Spring 2011 - The Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia

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Volume 31, Number 1 

The Official Publication 

of AME BC 

EDITOR 

Jonathan Buchanan 

ASSOCIATE EDITOR 

Mary Hughes 

EDITORIAL COORDINATOR 

Cécile Pearce 

ART DIRECTOR 

Scott Laurie 

EDITORIAL BOARD 

Erin Chutter, Ed Kimura, Grant Longhurst, 

Bruce McKnight, Robert McLeod, John Murray, 

Christine Ogryzlo, Jim Paterson, Ian Talbot 

PRODUCTION MANAGER 

Suzy Williamson 

STUDIO MANAGER 

Kristina Borys 

ASSISTANT STUDIO MANAGER 

Mandy Lau 

SENIOR IMAGING TECHNICIAN 

Debbie Lynn Craig 

ELECTRONIC IMAGING 

Laura Michaels 

ELECTRONIC PRODUCTION 

Ina Bowerbank 

PRODUCTION SYSTEMS MANAGER 

Kim McLane 

ADVERTISING DESIGN & PREFLIGHTING 

Allison Griffioen, Kate Hood, Chris Sherwood 

GENERAL MANAGER – 

SPECIALTY PUBLISHING DIVISION 

Lee Caldwell – 604-473-0389 

lcaldwell@canadawide.com 

ACCOUNT MANAGER – ADVERTISING 

Alexander Sugden – 604-473-0358 

asugden@canadawide.com 

SALES COORDINATOR 

Riqueen Blumenthal – 604-473-0329 

rblumenthal@canadawide.com 

mineralexploration@canadawide.com 

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CHAIRMAN, CEO 

Peter Legge, O.B.C., LL.D (HON) 

PRESIDENT 

Karen Foss 

EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT 

Heather Parker, cga 

SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT 

Millie Warren, cga 

VICE-PRESIDENT/PRODUCTION 

Corinne Smith 

VICE-PRESIDENT/MARKETING & DIGITAL MEDIA 

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VICE-PRESIDENT/EDITORIAL 

Kathleen Freimond 

VICE-PRESIDENT/FINANCE 

Farnaz Riahi, ca 

VICE-PRESIDENT/SALES 

Rebecca Legge 

We welcome your comments on Mineral Exploration magazine. Please write to us 

at the address below. Mineral Exploration magazine is published four times a year 

by Canada Wide Media Limited for AME BC. No part of this magazine may be 

reproduced without written permission of the publisher. 

For subscription enquiries, call 604-299-1023 or toll-free 1-800-663-0518, or 

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40065475. Send change-of-address notices and covers of undeliverable copies 

to: Mineral Exploration, c/o AME BC, 800-889 West Pender Street, Vancouver, B.C. 

V6C 3B2. 

The statements and points of view expressed in this magazine are those of the 

authors, and are not necessarily those of the Association for Mineral Exploration British 

Columbia, the publisher, editor or Canada Wide Media Limited. 

contents 

>> ASSOCIATION FOR MINERAL EXPLORATION BRITISH COLUMBIA 

features 

11 BRITANNIA MINE MUSEUM 

GETS NEW LEASE ON LIFE 

Visitors get an in-depth look at 100 years 

of mining practices. 

BY RYAN STUART 

16 PROPERTIES THAT KEEP ON GIVING 

Six B.C. mining projects stand the test of time. 

BY PETER CAULFIELD 

23 PARADIGM SHIFT SPURS RISE 

AND FALL OF COMMODITY MARKETS 

Rising demand expected to continue as companies 

seek new deposits. 

BY VIVIAN DANIELSON 

27 REFLECTIONS OF THE CHAMBER 

30 YEARS AGO 

Early ’80s proved particularly dismal for industry. 

BY JIM LYON 

35 WORK HARD, PLAY HARD 

Friends of the Toodoggone fondly recall 

the summer of ’81. 

BY CHRISTINE OGRYZLO 

41 GO-GETTERS WIN ACCOLADES 

AME BC honours exceptional vision and hard work. 

BY ED KIMURA AND JONATHAN BUCHANAN 

departments 

7 PRESIDENT & CEO MESSAGE 

AME BC looks to favourable year ahead. 

8 MAILBAG 

Emphasizing surveys. 

9 CALENDAR 

A look at upcoming events. 

53 CAMPS OF FAME 

Interest returns to northeastern coalfields. 

BY ED KIMURA 

58 PROFILE 

Mona Forster: Big on advancing B.C. 

BY JONATHAN BUCHANAN 

COVER PHOTO: Jack Patterson on a 1981 visit to a Hudson Bay Mining 

& Smelting property in Yukon. Courtesy AME BC Archives 


53 

11 

35 

SPRING 2011 5

For AME BC, 2011 began with a very successful 

Mineral Exploration Roundup. 

The 28th annual conference was attended 

by a record 7,000 participants from over 

30 countries! We thank everyone who 

participated, including delegates, trade 

show visitors, students and especially 

the Roundup Committee, volunteers 

and sponsors who make the conference 

possible. This year also marks the 30th 

anniversary of Mineral Exploration 

magazine. Accordingly, articles in this 

issue focus on a few of the projects that have 

been around for this duration, a review of 

the past 30 years in the commodity markets, 

a look back at our Association in the 

1980s, the development of Tumbler Ridge 

and the northeast coal region during the 

same time. On the lighter side, we look at 

the close bonds within our community, as 

seen through Tom Schroeter’s and Nick 

Carter’s recollections of the 1981 season 

in the Toodoggone. We also celebrate 

the rejuvenation of the Britannia Mine 

Museum as well as our award winners at 

Mineral Exploration Roundup 2011. We 

wrap up the issue with a profile on AME 

BC’s new chairperson, Mona Forster. 

We also reflect on 2010 as one of the 

most exciting rebound years ever for the 

B.C. mineral exploration and development 

sector. There truly is a modern 

“gold rush” underway in our province, 

led by copper, gold and steel-making coal 

developments. This past year we saw a 

doubling in exploration expenditures 

– up from $154 million in 2009 to $322 

million in 2010 – as well as having over $1 

billion spent in construction and development 

of new mines or expansions. 

Unquestionably, it’s the mineral 

exploration and development sectors, 

buoyed by record commodity prices, 

leading the economic recovery. The 

province is blessed with rich geology, 

and through a combination of necessity, 

innovation, hard work and collaboration, 

has world-leading environmental, social 

and safety standards. The year 2011 presents 

an amazing opportunity to build on 

our strengths, capitalize on our opportunities 

and address the challenges that 

remain for our industry. 

President & CEO Message 

Gavin C. Dirom 

Firstly, to ensure everyone benefits 

from mineral exploration and mining, a 

dedicated government effort is necessary 

to reform the Canadian environmental 

assessment (EA) process. For years now, 

governments have been promising to 

untangle the daunting maze of regulations 

that complicate project approvals, 

and to balance the interests of mineral 

explorers and developers, communities, 

non–government organizations and 

First Nations. This is not a partisan issue. 

Rather it is an urgent matter for all of us 

to consider if we hope to compete internationally, 

attract investment and build 

a sustainable economy. Along with other 

Canadian industry associations, AME BC 

is calling for a single, timely and effective 

EA process that provides increased 

certainty for everyone. Proponents 

should not need to navigate separate, 

typically unco-ordinated, inefficient and 

duplicative federal and provincial assessments. 

Currently, there are 25 potential 

mine projects in the EA process in B.C., 

representing an economic and social 

opportunity equal to $10 billion in 

investment and 68,000 jobs. Fortunately, 

British Columbia remains well-positioned 

to review, approve and build many of these 

new mines, reflecting the province’s 

potential for mineral discoveries and proximity 

to fast-growing Asian economies. 

Secondly, more of B.C.’s mineral 

lands must be protected for exploration 

and potential mineral development. AME 

BC supports a “Two-Zone” land-access 

and use model so that mineral explorers 

have certainty about where they can 

successfully undertake prospecting and 

geoscience in support of responsible 

mineral development. While explorers 

require large areas to search for elusive 

new deposits, actual mining in B.C. has 

used less than one per cent of the provincial 

land base over the last 150 years 

and generated gross revenue in excess of 

$600 billion. Total payments to government 

by the B.C. mineral industry have 

increased to an average of about $565 

million for 2005-2009, from an average 

of $340 million for 2000-2004. 

Thirdly, investment in public geoscience 

is critical. Funding of Geoscience 

BC, for instance, has extended the mine 

life of Imperial Metals’ Huckleberry 

There are 25 potential mine projects in 

the EA process in B.C., representing an 

economic and social opportunity equal to 

$10 billion in investment and 68,000 jobs. 

mine as well as assisted numerous companies 

to advance their projects. Since 

2005, millions of exploration dollars and 

hectares staked can be directly attributed 

to the activities of Geoscience BC. Furthermore, 

the B.C. Geological Survey 

has a long track record of excellence in 

surveying, maintaining a public geoscience 

library and producing maps that 

attract prospectors and new investment. 

Overall, we remain very optimistic 

that we can resolve these immediate challenges. 

On behalf of the staff and board of 

AME BC, I thank all the volunteers and 

members of the Association in building 

a more unified and successful mineral 

exploration and development industry. 

And please remember to have a safe day, 

every day as you enjoy the spring season 

and the excitement of “gold rush” fever. � 

Gavin C. Dirom, president and chief executive 

officer, Association for Mineral Exploration 

British Columbia (AME BC). 

Photograph: AME BC SPRING 2011 7

8 SPRING 2011 

>> MAILBAG 

EMPHASIZING SURVEYS 

Just very recently I read the winter issue 

of Mineral Exploration and in particular 

the article by Julie Domvile, “Ready to 

Rock”. While I agree with most of the 

reasons and initiatives listed, and particularly 

‘Aboriginal Agreements’ and 

training initiatives, which make B.C. an 

attractive place to explore for minerals, I 

am surprised that nothing is said about the 

British Columbia Geological Survey 

(BCGS) and the world-class mineral 

database that it has developed and maintains. 

This glaring omission is made 

more obvious by the inclusion of “filler 

reasons” such as 

‘Limitless Lifestyle 

Choices’ which I 

submit are fringe for 

this article. 

Having worked 

all my life in British 

Columbia and for 

more than 30 years 

with BCGS, formerly 

the B.C. Department of Mines Geological 

Branch, I know only too well the 

quality, volume and importance of the 

work done for more than a century by this 

world-class survey, and the impact it continues 

to have on mineral exploration and 

discoveries in this mineral-blessed province. 

Indeed, the current BCGS mineral 

database which is known worldwide and 

after which similar databases have been 

developed in other jurisdictions, was 

made possible by the provincial mines 

ministry’s documentation and study of 

mineral occurrences, properties and districts 

for well over 100 years. 

Had the magazine included an article 

featuring the quality and importance to 

the mineral industry of the work done 

by BCGS and the Geological Survey of 

Canada, it might have helped improve 

the political view of these surveys. 

V.A. Preto, P.Eng. 

Sooke, B.C. 

Editor’s Note: The initiatives discussed 

in “Ready to Rock” were determined by the 

Editorial Board, and we thank Mr. Preto 

for drawing attention to the omission of the 

work of the BCGS and Geological Survey of 

Canada. For AME BC’s policy statement on 

geoscience, visit www.amebc.ca/about-us/ 

guiding-principles/guiding-principlesgeoscience.aspx.

CALENDAR 

March 

6-9 PDAC International Convention, Trade Show 

& Investors Exchange Mining Investment Show, 

Toronto, Ontario; www.pdac.ca 

15-18 Alaska Miners Association Juneau Branch 

Convention and Trade Show, Juneau, Alaska; 

www.alaskaminers.org 

26 AME BC Introduction to Exploration Safety 

Workshop, Vancouver, B.C.; www.amebc.ca 

April 

4-7 Kamloops Exploration Group Conference, 

Kamloops, B.C.; www.keg.bc.ca 

8-10 Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal 

Communities AGM and Convention, Sidney, B.C.; 

www.avicc.ca 

9-10 Calgary Resource and Clean Energy 

Investment Conference, Calgary, Alberta; 

www.cambridgehouse.ca 

12-15 Calgary Mineral Exploration Group Forum, 

Calgary, Alberta; www.meg.calgary.ab.ca 

27-29 Minerals North Conference, Stewart, 

B.C.; www.mineralsnorth.ca 

28-30 Association of Kootenay Boundary Local 

Governments Convention, Kimberley, B.C.; 

www.ubcm.ca 

May 

4-6 Southern Interior Local Government Area 

Convention, Merritt, B.C.; www.silga.ca 

8-14 B.C. Mining Week 2011, Throughout B.C.; 

http://mining.bc.ca/miningweek.html 

11-13 Canadian Diamond Drilling Association 

68th Annual General Meeting and Convention, 

Kelowna, B.C.; www.cdda.ca 

11-13 North Central Local Government Association 

Convention, Prince Rupert, B.C.; www.nclga.ca 

11-13 Lower Mainland Local Government Association 

AGM & Conference, Whistler, B.C.; www.lmlga.ca 

17 19th Annual AME BC Invitational Golf Tournament 

and Fundraiser, Richmond, B.C.; www.amebc.ca 

22-25 CIM 2011 Conference and Exhibition, 

Montreal, Quebec; www.cim.org 

25-27 Joint Annual Meeting GAC-MAC-SEG-SGA, 

Ottawa, Ontario; www.gacmacottawa2011.ca 

June 

3-6 Federation of Canadian Municipalities Annual 

Conference and Municipal Expo, Halifax, N.S.; 

www.fcm.ca 

5-6 World Resource Investment Conference, 

Vancouver, B.C.; www.cambridgehouse.ca 


10 SPRING 2011

Britannia Mine 

Museum gets 

new lease on life 

VISITORS GET AN 

IN-DEPTH LOOK AT 

100 YEARS OF 

MINING PRACTICES 

BY RYAN STUART 

What a difference a decade makes. Ten years ago Britannia Beach was 

an eyesore on the side of the Sea-to-Sky Highway. If you could take 

your eyes off the twisty road, the dilapidated mill building dominating 

the tiny community was hardly an inviting distraction. Skiers 

and tourists en route to the Coast Mountains rarely stopped. Those were hard times 

for the B.C. Museum of Mining, now the Britannia Mine Museum, at the historic 

Britannia Mine site. But the museum’s fortunes were about to change. 

