The history of Eskay Creek spans my career as an investor form almost day one till now.  At the time of the famous hole 109 I was on the floor of the Vancouver Stock Exchange and saw the excitement first hand from the initial jump upward on Calpine to the crazyness of the ensuing staking rush and area play.

Here is a brief overview of the mine and its legacy.

ESKAY CREEK (CLOSED 2008)

The Site:
Mine Location:
Eskay Creek mine was located 50 miles northwest of Stewart, BC. The mine was closed in the first half of 2008 as mining production had run its course. The information found here desbribes Eskay Creek’s operation during it’s time operating.

Mine Type:
Eskay Creek mine was an underground mine that produced gold and silver.

Type of Deposit:
The gold-silver ore at Eskay Creek is in massive sulphide bodies and in veins within Middle Jurassic (Hazelton Group) sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Geologically, it is considered a volcanogenic, hydrothermal and epithermal deposit, meaning the metals precipitated from hot solutions spewing from underwater volcanic vents. Metallic minerals in this deposit include sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, barite and pyrite.
The Operation:
Eskay Creek had the luck of being very rich in gold and silver. It opened in 1995 and was the fifth largest silver producer in the world during its operation. The operation processed 116,000 tonnes of ore each year and operated year-round. Annual production for Eskay Creek was 320,784 ounces of gold and 15.5 million ounces of silver.

Mining Process:
Ore at Eskay Creek was extracted by underground mining methods. Tunnels in the mine were 3m high and 3m wide, and were extended by blasting. Jumbos bore 38mm diameter holes 3m deep into the rock face and were loaded with explosives. Blasting was done four times a day, at noon and midnight, as well as at the end of both shifts (5:30am and 5:30pm). Five or six mining faces were blasted each time.

Muck from blasting was first moved from the mining face by LHDs (Load Haul Dumps, also known as scooptrams or scoops) to a nearby underground storage area known as a remuck, where it was tested for its metal content. After testing, 15 tonne haul trucks were loaded with the muck and driven out of the mine to the mill.

Primary crushing at Eskay Creek was done in the mill, which was located only 30m from the mine portal. These jaw and impact crushers reduce the ore to less than 5cm in diameter. After this, the ore was sorted by metal grade. Due to the very high grade of Eskay Creek’s ore, half of the material could be sent directly to smelter after only primary crushing. The remaining 50% of the ore was ground down to a powder and processed by froth flotation to produce a metal concentrate. A gravity separation system recovered 5% of gold processed in the mill.

Ongoing Reclamation:
Eskay Creek was located high in the mountains about 800m above sea level. The area is heavily forested and very isolated. Since it was a low tonnage underground mine and had been operating for less than fifteen years, the environmental impact on the site has been quite small. Ongoing reclamation work was done at the waste rock disposal site. Now that the mine is closed the rest of the site will be disassembled, all the buildings and equipment will be removed and the area will be reforested and returned to its original state for wildlife habitat. The access road to the mine will also be decommissioned; future travel to the site will be by helicopter.

The ore body at Eskay Creek is sulphide mineral-rich rock that oxidizes to generate sulphuric acid (ARD). Because of this, steps were taken to prevent harm to the environment. Waste rock from the mine was disposed of underwater in a nearby lake to remove it from the atmosphere, and prevent it from oxidizing and generating acid. Also, worked out areas in the underground mine were back-filled with a type of concrete that both seals the rock walls and neutralizes any acidic waters that forms. The entire underground workings of the mine will be allowed to fill with water, which like the waste rock disposed in the lake, will keep the rock from oxidizing and forming acid.

Eskay Creek’s environmental staff tested water in the streams daily to ensure that the quality of the water being discharged into the environment met the federal and provincial government standards. They also closely monitored wildlife in the area, particularly bears, to keep them away from the mine site both for the safety of the employees and the wildlife. As the site is fully reclaimed testing and monitoring will continue to ensure the environment is protected.

Markets:
Eskay Creek produced raw ore and processed concentrate. The high-grade, raw ore was transported directly by truck from the mill to Stewart, BC where it was either loaded on to ships bound for Japan or it was trucked further on to Kitwanga, BC where it was loaded on to rail cars and hauled to Quebec. The gold-silver concentrate was trucked to Kitwanga, where it was loaded onto trains and carried to either the Noranda smelter in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, or to the Teck smelter in Trail, BC. Every year, the mine shipped approximately 149,000 tonnes of raw ore and 133,000 tonnes of concentrate.

The People:
Employment: When the mine was operating at full capicity Eskay Creek employed 350 people directly at the mine operation, about 30% of which were Tahltan First Nation. The average wage at the mine was about $25 per hour. Total costs of labour were about $28 million each year. Of the 350 employees at the mine 51% worked directly in the mine and mill process, 8% worked in engineering and geology, and 6% in administration. 9% of the employees at Eskay Creek worked in the maintenance department.

Community:The Eskay Creek camp was a fly in, fly out style camp in which most employees worked 2 weeks and then had 2 weeks off. While in camp, they worked 12 hours a day every day. Underground miners, however, worked 10 hours a day for four straight weeks, then took two weeks off. Each employee had their own room with a telephone and cable TV. All meals were served in a dining hall which was always open for cold snacks. There was also a weight room, sauna, and games room for fitness and relaxation, and a small store.

When they were not in camp many employees live in the nearby communities of Dease Lake, Terrace, Stewart and Smithers. Other employees were flown by the company to their homes elsewhere in BC, such as in the Lower Mainland, the Okanagan and Vancouver Island. A number of miners came from Newfoundland and were flown there for their 2 weeks off.

Eskay Creek was a major employer in the region and had a policy to hire local people when it is possible. The mine also donated to many local projects and programs which benefited the communities. More information can be found on Eskay Creek on the Barrick Gold Web site.

July 2nd, 2010
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: caliche