Magino mine officially open

The second gold- mine opening in less than a month took place northeast of here recently when the Magino property of Muscocho Explorations (TSE) and McNellen Resources (TSE) officially went into production.

Under a clear blue autumn sky, officials of both companies gathered to cut a ribbon stretched across the main entrance to the Magino mill which, at a production rate of 400 tons of ore daily, is expected to turn out 40,000 oz gold annually.

First to open in the Lochalsh- Goudreau area (N.M., Oct 3/88) was the Kremzar mine of Canamax Resources (TSE), which will produce an estimated 32,000 oz per year.

“It’s one of the happiest days of our mining lives,” Muscocho and McNellen President J. T. Flanagan told approximately 150 guests and mine personnel who crowded into the dining room to help celebrate the opening. Muscocho, the operator, became involved in the project in 1985, when it bought a half- interest from McNellen’s former partner.

The ceremony featured short speeches by Flanagan and his partner of many years, Muscocho Vice- president John McAdam, and by a number of invited dignitaries, including area MPP Bud Wildman and the reeve of Wawa, Doug Woods. Unable to attend the festivities was the 87-year-old chairman of McNellen Resources, Charles McNellen. $38-million cost

Total cost of the mine’s exploration and development and construction work, Flanagan said, was $38 million. The mine’s workforce, at a rate of 400 tons per day, is expected to total about 100 employees.

Current reserves at the Magino project, located about 36 miles from here and accessible by logging roads, stand at 1.9 million tons grading 0.25 oz gold per ton. That reserve figure was calculated from drilling to 500 ft; the companies recently released results from 13 holes drilled in 1987 and earlier this year (N.M., Oct 17/88) which penetrated to as deep as 2,000 ft. According to the companies, the drilling confirms the downward persistence of the property’s multi-vein system.

The gold mineralization of the property is described as being complex and not of one structure. Narrow quartz veins have been outlined, but the mineralization is not all contained in the vein structures. Muscocho ch ief geologist Peter Mordaunt said different mining widths are envisioned.

A former producing property, Magino was worked during the 1939-41 period. The old workings, which include an incline shaft and levels at 200 ft and 300 ft, were dewatered for exploration purposes but are not part of the current mining operation. Three levels

The new ramp extends to 400 ft, with levels at 200 ft, 300 ft and 400 ft. According to Mordaunt, trackless mining would be economical to a vertical depth of 600 ft, after which a shaft would have to be introduced.

Currently being run through the mill is low grade development muck at a gold recovery rate reported to be in the mid-90% range. A zinc precipitate method is used to recover the gold from solution.

The first gold pour at Magino occurred in June but mill equipment problems slowed the processing, with two more dore bars having been poured by the first of September. During the summer months, Muscocho says it worked on developing stopes and also stockpiling 100,000 tons of ore on surface, a reserve, Muscocho says, which will supplement ore coming from underground in the early stages. Construction of the mill was undertaken by Orocon Inc.

Dewatering of the old workings by McNellen began in 1983, mine manager Stephen Hodgson said. On-site troubles during the winter of that year included a broken generator. With Muscocho on the scene in 1985, the first hole was drilled, with a start on the ramp being undertaken the next year.

While there were no representatives of Echo Bay Mines (TSE) on hand for the ceremony, that company’s contribution to the opening of the mine did not go unnoticed. Earlier this year, Echo Bay agreed to invest $50 million in the Muscocho group of companies in return for stakes in Muscocho, McNellen and Flanagan McAdam Resources (TSE). According to Terry Flanagan, most of the $50 million has been spent on the Magino mine and on the still developing Magnacon gold project located in the nearby Mishibishu Lake region.

Magnacon, a joint operation involving Muscocho, Flanagan McAdam and Windarra Minerals (VSE) which lies 24 miles west of Wawa, is set to open during spring, 1989, at a production rate of 600 tons per day. Estimated reserves at the project total 1.4 million tons averaging 0.24 oz, including proven reserves of 494,366 tons grading 0.36 oz. A drilling program to explore between 1,000 ft and 2,000 ft below surface is under way.