Falconbridge celebrates Craig mine opening

Although Falconbridge (TSE) has ventured abroad to develop projects in the Dominican Republic and Chile, it has never forgotten that its roots are firmly planted in Ontario’s Sudbury Basin.

The Sudbury Igneous Complex, as it is properly known, is one of Canada’s most prolific mining camps and the cornerstone of Falco’s past. But the recent opening of the Craig nickel-copper mine shows that this mineral-rich camp still has a role to play in the company’s future.

More than 500 people, including The Northern Miner, gathered at the mine site near Onaping (on the northern rim of the Sudbury Basin) to celebrate the opening of Falco’s newest producer. The mine was named to honor the late Ernest Craig, who, from 1928 to 1945, served as the first general manager of the company’s Sudbury division. It officially began production following the commissioning of the Craig mine shaft this past August.

According to Falco’s Sudbury-born president, Frank Pickard, the Craig mine is an important symbol for area residents. “Craig is the first mine we’ve opened in Sudbury since 1985,” he said. “With expenditures of over $365 million, it represents our largest undertaking and shows our faith and commitment to the area of Sudbury and to its people. And it ensures we will be here into the next century.”

The son and daughter of Ernest Craig, Barbara Mather and Donald Craig, were present during the opening reception, as were Falco board members, company employees and representatives from three levels of government.

Following speeches from several dignitaries, Pickard unveiled a plaque commemorating the new mine, and later, following a fireworks display, the upper portion of the headframe was revealed to showcase the Falconbridge logo.

The Craig nickel-copper mine comprises nine separate deposits. Reserves, including limited past production and the current mineral inventory, total 14.7 million tonnes averaging 2.03% nickel and 0.74% copper. The zones cover a strike length of 1,000 metres and are situated 550 to 1,700 metres below surface.

The first indications of what later became the Craig mine were discovered between 1950 and 1952. Several widely spaced surface holes were drilled east of the Onaping mine, which intersected sub-economic nickel-copper mineralization.

In the 1960s, two hangingwall drifts were driven 1,600 metres from the Onaping mine shaft in order to complete deep underground drilling. Between 1972 and 1981, the nine zones that make up the Craig mine were delineated.

Development work began at the mine site in 1985. By 1992, the surface complex was constructed and the 6.25-metre-diameter shaft had been sunk to a depth of 1,520 metres.

Ore is accessible by ramps and mined using cut-and-fill and blasthole stope methods. The hoist and skip have a capacity of 20 tonnes, and Falco expects Craig will yield 1.2 million tonnes of ore per year.

While the nine orebodies that comprise the mine are well-established, there are indications that new deposits may exist below the known reserves. In 1994, a surface hole, drilled 700 metres downdip of the known orebodies and about 500 metres below the bottom of the Craig mine shaft, intersected more than 100 metres averaging 1.23% nickel, 0.47% copper and 0.05% cobalt at a depth of 2,040 metres. In addition, 2 km west and downdip from the Onaping mine’s No.4 zone, another surface hole cut 2.51% nickel, 1.97% copper and 0.06% cobalt over 16 metres at a depth of 2,300 metres.

Falco will determine whether these intersections can be converted into orebodies economically. Deep drilling and down-hole geophysics will be carried out in order to build up a mineral inventory. If results are positive, the mineralization could be reached from an exploration shaft and drilled on a tighter spacing to upgrade the inventory to resource and reserve categories. This year, Falco will spend $8 million on drilling and borehole geophysics to search for deep ore zones in the Sudbury Basin.

Nickel and copper were first discovered in the Sudbury Basin in the 1890s during construction of the Trans-Canada railway. The discovery and startup at the Craig mine demonstrate that the Sudbury camp still holds potential for important new discoveries.