Princeton pushing to bring Huckleberry to production

Despite a steady October drizzle that turns the ground to mud, crews are keeping up the pace of constructing a new, open-pit copper mine at the base of this Coast Range mountain.

The steel girders are still exposed, but the concrete is being poured at the mill building, which should be complete by the end of November. Most of the ground has been cleared and stripping of overburden from the East zone pit is under way.

The till removed is being used on the starter tailings dam and the permanent camp, which has its own airstrip, is nearing completion. Site development began in March of this year and is on track for mine startup in September 1997, The Northern Miner learned during a recent site visit.

“We’ve accelerated the construction phase,” said Richard Faucher, president of Princeton Mining (PMC-T), the majority owner and operator of the Huckleberry mine. “We’re on time and $2 million under budget.” The copper-molybdenite-gold-silver deposit is at the foot of Huckleberry Mountain, on the eastern slope of the Coast Range in the province’s northwest. The mine is a 2-hour drive from Houston, the nearest major town, 86 km to the north.

The mine is under the control of Huckleberry Mines, 60% of which is owned by Princeton, with the remainder held by a consortium consisting of Mitsubishi Materials, Dowa Mining, Furukawa and Marubeni. Huckleberry Mines has 92 million shares issued and outstanding.

The project is expected to cost $10 million less than the budgeted $137 million, and, once it is up and running, will produce ore over a projected mine life of 16 years.

“One of the reasons [for the lower cost] is that we’ve been able to purchase a lot of second-hand equipment,” said Faucher. A good deal of the fleet came from Princeton’s Similco mine, in southwestern British Columbia, which is scheduled to close in December pending stronger copper prices.

The Huckleberry deposit consists of chalcopyrite, molybdenite and small amounts of recoverable gold and silver. Minable reserves are estimated at 26.62 million tons grading 0.48% copper in the Main zone, and 72.71 million tons grading 0.52% copper in the East zone.

The mine has been a long time coming. Mineralization was first discovered in 1962 by Kennco Explorations, which explored the area between 1962 and 1971.

In 1972, the property was optioned to Granby Mining, which proved up the Main zone by means of drilling and metallurgical tests.

The East zone deposit was discovered in early 1993, after New Canamin Resources optioned the property from Kennecott Canada a year before. New Canamin became sole owner of the project in 1994, and Princeton bought the company in July 1995. A feasibility study was finished in September, and a final production decision was issued the following June.

The mine will process 18,150 tons of ore per day, as well as 12,650 tons of waste. Annual production is projected at 120,000 tonnes of concentrate grading 27% copper, equivalent to 33,770 tons of copper metal. The mine will also produce 1.3 million lb. molybdenum, 6,000 oz. gold and 270,000 oz.

silver. The potential for additional reserves exists, and the company plans to explore the nearby Whiting Creek property.

The operation’s cash cost is estimated at 65 cents per lb., including moly credits. Extra horsepower in the grinding circuit could reduce that figure during the first five years.

The mill will employ a conventional primary crushing process, including an semi-autogenous grinding mill. Concentrates will be trucked to the port at Prince Rupert.

In December 1995, the mine received approval to proceed with permitting and development under British Columbia’s Environmental Assessment, and, less than three months later, was given the go-ahead under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

One hurdle remains: Later this month, the Sierra Legal Defense, acting on behalf of the Cheslatta Nation, will challenge, in provincial court, the British Columbian government’s approval of the project.

The environmental group’s petition claims a lack of due process in the mine assessment and seeks to quash all decisions and orders of the Environmental Assessment Office, including the project approval certificate and special use permit. The group also seeks injunctions that would suspend development of the project. The hearings are set for Oct. 29-31.

Faucher said definite steps were taken to protect the environment and that the area’s native groups were involved in the decision-making processes that led to the mine.

“We don’t expect there to be a problem,” he said. “We’ve done everything required by law.”

Peter Campbell, the mine’s manager of environmental affairs, agreed. “All the procedures were followed, and I’m unaware of any shortcomings. We don’t feel there’s much merit in the case.”

He added that the leadership of the Cheslatta Nation does not even have the unanimous support of its own members, many of whom are anticipating employment and revenue from the Huckleberry. The construction phase currently employs 220, and 180 will be employed once production begins.

Regarding environmental concerns, Campbell conceded that, in the short term, following startup, there is potential for acid rock drainage, but he stressed that preventive action has been taken:

“Our course of action was to take preventive measures during the mine-planning stage, so that all materials identified during the life of the mine, based on the sulphide content of the rock, would be put in the tailings area and flooded. The water barrier prevents oxygen from getting at the rock.”