................................................. 7 MAJOR DEPOSITS OF THE RED DOG DISTRICT ............................................................................................. 12 ECONOMIC IMPACTS ..................................................................................................................................... 14 PROJECT BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................... 16 AIDEA’S ROLE IN DMTS/RED DOG DEVELOPMENT ..................................................................................... 16 ENVIRONMENTAL BACKGROUND, PERMITS, AND RELATED ISSUES ......................................................... 24 PROJECT HISTORY TIMELINE ............................................................................................................................ 33 PROJECT AGREEMENTS AND FINANCING .............................................................................. 34 AIDEA – NANA LEASE AGREEMENT ............................................................................................................... 37 AIDEA – TECK AGREEMENTS ........................................................................................................................... 37 TECK – NANA AGREEMENT ............................................................................................................................. 46 NWAB-TECK AGREEMENTS ............................................................................................................................. 48 STRATEGIC ANALYSIS .............................................................................................................. 49 CURRENT PROJECT STATUS ............................................................................................................................. 49 RED DOG OPERATIONS AND PRODUCTION ANALYSIS ............................................................................. 50 ZINC AND LEAD MARKET OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................ 53 ZINC AND LEAD MINE PRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 54 AIDEA FINANCIAL ASSESSMENT RELATIVE TO DMTS ................................................................................... 59 SWOT ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................................................ 60 RISK ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................................................... 65 DMTS EXTENSION OPPORTUNITIES........................................................................................... 68 MINING OPPORTUNITIES .................................................................................................................................. 68 POTENTIAL PORT INFRASTRUCTURE USES ...................................................................................................... 69 DMTS SUCCESSES AND CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................. 70 DMTS FACTORS OF SUCCESS ......................................................................................................................... 70 ASSET MANAGEMENT REVIEW CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................... 72 APPENDICES ...............................................................................................................................I A. DMTS PORT AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITS........................................................................................ I B. BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................................ III C. ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................................................. V D. ENDNOTES ...............................................................................................................................................VII i Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority Delong Mountain Transportation System, Asset Management Review Executive Summary December 2017 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority’s (AIDEA) involvement in the Red Dog Mine and the DeLong Mountain Transportation System (DMTS) began over 30 years ago. The intent of this report is to: • Summarize the DMTS project history, project agreements, key milestones, and key stakeholders • Identify key takeaways/project elements to be applied to this and other AIDEA projects • Understand and articulate potential project related expansion or other associated economic development opportunities • Understand the project risks and opportunities in a changing external environment • Identify areas in the existing project agreements that may require modification or adjustment to reflect current operational and/or management practices • Outline key risks and potential action scenarios related to the on-going operation and future for the DMTS This report is not intended to recommend any particular course of future action, but rather to identify future risks and management scenarios that may apply to the DMTS and AIDEA’s continued ownership of this asset. The summarized key factors of success for the DMTS may also be considered for any future AIDEA projects. 1 Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority Delong Mountain Transportation System, Asset Management Review Executive Summary December 2017 BACKGROUND AND HISTORY Incidental discovery of the original Red Dog zinc deposit occurred in the mid 1950s with the official discovery announced in 1975 after the US Bureau of Mines (USBM) completed exploration activities in the area. The passage of Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) in 1971 created a rush by the newly established regional native corporations to select lands with potential future economic value. However, the area around Red Dog was designated as a potential set aside for a national park or wilderness area, pending the outcome of the USBM exploration activities. NANA, the regional Alaska Native Corporation (ANC) for northwest Alaska, selected the lands around the future mine as part of its settlement lands. Due to disputes with existing mining claims, land transfer for the Red Dog area (to NANA) was officially settled through the passage of Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in 1981. Anticipating the transfer, NANA began soliciting offers from several mining companies for the potential development of the mine. NANA reached an agreement with Cominco (now Teck) for the construction and operations of the Red Dog Mine in 1982. Seeking administrative and financial support for the project, NANA and Cominco reached out to Governor Sheffield’s administration and the Alaska Legislature for potential economic assistance, including the state’s ownership of the project’s road and port facilities, in a similar manner as other state-owned transportation infrastructure. Recognizing the unique nature of the project’s remote and semi-dedicated transportation system, the Alaska Legislature passed legislation to ultimately provide significant new tools to AIDEA to enable its financial support of the project. The DMTS project also fit AIDEA’s mission of promoting economic development and job creation in Alaska. AIDEA’s participation was facilitated through bills passed by the 13th and 14th Alaska Legislatures to create AIDEA’s economic development account, seed the account, provide AIDEA bonding capability, and provide distinct procurement capabilities to match the project requirements. AIDEA signed the project financing and operations agreement with Cominco (now Teck) in 1986 and sold $103M of bonds in 1987 to support the project’s construction. The AIDEA-Cominco Agreement provided for the financing of the DMTS via a 50-year lease arrangement (1990-2040) with an interest rate essentially equivalent to the market rate at the time of the financing (6.5%). Importantly, the projected mine life at the time of the