Louvicourt mine on track

Having unraveled some of the structural complexities of the orebody, Aur Resources (TSE) is preparing to cut the ribbon on Canada’s newest copper producer.

The Louvicourt mine, discovered in 1989 and situated 20 km east of here, will officially open on April 25, just in time to coincide with Quebec’s Mining Week celebrations.

Having drilled some 140 km of diamond drill core from underground, Chief Geologist Edmond Stuart says “it looks as if we’ve got another geologist’s mine.” This means that planning engineers will have to rely, day to day, on information from geologists in order to design stope dimensions and schedule ore production.

Nevertheless, production won’t be affected. Indeed, the operation, which employs some of Canada’s most advanced mining expertise and technology, is expected to turn its first operating profit this month.

The mine is owned 30% by Aur Louvicourt (a wholly owned subsidiary of Aur Resources), 25% by Teck (TSE) and 45% by Novicourt (TSE). Aur, the operator, is hoisting muck at the design capacity of 6,000 to 6,500 tonnes per day, most of which is waste rock from development work carried out on four stopes. An internal ramp is scheduled for completion in July or August. So the 4,000-tonne-per-day mill is still hungry for ore. But feed grades, at 3.5% copper and 1.9% zinc plus 1.3 grams gold and 26.38 grams silver per tonne, were higher than expected during the month of January. “There are not enough stopes in production just yet to create blending of ore grades and a more steady feed grade,” Stuart explains. “That will come with time as more stopes are brought into production.”

With ore coming from two stopes, the mill is churning out copper and zinc concentrates at grades of 27.45% and 56.46%, respectively, well within the projected rates outlined in the feasibility study. Recoveries are 96% for copper and 77% for zinc.

Not even a possible strike by Canadian National Rail workers will dissuade Aur from working towards its design capacity target (which it hopes to achieve in July). Should a strike occur, copper and zinc concentrates will be trucked to Noranda’s Horne smelter and CEZ facility, respectively (albeit at a slightly higher cost).

Originally anticipated to cost $319 million, Louvicourt is now expected to come in at between $285-289 million, says a proud Michel Rodrigue, mine manager.

The capital cost savings are partly attributable to the fact that the mine was constructed during the recent recession. At a time when contractors were competing for survival, many bids came in under the price anticipated in the 1991 feasibility study.

Also, Aur saved about $5 million by constructing a submerged tailings facility that is smaller than originally anticipated. The design of that facility — combined with decisions to use proven pastefill technology and to clean up acid-generating water from the former-producing Louvem mine next door — earned Aur Resources the Environmental Award from the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada. The presentation will be made this week at the PDAC’s annual convention in Toronto.

— Patrick Whiteway is editor of Canadian Mining Journal.