Gold producers reap rewards of industrial mineral sales

Subsidiaries of two of Canada’s larger gold producers turn out commodities such as crushed stone and mica — and make money doing it. Niobium provides steady revenue for a couple of others. Yet another company has plans to market arsenic contained in flyash accumulated from roasted gold ore.

Giant Yellowknife Mines (TSE) produces the flyash or dust at its mining operation in the Northwest Territories and stores the material underground. Some storage areas were built especially for the material, while in other cases mined- out areas have been used.

Giant has been producing the dust for more than 30 years from the mine’s refractory ore, explained Ken Blower, vice-president operations. “We’re accustomed to handling it,” he said.

Still at the feasibility stage, the Warox (white arsenic tri-oxide) project, assuming a favorable decision, could be up and running early in 1991. Estimated cost of a processing plant, to be built at Yellowknife and to employ a roasting technique, is $7.5 million.

Estimated output, in the first full year of production, is 7,000 tons arsenic and 23,000 oz gold.

A growing application for arsenic is as a feedstock for wood preservatives. Blower said two reasons why Giant wants to process the dust now is the expanding arsenic market and the availability of a roasting process which will provide for a suitable recovery of gold.

West of Toronto, the Milton Limestone division of LAC Minerals (TSE) has been producing crushed stone, or aggregate, for almost 30 years. The division’s performance is closely tied to construction activity in the Toronto area. In 1988, the division reported net revenues of $10.2 million and an operating profit of $5.5 million.

In Quebec, the Suzorite mica operation of Corona Corp. (TSE) reported net income of $1.2 million for the 15 months ending Dec 31, 1988. A plant expansion was completed during the autumn of 1988, and the company is projecting record production this year of 18,000 tons. Among other applications, mica products are used in plastics reinforcement, asbestos replacement and oil well drilling muds.

A restructuring under way by Corona will see Avalon Corp., in which Corona recently purchased a majority interest, acquire the Quebec mica operation, as well as the company’s Fort Cady colemanite deposit in California from which boric acid will be produced by solution mining. Among other applications, boric acid is used in glass- making and ceramics.

Corona has been fairly quiet about it, but the company is also involved in the search for diamonds in Saskatchewan.

Owners of North America’s only niobium mine, near Chicoutimi, Que., are 50/50 partners Cambior Inc. (TSE) and Teck Corp. (TSE). Teck operates the mine while Cambior markets the niobium pentoxide concentrates. The partners report an increase in 1988 of almost 22% of niobium pentoxide output from the previous year.

The concentrate is sold to customers in the United States, England and Japan for conversion into ferroniobium. Niobium, also known as columbium, adds to the tensile strength of steel and increases the heat and corrosion resistance of stainless steel and super alloys.

Operated by the same people who run gold-producer Dickenson Mines (TSE), Kam-Kotia Mines (TSE) last year acquired the sodium sulphate assets of Saskatchewan Minerals from the Saskatchewan government for $12.1 million. Two commercial grades of sodium sulphate are produced, a detergent- grade product and a saltcake product mainly used by the pulp and paper industry.

Dickenson itself owns the Havelock Lime Works in New Brunswick, which turns out calcined and hydrated lime and is a producer and distributor of agricultural and industrial limestone products. Dickenson and Kam-Kotia were taken over by Goldcorp Investments of Toronto earlier this year.

A junior with interests in a variety of minerals projects, including gold mining, is Platinova Resources (TSE). One of its proposed projects involves suction-dredging the bottom of Lake Ontario for aggregate for sale to the concrete industry. A Danish firm and Denison Mines (TSE) are Platinova’s partners in the venture.

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