A federal inspector is investigating a fire that heavily damaged a large conveyor belt at Kinross Alaska’s Fort Knox mine in Fox Tuesday morning.
No injuries were reported, but the fire appears to have burned up the conveyor belt. It’s one of several at the mine that transports rock to a crusher in the mill, where gold ore is refined.
Kinross Alaska said in a news release that the fire was quickly identified and the site’s fire-suppression systems extinguished it.
According to the release, Fort Knox emergency response crews are monitoring the area around the conveyor-belt system, which off-limits.
Kinross spokesperson Meadow Riedel said the company notified the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, or MSHA. She said the company halted operations at the mill for a few hours Tuesday morning. And, that the temporary shutdown caused very minimal impact to gold production at the mill.
Riedel declined an interview while the investigation is under way. But she confirmed the authenticity of video posted to Facebook that shows flames covering the entire length of the conveyor belt.
An MSHA official with the agency’s office in Anchorage said the inspector was on-site at the mine north of Fairbanks, examining the conveyor belt system and talking with Kinross officials.
The MSHA official confirmed an investigation is under way and it will determine the cause of the fire and safety/regulatory compliance.
A preliminary report should be available in about two weeks, he said.
