Placer Dome top producer, Golden Giant leading mine

If asked which mining company is the largest gold producer in Canada, from Canadian gold-mining properties, you probably wouldn’t have any trouble in identifying Placer Dome (TSE). The gold giant is one of the biggest in the world.

But if asked for the second largest Canadian producer “at home,” would you have come up with Hemlo Gold Mines (TSE)?

The company, whose major shareholder is Noranda Inc. (TSE), also operates the largest gold mine in Canada in terms of output, the Golden Giant at the Hemlo camp in northern Ontario.

Seeking to compile a short list of top producing mines and top producers, The Northern Miner researched statistical information from 1987 annual reports and other sources. The results appear below.

Some companies did not qualify for the “producer” list. Noranda, for example, accounted for primary gold output of about 530,000 oz in 1987, but that total includes production from the Golden Giant and other projects, as well as gold derived as a byproduct from base-metal operations.

Also not qualifying were nickel giants Inco Ltd. (TSE) and Falconbridge Ltd. (TSE). Inco produced 47,000 oz gold in 1987 as a byproduct; the company has great expectations for its new unit, the wholly-owned Inco Gold. Falconbridge, whose two Kidd Creek gold mines (Hoyle Pond and Owl Creek) at Timmins, Ont., turned out a combined 68,600 oz gold in 1987, has indicated it, too, will establish a gold division.

The producer listed as International Corona refers to the old corporate entity which earlier this year became part of Corona Corp. (TSE), an amalgamation of five Royex group companies (Royex, International Corona, Lacana, Mascot and Galveston). Year-end for Corona and its Hemlo-camp partner Teck Corp. (TSE) is Sept 30 and the production figures for the two companies below refer to the 12 months preceding that date.

Regarding the legal dispute over the ownership of the Williams mine at Hemlo, we have taken our lead from Corona and Lac Minerals (TSE). In their 1987 annual reports, Corona chose to include production figures from the Williams operation, while Lac chose to ignore the same information.

In a 1986 decision, the Supreme Court of Ontario ruled the Williams mine, brought into production by Lac, belonged to Corona. The Ontario Court of Appeal subsequently upheld the ruling. A final decision on the matter is to be made by the Supreme Court of Canada, which is scheduled to hear the case in October.

A surprise among the top producers was American Barrick Resources (TSE), which placed 12th with “at home” production of about 56,570 oz. Internationally, Barrick’s 1987 output totalled about 225,110 oz. The company will be increasing its Canadian output with the opening this year of its Holt-McDermott mine in northern Ontario. Canada’s total gold production in 1987 was about 3.87 million oz. Top gold companies in 1987, Canadian mines: (oz produced) 1. Placer Dome 525,160 2. Hemlo Gold 369,300 3. Lac (excluding Williams) 305,817 4. Teck Corp. (including Williams) 224,741 5. Giant Yellowknife 214,779 6. Echo Bay 193,105 7. Int’l Corona (including Williams) 186,311 8. Cambior 141,524 9. Nerco Min. 83,000 10. Minnova 78,000 Top Canadian gold mines in 1987: (oz produced) 1. Golden Giant (Hemlo Gold) 369,300 2. Doyon (Lac/Cambior) 248,542 3. Williams (ownership in dispute) 242,500 4. Campbell (Placer Dome) 235,423 5. Lupin (Echo Bay) 193,105 6. Dome (Placer Dome) 132,017 7. David Bell (Teck/Corona) 130,122 8. Bousquet (Lac) 86,548 9. Con (Nerco) 83,000 10. Telbel (Agnico-Eagle)

74,818 11. Giant (Giant Yellowknife) 73,344 12. Macassa (Lac) 67,800