Construction set to start this spring at Stronsay project

The British Columbia government recently approved a mine development certificate for the Stronsay project, a zinc-lead deposit about 240 km northwest of Fort St. John.

Formerly known as Cirque, the Stronsay project is owned 70% by Curragh Resources (TSE) and 30% by Asturiana De Zinc of Spain. With the development of the Stronsay mine, Curragh expects to be in the top three to four producers of zinc and lead concentrates in the western world. The company is best known for its Faro base metal mine in the Yukon, a relatively large mining operation which produced 359,444 tonnes of zinc concentrates and 189,040 tonnes of lead concentrates last year. In September, 80% owner Curragh and minority partner Hillsborough Resources opened the Sa Dena Hes zinc-lead mine near Watson Lake, Yukon, a smaller, 150,000-tonne-per-year underground operation. Curragh also recently opened the Westray underground coal mine in Nova Scotia.

Curragh’s plan to begin construction at Stronsay next spring comes as a surprise to many local industry observers, partly because the company has been working quietly, without the promotional fuss and fanfare that typically accompanies most new mine development in the province. But the project’s advancement comes as no surprise to those familiar with Curragh’s can-do corporate attitude, and its ability to deal effectively with government agencies.

The construction period at Stronsay will continue for an estimated 14-18 months. Once production is reached, the project is expected to produce in the order of 250,000 tonnes per year of zinc sulphide mineral and lead sulphide mineral concentrates, 80% of which will be zinc sulphide concentrate. At last report, reserves stood at 52.2 million tonnes averaging 2% lead and 8% zinc. This is viewed as sufficient to sustain a mine life of almost 20 years at planned production levels. Because of further mineralization indicated on the property, Curragh is of the view that ongoing drilling will extend the mine life to 30 years or more.

About $57 million has been spent on the project to date by the current and previous owners. These funds were spent on exploration and predevelopment underground work, roads, airstrip, camps, environmental work, studies and reports.

In addition, mine-site and production plans, site construction layouts, equipment sizing and costs estimates have been completed, and incorporated into a site development plan and long-term budget. Final designs and specifications are expected to be completed this winter.

Future capital costs are estimated to be $140 million for on-site development and construction, plus $37 million for off-site infrastructure and facilities. Curragh and the provincial government reached an agreement-in-principle to provide infrastructure for the development and construction of the project. Details of this agreement, however, were not available at presstime. At full production, the Stronsay mine will permanently employ 330 people on a fly-in/fly-out block shift rotation basis. The project will be self-contained with on-site maintenance, offices and accommodation facilities. Most of the manpower is expected to come from the Ft. St. John, Dawson Creek, MacKenzie and Prince George areas.

The transportation of concentrates will be managed at MacKenzie, a town not far from Placer Dome’s Mt. Milligan copper-gold deposit.