B.C. exploration programs during 1989 raised profile of key base

deposits Last year was an exciting time for new discoveries in British Columbia, and also a year of change for mineral exploration. Junior exploration companies maintained a prominent role on the provincial scene with new precious metal finds such as Eskay Creek and continued encouraging results from Mt. Milligan and Windy Craggy.

The year also saw the resurgence of exploration for base metals and the return of major exploration companies as the leading spenders.

These changes were brought about by the virtual end of flow- through financing, the softening of gold and silver prices, and by stronger base metal prices, particularly for copper and zinc.

According to the British Columbia and Yukon Chamber of Mines, exploration expenditures were expected to total $135 to $140 million by year’s end, a drop of $65 to $70 million from the record level of $206 million in 1988.

This anticipated decrease is due to the demise of flow-through financing resulting in drastically reduced programs by junior companies which was expected to total $55-60 million versus the $143 million spent in 1988.

This drop was offset only in part by an increase in expenditures by major companies which were anticipated to reach $80 million versus the $63 million spent in 1988.

In contrast, mineral claim staking increased appreciably over 1988 and 1987 levels. By the end of September, 68,714 units had been recorded, versus 63,043 for the same period in 1988, a jump of 9%.

What little ground that was still open in the Iskut-Unuk river area was gobbled up after the Eskay Creek news release in August, and a staking rush ensued on Vancouver Island after the Regional Geochemical Survey release on June 20. The busiest mining divisions are Liard, Omineca and Skeena, all good hunting grounds for base and precious metals.

Although interest in precious metals, and in the Vancouver Stock Exchange, was significantly buoyed in August by the spectacular drilling results from the Eskay Creek property of Calpine Resources (VSE), the softer gold and silver prices took their toll on the number of mines that were expected to open during the year.

Of the seven anticipated precious metal projects, the four that came on stream were Lawyers, Samatosum, Silbak Premier-Big Missouri and Golden Bear. Snip and Spud are being evaluated and their development is on hold, and Tillicum Gold was shut down indefinitely in early September.

Improved base metal prices allowed the Ajax copper deposit of Afton Operating Corp. to begin production in July as planned. Other large base metal projects such as Windy Craggy, Mt. Milligan, Mt. Polley and Cirque continued to be the object of very large surface drilling and underground exploration programs, and hold considerable promise of becoming large, company-sustaining producers.

Because of the renewed interest in base metals, exploration and development expenditures were widely distributed about the province, in contrast to 1988 when many large programs were in the rugged northwestern region and particularly in the Stewart-Iskut River Golden Triangle.

Of the major exploration plays in 1989, Windy Craggy (massive sulphide, copper-gold-cobalt) is in the Insular Belt, Eskay Creek (epithermal gold-silver) is in the coast Crystalline Belt, Mt. Milligan and Mt. Polley (alkalic copper-gold porphyry) are in the Intermontane Belt, and Cirque (sediment hosted lead- zinc-silver massive sulphide) is in the Eastern Marginal Belt.

To stimulate mineral exploration in the province, the provincial and federal governments through the Mineral Development Agreement and in co-operation with several exploration companies active in the area, funded engineering studies to select a road corridor into the mineral-rich Iskut River and Unuk River areas.

The provincial government also removed two areas containing known mineral deposits at Lindquist Lake and Mt. Alcock from provincial parks and established them as parts of new recreation areas, thereby allowing assessment of the two deposits.006 This article appeared in a recent edition of the British Columbia of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources’ “Mineral Market Update” publication.