“The museum really has the British Columbia mining industry to thank for its 

existence,” says Kirstin Clausen, the museum’s executive director. “It could have been 

so easy to let the museum and the mine go. But so many people never gave up on the 

vision and I think that’s because they are miners. It takes years to build a mine. Miners 

have great vision. The fortitude to stick with it is in their blood. There was always a 

solid core of individuals and companies that never wavered in their support. When it 

wasn’t financial donations, it was volunteer time or in-kind support.” 

The tradition of the mining community supporting the museum began with the 

shut down of the Britannia Mine. From 1904 to 1974, ore was removed from an open 

pit and underground shafts on Mount Sheer above the town of Britannia Beach. Over 

the life of the mine about 50 million tonnes of ore was excavated and hauled down 

to the mill building in Britannia, producing 1.3 billion pounds (about 585 million 

Photograph: Britannia Mine Museum SPRING 2011 11

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kilograms) of copper, 274 million pounds of zinc, 34 million 

pounds of lead, 500,000 ounces (about 14.18 million grams) of 

gold, six million ounces of silver and one million pounds of cadmium. 

During its 70-year life, more than 60,000 people took 

home a paycheque. 

“The people that lived in the Britannia Beach community 

were quite visionary,” says Clausen. When its final owner, 

Anaconda Mining Company, announced the mine’s imminent 

closure, local residents approached the company with the idea 

of a museum. Anaconda gifted the land and buildings to start 

the museum. In 1975, the Britannia Mine Museum opened its 

doors to the public, and in 1988 the mill building was designated 

a National Historic Site. For many years the museum was 

popular as the main tourist attraction on the Sea-to-Sky Highway. 

But it relied heavily on the industry it represented. As the 

mining industry faded in the 1980s and 1990s amid falling mineral 

prices and an unfriendly investment climate, the museum 

suffered from a lack of funding and the property started to look 

neglected. Yet, even during the hard times the museum had its 

friends: Teck, Placer Dome, AME BC, and the Mining Association 

of BC, among others, were consistently supportive. 

The beginning of a new millennium brought a change of 

fortune to the museum starting with the province’s pledge to 

deal with the acid rock drainage issue that plagued Britannia. 

During the mine’s life toxic stew running off the mine site 

killed most of the aquatic life in Britannia Creek and left tidal 

areas of Howe Sound devoid of marine life. When Anaconda 

shut the mine it dammed the effluent and directed it into a pipe 

that discharged directly into Howe Sound, 50 metres below sea 

level, away from the sensitive tidal areas. The dam failed in the 

’90s and with 200 kilometres of tunnels, an open-pit mine and 

contaminated soil, the environmental issue was still serious. 

The province stepped in and the museum saw an opportunity. 

“The province could clean the site up and no one would 

know. It is what the province is expected to do,” says Clausen. 

“The museum realized it could be the interface between the 

environmental remediation of the mine site and the public.” In 

12 SPRING 2011 Photograph: Britannia Mine Museum

2002, Golder Associates started cleaning 

the contaminated soils. Buildings around 

the museum and town were outfitted 

to collect rainwater so it did not hit the 

ground and become toxic. And in 2005, 

Epcor opened a water treatment plant to 

treat all water coming from the mine. 

The museum says the water treatment 

plant removes 600 to 700 kilograms of 

metal sludge daily. The museum integrated 

information on acid rock drainage 

into some of its displays and its educational 

aspect resonated with mining 

industry. It proved to be a turning point 

for the museum. 

Around the same time, Michael 

McPhie was working for Natural 

Resources Canada looking for opportunities 

to support projects that educated 

“There was always 

a solid core of 

individuals and 

companies that 

never wavered in 

their support. When 

it wasn’t financial 

donations, it was 

volunteer time or 

in-kind support.” 

– Kirstin Clausen, 

Britannia Mine Museum director 

the public about the mining industry 

in a positive light. McPhie, who is now 

the CEO of Curis Resources, a company 

associated with Hunter Dickinson 

Inc. (HDI), saw a lot of opportunity at 

Britannia and was instrumental in leveraging 

his department’s original funding. 

He joined the board alongside mining 

veterans like Bob Dickinson, Ross Beaty 

and Lukas Lundin and played a key role 

on the fundraising committee. 

“At the time the issues were big,” he 

says. “The historic buildings were falling 

down. The cladding was falling off the 

mill building and all the windows were 

broken.” The 20-storey mill building sat 

on the side of the highway largely ignored 

for decades. Over the years there were 

many motions to demolish it, but the 

costs of renovating it weren’t that much 

more than removing it and, as a National 

Historic Site and one of the last remaining 

gravity-fed concentrator mills in North 

America, it was a priceless artifact. 

“The mill building and museum didn’t 

reflect the modern nature of the mining 

industry,” McPhie says. “The province 

has a rich history of natural resource 

development. Britannia is a tremendous 

opportunity to tell that story.” Others 

also saw the potential. With the goal of 

fixing the mill building, the museum’s 

fundraising committee quickly raised 

the $5 million needed from Teck, Hunter 

Dickinson, the Hallbauer Foundation and 

a $5-million grant from the federal government. 

Completed in 2007, each of the 

14,416 panes of glass was replaced by hand 

and the entire building received a facelift. 

For those unsure of the museum’s 

future, the reborn mill building was a sign 

of things to come. “Once the mill building 


Britannia Mine Museum – 

for children of all ages. Miners underground at Britannia during the mine’s heyday. 

was renovated people could see the vision 

more clearly,” says Clausen. “Those sitting 

on the edge jumped in.” The museum 

was also pushed forward by fortunate circumstance. 

The Olympics were coming 

to Vancouver, the Sea-to-Sky Highway 

was about to be renovated, the mine site 

remediation was underway and the mining 

industry was booming. “I’m not sure 

we would have gone any further without 

all those factors aligning,” says Clausen. 

“We were in the right place, with the right 

vision and the right economics.” 

In one year, the museum raised $7 

million towards a three-phase project 

that would turn the former mine site 

into a must-see attraction. The number 

of contributors are too numerous 

to mention, including dozens of British 

Columbia mining companies. “The list 

of donors are the tier one individuals and 

organizations in the B.C. mining industry,” 

says McPhie. With matching funds 

from the federal and provincial government, 

the $14.7-million makeover began 

in 2008 and will be completed this year. 

The first phase was the most 

14 SPRING 2011 Photograph: Jonathan Buchanan; Britannia Mine Museum

noticeable, beautifying the whole site 

from the entrance to the underground. 

With $1 million in personal donations 

from B.C. mining entrepreneurs Ross 

Beaty and Lukas Lundin, the museum 

built the Beaty Lundin Visitor Centre 

at the entrance to the museum with interactive 

displays and exhibits showing how 

integrated mining is in everyday life. It also 

houses a gift shop and the Canadian Mining 

Hall of Fame. In a historic mine building 

nearby is the Britannia A-Z Exhibit 

Hall where the history of the mining town 

is told. Phase two behind-the-scenes engineering, 

seismic upgrades and other infrastructure 

projects are almost complete. 

The final phase is a “knock-their-socksoff 

mill show,” says Clausen. The show is 

still being planned but she says it will be 

immersive and influential in explaining 

why the mill building is important and 

why people should care about it. 

There’s no doubt the mill building is 

already a unique feature. “I love taking 

people inside it for the first time,” says 

Clausen. “I don’t say anything. They’re 

always awe-struck. It’s not impressive 

[just] because of its size. It has a gritty element 

that makes it interesting and leaves 

Equipped and 

ready to explore. 

an impression.” The mill show will just 

add flavour and “will give the museum 

enough product to attract people more 

than once,” she says. “For us to be really 

viable we need three reasons for people 

to visit. We’ve got the underground 

railway and the outside attractions. 

The show will be the third.” 

The goal of the museum, says 

Clausen, is to present the mining industry 

to visitors in a relevant and honest way 

that the mining industry can feel proud 

of. That doesn’t include sugar coating. 

“I don’t want visitors to ever feel they’re 

only getting a pretty picture,” she says, a 

sentiment echoed by McPhie. “As a CEO 

of a publicly-traded company we have to 

be honest about where we’ve come from,” 

he says. “It builds more credibility with 

[the] public. There’s a key opportunity to 

learn from Britannia. It tells the whole 

story of from how we as an industry used 

to do things to how we do it now.” 

Drivers on the Sea-to-Sky Highway 

are definitely seeing a different side to 

Britannia these days. With all the beautification, 

the museum is a much more 

compelling stop. But despite all the support 

the museum is enjoying, Clausen 

foresees a future that is as rocky as a 

penny stock’s trajectory. “I believe our 

hardest years are ahead,” she says. “We 

have to make this business model work. 

We don’t get any core funding; we have 

to earn it.” McPhie adds, “I think we’re 

just getting going. It’s very exciting.” � 

Photograph: Joanna Macintosh SPRING 2011 15

Properties 

that keep 

on giving 

6 

B.C. MINING 

PROJECTS 

STAND THE 

TEST OF TIME 

BY PETER CAULFIELD 

The Table Mountain mine site 

in the Cassiar Gold Camp. 

Mineral Exploration came into existence 30 years ago, in 1981. In periodical-years, 

that makes it a real survivor. The economics of publishing 

are such that few magazines survive to their 30th birthdays. Similarly, 

not every exploration or mining project is still a going concern after 30 

years. Peter Ogryzlo, a geologist in northern B.C. with over 40 years of exploration 

and mining experience, has kindly provided Mineral Exploration with a list of six B.C. 

projects that have remained active for 30 years or longer. 

They are, in alphabetical order: Cariboo Bell (better known now as Imperial Metals’ 

Mount Polley); Kutcho (now owned by Capstone); QR ( now owned by Barkerville 

Gold Mines); Trout Lake Deposit (now Roca Mines’ MAX Molybdenum mine); 

Valley Copper (now part of Teck’s Highland Valley Copper); and Vollaug (a vein of 

Hawthorne Gold’s Table Mountain property). Below is a short summary of each 

property and the story behind it. 

Patrick McAndless, vice-president, exploration at Imperial Metals Corporation, 

says Cariboo Bell – now Mount Polley – was owned in the early 1980s by E & B 

Explorations. Imperial Metals acquired an interest in the project in about 1987 and 

continued with exploration. In the late 1990s, the project went into production, but in 

2001 it shut down because of low commodity prices. In 2003, Imperial discovered the 

project’s Northeast Zone, which helped bring it back into production in about 2005. 

16 SPRING 2011 Photograph: Hawthorne Gold Corp.

NTI’s Uranium 

Mining Policy 

GUIDING PRINCIPLE 

Uranium exploration and 

mining must be carried out in 

an environmentally and socially 

responsible way and the uranium 

that results from the mining shall 

be used only for peaceful and 

environmentally friendly purposes. 

OBJECTIVES 

The objectives of NTI’s uranium 

mining policy are to: 

1. Support Responsible and 

Peaceful Uses of Nuclear 

Energy 

Nuclear energy will be used for 

peaceful and environmentally 

responsible purposes. 

EXPLORE THE 

POTENTIAL IN 

NUNAVUT 

2. Require Benefi ts from 

Uranium Exploration 

and Mining 


mining in Nunavut will bring 

signifi cant economic benefi ts to 

Inuit. 

3. Ensure Protection of 

Human Health 


mining will be carried out in a 

manner that protects the health 

and safety of the workers and 

of all Nunavummiut. 

4. Limit Impacts of Uranium 

Exploration and Mining 


mining will be carried out in 

a manner that will not cause 

signifi cant adverse effects on 

people, the environment or 

wildlife. 

Partner with NTI 

5. Promote Participation 

of Inuit 

Inuit of affected communities 

will be given an opportunity 

for full and meaningful 

participation in both the 

environmental assessment 

process and the operations of a 

uranium mining project. 

To learn more about NTI and our Uranium Mining Policy or for any information regarding our mineral 

properties or exploration agreements, please visit our website at: www.tunngavik.com or contact: 

Keith Morrison, Senior Advisor - Minerals, Oil and Gas Management 

Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated 

P.O. Box 1269, Cambridge Bay, NU X0B 0C0 

Phone: (867) 983-5600 Fax: (867) 983-5624 

Email: kmorrison@tunngavik.com

“We’re continuing to explore Mount Polley, which is a porphyry 

copper deposit,” McAndless said. “Porphyry copper deposits 

occur in clusters and where there’s one there are often others, so 

we’re continuing to explore other targets. It’s a large deposit and 

it’s taking time to investigate the whole thing.” 

Mount Polley is Imperial Metals’ main source of cash flow. 

Located 100 kilometres northeast of Williams Lake, it is an openpit 

copper-gold mine that produces an average of 20,000 tonnes 

per day. The current reserve estimate contains 284 million pounds 

(about 127.8 million kilograms) of copper and 367,000 ounces 

(about 10.4 million grams) of gold and provides for a mine life to 

2015. Mount Polley has a proven/probable mineral reserve of 40.5 

million tonnes grading 0.318 per cent copper, 0.282 g/t gold and 

0.606 g/t silver. It has a measured and indicated mineral resource 

of 167.7 million tonnes and inferred of 3.66 million tonnes. 

Mineralization on what is now the Kutcho property was first 

discovered in 1968 by a joint-venture exploration operated by 

Imperial Oil Ltd. Located about 120 kilometres east of Dease 

Lake, the property changed hands several times, with Western 

Keltic Mines Ltd. purchasing it from Barrick Gold Corp. and 

Sumitomo in 2004. In 2008, Capstone Mining Corp. acquired 

100 per cent ownership of Western Keltic and a wholly-owned 

subsidiary of Capstone was set up under the name Kutcho Copper 

Corp. A drill program was successful and a new NI 43-101-compliant 

mineral resource for the main deposit was announced 

in 2009. Capstone has started work to advance Kutcho toward 

completion of a pre-feasibility study. 

