Geddes tables Windy Craggy impact study

A 2-year study on the environmental impact of developing the remote Windy Craggy copper deposit in British Columbia has been submitted to the provincial government by Geddes Resources (TSE). Situated in northwestern British Columbia, near the Yukon-Alaska border, the potential $400-million copper mining project is at least four years away from production, but it has the potential to increase British Columbia’s annual copper output by 120,000 tonnes per year, or about 1% of world production, according to Geddes.

Northgate Exploration holds a 42% stake in Geddes Resources, while Cominco (TSE) holds another 17% interest. Preliminary estimates have placed reserves in the mountaintop sulphide deposit at 118 million tonnes grading 1.9% copper, 0.08% cobalt, 0.19 grams gold per tonne and 3.26 grams silver.

The recently completed environmental impact report not only describes the technical and socio- economic aspects associated with developing the proposed copper mining project, but it includes extensive data on the environment gathered over a 2-year study period.

Copies of the report will be distributed to communities in British Columbia, as well as the Yukon and Alaska so that interested parties and the general public may familiarize themselves with the project. Company personnel are also planning to visit several communities in order to discuss the project, said Gerald Harper, president of Geddes.

“Exploration has identified sufficient reserves of copper, gold, silver, cobalt and zinc to support mining at a rate of 20,000 tonnes per day,” said Harper. That amounts to about seven million tonnes per year, for at least 20 years.

“The full extent of the deposit has not yet been defined, and the ultimate mine life could be 40 years,” he said.

Geddes’ development plan incorporates initial mining by open pit methods and recovery of a copper concentrate with some byproduct gold and silver.

Up to 500,000 tonnes of concentrate per year could be transported to the seaport of Haines, Alaska, for shipment to smelters, with access to the mine provided by a 105-km road constructed to link up with the Haines Highway in British Columbia.

The access road would include a bridge crossing at the Tatshenshini River, followed by a 20-km road along the river valley. In an effort to minimize the environmental impact of the project, the company has also investigated transporting concentrates in slurry form along a buried pipeline beyond the Tatshenshini Valley section of the road.

With an estimated construction period of three years, the Windy Craggy project would create about 500 jobs, and if the mine starts production in 1994, employment could eventually be as high as 600, according to Geddes.