By NICK STEWART
With the price of gold on the rise, the Porcupine Joint Venture (PJV) is looking to spend nearly $12-million on pre-feasibility studies in 2007 to determine the viability of re-opening the Hollinger and McIntyre Mines.
“The focus over a number of years was to manage the hazards on those sites, and tend to public safety issues, but with the gold price moving upwards in the 2004 timeframe, we had thought about the concept of re-mining the property instead of putting money in it to fix it hole by hole,” says Dave Bucar, project manager, Porcupine Joint Venture.
“Did the miners leave behind gold that is mineable in today’s economy of scale with open-pit mining versus the old underground method?”
The PJV is 51 per cent owned by Goldcorp Ltd., with Kinross Gold Corporation owning the remaining 49 per cent. The PJV has spent the last several years intermittently conducting various remedial measures at the former Hollinger and McIntyre sites, which closed in 1968 and 1989 respectively.
The two mines represent one ore body, and combined, the two produced nearly 30 million ounces through an estimated 80-year lifespan.
While a few initial holes were drilled to first re-examine these properties through 2005, a full drill program began soon afterwards, with 50,000 metres worth of drilling completed through 2006. Indications that some gold had in fact been left lurking in the earth in and around the former mine workings has led to the development of a pre-feasibility study in early 2007.
The drilling program will expand further throughout the year, reaching a total of nearly 70,000 metres by the end of 2007. Five drills are currently turning non-stop throughout the company’s properties, with local contractor Bradley Brothers doing much of the work. Given the 24-hour-a-day pace maintained by these drills, Bucar says it’s unlikely that further drills will be added as the project ramps up through the summer.
The company has also initiated a series engineering studies as well as some environmental baseline work to examine the economics and impacts of potentially mining the old workings. Historical mine data is also being collected and examined as part of the process.
The pre-feasibility study is expected to be completed by year’s end. This will provide the PJV with an update of the Hollinger Mine resource by early 2008.
In late 2006 and early 2007, it was determined that the resource was an estimated 4.4 million ounces of gold.
However, these numbers are largely preliminary, and as such, they also fail to include grade estimates.
“That’s what this year is about: getting those numbers,” Bucar says. “At this point, it’s a pretty rough geology model, so what this year’s all about it is to get into more detail so we can try and put a reserve on the project, which means higher confidence and better costs associated with the project.”
Despite the promising showings, the project isn’t without its share of challenges. Chief among its potential hurdles is the Hollinger Mine’s proximity to Schumacher, a Timmins suburb.
This forces the PJV to give careful consideration to the potential repercussions of open pit mining, with special attention paid to issues such as noise, dust and vibrations.
“We’re surrounded on all sides by residential areas, commercial development, city infrastructure such as highways and roads all around the property,” Bucar says. “Probably the most important part of the process is therefore dealing with our neighbors and keeping them aware as to what we’re doing, and then looking at the scenario as to what effect open pit mining will have on them, if that is what we end up doing.”
This consideration has triggered a series of property acquisitions by the PJV, the most recent of which includes the Fairway Village trailer park, which sits adjacent to the Hollinger Mine.
Historic mining had been conducted beneath the property, and PJV continues to own the underground mining rights.
While there’s no certainty as to whether the land will once again be mineable, Bucar says the move was about properly managing local land assets. If it is determined that the Hollinger Mine will not be re-opened, the property will be resold at market value.
Should the mine project move forward, there are expectations that work may be performed at a great enough distance with no effect on trailer park residents.
“It’s about combining our surface and mining rights in as much of the area around the property to look at the future potential."