Peter Holbek, vice-president of exploration at Copper Mountain 

Mining Corporation, who is very familiar with Kutcho, says 

the property is compelling because of its relatively large tonnage 

(for a volcanogenic massive sulphide) and the position of the largest 

deposit. “It comes just to the surface, which means it could 

18 SPRING 2011 Photograph: Daniel Henshaw/Imperial Metals Corporation

The Mount Polley mill complex today. 

Diamond drilling at the Taurus 

property in the Cassiar Gold Camp. 

Aerial view of the QR property. 

The little mine that could: 

the MAX Molybdenum mine. 

The beginning of the Valley 

pit at Highland Valley, 1981. 

Photographs: Hawthorne Gold Corp.; Roca Mines Inc.; British Columbia Geological Survey; Barkerville Gold Mines SPRING 2011 19

e mined by open-pit methods.” He says 

that although the deposit’s grades are 

good, it was barely economic until prices 

rose in 2006. 

“Base metal mines need good roads, 

power and labour, none of which was 

close at hand at the time,” he said. “In 

addition, the metallurgy is not simple 

and getting a permit for massive sulphide 

deposits can be challenging because of 

the high sulphide content of tailings and 

possibly some of the waste rock. If the 


deposit were closer to infrastructure, it 

would have been mined years ago.” 

Barkerville Gold’s QR deposit is a 

propylite gold skarn located in B.C.’s 

Cariboo Gold District. Kinross Gold 

Corporation built a mine and a mill 

with a capacity of 900 tpd in 1994 for 

an estimated $40 million. It operated 

for three years before it closed due to 

low gold prices. Cross Lake Minerals 

Ltd. acquired the project in 2005 and 

spent an estimated $34.5 million on mill 

upgrades, mine development and a new 

three-phase power line. Those expenditures 

substantially reduced the start-up 

costs for Barkerville Gold Mines, which 

acquired the project in February 2010. 

In March 2010, mining at QR began, 

and ore from the West Zone was mined, 

hauled and stockpiled at the QR mill. In 

September 2010, commercial production 

began with the pouring of the company’s 

fi rst gold doré bar. Dean Nawata, Barkerville’s 

vice-president of business 

development, says the company is on 

track to pour 50,000 ounces by September 

2011. 

Detailed planning is underway for 

a development-drilling program at the 

North Zone, which the company expects 

will be the next zone developed for mining 

on the property. It is the largest gold 

mineralization zone found so far at the 

QR mine, with a drill-indicated strike 

length of over 1,000 metres. 

In the 1970s, 

there was more 

interest in 

molybdenum as 

a lubricant in oil 

and gas drilling. 

Scott Broughton, president and CEO 

of Roca Mines Inc., says the original 

discovery at Trout Lake, now his company’s 

MAX mine, was made in the early 

1960s. In the late 1960s, the oil and gas 

company Scurry Rainbow optioned the 

property, which lies 60 kilometres southeast 

of Revelstoke. It drilled a few holes 

and found molybdenum at depth, but the 

price of the metal was so low at the time 

that nothing more was done. 

In the 1970s, there was more interest 

in molybdenum as a lubricant in oil 

and gas drilling. Newmont Canada and 

Esso Minerals Canada explored the 

area and found good results in one of 

the drill holes. Although a great deal of 

engineering work was done, the price of 

molybdenum was still low, and the project 

was mothballed. 

In 2004, with molybdenum prices rising, 

Roca began a series of negotiations to

acquire the project and optioned it in 2004 

and 2005 in two different transactions. 

The mine was permitted in 2005 and 

commercial production began in 2008. 

The mine is permitted for 1,000 tpd and 

is operating at 500 tpd now. 

Broughton says Roca has “aggressive 

plans” for MAX. “It’s a big deposit and 

we want to expand.” At a cut-off grade 

of 0.1 per cent, MAX has measured 27.87 

million tonnes molybdenum disulphide 

grading 0.21 per cent; indicated 15.07 

million grading 0.18 per cent. In addition, 

the deposit has inferred resources 

totalling 8.9 million tonnes, averaging 

0.15 per cent at 0.10 cut-off. 

Teck has a 97.5 per cent interest in 

Highland Valley Copper, the largest 

copper mine in Canada and one of the 

largest copper mining and concentrating 

operations in the world. Located in 

south-central B.C. near Kamloops, facilities 

include the Highland mill and the 

Valley, Lornex and Highmont open-pit 

mines. Production began at the Lornex 

deposit in 1972 and at the Valley deposit 

in 1983. Production came from the Highmont 

deposit between 1980 and 1984 and 

resumed in 2005. The Highland mill and 

(Clockwise from left) Drilling at Kutcho 

Creek; underground at Table Mountain 

in the Cassiar Gold Camp; from rock to 

concentrate – Mount Polley core shacks 

with the mill in the background. 

Photograph: Capstone Mining Corp.; Hawthorne Gold Corp.; Daniel Henshaw/Imperial Metals Corporation SPRING 2011 21


the Valley mine are integrated by two, 

two-km-long conveyor systems that feed 

ore to the mill from two semi-mobile 

crushers located in the Valley mine. A 

third fixed crusher handles ore from the 

Lornex and Highmont open pits. 

Concentrates are transported by 

truck to Ashcroft and from there by 

rail to customers in North America and 

to Vancouver for export overseas. The 

mining operation has yielded more than 

2.8 million tonnes of copper in concentrate 

during its lifetime. Highland Valley 

Copper is carrying out a two-phase mine 

life extension that requires push-backs of 

the east and west walls of the Valley pit, 

which will permit mining until 2019. 

The earliest recorded work on the 

Vollaug Vein was in 1874, when placer 

gold was found about 20 kilometres east 

of the present-day Highway 37. Interest 

in the lode gold possibilities in the area 

was first recorded in the 1920s. In 1937, 

the claims covering the Vollaug Vein on 

Table Mountain were optioned to Cominco 

Ltd. In the summer of that year, 

7,000 feet (about 2,100 metres) of diamond 

drilling was carried out to test the 

quartz vein striking east-west. 

In the 1960s and ’70s, work carried 

out at the eastern end of the Vollaug 

Vein located three separate zones. In 

1973, Table Mountain Mines Ltd., which 

held the western portion of the Vollaug 

Vein, started a program of underground 

exploration and surface drilling. The 

work resumed late in 1978 and continued 

into 1979. In 1979, additional bulldozer 

and shovel work, estimated at 7,400 cubic 

metres, was done to expand the knowledge 

of zones 1, 2 and 3. Hawthorne 

Gold Corp. has held the property since 

2008, when the company merged with 

Cusac Gold Mines. 

Hawthorne Gold’s Cassiar Gold 

Camp consists of approximately 59,000 

hectares containing the Taurus, Table 

Mountain and Vollaug properties, and 

the Table Mountain mine and mill. The 

camp is currently under care and maintenance; 

development plans are proceeding. 

Marlin Murphy, Hawthorne Gold’s 

manager of environmental and government 

affairs and mine manager, says 

exploration is continuing in the Bain and 

Cusac veins. 

“The Cassiar Gold Camp is located 

in a historically rich gold-bearing area 

near a paved highway”, Murphy said. 

“Both the brownfield and the greenfield 

areas are large, with lots of potential for 

future discoveries.” �

During the past 30 years, commodity 

markets have been 

transformed by economic 

and political crises that often 

had a greater influence on prices and 

investor sentiment than traditional fundamentals. 

What’s different now from 

the early 1980s is the rise of globalization 

– creating the most interdependent, 

diverse and technologically advanced 

economy in human history – and a shift 

in economic growth from the developed 

West to the emerging East. 

Gavin C. Dirom, president and CEO 

of the Association for Mineral Exploration 

British Columbia, has often cited 

these extraordinary events as drivers of 

current metal markets. “Some [experts] 

are predicting a second wave in the commodity 

cycle, driven by the continued 

industrialization of China, India and other 

emerging nations.” 

Remarkably, prices have appreciated 

despite repeated aftershocks from the 

recent global financial crisis. Of the 32 

commodities in the Scotiabank Commodity 

Price Index, the top five price 

performers in 2010 were all metals and 

minerals, led by sulphur, a petroleum byproduct 

used in fertilizers (up 153.3 per 

cent from 2009), silver (up 69.1 per cent), 

coking coal (up 63.3 per cent), nickel (up 

44.7 per cent) and molybdenum (up 41.3 

per cent). 

Scotiabank economist Patricia Mohr 

expects commodity prices to strengthen 

further in 2011, driven by emerging markets 

demand. Her top picks for 2011 are 

palladium, potash, coking and thermal 

coal, copper and uranium. Mohr says 

Paradigm 

shift spurs 

rise and fall 

of commodity 

markets 

RISING DEMAND EXPECTED TO CONTINUE 

AS COMPANIES SEEK NEW DEPOSITS 

BY VIVIAN DANIELSON 

interest from China in Canadian assets, 

particularly in the junior mining sector, 

is “intense,” reflecting the country’s 

planned shift from an export-driven 

economy toward a consumer-based internal 

expansion. “A tsunami of investment 

capital from China is headed into Canada’s 

mining and oil and gas sectors.” 

Such a prediction would have been 

inconceivable 30 years ago, when China 

was in the throes of fervent communism 

and India was mired in poverty. The U.S. 

was the dominant economic power then, 

but its growth was hindered by high 

inflation and oil prices and double-digit 

interest rates. These factors contributed 

to a secular bear market for commodities 

that ended in the early 2000s, reversing 

into an upward trend as developing 

nations embraced free market policies. 

Many experts now believe that populous 

China and India have the potential to 

transform the global economy this century, 

just as the U.S. did when it eclipsed 

Europe in the last century. 

This new dynamic is good news 

for junior and senior companies that 

explore for, and mine, metals 

and minerals needed by 

China and other developing 

nations to build infrastructure 

and power their economies. 

It’s also good news for 

B.C., which produces many 

of the commodities in high 

demand, notably coal, copper 

and molybdenum. 

The outlook for gold 

is more complex, as prices 

typically respond to more 

volatile dynamics than supply 

and demand fundamentals. 

The yellow metal has long 

been a safe haven in times of 

economic turmoil and the 

recent financial crisis was 

no exception. Prices soared 

to US$1,000 per ounce and 

beyond in 2009, reviving 

memories of 1980, when gold 

hit a record high of $850 per 

ounce, only to fall to an average 

of $376 per ounce by 1982. 

Silver prices reached a 30-year 

high of more than $30 per 

ounce in December 2010, 

but still below 1980 when 

the silver fix reached a record 

$49.45 per ounce only to fall 

to a cyclical low of $4.88 per 

ounce by mid-1982. 

Will history repeat itself? 

This question warrants examination as 

56 per cent of junior companies listed 

on Toronto’s Venture Exchange are 

exploring, developing or mining precious 

metals. This is in sharp contrast to 

1980, when 71 per cent of mined gold was 

produced by six South African mining 

houses and junior gold companies were 

a relative novelty. Complicating matters 

is the wide range of gold forecasts. Some 

experts say prices could reach $5,000 

per ounce, driven by further economic 

uncertainty and U.S. dollar weakness. 

Others believe prices will retreat sharply 


Patricia Mohr 

as the global economy strengthens, as 

was the case in the mid-’80s. 

In a recent survey, PricewaterhouseCoopers 

asked executives at 44 

gold mining companies around the 

world where they think gold prices are 

going. Responses ranged from $1,400 

to $3,000 per ounce, but 40 per cent 

believe the price will peak at $1,500. 

The majority (73 per 

cent) expect the price 

to increase in 2011. 

One reason for their 

optimism, according to 

PwC’s 2010 Global Gold 

Price Report, is that current 

gold prices are still 

below the inflationadjusted 

high in 1980. 

The authors cite a 

Bloomberg report stating 

that “gold would 

have to reach $2,435 

per ounce to surpass 

the inflation-adjusted 

peak in 1980.” Notwithstanding, 

companies 

were cautious about 

what price they applied 

to their 2010 reserves, with 32 per cent 

applying a price of $1,000 within a range 

of $850 to $1,300. 

As for what’s driving current prices, 

50 per cent of respondents cited ongoing 

weakness in the U.S. economy, as was the 

case in 1980. But the 1980 flight to gold 

was short-lived, reflecting broad dissatisfaction 

with then-president Jimmy 

Carter’s policies. Gold prices shot up 

like a bullet, only to free-fall as president 

Reagan took office in early 1981. Prices 

fell further as the U.S. economy and dollar 

strengthened. 

Central bank sales and forward sales 

by producers kept gold prices in the 

$300-$400 range for most of the next two 

decades, ultimately pushing prices to an 

all-time low of $251.70 in mid-’99. Prices 

increased later that year, but only after 

central banks agreed to limit gold sales in 

order to help the beleaguered industry. 

Silver followed gold’s path, but its 1980 

high was linked to an attempt to corner 

the silver market by the Hunt Brothers. 

The price quickly fell below $5.00 per 

ounce and remained low for decades. 

In contrast to 1980, recent gold prices 

have appreciated more slowly, interrupted 

by occasional market corrections. Another 

difference is that the financial meltdown 

that rocked Wall Street in 2008 has 

escalated into a sovereign debt crisis still 

cascading across the western world. 

Quantitative easing (printing money) 

and stimulus spending initiatives in the 

U.S. and European Union were implemented 

to alleviate these crises. But 

24 SPRING 2011 Photograph: Alan Gough/AME BC

combined with rising government 

deficits, they had the effect of eroding 

confidence in the U.S. dollar and euro. 

Gold prices rose as the dollar declined, 

confirming the maxim: “As the U.S. 

dollar goes, gold goes in the inverse.” 

