Editorial World class?

The number of these situations surfacing today is both appalling and, to some extent, a national embarrassment.

Part of the problem is the inclination to rush into a project, to extrapolate production figures from early drill results. Continental Gold Corp. is a case in point.

Continental says it hopes to develop a “world class” copper-gold mine near Mackenzie in northern British Columbia. That is a laudable goal, but at this early stage of exploration it is highly premature to imply that such a development is imminent. Without even a preliminary feasibility study, Continental says production could begin in 1992. According to Canadian Press reports, one official at Continental predicts the mine would employ about 350 people with an additional 500 spinoff jobs in the region.

The company is talking about 120 million tons grading 0.3% copper and 0.025 oz gold per ton despite the fact the majority of intercepts reported to date are not near that. The company’s projections for metallurgical recoveries are well above the present industry average and high grade values for both metals rarely occur together which could have some serious implications for any proposed mining operation.

In short, it’s not at all clear that this project will live up to the company’s high expectations. We certainly hope it does, but the fact is that it’s just too early to tell.

Over-enthusiasm of officials from companies like Continental Lincoln is understandable, but in light of the high risks involved in the mining business, such optimistic projections serve no purpose other than to raise expectations to levels that are almost impossible to meet.

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