Conference marks 40th anniversary of Bathurst camp

This year marks the 40th anniversary of what was, at the outset, one of the best-kept secrets in Canadian mining history — the discovery of base metals in Bathurst, N.B.

Although the Brunswick No. 6 deposit was found in October, 1952, news of the discovery was not made public until January, 1953, and only then at the discretion of Brunswick Mining & Smelting (TSE).

To help celebrate this milestone, the Geological Society of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) recently held its third annual field conference in Bathurst.

The meeting, entitled “Application of recent geological concepts to exploration in the Northern Appalachians,” attracted nearly 200 delegates from as far away as Mexico and Portugal. Canadian participants included industry personnel from across the country and members of the Geological Survey of Canada and the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources and Energy.

Conference Chairman Steven McCutcheon said the turnout exceeded the expectations of the organizing committee.

The event consisted of technical sessions, poster displays and pre- and post-conference field trips. Technical sessions focused on the geology of the Appalachians, with an emphasis on massive sulphide, gold, porphyry and skarn deposits.

Highlighting the poster displays were exhibits of drill core from the Key Anacon discovery and the Halfmile Lake deposit. In August, Rio Algom (TSE) announced that a new zone of base metal mineralization had been discovered at Key Anacon.

Brunswick and Noranda (TSE) recently released an updated reserve figure for the Halfmile Lake deposit: 7.78 million tonnes grading 3.66% lead, 10.5% zinc, 0.09% copper and 44 grams silver per tonne (T.N.M. Sept. 13/93). One of the more popular field trips, which was attended by The Northern Miner, was the post-conference excursion that looked at the metallogeny of the Bathurst camp.

At least 35 deposits and about 100 mineral occurrences have been documented in the Bathurst area. At present, the only production in the camp is from the Brunswick No. 12 deposit, discovered in the spring of 1953.

The No. 12, which began production in 1964, has minable reserves of 60.8 million tonnes grading 3.59% lead, 8.99% zinc, 0.32% copper and 101.6 grams silver. At current mining rates of 10,500 tonnes per day, the mine is expected to last 16-20 years.

The deposit used to be mined using a cut-and-fill technique. But about five years ago, the company switched to an open-stoping method which has proved much less costly.

Although operations are suspended at the Heath Steele mine, pending an improvement in zinc prices, field trip participants were allowed underground at the ACD zone. This zone, accessible by ramp, comprises the A, C, and D orebodies. Separated at surface, the zones nevertheless form a continuous unit at depth. Current minable reserves are calculated at 1.7 million tonnes averaging 1.89% lead, 8.35% zinc, 0.65% copper and 77 grams silver. A second zone (the B zone), which is accessible via an 880-metre shaft, contains 1.8 million tonnes at 2.22% lead, 5.85% zinc, 1.11% copper and 68.3 grams silver.

Roger Clinch, director of corporate communications for Brunswick, said every attempt is being made to get the mine back into production. But at this time, “it appears operations will not resume until sometime in 1994,” he said.