Lac recovers bodies of trapped miners

The bodies of two miners, trapped underground for more than two months at the Macassa gold mine near Kirkland Lake, Ont., have been recovered.

The bodies of Robert Sheldon, 34, of Larder Lake, Ont., and Leonce Verrier, 42, of Matachewan, Ont., were recovered Feb. 10.

The miners became trapped more than one mile underground following a Nov. 26 rockburst.

Owner Lac Minerals (TSE) has suspended mining at Macassa since the accident. The mine, in operation since 1933, has a history of rockbursts. The Macassa shaft, at 7,239 ft., is Canada’s deepest single-lift shaft. The last operating gold mine in the camp, Macassa turned out 77,259 oz. in 1992 (down from more than 100,000 oz. in 1990).

Meanwhile, in reporting its year-end financial results, Lac announced a writeoff of US$49 million to reflect costs associated with the Macassa accident and certain fourth-quarter environmental issues. The company recorded a fourth-quarter loss of US$58 million and a net loss of US$63 million for 1993.

The writeoff includes closure and reclamation costs for South Dakota’s Richmond Hill mine (US$21 million), reclamation costs for the Grant Ortiz mine in New Mexico (US$10 million) and expenditures associated with its Les Terrains Auriferes mill near Val d’Or, Que. (US$10.3 million). A provision of US$5.4 million was made for the Macassa accident and Lac expects production at the mine to be reduced for the foreseeable future. Lac’s total gold output in 1993 was 1.1 million oz., down slightly from the previous year. The average cash cost dropped to US$199 from US$213 per oz. in 1992. Lac, with operating mines in Canada, the U.S. and Chile, reports that sales of base metals accounted for 5% of its 1993 revenue.

On the exploration front, proven and probable reserves increased to 7.5 million oz. last year from 7.2 million oz. at the end of 1992.