TECH CORP. New LIfe for Lamaque

For 50 years the Lamaque mine in northwestern Quebec turned out enough gold — more than 4.5 million oz — to make it Quebec’s biggest gold producer. Today, little more than a year since the decision was made to shut down operations, two active exploration programs on the property are raising hopes that the mine won’t remain closed forever. Regardless of its future, the mine’s past has been illustrious, paralleling the development of gold mining in Quebec’s Abitibi region. Attention was first focussed on the property in 1923 following discovery of float and an outcrop revealing a 7-ft-wide vein. Some 10 years previously, the Siscoe mine, on an island in Lake Dubisson, five miles to the northwest, had been explored. Midway between these two showings, the Greene-Stabell began production in 1935.

Access to this new mining area was difficult in those early days pre-dating the road and railway. Prospectors usually came by canoe down the Harricana River from the railhead at Amos. Nevertheless in 1924 Robert Clarke followed up his original discovery by establishing a camp and sinking a 95-ft shaft close to the new find (he did so after organizing the Read-Clarke syndicate). Transportation and financing problems halted the operation, however, and it was not until 1932 that a new consortium of Canadian Exploration and Read-Authier Mines optioned the property to Teck-Hughes Gold Mines.

By late summer, drilling had begun; and in 1933 a mining plant was assembled and constructed by a new company, Lamaque Gold Mines, controlled by Teck-Hughes. By May, 1934, underground work was so encouraging that a mill was designed and shaft numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5 were sunk in rapid succession. The mill was designed to process 225 tons per day and it was with considerable pride that Dr D. L. Forbes, the Teck-Hughes and Lamaque president, reported to shareholders in the 1934 annual report. Ore reserves totalled 74,495 tons grading 0.31 oz gold per ton as of Dec 31, 1934, and Teck-Hughes had subscribed to $1.8 million worth of debentures to finance the new property. The Lamaque mine started producing gold bullion on April 9, 1935.

Incidentally the new mill was the first designed by R. K. Kilborn, then working at Lamaque as a civil/mechanical engineer. He was later to form his own well-known consulting group.

The town of Bourlamaque was incorporated in 1934 featuring log cabins, which subsequently became a provincially recognized “historical site” in June, 1979. The town of Val d’Or, bordering Bourlamaque on the west, was incorporated in 1935 and absorbed Bourlamaque in 1968.

From these humble beginnings, Lamaque increased production to a peak of 135,855 oz of gold and 23,305 oz of silver from 733,235 tons of ore in 1953. The war years of 1939 to 1945 had been difficult for the gold mining industry, facing shortages of labor and equipment as a result of the essential diversion of resources. But Lamaque survived and even managed one shipment of scheelite (calcium tungstate) to help the war effort directly.

Jack Perry, who had originally been transferred to Lamaque as chief engineer, was manager from 1944-1953. Afterwards he became president for four years, during which time Lamaque managed the Teck Exploration Co. and participated in many successful ventures. Among these were Geco Mines, the Mattagami Syndicate, Empresa Fluorspar (Mexico) and the Eldrich mine.

In 1958 the Dr N. B. Keevil interests acquired control of Teck-Hughes and Lamaque, subsequently merging both companies with Canadian Devonian Petroleums to form Teck Corp. in 1963. Recent Developments

With a 4-sq-mi property in the Val d’Or gold camp, it was hard to digest the concept of ore exhaustion despite a 50-year span of mining activity, including more than 2.5 million ft of core drilling.

Following notice of closure in January, 1985, and final mill grind-out in April, the plant was placed on a care- and-maintenance basis with the No 7 shaft kept dewatered and the shaft pillar intact. Subsequently an agreement to explore part of the property was negotiated with Golden Pond Resources, resulting in 78,417 ft of diamond drilling from surface, with some interesting ore-grade assays. Eleven new gold-bearing veins were indicated for a potential of more than 500,000 tons grading approximately 0.2 oz gold per ton.

Late in 1986, an agreement was completed with Tundra Gold Mines for another joint-venture on a different part of the Lamaque property. The exploration program to date has included surface and underground drilling with sufficiently encouraging results to begin exploration headings on the 1,800-ft and 3,200-ft levels in January, 1987. With the increasing depth of w orkings serviced by No 7 shaft to 3,600 ft, mill head grades and tonnages continued to decrease despite persistent exploration and development throughout the property. In the 1950s, the No 2 mine opened and closed. The No 3 mine was developed in the 60s to mine part of the No 4 plug and veins in the immediate No 3 mine area, which was one mile to the southeast of the main mine. In 1980, custom milling from neighboring properties was undertaken to mutual advantage until shutdown early in 1985, at which time the principal contract was completed — coincidentally with a substantial drop in the price of gold. Nevertheless clean-up operations enabled the mill to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first pour on April 9th, 1985.