Mining rate declining at Kidd Creek

Officials at Kidd Creek Mines, Falconbridge Ltd. and Noranda (TSE) are playing down suggestions that the world-class mining facility is on its last legs. For the past year there has been a growing concern in the Timmins area that Kidd’s prosperous days have finally been numbered.

The fears are somewhat substantiated. Kidd officials admit their rich ore reserves are now estimated at over 40 million tons. That’s still a sizable orebody by most standards, but it pegs life expectancy at 10-20 years, depending on who you talk to.

“We’ve got enough ore for another 15 years,” said Mike Amsden, Falconbridge vice-president in charge of Kidd Creek. “Even if we don’t locate more ore, there are plenty of mining properties all across the north that can utlize the smelter.”

The man who knows the orebody best is Kidd’s director of mining, Eric Belford.

In an interview with The Northern Miner, Belford says an extensive underground program at the Kidd No. 3 shaft is a vital component of Falconbridge’s efforts to extend the life of the mine.

“The mining rate will drop off from its current level, but it will continue as a successful mine for many, many years to come.” said Belford.

Falconbridge is rolling along with its 3-shaft project which is to sink an internal shaft from the 4600 level down to 7000. The investment was predicated upon recovering the ore from the 6000 level and above, with the bottom 1,000 ft. of the shaft for exploration only.

“We do have good drilling intersections down around the 6800 level which indicate that there’s rock of a very high contained metal value,” said Belford. “As to whether there’s enough of it to justify a further capital expenditure to exploit that, that will have to be determined by a more closely patterned exploration program which will probably begin two or three years after the shaft is finished.”

Belford is optimistic that Falconbridge would be able to go down and recover that ore. He says it would all be a function of what mining costs and the price of metals will be at that point in time.

Kidd Creek is owned by Falconbridge, which is owned by Noranda and Sweden-based Trelleborg.

“We are spending a lot of money in the area to try to extend that orebody and try to find similar ones.” said Powis, Noranda chairman and chief executive officer. “The deeper you go the less you know about it. You never know, it could blossom out or it could pinch out. We don’t have all the answers to that,” he added.

Kidd Creek, at 2,500 employees, is by far the largest employer in the city of Timmins. The short- or long- term demise of the operation is paramount to the city’s economic future.

Kidd Creek came along in the early 1960s as the once mighty Hollinger Gold mine was shutting down. Until the Kidd Creek discovery, there were well-founded predictions that Timmins would soon become a mining ghost town.

That’s a scenario the city would like to avoid repeating. Mayor Dennis Welin says the search for new orebodies and the establishment of additional government services in the city are vital.

“That’s why we’re joining the growing outcry for the reinstatement of flow-through financing incentives,” said Welin. “There’s no question that Timmins always has been and always will be a mining community. That’s quite difficult to maintain if no one is looking for new mines because they don’t have the capital.”

There are currently seven operating mines in Timmins. Exploration (especially among junior companies and excluding the Falconbridge program) is at an all-time low.