Shebandowan mine producing again

Last winter Inco let a contract for mining and milling at the Shebandowan operation to McIsaac Exploration, a Sudbury-based contracting firm.

A spokesman for MacIsaac said a 145-man trailer camp has been established at the site and milling is currently under way at about 1/3 capacity. The operation is only a few months away from full production, he said.

The first shipments of copper- nickel concentrate were trucked to Inco’s smelter in Sudbury, about 700 miles away, in March. Concentrate is shipped in a 70% slurry form in 40-ton trucks at a rate of about 2-6 trucks per day, he said.

The contractor’s agreement with Inco calls for mining and milling of 2,000 tons of ore per day, on a 7-day-per-week schedule. At that rate, a 4-year mine life could be anticipated. Current reserves for the Shebandowan deposit are estimated at 3.3 million tons grading 2.2% nickel and 1% copper. The on-site mill processes about 100 tons per hour.

The relatively small size of the operation and the long shipping distance to Inco’s smelter in Sudbury had previously made the operation a high cost venture. But, with nickel prices currently at around $7(US) per lb, the Shebandowan operation would appear to be economically viable.

Prior to this year, the mine had been shut down for a period of three years, and a considerable amount of refurbishing of the underground workings has been required. The lowest level mined previously was 2,000 ft deep, but the orebody could extend down to 2,600 ft, the spokesman said. The orebody is complex with abundant stringer-type mineralization. Ground conditions are relatively soft.

The operation will employ some 200 persons, about half of whom are from the surrounding area. The re-opening of the mine represented somewhat of a boon to the local economy.

Inco Gold, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Inco Ltd., is one of the most active exploration companies looking for gold in the surrounding Shebandowan greenstone belt. Numerous other companies are also active in the belt, and exploration levels are reported to be nearly double those of last year.

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