Placer Dome estimates $420 million for Milligan

It will cost an estimated $420 million for Placer Dome (TSE) to bring on stream the Mt. Milligan gold-copper deposit north of Prince George, B.C.

That’s over and above the approximate $255 million the major company paid in 1990 to acquire the advanced exploration project from BP Resources Canada and Continental Gold.

Although a production decision awaits the completion of a feasibility study later this year, Placer Dome released a summary of its stage one report which outlines proposals for construction of a mine at the Mt. Milligan property.

The report was used as part of the recently completed public consultation process, and Placer Dome now hopes to receive government approval-in-principle for the project in mid-July.

Placer Dome said Mt. Milligan will be designed with standard mining and milling technology commonly used at other open pit mines in the province. But the design will also reflect the company’s objectives to maintain the integrity of the natural environment and to ensure that economic and employment benefits accrue to people living in the surrounding region.

Placer Dome is proposing to mine and process 60,000 tonnes per day of copper-gold reserves to produce 200,000 tonnes per year of copper concentrate over an operating life of at least 14 years. Annual operating costs are estimated to be $115 million.

This plan is based on preliminary reserve estimates which indicate the porphyry-type deposit has 300 million tonnes of minable reserves grading 0.23% copper and 0.56 grams gold per tonne.

Assuming a positive production decision, the development plan is to begin construction in the summer of 1991, and begin production in the second half of 1993. Construction will create 1,200 person-years of on-site employment, with the maximum number of workers peaking at 700 in mid-1992. The operating workforce, excluding contract employees, is expected to number 369 people.

On the mining side, the pit design provides for a 5-stage pit development to allow for the mining of the more profitable ores in the first years of operation. When fully developed, the pit will cover an area of 2.6 sq. km, and reach a depth of 325 metres.