Technical Report for the Fort Knox Mine - Kinross Gold

Fort Knox Mine Technical Report10.0 EXPLORATIONAlthough the Fairbanks district has produced over 8.0 million ounces since its discoveryin 1902, most of the production has come from auriferous gravels, rather than lodedeposits. Exploration for the lode sources of the placer deposits has been performedperiodically since the discovery of the district with little success from these efforts, untilthe 1990’s.Standard exploration procedures have been utilized at the Fort Knox project as follows:• Reconnaissance and detailed geologic mapping on topographic maps or aerialphotographs at scales that are suitable to display the details of observedgeologic features. Geologic mapping on topographic base maps is normally doneat a scale of 1 inch = 500 feet, and mapping that is done on aerial photographs isat a scale of 1 inch = 2,000 feet. This work is undertaken by employees of theCompany or contract/consulting geologists;• Soil and rock chip sampling to determine the presence of gold mineralization, orassociated trace elements. These samples are regularly collected during thecourse of geologic mapping programs by either Company employees or contractgeologists, under Company supervision;• Soil anomalies were trenched to create exposures of bedrock. The trenches werecut with bulldozers owned and operated by contracting firms. The trenches weremapped and sampled in detail by either contract geologists or Companypersonnel;• Drilling has been the principal exploration tool used by the Company. The twodrilling methods used were diamond core and reverse circulation (RC).Company personnel directed the work performed by the independent drillingcontractors. Sampling of the drill holes was completed by drill contractoremployees, under close supervision of Company or contract geologists;• Geochemical and assay determinations for gold and associated elements areundertaken by independent commercial laboratories. The Company has utilizedthe services of three firms – ALS Chemex Laboratories, Bondar-Clegg (nowowned by the ALS Chemex group), and Alaska Assay Laboratories. Prior to2002, the assays for Fort Knox and True North were completed by Bondar-Cleggat their Vancouver, B.C. laboratory. The samples were dried, weighed, crushed,and pulped at the Bondar-Clegg preparation facility in Fairbanks. The duplicateassay and quality control procedures were performed by Chemex in Vancouver.From 2002 to 2005, all assaying was done by ALS Chemex at their Vancouverlaboratory, although sample preparation was done at their facility in Fairbanks. In32