Most experts believe that gold and silver 

prices will rise in the year ahead, provided 

investor interest in precious metals holds. 

Between 2001 and 2009, investors bought 

356.8 million ounces of gold bullion and 

coins, more than any previous surge in 

demand in history, including the Great 

Depression and Second World War. 

Central banks have also emerged as largevolume 

net buyers, in contrast to the 1980s 

and 1990s. Silver prices benefited from 

record holdings in exchange-traded funds 

(an estimated 490 million ounces), reflecting 

its traditional role as a more affordable 

investment alternative to gold. 

On the supply side, mined gold production 

has slowly decreased since 2001, 

offset by secondary supply. This has 

given rise to fears that production will 

decline further, adding pressure to prices. 

This was also a fear in 1980, when 30.5 

million ounces were mined worldwide. 

But output more than doubled by 1999, 

reflecting a series of new gold discoveries 

primarily by junior companies. 

Base metals also recovered from lows 

of the late 1990s, following the 1997 

Asian financial crisis. But it was a slow 

recovery, starting after the 

dot-com bubble crash of 2000 

and continuing through the 

subsequent housing and assetbacked 

commercial paper 

bubbles, which also crashed, 

creating a financial crisis in 

the developed world. Amid 

this turmoil, China and India 

emerged as economic powers, 

providing new markets for a 

broad range of commodities. 

It was one of the rare times in 

history when base metals and 

precious metals both enjoyed 

price appreciation. 

Copper, coal and potash 

benefited most from China’s 

fast-growing economy. Copper 

demand exceeded supply 

in 2010, and an even bigger 

deficit is expected in 2011. 

Michael Doggett, president 

of HanOcci Mining 

Gavin C. Dirom 

Advisors, told delegates at last year’s 

Mineral Exploration Roundup that 

global copper production had doubled 

from 1979 to about 16 million tonnes 

in 2008, “with total output during this 

Photograph: Jonathan Buchanan/AME BC SPRING 2011 25

period accounting for 60 per cent of the 

total copper ever produced.” 

Doggett says copper production must 

double again in the next 30 years, based on 

projected demand from China and other 

emerging economies. The problem is that 

resources and grades are declining at the 

world’s largest copper mines. He noted 

that 11 major new mines similar to Escondida 

– Chile’s largest copper mine – would 

need to be discovered and brought into 

production to meet projected demand. 

Copper isn’t the only metal in need of 

new discoveries. Demand has increased 

for rare earth elements and many other 

specialty metals and minerals used in 

advanced technologies. Canadian companies 

are at the forefront of the search 

for these unconventional deposits at home 

and abroad. The industry must discover 

and mine a greater diversity of deposits 

as the world’s population grows to an 

estimated nine billion by 2050. But is the 

industry up for this daunting challenge? 

Yes, if past history is any indication. 

Decades ago, Paul Ehrlich, author of 

The Population Bomb, predicted that commodity 

prices would soar based on his 

Malthusian view that the world would 

Attentive audience at the Commodities Overview at Roundup 2010. 

run out of resources as its population 

exploded. His theory was challenged 

by Julian Simon, a professor of Business 

Administration from the University of 

Maryland. In a famous 1980 bet, they 

selected a basket of five mutually selected 

commodities – chromium, copper, nickel, 

tin and tungsten – valued at $1,000 and 

set a payoff date a decade away. 

Ehrlich bet prices would rise. Simon, 

who obviously had more faith in technological 

advancement and human 

ingenuity, bet they would fall. By 1990, 

prices for all five metals had fallen, some 

dramatically. Simon won the bet and a 

$567.07 payoff from Ehrlich. He could 

have won again between 1990 and 2000, 

but a similar bet made today on a basket 

of five commodities would likely be a 

much riskier proposition. � 

26 SPRING 2011 Photograph: Brian Dennehy/AME BC

Reflections of 

the Chamber 

30 years ago 

EARLY 1980s 

PROVED 

PARTICULARLY 

DISMAL FOR 

INDUSTRY 

BY JIM LYON 

The British Columbia Chamber 

of Mines enhanced its 

status as one of Canada’s 

leading mining organizations 

with two significant steps during 

the 1980s. Jointly with government 

geological partners, it launched the first 

Cordilleran Geology and Exploration 

Roundup in 1984. Three years earlier, in 

1981, it had published the inaugural issue 

of the quarterly Mining Review, partly 

because it was felt that other Canadian 

mining magazines, mostly Toronto 

based, ignored B.C. and Yukon. 

At the start of the decade, long-time 

Chamber manager Rick Higgs had 

resigned to be replaced by geologist 

Jack M. Patterson who had combined 20 

years of mineral exploration with, most 

recently, fi ve years as a senior administrator 

of mining in the federal government. 

Patterson began regular reports in the 

inaugural issue of Mining Review when 

he had only been in the manager’s job for 

three months. He commented: 

“These days, there is an increasing 

awareness of the importance of government 

relations to any industry. Recognizing 

this, we will be doing our best 

to maintain and improve our relations 

with politicians and civil servants in all 

jurisdictions. The Chamber will be communicating 

on an ever-increasing scale 

with the B.C. government, primarily 

through the Ministry of Energy, Mines 

and Petroleum Resources; the federal 

government, primarily through the 

Department of Energy, Mines and 

Resources and the Department of Indian 

Affairs and Northern Development; and 

the territorial governments of both the 

Yukon and the Northwest Territories.” 

Patterson said he hoped to keep members 

up-to-date on relevant exploration matters 

such as claim-staking, new mineral 

policies and mineral legislation. “As I 

have a particular interest in federal lands 

north of 50, I will try to keep up-to-date 

on exploration matters regarding the 

Yukon and Northwest Territories.” 

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The Mining Review marked a new direction in the Chamber’s 

communications; it was full of news about the industry, 

economic conditions and public policy. The Mining Review’s 

section headed “Chamber News” served as the organization’s 

official voice, keeping members up-to-date about the Chamber’s 

proliferating activities and lobbying initiatives. Then-Chamber 

president Donald K. Mustard wrote in the first issue: “There is 

certainly no lack of topics for the magazine to cover.” This was 

certainly true as subsequent issues demonstrated. 

R.J. (Bob) Cathro, president 1983-1984; and N.C. (Nick) 

Carter, president 1988-1989, have recalled the genesis of the 

hugely successful Roundup, which would become a financial 

bulwark for the Chamber (later AME BC). From a modest attendance 

of 700 in its first year, it is still going strong more than a 

quarter century later, with more than 7,000 delegates attending 

the 2011 event. 

Meeting of the minds: The panel of speakers at the 

1986 Cordilleran Geology and Exploration Roundup. 

Those involved in the Roundup’s founding recall two precipitating 

factors: the Chamber’s annual general meeting, which 

had been held for a number of years at the Hotel Vancouver, had 

become stale and tired, and declining attendances made it clear 

that a change was needed. While separate government geological 

survey open houses had been held in Ottawa, Victoria and 

Whitehorse for some time, these were poorly attended and didn’t 

convey current geological results to clients in a timely manner to 

help stimulate exploration investment. 

The concept of holding a large three-day industry convention 

in conjunction with the Chamber’s annual meeting – working 

with federal, provincial and territories agencies – occurred at 

an informal brainstorming session on a ferry trip to Victoria in 

February 1982. Those involved were Carter, Cathro and then- 

Chamber managing director Jack Patterson. Nothing happened 

immediately, but an action plan was devised at a meeting at the 

Queen Elizabeth Theatre restaurant in Vancouver in June 

1983. The meeting comprised representatives of the Chamber

as well as the B.C. Geological Survey and the Geological Survey 

of Canada. The federal department of Indian and Northern 

Affairs was also approached about Yukon participation in the 

proposed Roundup. 

As time passed, the idea gradually developed a life of its own 

under the co-chairmanship of Carter, Mike Beley, vice-president 

and CFO of Bema Gold, and Patterson, who coined it the Cordilleran 

Geology and Exploration Roundup. 

The fi rst Roundup was held at the Holiday Inn Harbourside 

(later the Renaissance Vancouver Hotel Harbourside) between 

Jan. 25 and 27, 1984. The new format combined the open houses 

of the geological surveys of Canada, B.C. and Yukon, with the 

usual Chamber exploration and policy sessions, and marked the 

introduction of the Core Shack – a current mainstay where new 

discoveries, leading prospects, advanced projects and operating 

mines from around the world are showcased. 

Jack Patterson, 

Chamber manager 

from 1980 to 1998. 

Photographs: AME BC Archives SPRING 2011 29

The 1980s alternated between optimism 

and grim pessimism. The decade 

began on a high note as reflected in 

then-president Mustard’s report to the 

Chamber’s 69th annual meeting in January 

1981. Optimism had returned to the 

industry after the turbulent decade of 

the 1970s, he said, and exciting times lay 

ahead for the country with its unlimited 

potential for energy development and its 

enormous bounty in natural resources. 

“With a value of over $32 billion [in 

1980], mineral output in Canada is at 

an all-time high. Metals were responsible 

for $9.7 billion in production, an 

increase of nearly 22 per cent over 1979. 

British Columbia retained its position as 

the third-largest producer of minerals in 

Canada, after Alberta and Ontario, with 

a value of $2.93 billion, compared with 

$2.95 billion in 1979, and the metals and 

coal sectors held their own with values 

of $1.41 billion and $467 million, respectively. 

In the Yukon Territory mineral 

values increased from $299 million to 

$303 million.” 

In prospecting and exploration, 1980 

had been by far the most energetic in the 

Chamber’s history. In British Columbia, 

$108 million had been spent in exploration, 

up from $60 million in 1979, and 

$81 million was spent on metals and $27 

million on coal exploration. The equivalent 

figures for Yukon were $36 million 

and $3 million, respectively, for a total of 

$39 million, against $27 million in 1979. 

“So in real dollar terms, exploration 

efforts had resumed the upward growth 

that had been terminated in the early 

1970s by disastrous government policies,” 

said Mustard. Mineral claims recorded in 

Yukon in 1980 – at 10,892 – were similar 

to 1979, but in British Columbia the number 

of mineral claim units recorded rose 

from 55,000 in 1979 to 72,621 in 1980. 

But what a difference two years made. 

By 1983, the industry had wiped the 

smile off its face. Early that year Cathro 

reported grimly: 

“It would be nice to be able to say that 

1982, my first year as president . . . was a 

good year for our industry. It wasn’t, of 

course. In fact, it came close to being an 

unmitigated disaster on both the economic 

and political fronts. 

“On the economic front, many sectors 

of our industry encountered the worst 

business conditions experienced since the 

1930s. In part, this was due to the severity 

of the recession. But it was also due to 

the fact that the business cycles of all of 

the industrialized areas of the world have 

become synchronized. The first became 

apparent in 1973/74 when the simultaneous 

booms in the industrialized world 

resulted in shortages and the appearance 

of spectacular prosperity for producers of 

mine products. In some cases, apparent 

shortages were exacerbated by production 

problems, fears regarding possible 

cartel action, inventory accumulation by 

consumers, and speculation. 

“Inevitably, the aftermath was equally 

spectacular. Consumption began to 

decline as all major economies weakened 

Passing of the torch: Past president Bob Cathro and 

incoming president Don Rotherham at the first Roundup, 1984. 

simultaneously, and in many cases demand 

collapsed as customers began to live on 

inventories. In most cases, the result was 

varying degrees of price weakness, a steep 

drop in shipments, and a massive transfer 

of inventories from consumers to producers 

and commodity exchange warehouses. 

The impact on the Canadian mining 

industry’s financial strength and profitability 

was, of course, profound. And 

in terms of the industry’s basic health, it 

is important to recognize that inflation 

made a mockery of financial statements 

prepared in the traditional way, and that 

real earnings were nowhere close to the 

figures being reported.” 

Cathro went on to tell his audience at 

the Chamber’s annual general meeting 

that, except for a substitution of names, 

what he had said so far was an exact quotation 

from the presidential address to 

the annual meeting of the Mining Association 

of Canada in February 1976 by 

Alfred Powis, then-president of Noranda 

Mines Limited. 

“His words,” said Cathro, “are as 

timely today as they were then, which is 

a vivid example of how poorly the Canadian 

mining industry has fared in the 

intervening seven years. Aside from brief 

price rallies in several metals, notably 

gold, silver, uranium and the ferroalloys 

molybdenum and tungsten, this period 

was marked by decreasing profitability 

within a shrinking Canadian industry. 

Although 1982 was a sudden and severe 

shock after a relatively prosperous 1981, 

it generally followed a downward trend 

that began 10 to 15 years earlier. Viewed 

in this wider historical perspective, 1982 

was only the worst shock yet in an ongoing 

series of bad tremors.” 

Cathro said every indicator of industry 

activity declined sharply during 

1982, following a severe drop in metal 

Photograph: AME BC Archives SPRING 2011 31

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prices early in the year caused by the worldwide economic recession. 

The effects on the capital-intensive mining industry were 

aggravated by double-digit inflation rates and unprecedented 

short-term interest rates. The results were disastrous, particularly 

for producers caught in the midst of capital projects or takeovers 

financed with floating-rate debt. “The impact was felt especially 

hard by base metal producers. By mid-year, approximately half 

the 130,000 mine production workers in Canada were affected 

by some type of layoff. For the first time in decades, the future 

of mining communities and even mining regions has been 

threatened. Only the lowest cost producers or those with a high 

precious metal content escaped the debacle. In short, the industry 

is drowning in red ink,” said Cathro. 

One of the most severely hit mining regions was northern British 

Columbia and Yukon, where only the Erickson and Scottie 

Gold Mines and the Granduc Copper Mine were still operating 

(the latter at a loss). The Cyprus Anvil, United Keno Hill, 

Whitehorse Copper, Cassiar Resources and Canada Tungsten 

Mines had closed temporarily or, in some cases, indefinitely or 

permanently in the past year. 

