ORE-IFEROUS ABITIBI; Northwestern Quebec is home to 10 operating

You don’t have to look far to find today’s mining frontier. It lies just north of the well-developed string of gold mines stretching from Val d’Or in the east to the Ontario border in the west, and known as the “Golden Highway.” The mines of the Golden Highway receive extensive coverage in our October issue, as they have for the past four years. But not far off this beaten path, on the fringes of the Abitibi greenstone belt are 13 gold and base metals mines in the Quebec mining industry’s most promising areas of growth. Geologically, this is prospective ground and, in all likelihood, will yield several more producers in the years to come. The following highlights a few of the operators.

The Selbaie mine, 80 km northwest of Joutel, is one of the biggest recent successes in Quebec’s northern Abitibi region. When we first visited the mine in 1986 a 5,000-tonne-per-day mill was being built at a cost of $125 million to treat ore from the open pit portion of the orebody. But base metals prices were in the doldrums. That prompted our founding editor, Kerry Knoll, to say, “at first you have to wonder if it isn’t all a big mistake.” Now, with the perfect vision of hindsight, it seems it certainly wasn’t. For joint-venture partners BP Canada (55%), Billiton Metals Canada (35%) and TransCanada Pipelines (10%), mine expansion was a stroke of genius. With continued strong zinc prices, the mill is operating well above design capacity and is the second largest nonferrous metal producer in the province, earning handsome profits for its owners.

Exploration work in 1989 also added one full year to open pit reserves. At current mining rates, reserves are adequate for an additional seven to eight years of production. For this year, the mine expects to produce 56 million lb. (25.2 million kg) copper, 100 million lb. (45 million kg) zinc, 2.9 million ounces (90,198 kg) silver and 25,000 oz. (777.6 kg) gold. Concentrates are treated at Falconbridge’s metallurgical complex in Timmins, Ont. In 1989, about 2.1 million tonnes were mined from the pit and 589,000 tonnes from underground. The 540 non-union employees at Selbaie are the key to the mine’s success. Last year they won the John T. Ryan Trophy, the industry’s highest accolade for accident-free safety performance. Not far away in the town of Joutel, Agnico-Eagle Mines has made significant strides turning its 100% owned Eagle-Telbel mine into a winner. Dilution problems plagued the mine for several years because of ground control problems, but now the tonnage and grade of ore delivered to the mill are much improved. “We seem to have the same young, aggressive type of management team as we have at Dumagami,” a spokesman for Agnico says. Mine Manager Denis Lachance came to the Eagle-Telbel operation about one year ago. He has helped to bring about a tremendous change in the attitude of employees at the mine, the spokesman says. Looking farther east to Desmaraisville, the on-again-off-again Bachelor Lake gold mine may also get a new lease on life soon. An underground exploration program on the 12th level, financed by Hecla Mining, is under way, which could slot enough tonnes into the minable category to re-open the operation. The program is testing the down-dip extension of the orebody and the extension along strike. But reserves are the least of the mine’s challenges. Dilution and high costs dogged the operation for several years. In the mine’s last full year of operation in 1988, 19,516 oz. (607 kg) gold were poured at a cost of C$477.74 per oz. The mine was shut down in November, 1989. Hecla can earn a 60% interest by spending $11 million by 1992. That work will include a feasibility study. There is a 500-ton-per-day (454 tonnes) mill on the property. Northward to Mattagami, Noranda is negotiating a custom milling contract with the joint-venture partners of the Estrades mine, 130 km away in the Casa Berardi area (see site visit story in this issue). The Mattagami mill, which has two separate circuits, is treating about 1,000 tons (909 tonnes) of ore per day from Noranda’s Isle-Dieu mine, which began production in 1988 and which is custom-milling another 500 tons (455 tonnes) per day from the Normetal mine. Designed in the early 1960s to treat 3,000 tons (2,730 tonnes) of ore per day from the now-mined-out Mattagami mine and subsequently expanded to 3,850 tons (3,500 tonnes) per day, this mill has plenty of capacity, mill superintendent Peter MacPhail says. Normetal’s ore is expected to run out sometime this fall, freeing up a circuit for the Estrades ore. Ore from seven base metal orebodies have been treated in the facility since 1963. One of the more recent custom milling jobs was for the Abcourt-Barvue mine near Val d’Or. The high-grade Isle-Dieu mine, which sits just one mile west of the Mattagami mine and mill, is expected to keep the mill active for another four years. One of the largest expansion proOjects under way in the northern Abitibi is at the Joe Mann mine, near Chibougamau. About 40 km south of town, Campbell Resources is spending $20 million to double 1989 gold production (which was 47,100 oz. or 1,465 kg) by 1992. A new 2,000-ft (600-metre) shaft is being sunk and extensive underground development work and diamond drilling is being conducted from existing workings. The shaft should be readied by this summer. More than 10 new stopes were brought into production in 1989. Campbell has also spent about $4 million refurbishing the 700-ton-per-day (635 tonnes) mill at the site. This facility will be necessary once production from underground increases over the next two years.

Ore from Joe Mann is treated at Campbell’s central mill on Lake Chibougamau. Rated at 1,400 tons (1,270 tonnes) per day, it also treats ore from the company’s Cedar Bay mine. Cash operating costs at Joe Mann averaged US$274 per oz. in 1989 and are expected to decline to $250 by 1992. Proven and probable reserves are 1.2 million tons grading 0.24 oz. gold and 0.30% copper (1.1 million tonnes grading 8.2 grams gold per tonne). Another 2.3 million tons (2.1 million tonnes) are categorized as possible.

Other mines in Chibougamou are Minnova’s Springer and Perry mines and Westminer Canada’s Copper Rand mine.