ANCSA SPECIAL SECTION
NANA Regional Corporation
Red Dog Mine, a Catalyst for Change
By Tracy Barbour
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ituated about 80 miles from Kotzebue, the Red Dog Mine is the world’s largest producer of zinc and has one of the world’s largest zinc reserves. The mine is operated by Teck Resources Limited (formerly Teck Cominco Limited) and is located on land owned by NANA Regional Corporation. NANA, one of twelve Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), is owned by the more than 15,000 Iñupiat shareholders who live in or have roots in northwest Alaska. Red Dog Mine is integral to achieving NANA’s broad mission for its shareholders: to improve their quality of life by maximizing economic growth, protecting and enhancing its lands, and promoting healthy communities.

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ituated about 80 miles from Kotzebue, the Red Dog Mine is the world’s largest producer of zinc and has one of the world’s largest zinc reserves. The mine is operated by Teck Resources Limited (formerly Teck Cominco Limited) and is located on land owned by NANA Regional Corporation. NANA, one of twelve Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), is owned by the more than 15,000 Iñupiat shareholders who live in or have roots in northwest Alaska. Red Dog Mine is integral to achieving NANA’s broad mission for its shareholders: to improve their quality of life by maximizing economic growth, protecting and enhancing its lands, and promoting healthy communities.

NANA has a long and successful history with Arctic mining and transportation with Red Dog. The mine has an annual impact of $150 million through its Village Improvement Fund (VIF) payments, payments in lieu of taxes, shareholder wages, contracting, and royalties. That impact has transformed the lives of many shareholders; more than 3,000 of them have been employed there since operations began in 1989. In 2020 alone, Red Dog and its contractors employed almost 800 shareholders and paid them more than $50 million in wages.

“ANCSA occurred at a time in Native American law when the US was just beginning to turn from termination to self-determination. This is one of the most amended laws in the United States. It is up to us to build on the successes of ANCSA and strengthen the integration of our values.”
Liz Cravalho, Vice President of Lands, NANA

Red Dog is more than a mine; it is a catalyst for change, says NANA President and CEO John Lincoln. “Resource development has been the most important, powerful, and effective tool we have to pull ourselves out of poverty and fight for a better future,” Lincoln says. “Red Dog employees have built homes in our villages; they’re using their earnings to fund subsistence activities; and they are providing profoundly better lives for their children.”

Broader Impact

As part of its extensive impact, Red Dog provides 80 to 90 percent of the revenue for the base budget of the Northwest Arctic Borough—and this excludes the $4 million to $8 million it contributes annually to the VIF. At the statewide level, NANA has provided more than $1.5 billion to other Alaska Native corporations (ANCs) through 7(i) revenue sharing. “Given the importance of natural resource revenue for all ANCs through 7(i) sharing, we support other ANCs’ efforts to responsibly develop ANCSA resources for their regional benefit and statewide impact,” Lincoln says.

John Lincoln
NANA
Liz Cravalho
NANA
Lance Miller
NANA
Red Dog Mine, located on land owned by NANA, is the world’s largest producer of zinc.

NANA

Red Dog Mine, located on land owned by NANA, is the world’s largest producer of zinc.

NANA

Red Dog Mine

NANA’s achievements with Red Dog can be attributed to two primary factors: the forward-looking leadership of NANA in the ‘60s and ‘70s and the fact that Red Dog is a deposit of such size and grade that it could be developed in a remote region and make a profit. “Past NANA leadership, including our first chairman, Robert Aqqaluk Newlin from Noorvik, understood both the potential and the risks of development, and they negotiated brilliantly with [Teck] Cominco to produce the 1982 agreement that governs Red Dog,” Lincoln says.

ANCSA is unique because it established a different model for Indigenous people to hold lands in common, says NANA Vice President of Lands Liz Cravalho. “Through the Red Dog Mine, the NANA region sought to secure the ability to improve the quality of life of the people through responsible development of our lands retained under ANCSA,” she says. “It is the vision of our past leaders that allowed Red Dog to happen, be successful, and for it to lead to greater control over schools [and] deployment of infrastructure to benefit communities, families, and individuals.”

Cravalho adds, “ANCSA occurred at a time in Native American law when the United States was just beginning to turn from termination to self-determination. This is one of the most amended laws in the United States. It is up to us to build on the successes of ANCSA and strengthen the integration of our values.”

A Bright Future

NANA has a diverse portfolio of mineral projects ranging from production and exploration at Red Dog to advanced exploration and pre-feasibility work at the copper/zinc/gold/silver and copper/cobalt deposits in the Ambler Mining District to its own grassroots mineral exploration in Northwest Alaska and elsewhere. The corporation embodies the triple bottom line of integrating and valuing environment, society, and the economy, according to NANA Vice President of Natural Resources Lance Miller. “Ultimately, society and the economy are subsets of the environment,” he says. “The environment and land have always been a foundation for NANA. Mineral resources have allowed the region to have an economic base as well as have a vehicle for self-governance.”

Miller continues, “In order to have the goal of decarbonizing heavy industry and increasing alternative energy technologies, it will require mining a lot of these energy-critical metals.”

Lincoln says mining has a bright future due to the need for metals for global decarbonization, new energy infrastructure, alternative energy technologies, and electric vehicles. “The NANA region has and will continue to proudly provide energy-critical metals for society,” he says.

Lincoln adds, “Metals have been the building blocks for society for thousands of years. Looking forward to a world of decarbonization and the energy-critical metals needed, NANA—with resources like Red Dog—is well positioned to help achieve these goals and continue mining as a solid economic base for Northwest Alaska.”