FACTS ‘N’ FIGURES — Canadian mines led in ’96

In 1996, the number of mine openings in Canada continued to exceed closures. During the year, there were 20 openings (14 new mines and six reopenings) and 17 closures (10 suspensions and seven permanent closures).

The new operations opened consisted of seven gold mines, three base metal mines, three industrial minerals mines and one coal mine. The six reopenings included three gold mines, one base metal mine, one limestone-dolomite mine and one asbestos mine. The 17 closings included the permanent closure of five gold mines, one base metal mine and one uranium mine, and the temporary suspension of production at three gold mines, six base metal mines and one pyrophyllite mine.

In 1996, new mine openings increased over the level of the previous year.

Nine new openings were reported.

The new mines opened in 1996 included: the Stog’er Tight-Ming gold mine, the Rambler gold tailings operation and the Fischells Brook gypsum mine in Newfoundland; the Stellarton coal mine in Nova Scotia; the Beaufor gold mine and the Gonzague Langlois zinc-copper-silver-gold mine in Quebec; the Holloway gold mine, the McCreedy East nickel-copper mine, the Pick Lake copper-zinc mine and the Street Township garnet mine in Ontario; the Farley (Keystone) gold mine in Manitoba; the Komis gold mine in Saskatchewan; the Mt. Meager pumice mine in British Columbia; and the Brewery Creek gold mine in the Yukon Territory.

Reopened mines included: the Lower Cove limestone-dolomite mine in Newfoundland; the Lake George antimony mine in New Brunswick; the British-Canadian asbestos mine in Quebec; the Nighthawk gold mine in Ontario; the Evening Star gold mine in British Columbia; and the Mt. Nansen gold mine in the Yukon.

The most important new mines in 1996, in terms of value of production and employment, were the Gonzague Langlois mine in Quebec; the Holloway, McCreedy East and Pick Lake mines in Ontario; the Farley mine in Manitoba; and the Brewery Creek mine in the Yukon.

Four significant mine closures took place during 1996. In Quebec, the Chimo gold mine, which began production in 1986, closed as a result of ore depletion. In Ontario, the Stanleigh uranium mine in Ontario closed following the termination of a long-term supply contract with Ontario Hydro.

The Goldstream copper-zinc mine in British Columbia, one of the highest-grade copper mines in Canada, shut its doors, and the Nickel Plate gold mine followed suit; in both case, ore depletion was the cause.

Operations were also suspended at the Armstrong pyrophyllite mine and the Ming operations in Newfoundland, the Gonzague Langlois mine in Quebec, the Red Lake gold mine and the Red Stone nickel mine in Ontario, the Evening Star and Premier gold mines and the Similco copper mine in British Columbia, and the Grum and Vangorda zinc-lead-silver mines in the Yukon.

There were at least 15 significant mine expansions and extension projects reported in 1996. Most of these projects marked the continuation of programs that began in 1995, several of which were further expansions or extensions.

One of the most important of these existing programs has been at the Red Lake mine in Ontario, where high-grade gold mineralization was discovered in 1994-95. The mine has the potential to triple its production by 1998. The most significant new expansion and extension programs announced and started in 1996 include the Copper Rand 5000 project, a $24-million deep development endeavor at the Copper Rand copper mine in Quebec, and a $22-million mine and mill expansion at the Pamour gold mine in Ontario.

— The preceding is excerpted from the “Canadian Minerals Yearbook for 1996,” published this month by the Minerals and Metals Sector of Natural Resources Canada.