“During 1982, the Chamber counted no less than 15 multinational 

corporations that closed Vancouver offices and/or 

terminated their exploration efforts in this region. 

“This was unquestionably the worst year ever for the Vancouver

Clockwise from above: 

The Hon. Stephen 

Rogers, then-minister 

of Energy, Mines and 

Petroleum Resources, 

speaks at the first 

Cordilleran Geology and 

Exploration Roundup, 

1984; Andre Panteleyev 

(centre), then-proejct 

geologist with the B.C. 

Geological Survey, 

discusses the agency’s 

work in the Toodoggone 

at Roundup 1985; cover 

of the July/August 1981 

issue of Mining Review. 

exploration community. Other indicators 

such as [the] number of helicopters 

and drills working in the industry were 

also down substantially. Unemployed 

geologists registered with the Vancouver 

Manpower Office rose to 94 at the end of 

1982, compared to 18 a year earlier. The 

level of claim-staking dropped significantly 

in both British Columbia and Yukon.” 

Cathro said that, aside from the 

Northeast Coal Project and the expansion 

of the Westmin Mine at Myra Falls, 

no new mines would open in 1983 and 

none were currently under construction. 

The message wasn’t much more cheerful 

when then-Chamber president Don 

Rotherham presented his annual review in 

January 1985. He said the Chamber faced 

an estimated deficit of $15,000 for 1984. In 

addition, the organization was told not to 

expect to receive its annual $10,000 grant 

for 1985 from the Department of Indian 

Affairs and Northern Development. 

There were, however, some bright 

spots during 1984. Rotherham noted 

that a Chamber poll revealed that 

expenditures in the mining industry 

had increased the previous year. “Coal 

expenditures were almost double last year 

[than] what they had been in 1983, coming 

in at a total of $12 million. Majors 

were the biggest spenders, putting $30 

million into exploration efforts, followed 

by the juniors, who pumped $24 million 

into the economy. Oil and gas concerns 

spent $17 million, followed by coal. 

Terrace 

Bob Quinn 

Prince Rupert 

Shearwater 

The decade, however, ended on a note 

of considerable optimism. In his outlook 

for 1989, then-Chamber president Carter 

told Roundup delegates that while B.C.’s 

1987 record-high levels of exploration 

expenditures were not matched in 1988, 

most indicators were well above those of 

preceding years. 

“New discoveries, scheduled new 

mine openings and improved base metals 

prices point to a good year for the industry 

in ’89.” 

Mining 

Operations, 

Exploration, 

Drill Support 

AS350 

BH204 

BH206L 

BH206 

K-Max 

R44 

250-635-3245 

Photographs: AME BC Archives SPRING 2011 33

Promising future projects, Carter 

stated, were Skyline Resources’ Johnny 

Mountain gold mine in the Iskut River 

area of northwestern B.C.; the Golden 

Bear (North American Metals B.C.), 

west of Dease Lake; Snip (Cominco/ 

Delaware) in the Iskut River area; Gold 

Wedge (Catear Resources) at Sulphurets 

Creek; Silbak Premier Big Missouri 

(Westmin/PioneerI Canacord), north 

of Stewart; and Lawyers (Cheni gold) 

in the Toodoggone area. These projects 

were expected to increase by 50 per 

cent the province’s 1988 gold production 

and add to its annual silver production. 

It was also a good year for Yukon, Carter 

pointed out, attributing the past year’s 

increased mineral production to Curragh 

Resources’ Faro mine, where lead-zinc 

production was up 80 per cent over 1987 

levels. Another bright spot was placer 

gold production: at 1.6 million ounces, 17 

per cent higher than 1987 and the highest 

since 1917. 

Carter said the current high levels of 

exploration and new mine development 

in British Columbia and Yukon should 

continue through the next 12 months. A 

Sanford Woodside, an enthusiastic 

advocate of careers in mining. 

positive development was a resurgence 

of equity markets following a mixed year 

after the October 1987 market crash; 

another was the success of the new Canadian 

Exploration Incentive Program. 

The 1980s saw the retirement of 

Sanford Woodside, who had served the 

Chamber and the industry for 47 years. 

Mustard remarked: “Everyone who has 

ever visited the Chamber will remember 

Sanford for his cheerfulness and willingness 

to help with advice based on his long 

experience of the industry in the province. 

I was always particularly impressed 

with his encouragement for our young 

people who might be considering a career 

in mining and exploration.” � 

34 SPRING 2011 Photograph: AME BC Archives

A meandering journey – stations of the 

Toodoggone Tube Race as seen from the air. 

“I 

believe that emphasizing the 

importance of the people 

involved in the exploration 

industry in 1981 is what 

really distinguished that era as being 

both aggressive and successful,” says 

Tom Schroeter, president and CEO Fjordland 

Exploration Inc. In 1981, he was 

the district geologist for the Ministry of 

Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources 

based in Smithers and an enthusiastic 

advocate of the Toodoggone region of 

northern B.C. 

“I’m talking about the superior technical 

skills of all ages, as well as the social 

interaction amongst so-called competitive 

companies in the field. The best 

example was in the Toodoggone region 

and the Toodoggone Tube Race. 

“At start time, there were 100 participants 

and 100 spectators – what a hoot! 

Looking back at the pictures and names 

of participants and spectators involved, 

there were a lot of high-profile folks 

who have gone on to be leaders in our 

business. The moral of the story – the 

social aspect of our business was, and still 

is, an important part of what we do,” adds 

Schroeter. 

Recently Tom and Nick Carter, who 

in 1981 had just left the ministry to head 

up the minerals division of a start-up 

company, Great Western Petroleum 

Corp. (GWP), took a trip down memory 

lane. Via an email conversation, they 

recollected the geology, properties, 

friendships and fun of the Toodoggone 

around 1981. 

The following excerpts from their 

emails trace the highlights of what was 

then one of the hottest regions in B.C. 

Tom: 

So, leading up to 1981, the exploration 

sector continued its significant rebound 

from the dismal mid- to late ’70s. Exploration 

expenditures increased annually to 

$93 million in 1981. Why the increases? 

More second-stage, detailed exploration 

programs; feel-good attitude provided 

Work 

hard, 

play 

hard 

FRIENDS OF THE 

TOODOGGONE 

FONDLY RECALL 

THE SUMMER OF ’81 

BY CHRISTINE OGRYZLO 

by the construction of new mines; claimstaking 

and the number of Free Miner 

Certificates were both up by over 30 

per cent; higher gold and moly prices; 

regional geochemical sampling surveys 

done annually by the government; the 

Provincial Prospectors Assistance Program; 

provincial funding for [building] 

Roads to Resources and the beginning 

of funding for mineral deposit and landuse 

studies. 

In 1978, the ministry sponsored 

Nick, Andre Panteleyev (B.C. Geological 

Survey project geologist, Victoria) 

and myself on a six-day tour of specific 

mineral deposits in Colorado. Through 

our literature researches and field studies, 

we considered that the Toodoggone 

region might have all the characteristics 

of some important mineral 

deposit settings in Colorado – principally, 

volcanic-hosted epithermal gold and 

silver deposits. 

Between 1980 and 1983 in the 

Toodoggone, there was a staking rush for 

Photograph: Tom Schroeter SPRING 2011 35

precious metals, in good part due to the 

promotion of opportunities by the ministry, 

as a direct result of the Colorado 

mission. The recognition and documentation 

of the potential for this area led 

to this resurgence of activities and the 

search for new epithermal precious metals 

deposits (one of the first modern ones 

in B.C. at the time). 

Tom and Nick: 

The key properties attracting attention 

at that time included: 

Chappelle (Baker): Mined between 

› 1980 and 1983 by DuPont; property 

optioned to Multinational Resources 

in 1985, Nick, along with Gerry 

Auger, supervises the exploration program 

over next three years which is 

successful in defining resources in B 

Vein which is subsequently mined by 

Sable Resources several years later; 

Lawyers: Exploration by Serem 

› between 1979 and 1989, and mined in 

1989-1992; 

Al: Exploration by Energex between 

› 1979 and 1988, with custom mining/ 

milling performed at Lawyers mill 

in 1991; 

Ready, set. The start line of the First Annual Toodoggone Tube Race. 

› Shasta: Exploration by Newmont in 

the mid-’80s and later mining with 

milling at Baker mine in 1989-2000 

and 2005-present (Sable Resources); 

› Brenda: Silver Pond (initially GWP 

and optioned to St. Joe); 

› JD: Initially explored by Texasgulf and 

later by Energex and AGC Americas 

Gold in the mid-’90s; 

› Moosehorn, Mt.Graves and Spartan 

properties: Mineralization was first 

recognized by GWP and subsequently 

optioned to Cyprus who carried out 

extensive work in the mid- to late ’80s. 

Tom: 

This exploration/mining activity in the 

early 1980s was the first fly-in/fly-out 

operation in B.C.! 

The ministry also initiated and brokered 

the production of the first topographical 

maps for the area through a 

government/industry contract with Burnette 

Surveys of Burnaby (on an equal 

cost-sharing basis). 

The interaction and importance of the 

ministry with the exploration/mining 

industry, especially in the late ’70s to early 

’80s was pivotal to the emergence of this 

36 SPRING 2011 Photograph: Tom Schroeter

camp. I’m talking about all the individuals 

working in the area at the time. The best 

example is the Friends of the Toodoggone. 

Joan Carne with Serem coined the 

term, and Louise Eccles (working with 

Nick’s Great Western Petroleum in 1981) 

designed the T-shirt for the fi rst annual 

Toodoggone Tube Race. 

Nick: 

Early in the spring of 1981, Joan Carne 

(then in charge of Serem’s operations 

on the Lawyers property) initiated the 

formation of Friends of the Toodoggone 

which included representatives of all 

companies active in the area. The objective 

of this informal organization was to 

explore ways to share operating costs 

(charter flights, helicopter transport, 

etc.) in this remote area and one early 

initiative was the preparation of detailed 

topographic maps that could be used by 

all participants. 

And the Friends of the Toodoggone 

also provided the impetus for a midsummer 

crew break in the form of an 

inner tube race down the Toodoggone 

River (entirely on GWP claims!). Participants 

from all companies active in the 

Tom Schroeter, Nick 

Carter, and Michael 

Carr celebrating the 

success of the tube race 

(left); nearly 30 years 

later Don Rotherham, 

Henry Neugebauer, Tom 

Schroeter, and Nick Carter 

at the AME BC Old Timers 

Luncheon (below). 

Photograph: Courtesy of Tom Schroeter; Jon Benjamin Photography/AME BC SPRING 2011 37

immediate area were expected – what was not initially expected 

was the involvement of exploration crews from essentially all 

over northern B.C., all of whom arrived by helicopter at the 

temporary campsite along the river. 

Tom: 

Aug. 31, 1981 was the First Annual Toodoggone Tube Race. It 

was on located on the Toodoggone River and in the next large 

valley to the east of the Sturdee River valley and existing airstrip 

(i.e. helicopter access only.) The idea for such a race was 

conceived by me and quickly embraced by all local explorationists. 

What else was there to look forward to in this extremely 

remote area of the province? Planning started in June. 

Nick: 

The original inner tube race was along the central stretch of the 

Toodoggone River, about midway between Toodoggone Lake 

and the river headwaters to the west. The name Toodoggone, a 

variation of the original name Thucatade, applied to both lake 

and river. This and other names are attributed to the journals 

of Samuel Black, an employee of the Northwest Company and 

one of the first men to travel from Fort St. John via Finlay River 

to the site of Telegraph Creek on the Stikine River (and back!) 

in 1824. 

Tom: 

The details of the adventure: two kilometres along the river; 

three persons per inner tube; points awarded for 16 separate 

“events” that occurred during the race – with the largest 

Louise Eccles’ T-shirt design for Friends of the Toodoggone. 

38 SPRING 2011 Photograph: Courtesy of Tom Schroeter

percentage being for finishing first, 

second, etc. But you could theoretically 

still win by skipping some of the events 

along the way and finishing high up at 

the finish line. 

As it turned out, there was a threeteam 

tie after the first 15 events. The final 

event, a one-minute team-performed 

theme song about the Toodoggone area, 

was the tie-breaker. This final event was 

terrific – one group even used a kazoo. 

Two of the other events that deserve 

mentioning were: 

1. Costumes: Each team dressed up (or 

down), with the winner being the Mud 

Men wearing nothing but a mud coating. 

Yes, it quickly washed away upon 

hitting the water, meaning shrinkage 

in the frigid Toodoggone waters. 

2. Bear Attack: We rented a bear costume 

in Vancouver, had it flown in, and 

the person dressed in the suit (Brian 

Bogdanovich with Bema Industries, the 

key supplier to the camp) hid in the buckbrush 

along the side of the Toodoggone 

River and popped up and “attacked” 

the front-runners in the tube race (to 

provide a little more challenge). This 

was very successful and entertaining, 

including the respective teams occasionally 

ripping off the suit and exposing 

the bear (as in bare-naked!). 

For the day or two leading up to the 

actual race day, three fixed-wing aircraft 

(DC-3, Cariboo and Hercules) and 

eight helicopters ferried people into the 

Toodoggone area from every direction 

within a 300-km radius. This was 

a big event. The word had certainly 

got around, especially via the good old 

4441 radio channel. People set up camps 

alongside the Toodoggone River; others 

arrived that morning of the race via 

helicopter from their various base camps 

in the Toodoggone. Enough for now – 

chance for Nick to weigh in. 

Nick: 

I recall arriving at the site the morning of 

the race (a beautiful day by the way) with 

the entire GWP crew (which included 

my then-17-year-old daughter) and John 

Lund who was representing our jointventure 

partner E & B Explorations and 

planned to undertake a project examination 

in the two days following the 

“break”. While setting up my small tent, 

an amazing, low-level fly-by took place 

involving PWA’s Hercules, a DC-3 and 

assorted other fixed and rotary winged 

aircraft. It was almost surreal. 

The day after the race and evening 

celebrations, the various crews straggled 

back to their nearby and far-flung camps. 

