ODDS ‘N’ SODS — Roads to riches

Much has been written about the exploration and development of mines in Canada, but little about the roads that service them.

In the old days, access to a site was provided by water or rail. However, as metal prices escalated and many outlying metal targets were discovered, projects demanded local or regional access. As a result, we have witnessed many road developments across Canada, in such isolated locales as Gasp, Manitouwadge, Elliot Lake and Yellowknife, for example. The federal government, under former prime minister John Diefenbaker, even funded a program called Road to Resources to encourage such ventures.

In my mind, the road into the Granduc copper project in British Columbia was the most outstanding achievement in mine access. Newmont Mining executives Merv Upham and Nick Gritzuk knew they had to overcome the isolation of the site in order to develop a viable copper mine. They had 42 million tons of 1.95% copper at the mine, however, only by connecting the mine through 10 miles of tunnel to Tide Lake and then by 30 miles of road to Hyder, Alaska, would the project become a viable operation.

Nick sketched a route on a topographical map of the mountainous area and Merv set about developing a feasible road campaign. The initial estimates for the 30-mile route in 1964 were about $3.75 million for the excavation of 1.35 million cubic yards of material, mostly solid rock. Merv approached the federal and provincial governments for assistance and was politely turned down, since the route passed through Alaskan territory for ten miles.

Finally, they convinced Newmont Chairman Plato Malazemoff to take on the access road development alone.

The A.C. McEachern Company received the contract for the entire 30 miles and construction began in 1964. The road follows the Salmon River Valley for 10 miles, then branches up Cascade Creek to pass by the old Premier and Big Missouri mines. It winds beside the precipitous mountain slopes beside the Salmon glacier and descends to the pristine setting of Summit Lake, finally emerging into the scenic Tide Lake flats, nestled among the glaciers. Final costs rose to more than $10 million, as 3 million cubic yards of material and slide debris were removed.

Today, this majestic road remains in place and is set to serve nearby prospects, such as the extensive copper-gold deposits on Sulphurets Creek and numerous other properties along the route.

Mine roads such as the one that serviced the Granduc mine provide a lasting resource with which to explore, develop and build the future of this country.

— The author, a retired mining engineer, resides in Vancouver, B.C.