Kidd Creek find a textbook case

“The best place to look for a new mine is near one,” is a tried and true exiom of the business. And by the same token, new ore deposits are frequently discovered close by known ones. Indeed the history of some of the greatest mineral discoveries of Ontario and Quebec certainly bears this out. Classic examples would include the huge Kidd Creek find of Texas Gulf at Timmins and the major gold discovery of Kerr Addison Mines at Virginiatown. And more recently, the world-class gold deposit at Hemlo and the exciting well-hidden deep base metals – precious metals find made by Aur Resources in Quebec’s Louvicourt district.

While “Lady Luck” can be a factor in this game of hide and seek,it’s certainly not the main one. Rather, it is persistence when coupled with the latest in technological advances that pays off time after time. In this, Canadians lead the world, especially in the field of geophysics where we continue to make great strides.

This is especially so in the field of what is known as down-the-hole geophysics, where we have developed sophisticated instrumentation that can lead to the discovery of deep seated ore.

One of the greatest mineral discoveries ever made in this country is the huge copper-zinc-silver find by Texas Gulf Sulphur at Timmins in 1964. Now the fabulous Kidd Creek mine, it represents a classic example of the tried and true approach to successful exploration. For that company did its homework well–and without shortcuts.

Although a U.S.-based firm it was no stranger to the Canadian exploration scene. For it had been quietly concentrating on an ambitious exploration program to seek out elusive sulphide ores in Northern Ontario, spending some millions of dollars before hitting the jackpot. This did not come quickly.

Starting back in 1957, its Canadian team of exploration specialists were studying all available published geological and geophysical maps. Two years later it launched a very extensive program of aerial geophysical surveys. That work detected a great many anomalies, several hundred of which were deemed to warrant ground investigation.

Most of these were located just north of Timmins in overburdened country that had been largely overlooked over the years by the big gold mining companies of that camp, perhaps because much of that ground was patented. Nevertheless, the fact that several of those cash-rich firms had actually found and mined copper ores adjacent to their gold operations should have given them some clue as to the base metal potential in their own back yard.

Using a full-time helicopter and a single diamond drill rig, Texas Gulf commenced a systematic program of follow-up probing of its many geophysically indicated anomalies in ’63. At that time many of the local mines were dying, and exploration in the province was languishing.

More than 60 separate anomalies were drill tested in that program, 80% of which proved to carry some sulphides. Indeed many carried “sniffs” of copper, but nothing of ore tenor. But there was sufficient evidence of copper possibilities to encourage the company to continue with its systematic and intelligent program.

Then in early February of ’64, rumors of a good drill hole started to fly around the town, prompting heavy staking and much wheeling and dealing by the local residents. But that rumor was flatly denied by the company’s senior management, which had invoked extremely tight security.

Fact is, they did have a whopper of a drill intersection, but held very little of the surrounding ground (mostly patented) that the company was anxious to tie up before making any announcement. As a ruse to put any snoopers off the track, a tree was placed the drill site and the machine moved to an area where there was no anomaly. So of course the next hole did come up blank.

When the discovery hole, No.K-55-1, was finally announced (April 16/64), all hell broke loose. The Northern Miner, which had a reporter on site immediately prior to the announcement, scored a news scoop of the first magnitude with its exclusive and detailed field story…

“Texas Gulf Sulphur has chalked up a brilliant exploration success, for a core length just better than 600 ft, the discovery hole averaged in excess of 1% copper, 8% zinc and nearly 4 ozs. silver…surface electromagnetic (EM) work has established the conductor zone extending many hundreds of feet both north and south along strike from the drilled section…something in excess of 10,000,000 tons of open pit ore is immediately indicated”.

The official assay for that discovery hole was 602 ft. averaging 1.18% copper, 8.1% zinc and 3.8 ozs. silver. Some much richer holes were subsequently drilled. And before the known ore is exhausted, it is likely that over 150,000,000 tons will have been mined.

Confirmation of the discovery touched off the most hectic speculative mining market ever seen on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It was simply bedlam, with its high-speed ticker tape running as much as 60 minutes late day after day, despite the grouping of sales.

In a story that has often been repeated in the history of Canadian mining, the evidence of an earlier prospector’s exploration were found in the immediate area.