One of the participants in the festivities 

included our claim-staker Gerry Auger 

who had some loose plans to investigate 

nearby placer gold occurrences while in 

the area. He was not particularly wellprepared 

– upon arriving back at our 

camp, my daughter relayed a message 

from Gerry to me that he needed, in no 

particular order, a shovel, a helicopter 

and dinner. � 

On that humourous note, Nick and Tom’s 

trip down memory lane ends. But it doesn’t 

really ever end because many of the people 

and events they recalled for this edition of 

Mineral Exploration are still remembered 

wherever geologists and prospectors gather. 

For instance, at the annual fall golf tournament 

hosted by Smithers Exploration Group 

the Gerry Auger Trophy is presented to the 

golfer who had the most fun that day. And 

that’s what it’s all about. 


Go-getters 

win accolades 

AME BC HONOURS EXCEPTIONAL VISION AND HARD WORK 

BY ED KIMURA AND JONATHAN BUCHANAN 

The Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia presented its awards at its annual gala 

on Jan. 26, 2011, at The Westin Bayshore, Vancouver, during Mineral Exploration Roundup. 

H.H. “Spud” Huestis Award 

WINNERS: David Moore and 

Myron Osatenko 

David Moore and Myron Osatenko of 

Serengeti Resources Inc. are the recipients 

of the 2010 H.H. “Spud” Huestis 

Award for excellence in prospecting and 

mineral exploration. They are recognized 

for their technical skills in co-ordinating 

an effective exploration program and 

interpreting geological, geophysical 

and geochemical information to identify 

and define a drill target that led 

to the blind discovery of the Kwanika 

copper-gold porphyry deposit in the 

highly prospective Quesnel Trough of 

north-central British Columbia. More 

specifically, in the early-stage exploration 

on the property, it was their recognition 

of the favourable alteration features characteristic 

of alkalic copper-gold porphyry 

systems in the initial drill holes that was 

critical for the decision to continue with 

follow-up drilling. The follow-up discovery 

drill hole for the Central Zone 

of the Kwanika deposit was drilled in 

December 2006; this hole returned a 

significant 111-metre intersection grading 

0.69 per cent copper and 0.54 grades 

per tonnes gold. Over the next two years, 

a major 55,000-metre drilling program 

in 123 holes was completed to delineate 

the Central Zone. In March 2009, an NI 

43-101 resource estimate for this zone 

evaluated an indicated resource of 183 

million tonnes grading 0.29 per cent 

copper and 0.28 g/t gold. 

Following the discovery of the Central 

Zone, property exploration continued, 

and in May 2008, the company reported 

the discovery of the copper-gold-molybdenum-bearing 

South Zone in an area 

one kilometre southeast of the Central 

Zone and approximately 750 metres 

north of the historic Kwanika Creek 

copper deposit. Further exploration has 

now identified a system of higher grade 

structures along the west side of the 

South Zone. 

The largely overburden-covered 

Kwanika property presents many geological 

challenges for exploration. Whereas 

many earlier explorers in this camp were 

David Moore and Myron Osatenko 

disappointed in their endeavours to 

strike the big one, Moore and Osatenko 

co-ordinated well-planned exploration 

programs on tight shoestring budgets 

with a dedicated hands-on approach to 

exploration. Their tenacity and perseverance 

to systematically evaluate the 

property potential were the critical factors 

in achieving their objectives. Their 

important breakthrough in the program 

was recognizing the favourable alteration 

phases in drill core and understanding 

the spatial development of these phases 

in relationship to associated sulphide 

mineralization in order to advance the 

drill program. They were rewarded with 

the discovery of two significant coppergold 

porphyry deposits. 

Photograph: Serengeti Resources Inc. SPRING 2011 41

E.A. Scholz Award 

WINNERS: John McManus and 

Robert Rotzinger 

John McManus, vice-president of operations 

for Taseko Mines Limited, and 

Robert Rotzinger, senior operational 

manager, Taseko, are the recipients of the 

2010 E.A. Scholz Award for excellence in 

mine development. They are acknowledged 

for their leadership and technical 

co-ordination of the Gibraltar mine 

expansion program by initially recognizing 

the potential upside to expanding 

the deposit resources, planning and 

undertaking exploration drilling and 

engineering studies, and scheduling the 

two-phase construction program to successfully 

complete the project on schedule 

and on budget. 

The Gibraltar open-pit coppermolybdenum 

mine, 65 kilometres 

northeast of Williams Lake, B.C., was 

originally developed in 1971 with a 

milling rate of 36,750 tons(short) per 

day (tpd). Taseko acquired Gibraltar in 

1999 at a time when the mine operation 

was suspended due to low copper prices. 

With an improved copper price and with 

Rotzinger focused on improving mine 

productivity and cost reduction, Taseko 

reopened the mine in October 2004. 

McManus joined Taseko in 2005, and 

his main challenge was to transform the 

mine from a swing producer, operating 

when prices were high and closing when 

prices were low, to a profi table, low-cost 

operation that could continue successfully 

through the cyclical and fl uctuating 

trend of copper prices. Based on a strategy 

to evaluate all phases of the mine 

operation, mining cost projections and 

copper market forecasts, it was initially 

determined that there was a potential to 

expand the deposit resources, especially 

to depth. A major three-year drilling 

program resulted in a signifi cant increase 

in mine reserves. As drilling was defi ning 

the reserves, the team led by McManus 

and Rotzinger co-ordinated and guided 

the two-phase feasibility study for mine 

expansion. Phase 1 commenced in March 

2006 to increase throughput from 36,750 

tpd to 46,000 tpd; and Phase 2 commenced 

in May 2007 to increase capacity 

from 46,000 tpd to 55,000 tpd. One of 

the main challenges for the expansion 

program was to co-ordinate construction 

John McManus and Robert Rotzinger 

and new equipment installation schedules 

while continuing to operate the mine and 

concentrator. The global economic crisis 

in late 2008, escalating construction 

costs, and delays in new equipment deliveries 

were additional challenges. 

The Gibraltar expansion project was 

completed in late fall 2010 with an investment 

of nearly $350 million. McManus 

and Rotzinger have co-ordinated and 

guided the complex project from initial 

evaluation studies to fi nal construction 

phases to transform the aging Gibraltar 

mine from a swing producer to a modern 

large-scale sustainable operation. 


Murray Pezim Award 

WINNER: Cal Everett 

Cal Everett is the recipient of the 2010 

Murray Pezim Award for perseverance 

and success in mining and exploration 

financing. Currently with Axemen 

Resource Capital, a firm he co-founded, 

Everett employs a no-nonsense, scientific 

approach to resource company analysis. 

His effort to finance quality companies 

and projects reaches around the globe, 

and he has directly raised over $500 

million and has participated in over $1 

billion in equity financings since 2004. 

Everett has a solid foundation in the 

fields of geology and finance, providing 

him with a clear understanding of both 

technical and funding components of the 

mineral exploration and mining business. 

Projects ranging from early discovery 

exploration to production have been 

financed by him and his clients. Like the 

award namesake Murray Pezim, Everett 

has created wealth for others by providing 

capital to projects when others would 

or could not. 

Everett began his career as a geologist 

with senior mining companies, working on 

Cal Everett 

mesothermal and epithermal gold, 

porphyry-diatreme gold, porphyry 

copper-gold, porphyry molybdenum, 

volcanogenic massive sulphide, sedex 

lead-zinc and uranium systems throughout 

North America. In 1990, he took the 

chance to pursue an opportunity in the 

financial world which led to 12 years of 

effort on resource equities with BMO 

Nesbitt Burns and seven years in senior 

resource institutional sales at PI Financial 

Corp. His work is now focused with 

Axemen Resource Capital on early-stage 

financing of low market capitalization 

exploration companies as well as preproduction 

debt and equity financings. 

His firm is enhanced with direct company 

consulting and advisory services 

– testament to Everett’s dedication to 

mentor and enable his colleagues. 

The combination of hard work, natural 

abilities and a history of frontline 

experience in both the geological and 

financial fields has culminated in the 

remarkable success story of Everett’s 

career – a story that is far from over. 

Hugo Dummett Diamond Award 

WINNERS: Brooke Clements, 

Robert Lucas and 

Pierre Bertrand 

The Hugo Dummett Diamond Award 

for excellence in diamond exploration 

and development was created to honour 

those who have made a significant contribution 

to diamond exploration, diamond 

technology, the diamond discovery process 

or diamond mine development. 

The 2010 Hugo Dummett Diamond 

Award is presented to Brooke Clements, 

Robert Lucas and Pierre Bertrand, who 

were the key members of the Ashton 

Mining of Canada Inc. and Soquem 

exploration team whose perseverance 

Photograph: Brian Dennehy/AME BC SPRING 2011 43

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44 SPRING 2011

The Ashton/Soquem team in action. 

resulted in discovering the diamondiferous 

Renard kimberlite cluster in Quebec 

in 2001. Clements, the former vice-president 

of exploration for Ashton (and now 

president of Peregrine Diamonds Ltd.), 

and Lucas (now a consulting geologist 

active in diamond exploration) led Ashton’s 

team. Bertrand, now the directeur 

général of Soquem, was the vice-president 

of exploration at Soquem at the time 

of the discovery. 

These three gentlemen were important 

advocates for the project through 

all stages from the original concept by 

Ashton to the joint venture in 1996 that 

initiated kimberlite indicator mineral 

sampling over 25 per cent of Quebec. 

Exploration of anomalies followed, with 

the ultimate staking of the Foxtrot property 

in 2000. The following year, the 

Renard kimberlites were discovered in 

three drill holes that are currently the 

backbone of the mine plans. The willingness 

of Clements, Lucas and Bertrand to 

get their hands dirty at the working end 

of a shovel, collecting and field-screening 

large indicator mineral samples, and to 

think outside the box were key in the 

advancement of this project. 

Quebec has always been a challenge 

for diamond explorers due to the large 

volumes of complex heavy mineral concentrates. 

In addition, the Renards are 

atypical kimberlites, differing in mineralogical 

composition and indicator mineral 

abundance from many other kimberlites, 

with an unusually coarse diamond distribution. 

The discovery team was able to 

persevere through these challenges and 

look through geological and mineralogical 

differences to develop atypical 

methods to explore and assess the economic 

potential of this project. 

In 2007, Ashton was fully acquired by 

Stornoway Diamond Corporation and 

the 50/50 joint venture with Soquem continues 

to advance the Renard diamond 

mine to production. 

The Renard project has recently 

demonstrated the potential to produce 

approximately 30 million carats of diamonds 

over a 25-year mine life based on 

currently defined NI 43-101 indicated and 

inferred resources and is poised to become 

Quebec’s first diamond mine. The project 

has progressed to underground development 

and collection of a 10,000-tonne 

bulk sample as well as the commissioning 

of a 10-tonne-per-hour dense media 

separation plant. Clements, Lucas and 

Bertrand, as leaders of the exploration 

team that discovered the Renard kimberlite 

cluster and advanced the discovery to 

the pre-feasibility evaluation stage, are 

fitting recipients of the 2010 Hugo Dummett 

Diamond Award. 

Colin Spence Award 

WINNERS: David Adamson, 

Matthew Wunder, 

Ian Russell, 

Terry Bursey and 

Crystal McCullough 

(The Rubicon Team) 

David Adamson, Matthew Wunder, 

Ian Russell, Terry Bursey, and Crystal 

McCullough (née Hoffe) (The Rubicon 

Team) of Rubicon Minerals Corporation 

are awarded the 2010 Colin Spence 

Award for excellence in global mineral 

exploration. They are acknowledged 

for their technical expertise and perseverance 

in evaluating and recognizing 

favourable lithologic and structural 

elements, and then applying the Red 

Lake deposit model within the geologic 

framework of the Phoenix Gold Project 

in the Red Lake Gold Camp to define the 

potential target that led to the discovery 

of the high-grade F2 Gold Zone. 

The mines around Red Lake in 

northwestern Ontario have produced 

over 24 million ounces of gold since 1927, 

Reinforce 

Conversations 

from 

Photograph: photo submitted by award recipients SPRING 2011 45 

in 

Summer 2011 

Buyers’ Guide 

Fall 2011 

Strategic Metals 

Winter 2011 

Spring 2012 

2011 

100 

Deadlines middle of 

April, July, October, 

December 

Please call 

Lee Caldwell 

Alexander Sugden 

604.299.7311 

mineralexploration@canadawide.com

The Rubicon Team 

on the property; and 

commissioned detailed 

ground and helicopter-borne 

magnetic 

surveys, grid and shoreline 

geological mapping, 

excavation, and mapping 

and sampling of 

several large trenches, as 

well as seismic surveys. 

This groundwork led 

to an understanding of 

stratigraphy, structure 

and the Rubicon Team clearly has seen and mineralization for conceptualizing a 

the potential for new areas of produc- credible geological model. 

tion within the camp, acquiring 65,000 Exploration progressed steadily over 

acres (about 26,00 hectares) of mineral the following six years, and on Feb. 27, 

tenure. Rubicon acquired the Phoenix 2008, Rubicon made the discovery of the 

Gold Project in 2002, but the treasure F2 high-grade gold zone with discov- 

hunt began in Red Lake in 1996 with ery hole F2-01, which intersected thick 

the recognition of favourable, previ- gold-bearing zones that returned up to 

ously unrecognized geology and the 6.8 g/t gold over 11.0 metres as well as 

application of mapping and extensive litho- higher grade intervals that returned up 

geochemistry to unravel both the complex to 34.6 g/t gold over 2.0 metres, 11.6 g/t 

lithological and alteration “puzzles” in the over 2.9 metres, and 9.1 g/t gold over 3.0 

camp. After the Phoenix Gold Project metres. The discovery of this zone led to 

was acquired, the team aggressively digi- a changed focus and the drilling of 237 

tized old exploration data; catalogued and holes in the F2 Gold System between 

re-boxed a significant volume of core the date of discovery and July 31, 2010. 

