Cambior nears Flavrian production

Nearly 26 years after it was mothballed, the old Flavrian property near Rouyn-Noranda, Que., is about to become a gold producer once again.

Operator Cambior Inc. says it is within two months of a production decision at the property which produced 700,000 tons grading 0.139 oz gold per ton between 1956 and 1962.

“We still have some diamond drilling left to do on the Eldridge deposit and some raise work to complete before we can make a production decision,” said chief geologist Francois Viens. When a preproduction stage begins in late April, Viens says the company expects to recover about 18,000 oz before swinging into full production at a rate of about 40,000 oz annually in 1989.

Initial output will come from the original Eldridge deposit which contains an estimated 917,000 tons grading 0.130 oz (allowing for a 20% dilution factor), The Northern Miner has learned.

Located at between 150 ft and 800 ft, it can be accessed from levels one to five and Cambior is planning to use shrinkage mining methods before shipping the ore to the Vezina mill in Rouyn.

Last year, Sullivan Mines and Aiguebelle Resources extracted an 11,000-ton bulk sample which was processed at the Vezina mill with 94.4% recovery. In a joint venture with Soquem, the partners began underground exploration at Flavrian in 1984. Cambior merger

As the previous operator, Sullivan was given a $4.5-million grant to finance a phase 1 program in 1985. But after the two Quebec companies were merged with Cambior in October, the latter company became sole owner of the project.

While progress in 1985 was delayed by the poor state of the underground workings, Viens says Cambior hasn’t yet decided how it will mine a second No 5 zone located at depth of between 1,000 ft and 1,500 ft. Scheduled to come on stream in early 1990, it contains 731,000 tons grading 0.18 oz.

The shaft is currently being deepened to access the new reserves and exploration targets on the lower levels,” said exploration director Michel Drouin.

Production costs are expected to be around $250(US) per oz. Capital expenses, after deducting the premium on flow-through financing, will be $19.2 million, Cambior says.

With 119,000 ft of drilling and 8,060 ft of drifts and raising already complete, Cambior will do some more drilling before recalculating the Eldridge deposit reserves.

Between now and April, the company will continue to sink the shaft to level 11 and start drifting on the lower levels.