GOLD CADILLAC

The Cadillac area of northwestern Quebec is very fertile ground in the hunt for gold. The two Bousquet mines (LAC Minerals), the Doyon mine (LAC and Cambior Inc.) and the LaRonde mine (Agnico Eagle) have all become producers along a short stretch of the prolific Cadillac gold belt. Mouska, a small mine with good potential, is a newly-minted producer. Were we to stretch our coverage area, we could have included Camflo, Kiena Gold and others. But to keep it all manageable we restricted ourselves to only the four producers bunched so closely together near Cadillac, Que.

In 1990, the four big mines alone produced an aggregate of 500,000 oz. This year, both LaRonde and Bousquet No. 2 will up production and push the camp beyond the half-million-ounce mark. Technical Editor David Scott visited the camp. His report on Doyon, Bousquet No. 2 and LaRonde begins on Page 20.

This issue also includes a survey of the current and future spending plans of mines across the country. The survey fell originally within the purview of our sister publication Canadian Mining Journal. This is our first crack at it, and we have puzzled over the numbers, trying to arrange them into meaningful data sets — meaningful in the sense that you, as mine or mill operator, exploration geologist or consultant, can gain insights into the industry or into your own operation.

That wasn’t easy, however. What meaningful relationship exists between the capital expenditures of a 1,000 tonne-per-day underground gold mine and that of an open pit copper mine rated at, say, 10,000 tonnes? Apples are smaller than watermelons. So what. Nevertheless, from the tables you will get an idea of the expenditures planned by your neighbor, by the mines of any one province or territory and by the Canadian industry as a whole. The survey itself focused on producers, mostly base and precious metal types. We have broken spending into six categories and presented the results province by province.

At this point, I would like to thank all the mine managers and engineers who patiently filled out the survey and returned them to us. It is at your sufferance that such surveys are possible. And now, (such boldness) I would like to lean on you one more time. After having read our story on capital expenditures, would you mind dropping us a line if you have ideas on how we can better quantify and present the data. Mail your suggestions to me and the best of the lot will be incorporated into next year’s issue.