Follow-up exploration drilling from 

surface and underground workings has 

now defined an inferred resource of 6.2 

million tonnes grading 20.1 g/t gold. 

The Rubicon Team expects the inferred 

resource may be a small part of the overall 

potential of the F2 Gold Zone, and 

lead to a new chapter in the production 

history of the Red Lake Gold Camp. 

In summary, the discovery of F2 

Gold Zone at Phoenix is testament to the 

persistence of exploration through various 

markets; the willingness to include 

and adapt to new geological information, 

particularly coming largely from the Red 

Lake Mine; and also to challenge existing 

“conceptual locks” to open up new 

potential in the camp. 

David Barr Award 

WINNER: Harvey Tremblay 

Harvey Tremblay is presented with 

the David Barr Award for excellence in 

leadership and innovation in mineral 

exploration health and safety, and in particular 

for his dedication to health and 

safety in the diamond drilling industry. 

Tremblay founded Hy-Tech Drilling 

46 SPRING 2011 Photograph: Rubicon Minerals Corporation

Harvey Tremblay 

in Smithers, B.C., in 1991, and Tremblay 

has grown the operation from a single drill 

to a fl eet of 25 drills operating throughout 

Western Canada and Europe. Hy-Tech 

has developed safe, innovative drilling 

programs in the challenging terrain of 

British Columbia and has been a partner 

with Northwest Community College in 

the Surface Diamond Driller’s Helper 

program since 2005. This industry-education 

partnership equips students with 

the skills required to work safely in a challenging 

environment. 

Hy-Tech is ISO 9002 and ISO 9001- 

2000 Quality System certifi ed, and runs 

programs that include dry camps, weekly 

safety meetings and a work-safe training 

program. However, Tremblay’s success 

with Hy-tech is also attributable to 

the knowledge that drill contracting is 

not just about the tools, but the people. 

Hy-Tech trains and hires personnel who 

view drilling as a career, recognize the 

physical and emotional requirements of 

the profession, and are resourceful to 

contend with the variables that occur 

on the job. Hy-Tech’s innovations and 

philosophy have enabled several mineral 

exploration companies to have incidentfree 

seasons to ensure that the mineral 

exploration sector is safe. 

In 2004, Redfern Resources Ltd., 

for example, received the association’s 

Annual Safety Award (now the Safe Day 

Everyday Gold Award) for a record made 

possible with Hy-Tech’s lost-time-incident-free 

record as drilling contractor. 

Tremblay has been a director of AME 

BC since 2007 as the representative for 

northwestern B.C. He also chairs the 

Western Safety Group of the Canadian 

Diamond Drilling Association. 

Robert R. Hedley Award 

WINNER: Ian Thomson 

Ian Thomson is the recipient of the 2010 

Robert R. Hedley Award for excellence 

in social and environmental responsibility. 

He is acknowledged for realizing the 

importance of establishing a meaningful 

and workable process for integrating 

social, environmental and economic 

components in successfully developing 

resource properties into sustainable and 

productive operations. 

Thomson has been involved in mineral 

exploration, mine development and 

research, both nationally and internationally, 

for over 30 years. He personally 

observed and noted the state of neglect 

and imbalance in priorities related to 

socio-economic, environmental and 

ethical responsibilities for operating in 

many jurisdictions. He strongly felt that 

various stakeholders’ values and social 

needs deserved to be more fully respected 

and considered. In drawing attention 

to these issues, Thomson committed 

to actively participate in developing 

programs in capacity building, communications, 

public consultations, liaisons 

with special interest groups, management 

of resettlement, and creation of 

effective community development 

programs. He has collaborated with 

communities, consulted with specialists, 

and has been at the leading edge 

of managing sustainable issues and 

initiatives related to the mining industry’s 

position in corporate social responsibility. 

Thomson was closely involved as a 

co-ordinating team member of Mining, 

Minerals and Sustainable Development 

North America on a global research 

project related to assessing mining and 

mineral use in terms of transition to 

sustainable development. He was also a 

member of the Prospectors and Developers 

Association of Canada team that 

Ian Thomson 

Photographs: Hy-Tech Drilling; Brian Dennehy/AME BC SPRING 2011 47

developed the social components of 

the e3 (environmental excellence in 

exploration) best practices instrument. 

Thomson is also a founding member 

of On Common Ground Consultants, 

an international company that specializes 

in the management of social issues 

in resource industries with a focus on 

mining. He brings a depth of industry 

knowledge to this company to tackle new 

challenges with an element of calculated 

risk-taking to break new ground in the 

field of sustainable development and corporate 

social responsibility. 

Frank Woodside Past Presidents 

Distinguished Service Award 

The past presidents of AME BC have recognized 

four individuals with the Frank 

Woodside Past Presidents Distinguished 

Service Award for 2010: Don Coates, 

the late Chuck Davis, Chris Graf and 

Bill Meyer. 

Don Coates 

Don Coates is one of those pioneer 

Cordilleran drill contractors who gave 

strong support to the association. Born 

in Hamilton in 1928, in 1950 he enrolled 

in mining engineering at the University 

of Toronto, from which he received his 

bachelor’s degree. He began his career 

in mineral exploration in 1954, working 

for Murdock Mosher, Karl Springer and 

F.M. Connell. 

Don Coates 

Wishing to have some family life, he left 

exploration and joined Midwest Diamond 

Drilling in Winnipeg. After six 

long winters, he moved to the more temperate 

Vancouver in 1968 and formed 

the Coates Drilling Company in 1969. 

The company was very successful, partly 

because of the bonus and profit-sharing 

policies that enabled him to retain his 

experienced drill crews. Local diamond 

drilling firms such as Coates Drilling 

acquired a reputation for excellent performance 

and knowledge about local 

rock and field conditions. 

Coates has been a financial supporter 

of AME BC initiatives over the years, and 

was also a legendary hockey player in the 

early morning exploration league at the 

University of British Columbia, starting 

in 1987. He was also a frequent member of 

western teams in the annual Teck national 

game at the PDAC annual convention. 

Chuck Davis 

The late Chuck Davis has been honoured 

for his enthusiasm in researching and 

telling the history of AME BC in preparation 

for the association’s upcoming 

centennial in 2012. 

When the NBC television network 

wanted to do some background features 

on Vancouver in the run-up to the 2010 

Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, 

they were told to go see one man – Chuck 

Davis. Davis wrote over a dozen books 

on Vancouver over the span of 40 years, 

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Chuck Davis 

and in early 2009, he was commissioned 

to write the history of AME BC for its 

upcoming 100th anniversary in 2012. 

Davis quickly delved into the project 

with his trademark enthusiasm, 

methodically researching and uncovering 

nuggets to weave captivating tales. 

He immediately developed a passion 

for learning about the history of the 

association and mineral exploration and 

development. In his conversations with 

members, Davis uncovered an apt title 

for the project: Busting Rocks. 

Although Davis was diagnosed with 

terminal cancer in the summer of 2010, 

he continued to work on the book with 

the support of writer Jim Lyon in the 

ensuing months. During the fall, the past 

presidents presented Davis with the Frank 

Woodside Past Presidents Distinguished 

Service Award in a small ceremony. 

Shortly before his passing, Davis was also 

recognized by his peers in the writing 

community with the George Woodcock 

Lifetime Achievement Award for his literary 

contributions to B.C. The City of 

Vancouver also proclaimed Oct. 8, 2010, 

as Chuck Davis Day in his honour. 

Chuck passed away on Nov. 20, 2010, 

at the age of 75. 

Chris Graf 

Chris Graf , P.Eng., is honoured for his 

support of AME BC, which stems from 

his unwavering support for mineral 

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exploration in British Columbia. His 

convictions regarding B.C.’s mineral 

wealth are well-founded. Graf was born 

in Cranbrook and received his Bachelor 

of Applied Science in geological engineering 

in 1974 from UBC. Following 

graduation, Graf started freelance mineral 

exploration work, developing and 

conducting exploration projects in B.C. 

for several mining company clients, notably 

Rio Algom under the guidance of the 

late Colin Spence. In 1987, he formed 

the public mineral exploration company 

Sulphurets Gold Corporation, which 

discovered the Kerr porphyry coppergold 

deposit in northwestern B.C. This 

property is now part of the KSM project 

owned by Seabridge Gold. 

Although many companies reduced 

their exploration efforts in B.C. in the 

1990s and early 2000s, a challenging 

time for mineral exploration in the province, 

Graf was persistent at exploring at 

home and aiding the association’s advocacy 

efforts. Graf served on the Board 

of Directors, Land Use Committee 

and Aboriginal Relations Committee. 

Meanwhile, his company Ecstall Mining 

Corporation discovered the Akie sedex 

barite-lead-zinc-silver deposit in the 

Rocky Mountains of northern B.C. in 

1994. His interest in B.C. remains strong, 

and in 2008, his company Spectrum 

Mining Corporation, discovered the 

Wicheeda rare earth deposit near Prince 

George and the Rock Canyon Creek rare 

earth-fluorite deposit near Cranbrook. 

Bill Meyer 

William Meyer, P.Eng., is recognized 

for his significant contributions to AME 

BC and the mineral exploration industry 

over a span of nearly 50 years. Born in 

Grand Forks, his first job in the mineral 

exploration business, while still in high 

school, was line cutting on a property 

near Greenwood. He graduated from 

UBC with a B.Sc. in geology in 1962 

and then joined Phelps Dodge Corporation 

of Canada, which at the time was a 

prominent player in the Western Canada 

exploration scene. He was involved 

in the early development of the Gibraltar 

copper mine on behalf of Gibraltar 

Mines Ltd., the then-VSE-listed junior 

company that owned part of the deposit. 

He later became a partner in the consulting 

firm W. Meyer & Associates Ltd. He 

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joined Teck Exploration Ltd. in 1979 as 

exploration manager for Western Canada 

and the United States. In 1991, he 

was appointed vice-president, exploration, 

for Teck Corporation. 

Meyer’s 20-year career with Teck coincided 

with a period of significant growth 

for the company, which included the 

development of Highmont and Hemlo 

metal mines in addition to several coal 

ventures such as Bullmoose. He was also 

instrumental in the discovery of the Pogo 

deposit in Alaska. He became a good friend 

ISSUES THEMES SPACE CLOSE 

Summer 2011 Buyers’ Guide April 15, 2011 

Fall 2011 Strategic Metals July 16, 2011 

Winter 2011/12 October 21, 2011 

Spring 2012 December 10, 2011 

CONTACT 

Photograph: photo submitted by award recipient SPRING 2011 51 

100 

2011

of the junior mining exploration sector by 

way of structuring a great number of innovative 

private placement financing deals 

with various junior companies. He always 

subscribed to the Teck philosophy that 

there is only one type of good deal – one 

that is good for both parties. 

Meyer was also highly supportive of 

AME BC, and served on the Honourary 

Advisory Board. Teck’s participation 

in AME BC activities to this day is very 

much due to Meyer’s interest and commitment 

to the organization. 

Gold Pan Award 

WINNER: John Murray 

The Gold Pan Award for significant 

contributions to the mineral exploration 

community through service to AME BC 

is awarded to John Murray. A graduate of 

the Haileybury School of Mines and of 

the University of Manitoba, John worked 

for Inco, Willroy Mines and Goldbelt 

Mines before venturing into consulting. 

Murray has contributed significantly 

to AME BC’s work on many levels. He 

first joined the AME BC Board in 1999, 

and currently serves as a member of 

the Executive, Communications Committee, 

Land Use Committee, Mineral 

Exploration Editorial Board, and 

Commemorative Book Task Group. He 

has also contributed to the work of the 

Mining & Securities Laws Committee 

and the First Nations & Community 

Relations Committee. This devotion to 

voluntary service is reflected as well in 

his active role in various other industry 

organizations and community life. 

He is a member and past president 

of both the Nelson & District Chamber 

of Commerce and the Chamber of 

Mines of Eastern BC. He has served as 

president of the Kirkland Lake branch 

of the Canadian Institute of Mining, 

Metallurgy and Petroleum, and he is a 

former City of Nelson councillor. He is 

a fellow and governor of the BC Chamber 

of Commerce, where he served seven 

years as a director and continues to sit 

on the Policy Committee, bringing the 

concerns and interests of the mineral 

exploration and mining sector to the 

table. In October 2007, the Association of 

Professional Engineers and Geoscientists 

of BC presented Murray with their primary 

award for professional geoscience, 

John Murray 

the Christopher J. Westerman Memorial 

Award, which is “made to a geoscientist 

who, through activity in professional 

affairs and participation in community 

activities, has exhibited the high levels 

of dedication and integrity which characterize 

the geoscience profession at its 

best.” Also in 2007, the past presidents 

of AME BC recognized Murray’s service 

with the Frank Woodside Past Presidents 

Distinguished Service Award. � 

For more details about the awards, visit 

www.amebc.ca/about-us/awards.aspx. 


CAMPS OF FAME 

BY ED KIMURA 

A 

major milestone in the development of British Columbia’s 

northeast coal resources was achieved on 

Jan. 23, 1981 with the announcement of agreements 

whereby a consortium of 12 Japanese companies 

would purchase 94 million tons(short) of metallurgical coal 

and 16 million tons of thermal coal over a 15-year period commencing 

in October 1983. The announcement triggered the 

co-ordination of the largest industrial development and construction 

project in B.C. history. The project would involve 

the construction of Denison Mines’ Quintette and Teck Corporation’s 

Bullmoose open-pit coal mines. The federal and B.C. 

governments committed to fund the construction and development 

of various phases of the project, including construction 

of Tumbler Ridge townsite to accommodate the projected 

Representatives of Denison Mines, Teck 

Corporation, the Government of B.C. and the 

Japanese steel industry sign the Northeast 

Coal Development agreement, 1981. 

