Exploration for copper-gold in B.C. should heat up in `90

Mining came to British Columbia early in the 19th century with development of coal on Vancouver Island to supply steamships and in 1858 with the Cariboo gold rush. The completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1887 encouraged production from small metal mines and by 1900 some 99 producing mines were located in southern British Columbia. British Columbia began to become a major mining force in Canada during the 1960s when Japanese investors first became interested in British Columbia’s southeast coal fields and when H.H. “Spud” Huestis proved to the world, with the help of Japanese investors, that large low-grade open pit copper orebodies occur in British Columbia. In 1963, Bethlehem Copper officially opened in the Highland Valley the first large-scale, open pit, low-grade copper mine in Canada. By 1979 about 93% of ore produced in British Columbia came from open pit mines.

Coal production in southeastern British Columbia increased and in 1982 British Columbia’s northeast coal was developed. As a result of this dynamic period of growth, British Columbia leads Canada in the production of copper, molybdenum and coking coal.

The successful exploration and development during the 1980s of American low-grade gold deposits, coupled with the knowledge that economically important amounts of gold occur in some of British Columbia’s porphyry copper deposits, encouraged the re-examination of Canadian porphyry systems discovered since the 1950s and the search for new ones.

In 1989, exploration activity in most of the regions of British Columbia declined except in the search for large tonnage, low- grade copper-gold deposits. Many of these deposits are in the early stages of exploration.

A prime exploration area is the Intermontane Belt of Central British Columbia where major and junior mining companies alike, spurred on by the success of Continental Gold with BP Resources Canada at Mt. Milligan to the north and Imperial Metals with Corona at Mount Polley to the south, explored alkalic and/or syenitic intrusive systems in the Quesnel Trough for copper and gold. A mineral reserve of 300 million tons in two deposits containing five million ounces of gold and two billion pounds of copper is reported for Mt. Milligan where drilling and bulk sampling are being carried out. A full feasibility study is being prepared for the Mount Polley deposit reported to contain 53 million tons grading 0.44% copper and 0.017 oz. gold per ton.

Junior mining companies exploring in the area include Kookaburra Gold, an Australian- controlled company, which explored the Cal alkali porphyry deposit, north of Manson Creek. Black Swan Gold Mines concentrated on five mineralized shear zones on the Tas property where significant values of gold and copper occur. Byron Resources carried out an airborne geophysical survey to better define areas of interest in the Tchentlo and Kwanika Creek properties joint ventured with Westmin Resources. With Northair Mines, Eastfield Resources carried out geochemical and IP surveys on the Swan/Boon gold- copper property. Grand America Minerals and Moondust Ventures carried out airborne geophysical surveys over the Webb and Nat claims. Mercantile Gold, in a joint venture with Pacific Gold, inconclusively drilled the Assunta property adjacent to Mt. Milligan.

Although 1990 exploration expenditures in British Columbia are expected to continue at a lower level, exploration of most of these copper-gold systems will be accelerated. More drill results and several new exciting discoveries could be expected during 1990.