University study at A-J mine

A unit of Echo Bay Mines (TSE) recently awarded a research grant of about US$112,000 to the University of Alaska’s mineral industry research laboratory.

The grant will support a 1-year study of rocks from the historic Alaska-Juneau mine to determine practical, cost-efficient ways of separating gold ore from waste rock. Echo Bay is developing the property, and is awaiting final permits before making a production decision.

Situated near Juneau, the underground mine produced over three million ounces gold before closing in 1944. At that time, ore was sorted by hand by workers who picked out rocks containing telltale signs of quartz veins, indicating the presence of gold.

“Today’s costs make hand sorting impractical,” stated Dr. Mike Nelson, one of the faculty members participating in the project. “We’ll be looking at more automated methods based on differences in the properties of the rocks.”