RISING PRICES FUEL 

REGIONAL REVITALIZATION 

HOPES 

workforce, constructing a 127-km power line and highway 

system to the mines and Tumbler Ridge, constructing and 

upgrading the railway and related infrastructure to transport 

coal from the mine sites to tidewater, and developing the proposed 

Ridley Island coal-handling facilities at Prince Rupert. 

The two mining companies and the Japanese consortium were 

negotiating the base price for coal at about $76 per ton. 

For the then-Social Credit provincial government, under 

the leadership of Bill Bennett, the grand scheme of this huge 

project was also visualized as the dawn of a new era for opening 

and developing northern British Columbia. Providing access 

and infrastructure would improve the logistics for developing 

potentially new mining, forestry, oil and gas ventures and their 

spin-off businesses. 

Photograph: Don Philips/Tumbler Ridge Museum Foundation SPRING 2011 53

The coal occurrences in the Peace 

River region of B.C. have been known 

for more than two centuries as the original 

discovery was made in 1793. The 

coal seams occur principally in the complexly 

folded and thrust-faulted Lower 

Cretaceous sedimentary sequences of 

the Gething and Gates formations. This 

belt extends for 400 kilometres along the 

northwesterly trending foothills of the 

Rocky Mountains of northeastern British 

Columbia. Four to six coal seams ranging 

Last spike ceremony for the 

Tumbler Ridge branch line, 1983. 

from one to 10 metres thick are developed 

in the sedimentary formations. 

Early reports of exploratory drilling 

and sampling on several coal properties 

in the northeast coalfield were recorded 

between 1951 and 1969. These exploration 

programs were undoubtedly in 

response to the rising demand for metallurgical 

coal as steel production, led 

by Japan, was rapidly expanding by the 

mid-’60s. Teck Corporation and Denison 

Coal Limited were systematically 

exploring the Sukunka Bullmoose and 

Quintette properties, respectively. By 

1975, coal exploration was effectively 

booming in northeastern B.C. as new 

capital, notably from oil companies 

and overseas trading companies, was 

being poured into a number of properties 

along the trend of the coalfield. 

Major exploration programs were being 

54 SPRING 2011 Photograph: Don Philips/Tumbler Ridge Museum Foundation

undertaken on properties such as Saxon, 

Bellcourt, Monkman, Mount Spieker 

and Duke Mountain. Advanced-stage 

exploration programs on the Quintette 

and Bullmoose properties were successful 

in defining major resources of 

medium- to low-volatile bituminous 

coal – suitable for production of metallurgical 

coke. 

The reserves of the northeast coalfield 

in 1981 were estimated at 336 million 

tonnes of which 286 million tonnes were 

classified as metallurgical coal. These 

reserve figures are not allocated to specific 

properties, and as a result, in addition to 

Quintette and Bullmoose, reserve estimates 

from other properties could be 

included in the total estimate. Following 

the announcement of the Northeast 

Coal Development Plan in January 1981, 

Teck Corporation’s Bullmoose project 

Establishing Tumbler 

Ridge became one 

of the focal points 

of activity when the 

plans were set in 

motion to proceed 

with the development 

of Bullmoose and 

Quintette mines. 

and Denison Mines’ Quintette project 

were developed. The two projects were 

designed to ship a combined 6.7 million 

tonnes per year of metallurgical coal over a 

15-year period starting in October 1983. 

Teck’s Bullmoose mine operated continuously 

since production commenced 

in 1983 until its closure in 2003. Six coal 

seams varying in thickness from 1.8 to 

4.8 metres were developed for production. 

The mine was initially designed to 

produce 1.7 million tonnes per year and 

was subsequently increased to 2.3 million 

tonnes per year as detailed evaluations 

indicated significant economic upsides 

for a larger scale operation. During its 

20-year -mine life, it shipped 32 million 

tonnes of metallurgical coal to overseas 

steel producers. The mine closed on 

April 4, 2003. 

The Quintette mine, managed by 

Denison Coal Limited with partners 

Mitsui Mining Company, Tokyo Boeki 

Limited and Charbonnages De France, 

started production in 1983 at a designed 

rate of 6.5 million tonnes per year. Coal 

was mined from four main seams rang- 

ing in thickness from 0.9 to eight metres. 

The mine experienced difficulties in 

maintaining the production rates, and in 

1991-’92, the operation underwent a debt 

restructuring. During this process, Teck 

Corporation acquired a 50 per cent interest 

and became the mine operator. The 

mine, however, continued to struggle to 

sustain a profitable margin despite negotiating 

a new contract with the Japanese 

consortium in 1997. In February 2000, 

Teck announced plans to close the mine 

in August of that year. 

Establishing the town of Tumbler 

Ridge became one of the focal points 

of activity when the plans were set in 

motion to proceed with the development 

of the Bullmoose and Quintette mines 

and related infrastructure. Preliminary 

plans and general layout for a town for 

a projected population of 10,000 were 

already being prepared as early as 1976. 

The proposed townsite location was 

selected at the junction of the Murray 

and Wolverine rivers and site clearing, 

construction of building sites, roadways, 

Tumbler Ridge townsite 

before construction, 1981. 

water and sewer systems were quickly 

completed in 1981. Houses and service 

buildings were constructed in the following 

year and by 1983, the once remote 

wilderness location was transformed into 

a vibrant bustling town as the two coal 

mines attained full production. 

A school and recreation centre opened 

in 1984. The town’s population peaked 

at 4,800 people in 1991 then hit a low of 

1,932 in 2001 as coal prices declined. The 

Quintette mine closed in August 2000, 

and Bullmoose production and staff 

were reduced until the mine’s reserves 

were exhausted by 2003. As the population 

dwindled, the remaining residents 

formed a task force to investigate ways and 

means to boost and diversify the economy 

for the town and surrounding region. 

This effort resulted in attracting tourists 

with the discovery of dinosaur fossils in 

the area and creating outdoor recreation 

activities. Employment opportunities in 

the forest, oil and gas industries were also 

becoming available. These developments 

were vital to the town’s survival. 

Photograph: Tumbler Ridge Museum Foundation SPRING 2011 55

KSM 

3177 Westmount Place 

West Vancouver, BC V7V 3G4 

Cell: 1-778-386-1723 

Office: 1-604-926-4062 

Email: info@kingsmanresources.com 

www.kingsmanresources.com 

Tumbler Ridge: 

Rich in history 

In addition to the magnificent mountain 

wilderness, with 30 hiking trails and spectacular 

waterfalls, visitors to Tumbler Ridge are rewarded 

with a peek into its very and not-so distant past. 

The Tumbler Ridge Museum comprises two 

distinct themes. The first relates to palaeontology. 

The Tumbler Ridge area has become famous for 

its remarkable fossil discoveries and 

resources, exhibited in the Dinosaur 

Discovery Gallery, which adjoins the 

Peace Region Palaeontology Research 

Centre – the only facility of its kind in 

British Columbia. Visitors are treated to 

exhibits of dinosaurs, marine reptiles, 

fish and a host of other denizens of the 

area from the distant past. The region is 

particularly rich in dinosaur footprints, 

and a large exhibit recreates the type of 

environment in which these creatures 

roamed. Tumbler Ridge also boasts 

the first dinosaur excavations in B.C. 

and exhibits are regularly revised to 

incorporate the latest discoveries. 

The coal that is prevalent in the area is 

the compressed, slow-cooked remains 

of the Cretaceous forests in which the 

dinosaurs tramped. For this reason some 

of the finest footprint assemblages are 

found in the local coal mines beside the 

coal seams. Thousands of footprints 

have been reported to the museum 

by the mines, with whom an excellent 

working relationship is maintained. Future 

exhibits will examine this relationship more closely. 

There is a gift shop, and visitors also have the 

opportunity to participate in a variety of educational 

programs or to go on dinosaur trackway tours, 

including unique lantern tours. 

The second theme relates to the more recent 

history of the area, displayed by means of 30 

exhibits in the Tumbler Ridge Community Centre. 

Archaeology, First Nations heritage, pioneer 

history, natural history, the creation of Tumbler 

Ridge, early exploration, the coal mines, historic 

maps and the local Sports Hall of Fame are 

some of the topics covered. Admission to the 

Community Centre exhibits is free. 

56 SPRING 2011 Photograph:

Official invitation to the opening of 

the District of Tumbler Ridge, and the 

completion of the North East Coal and 

Transportation Development, June 6, 1984. 

A spark for revitalizing the region’s economy has been evident 

in the past few years as world coal prices have recovered 

since the closure of the two mines. Most recently, contract 

coal prices are in the order of US$200 to $225 (about C$198 

to $224) per tonne, with spot prices for top grade coking coal 

at $250 per tonne. With the recovery of coal prices, Western 

Coal Corp. has been very active in the northeast coalfi eld. It 

is currently producing coal from the Perry Creek open-pit 

mine on the Wolverine property located 30 kilometres from 

Tumbler Ridge. It also operates the Brule and Willow Creek 

open-pit mines. Peace River Coal has been operating the Trend 

mine since December 2005. Other properties in the region are 

actively being explored and evaluated. 

Most notably, Western Coal and Peace River Coal are jointly 

exploring the Belcourt and Saxon properties. Western Coal is 

planning to develop the EB and Herman projects, as well as 

conducting evaluations to either expand the Perry Creek open 

pit or develop an underground mine to recover the coal seam 

extensions. Peace River Coal is considering the development 

of the Roman Mountain and Horizon projects, both of which 

are within 10 kilometres of the Trend mine. Additionally, Teck 

Resources Limited is evaluating the possibility of reopening 

the Quintette mine. This renewed activity in the region has 

been a welcome signal for the residents of Tumbler Ridge and 

its anticipated future growth. � 

Photograph: Don Philips/Tumbler Ridge Museum Foundation SPRING 2011 57

PROFILE 

Mona Forster 

BIG ON ADVANCING B.C. 

BY JONATHAN BUCHANAN 

Mona Forster, a director of AME BC since 2006, and executive vice- 

president at Entrée Gold Inc., was named chair at the Association’s 

99th annual general meeting. Mineral Exploration talked to Mona about her transition from her native 

Alberta to B.C. and her passion for the mineral exploration and mining sector. 

You have over 20 years of management 

experience in the mineral exploration 

and mining industry. How did you get 

your start? 

I entered the mining industry as a temporary 

data entry clerk in Edmonton for 

an operating gold mining company in 

1988. What was an original three-week 

contract became nine years with the 

same company, working at their head 

office, at a remote fly-in/fly-out operation 

in the Northwest Territories and 

the exploration office in Vancouver. 

As someone who has worked on projects 

spanning the globe, what makes B.C. a 

good place to explore? 

B.C. is blessed with considerable geological 

potential, a large land base – 

much has been underexplored – but also, 

the best place to find a mine is often 

near a former or current operating 

mine. B.C. is home to several worldclass 

coal operations like the Elk Valley 

and northeast coal deposits, and worldclass 

metal deposits ranging from past 

producers such as Sullivan to potential 

and future mines such as Mt. Milligan, 

Red Chris and Galore Creek, to name a 

few. In addition to, or because of, the 

geological endowment present in the 

province, B.C. is a centre of excellence 

for the mineral exploration and mining 

industry. A unique combination of 

technical and support personnel, exploration 

and mining companies, engineering 

and environmental consultants, 

financial institutions, brokerage houses 

and educational institutions create an 

environment that encourages the 

advancement of mining projects not 

only in B.C. but worldwide. 

What would make British Columbia a 

great place to explore? 

In order to realize the full potential of 

our geological endowment, it’s important 

for companies that wish to invest 

hundreds of millions or possibly billions 

of dollars in our province to have 

clarity and predictability about how to 

advance their projects. If companies are 

not sure their projects will be subject to 

a reasonable and fair process, they are 

less likely to make the initial exploration 

investment here when they can 

look elsewhere on the globe. Capital is 

mobile and will be put to the best and 

highest use, wherever that may be. 

Typically, it takes several years (and 

sometimes decades) from initial discovery 

of a deposit to mine operations. 

During this interim of time, the projects 

are subject to considerable study, 

regulatory requirements, scrutiny by 

stakeholders and investors. B.C. could 

be a great place to explore if all stakeholders 

knew they were participating in 

a transparent and predictable process. 

You have recently been appointed chair 

of AME BC. What are your goals as the 

Association moves toward its 100th 

anniversary next year? 

It’s important for AME BC, as an advocate 

for the mineral exploration industry, 

to communicate what we do, why we do it 

and create a dialogue with policy-makers 

and stakeholders about how specific decisions 

impact our industry. World demand 

for commodities, whether it’s coal, gold, 

copper or other metals and minerals, is 

increasing and B.C. should be well-positioned 

to meet that demand, to the benefit 

of all British Columbians. I believe it’s 

imperative to inform and educate the 

general public, community leaders, policymakers 

and other stakeholders about the 

importance of mineral exploration and its 

role in the advancement of our society. 

You have played a key role in the Labour 

Market Task Force to encourage people 

to choose careers in the industry. What 

more needs to be done to make mining a 

career of choice for more youth? 

Public outreach and education, with the 

objective of creating a better understanding 

of the role of mineral exploration and 

mining in society, should help. The 

Labour Market Task Force has attempted 

to reach out to youth through the creation 

of a mining blog [www.bcminingblog.com], 

for example, with the goal of getting secondary 

and post-secondary students in 

the exploration and mining industry. We 

would like to see more touchpoints within 

the Kindergarten-Grade 12 school system 

where students can learn about geosciences 

and how it makes a difference to their world. 

With a career that includes an executive 

management position as well as demanding 

volunteer roles, how do you unwind? 

I love working in the mining industry and 

I strongly believe in the power of what we 

have to offer to broader society, so my volunteer 

roles are simply an extension of that 

passion. Working in this industry gives me 

the opportunity to travel the world – and 

all that time in airports and on planes gives 

me a chance to catch up on my reading. 

Golfing is also a favourite pastime and a 

great way to catch up with friends. I go on 

a golf holiday every year with a group of 

friends, most of whom work in the mining 

industry, and it’s a highlight of the year. �

Spring 2011 - The Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia

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