Drilling underway in Buchans
Drilling has started at the Lundberg deposit in Buchans, part of what was one of the biggest copperlead-zinc deposits in Canada.
Buchans Minerals Corporation (BMC), together with partner Minco, is doing the work needed for a pre-feasibility study. BMC’S goal is to see a mine in the region. Asarco, the operators of the world-famous mine, shut down operations in the 1980s, but according to BMC, today’s technologies and refined search technique suggest there’s still lucrative minerals left.
BMC’S CEO Warren Macleod said drilling started last week.
“We’ve drilled five holes so far, so we’re making good progress,” he said.
“It’s primarily to do the infill drilling on the inferred resource that we have, with the intention we have is to get the resource upgrade to an indicated category. That is the category you require in order to do a pre-feasibility report.”
The inferred resource (what could be in the ground) within the conceptual open pit mine design is about 17.28 million tonnes with average grades of lead, zinc, copper and silver.
“The program is going well. It’s not only looking to upgrade the resource but we’ve also got holes spotted there to try and expand the resources in certain places as well,” said MacLeod.
The drilling program will have approximately 7,300 metres of new drilling in approximately 50 holes. The program is expected to continue for about four months and results will be released as drilling progresses.
“We keep Derm (Corbett, Mayor of Buchans) appraised of all our programs as we go forward, and he and the town are being very supportive and helpful,” he said. “For instance, with the drilling program, they allow the drills to take water from the hydrants, so we have a good partnership with the town. We’re trying to develop this deposit ultimately to benefit the town.”
But will there be cold feet about the possibility of another mine in the town now?
Asarco’s legacy is not a pleasant one. It has only been over the past three years that the provincial government has embarked on a remediation program to clean up former mine sites in the town, which is ongoing.
That kind of situation won’t happen again, according to MacLeod.
“The mining industry has changed a tremendous amount over the last 30 years. The environmental regulations now are very stringent. Companies have to have full reclamation programs approved ahead of time before a mine is approved,” he said.
“We will have to go through the entire environmental assessment process at Buchans, which will include a reclamation and closure plan for the mine site, and if it ever goes ahead and closes sometime in the future, there will be a full reclamation process in place to reclaim the tailings and all the areas where the buildings would have been.
“With Asarco, there was absolutely no reclamation at all.”
MacLeod said the industry is going through a “very, very difficult time right now” in relation to the price of base metals.
“With the economy the way it is, the commodities are off quite a bit, particularly base metal commodities and companies like ours, which deal primarily in base metals, are having a difficult time,” he explained.
“Most juniors now are in hunkerdown mode. They’re trying to conserve their case resources and a lot are finding it difficult to finance, and develop their properties further. We’re quite happy we did the deal with Minco, because it allows us to continue to develop the properties even in a difficult economic climate.”
Buchans Mayor Derm Corbett gave assent to BMC’s exploration in the region.
“They have a fairly extensive program, and that’s good to see,” he said. “Every step they take is encouraging, especially in this community.”