It is located within the boundaries of the Red Dog Mine census-designated place in the Northwest Arctic Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska.

[8] In the mid-1950s, Bob Baker, a local bush pilot and prospector, noticed red-stained creeks in the area, but was unable to land his plane nearby.

[9][10] In the mid-1970s, after investigations by BLM-contracted geologists confirmed significant mineralization, interest in the region from major mining companies and NANA intensified.

Also in 1986, residents of Kotzebue and 10 other area villages voted to form the Northwest Arctic Borough, to be economically based on taxing the Red Dog mine.

[14] The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) first investigated the veins of ore in 1968, at the urging of a local bush pilot and prospector, Bob Baker, who noticed red-stained creeks in the area in the mid-1950s.

[15][16] In the mid-1970s, after investigations by BLM-contracted geologists confirmed significant mineralization, interest in the region from major mining companies and NANA intensified.

Also in 1986, residents of Kotzebue and 10 other area villages voted to form the Northwest Arctic Borough, to be economically based on taxing the Red Dog mine.

[18]: 2 Under the terms of the Teck Cominco/NANA agreement, NANA received royalties of 4.5% until the capital costs of the mine were recovered, which occurred in late 2007.

[23] Zinc, lead, silver, and barium were deposited in black muds and carbonates on or beneath the seafloor, in a deep quiet ocean basin, some 338 million years ago in the Mississippian period.

These metals were then caused to precipitate, by chemical or biological or physical agents, from the fluid onto or into the seafloor to form the Red Dog deposits.

One model holds that very saline brines formed in a restricted ocean basin within a hundred kilometers of the site of the Red Dog deposits.

The fluid eventually reemerged through fault systems focused on the location of the Red Dog deposits, in a manner somewhat similar to the process surrounding black smokers.

A Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement is expected to be produced in 2008 as part of the process of permitting the development of this ore body.

At the mine, everybody stays in the single large housing unit, tucked in among the process buildings near the edge of the open pit.

"[30] "The mining industry will make the argument this is just waste rock, but the fact is you are bringing this large amount of heavy metal-concentrated ore to the Earth's surface and exposing that to the elements, and this promotes the oxidization and leaching of these metals, which is why the EPA requires them to report this way under the TRI," according to Miller.

[30] According to 2001 reports, the ore from the mine is transported by ore trucks that weigh 100 tons (net 72-ton payload) that carry 1.1 million dry tons of lead-zinc concentrate annually on the 52 mi (84 km) Red Dog Mine Haul Road to the state-owned, Teck-operated DeLong Mountain Port Facility on the Chuckchi Sea.

In 2008, Teck Resources said that the entire concentrate-haulage system had been improved, including tight-fitting seals on side-dump trucks and enclosure of conveyor belts at the port site.

A 2001 NPS study investigated the potential of heavy metals from the dust of the stream of trucks on low-lying vegetation in the park.

"[citation needed] According to a 2005 Alaska Business Monthly, leaching of metals and acids from waste rocks into the environment is a valid concern.

[37] All of the waste rock and tailings material remains in permanent disposal on-site, contained, and treated as necessary by the mine operations.

The EPA notes about Red Dog's rank, "No conclusions on the potential risks can be made based solely on this information.

According to a June 2007 article in Anchorage Daily News, both the Kenai River and Big Lake were designated as "heavily polluted.

Pre-mining studies on Red Dog Creek revealed naturally high concentrations of cadmium, lead, zinc, aluminum, and other metals.

Before mining began, aquatic life uses were not present in the main stem of Red Dog Creek because of the natural toxic concentrations and low pH.

A 2018 North of 60 Mining article described it as Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA)-funded "most successful" projects to date—a "model for future partnerships.

[42] Local inhabitants have expressed concerns that the proposed expansion of DeLong Mountain Port docking facilities may detrimentally change the migratory patterns of marine life.

[45] In August 2024, the operators of Red Dog Mine agreed to pay over $429,794 to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of a settlement regarding hazardous waste violations that occurred from October 2019 until January 2024.

The violations included failures to properly identify, store, report, and treat hazardous waste at Red Dog's laboratory.

Teck Alaska contended that the violations stemmed from a “different interpretation of EPA requirements for identifying, storing and disposing” hazardous waste and involved less than 200 grams of solid residual material.

Red Dog Mine has a subarctic climate (Dfc) with mild summers and severely cold winters.