Ten Years Ago in the Northern Miner

Barrick poised to pounce on Busang

Its shotgun wedding with Barrick Gold having been arranged by the Indonesian government, Bre-X Minerals has until Dec. 4 to find a husband Jakarta might prefer.

The dowry in this case goes to dad, however, as the Indonesian government has asked for 10% of the fantastically rich Busang gold deposit in East Kalimantan province. The government has asked Bre-X to form a joint venture with Barrick, which would hold a majority stake in the deposit.

Although Bre-X has received offers from several major mining companies, the Indonesian government has “given guidance to Bre-X” to finalize a joint venture with Barrick Gold on the basis of 25% to Bre-X and 75% to Barrick.

Such a deal would make Barrick the world’s second-largest gold producer, behind Anglo American of South Africa.

Bre-X has written to the Indonesian Ministry of Mines and Energy to seek clarification as to whether “certain other forms of transactions” would be acceptable.

Barrick Gold spokesman Vincent Borg stressed that Barrick’s role in the future of the Busang project, if any, will not be known until the Indonesian government has accepted a deal between Bre-X and Barrick.

The other companies thought to have the financial wherewithal to be potential Bre-X partners are Newmont Gold, Placer Dome, RTZ-CRA and Anglo American’s Luxembourg-based subsidiary, Minorco.

Inco settles on site for Voisey’s Bay smelter

Nickel giant Inco has announced that a former U.S. naval base in Newfoundland will be the site for a US$1-billion smelting and refining complex to process concentrates from the massive nickel-cobalt deposit at Voisey’s Bay, Labrador.

The refinery will be in a deserted corner of Placentia, a town 130 km west of St. John’s, Nfld. Placentia was the site of a U.S. naval base until it was shut down in September 1994.

The Argentia naval base was selected following a 3-month search that examined sites both on the island and in Labrador.

Although Inco will pony up a single dollar for the property, it will shell out $640 million for the smelter and US$410 million for the refinery and port facilities.

Startup is scheduled for 2000 and subsidiary Voisey’s Bay Nickel will next register the project for environmental review in order to obtain the necessary permits.

Michael Sopko, Inco’s chairman, says startup had to be pushed back as a result of legal problems faced by Robert Friedland’s Diamond Fields Resources, the company that owned the deposit.

Fipke determined to climb every mountain

The man who sparked the great diamond rush in Canada’s Northwest Territories is too busy with new projects to spend much time celebrating government approval of this country’s first diamond mine.

When Dia Met chairman and geochemist Charles (Chuck) Fipke began searching for the diamond-bearing kimberlites more than 10 years ago, he raised more eyebrows than cash, at least in the early years.

But with federal approval of the mine now in hand, the $1.2-billion project at Lac de Gras is expected to be up and running by late 1998.

Sumitomo outlines large gold deposit in Alaska

With assistance from Watts, Griffis McOuat (WGM), and the Metal Mining Agency of Japan, Sumitomo has been exploring for the yellow metal in little-known parts of east-central Alaska. The fruit of their labour is the Pogo gold project, a significant discovery 20 miles east of the Delta junction.

Pogo comprises 750 state mining claims and is accessible only by air, though several winter trails wind through the area.

The main body of mineralization at Pogo is called the Lisa quartz vein, though WGM is unsure if the 35-ft. structure is a true vein or, rather, a quartzite vein in the gneiss.

To date, WGM has drilled 38 holes at Pogo. One previous hole intercepted 22 ft. grading 1.83 oz. per ton, while another cut 79 ft. of 0.19 oz.

Chile’s Refugio enters commercial production

The Refugio gold mine in northern Chile has achieved commercial production levels for partners Bema Gold and Amax Gold.

Output for October amounted to 16,700 oz. gold at a cash cost of US$249 per oz., which is keeping with mine plan projections.

Perched high in the Atacama desert of the Chilean Andes at an elevation of 4,300 metres, Refugio ranks as one of the world’s largest open-pit, heap-leach mines. It is owned and operated Compania Minera Maricunga, 50-50 joint venture between Bema and Amax, who brought the mine into production at a cost of $143 million.