Geddes to apply for permit to mine Windy Craggy copper

Geddes Resources (TSE) says it is within weeks of applying for a permit to mine the huge Windy Craggy massive sulphide deposit in northwestern British Columbia. The project could produce as much as half a million tonnes of copper concent rates annually, including 140,000 tonnes of pure copper metal per year for at least 22 years, according to the company plans.

Results from the 1989 drill program indicate that the operation could be much larger, if and when it goes into production in 1994. At a cutoff grade of 1.5% copper, 87.6 million tonnes of probable reserves grading 1.96% copper per tonne have been outlined so far.

But even though the huge deposit is situated at the peak of a remote mountain about 240 km southwest of Whitehorse, Y.T., construction of a 80-km access road connecting the property to Haines Hwy. won’t begin until all the permits are received.

It explains why Geddes has spent the past 15 months compiling data on such things as glacial measurements, bird and wildlife counts and long-term weather patterns. “By the time we have finished the cost of travel and holding public meetings will bring the cost of an environmental study to about $500,000,” President Gerald Harper told The Northern Miner.

Once the environmental reports have been sent out to the British Columbia, Yukon and Alaska governments, it should be about nine months before a decision is handed down by a Ministry of Environment steering committee in Victoria, B.C., said Harper. He expects to send 75 copies of the total package to 15 offices and departments within five different government bodies.

“We are assuming that the permits will be in place by the spring of next year,” said Harper who doesn’t expect the two federal governments involved to make a major issue out of the project. “But the Alaska government may be concerned with the ramifications of a larger mine,” he said.

Just how large the project will be was still an open question recently as Geddes released more results from last year’s drilling. In addition to the North and South zones, about 300 metres apart, the company has been getting indications of two new zones.

As more geophysical targets have yet to be tackled, possible reserves could go as high as 300 million tonnes if the new zones are as large as the North and South, Harper said.

Sensing the potential at Windy Craggy, Cominco (TSE) recently forced Northgate Exploration (TSE) to protect its investment in the project by purchasing a 17% stake in Geddes. Northgate responded by increasing its stake in Geddes to 42% from 31%.