NovaGold Resources initiated production at its Rock Creek mine near Nome, Alaska, during the second half of September 2008 and is ramping up to the mine's design production rate. Startup followed receipt of final regulatory authorizations, which require NovaGold to complete a number of environmental and operational tasks.
Rock Creek is NovaGold's first producing gold mine. Upon achieving full commercial production, the mine will produce about 100,000 oz/y of gold at life-of-mine cash costs estimated at $500/oz.
The Rock Creek mine is a year-round, truck-and-shovel, open-pit operation. The processing facility is designed to process 7,000 mt/d, using a simple gravity, …
