Photo Lake mine leaves Snow Lake smiling

Take one mill closure, sprinkle liberally with worries about a town’s future. Mix in half a million tonnes of massive sulphides and place in a province that wants to revive its mining industry. Allow 20 months to rise. The result? Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting’s Photo Lake mine, which promises to add weight to Manitoba’s economy.

The recent opening of the copper-zinc mine marks a dramatic turnaround for the nearby town of Snow Lake, which was staring down a dark tunnel only two years ago. The municipality had braced itself for HBM&S’s departure after the company’s deposits at Chisel and Stall Lakes were mined out. The Snow Lake mill was shut down by early 1994.

Veteran employees from the Snow Lake division had taken other assignments with HBM&S, driving the 400-km round trip twice a week to work at the company’s Flin Flon operations. The opening of the new mine means they are back in town and the long-established mill has feed for its future.

The mine entered production only 20 months after the first exploration drill hole cut the massive sulphide body in January, 1994. HBM&S President Peter Jones credits the Manitoba government for smoothing the approvals process for new mines. “They’ve done their part to keep mining in Canada,” he declared at the opening ceremony, which was attended by The Northern Miner.

Photo Lake, for example, had a Phase I approval allowing initial underground development 12 weeks after application, and the operation was fully approved 41 weeks later.

The province has established a “single-window” approvals process that requires the proponent to deal only with the Ministry of Energy and Mines. The Ministry has assumed responsibility for seeking permitting decisions from other government agencies, and, in an unusual step, has entered agreements with other ministries to conclude these decisions within a specific time.

In his speech at the opening, Manitoba Premier Gary Filmon touched on two other factors that made the smooth startup possible. The first was Manitoba’s so-called tax holiday for new mines, which relieves operators from mining taxes until the capital cost of the development has been recovered. The other was the removal of the provincial sales tax on electrical power used for mining and manufacturing.

Provincial Mines Minister Darren Praznik told the gathering that his goal is “to make Manitoba the best place to mine in Canada, if not the world,” and that the tax breaks and simple approvals process were designed to meet that goal. John Ellis, chairman of HBM&S, agreed: “To know you’re wanted makes a big difference.”

Minable reserves stand at 533,623 tonnes grading 4.5% copper and 6% zinc, as well as 4.7 grams gold and 33 grams silver per tonne. The orebody exists in strongly deformed and metamorphosed felsic volcanic rocks, and features the coarse grain size and abundant pyrrhotite that are characteristic of metamorphosed massive sulphides.

Of the five separate base metal lenses, only two have been incorporated into proven reserves: the No. 1 lens, which contains about 60% of the reserves; and the No. 2, which lies 35 metres away in the structural footwall of No. 1. Two poorly defined gold zones also exist, one in the hangingwall of the No. 2 lens and one in its footwall. These, along with the three other lenses, will be explored from underground.

The discovery of the deposit 20 metres below the bedrock surface is an example of blind-exploration success. It was detected, following an airborne electromagnetic survey, with the aid of the Seectrem system developed by HBM&S. Geophysicist Peter Leggatt stressed his satisfaction with the system, stating that “if there are deposits to be found, we’ll [now be able to] find them.”

Development was accomplished by means of a 14! decline from surface, with a single raise to surface serving as both an airway and escapeway. Ore is mined in the traditional cut-and-fill style, with the stopes backfilled with waste rock. Cemented waste rock is used to fill the area immediately above the sill pillars, which, in turn, enables the pillars to be recovered from the stope below.

Mining will be not merely trackless, but driverless. An optical tracking system for guiding haulage trucks, currently being installed, is expected to result in production of about 500 tonnes per day. The mine will have an experienced staff of 48.

Ore is crushed on site and trucked 5 km to the rehabilitated Snow Lake mill, with concentrates sent to the Flin Flon copper smelter and zinc plant.

At the time of our visit, the copper and zinc circuits were up and running, with the latter recovering 95% of the millhead grade. The mill is still tuning the zinc circuit for better recovery, which is hampered by the high concentration of iron sulphides in the ore. There will also be a gold circuit.

The mill is equipped with a redesigned computer control system that enables control room staff to receive the latest data at the touch of a computer screen.

A team approach to both mining and milling is paying dividends for HBM&S, with veteran employees eager to bring their own experience to bear on making the mine and mill work. “There’s a very positive attitude,” said mill foreman Ernie Richardson. He recalled that when the crews returned to the dormant mill last March, it was hard to keep a positive attitude because we were sliding all over the floor.” Crews worked overtime for the first two months, rehabilitating the mill equipment.

The opening of the mine, and the reopening of the Snow Lake mill, have the company, the employees, local residents and the government all smiling. But the last word belonged to mill electrician Brian Schuman: “It’s very good to be back.”