Lac des Iles mine operating _ Madeleine still needs permits

Toronto-based Madeleine Mines (TSE) has applied to the Ontario government for permission to operate a 3,000-ton-per-day palladium- platinum mine on a 5,000-acre property at Lac des Iles, near Thunder Bay, Ont. In a report to shareholders, Madeleine says it has made special efforts to preserve the pristine nature of the local environment during a mine construction program that is substantially complete.

According to the report, the precautionary steps include a mill designed with a complete water recycling system that prevents liquid effluent from being discharged from the mill facilities into the environment.

“This procedure not only eliminates the need to discharge the liquid effluent to the environment, but also serves to recapture, for secondary use, as many mill chemicals as is possible,” the company says.

The 1989 annual report says that “the open pit mine is operating substantially as predicted” and “that on Dec. 17, 1990, the mill turned over for the first time.”

However, officials at the Ontario Environment Ministry in Thunder Bay say Madeleine must prove that contaminants produced by the operation will not be released into the environment before a mining permit is issued.

John de Bakker, an area supervisor at the Environment Ministry, says he is unfamiliar with some of the terminology that Madeleine has used to describe the project and the matter has been referred to the ministry’s Investigations and Enforcement branch.

“We are taking a look at the situation to see if any legislation has been contravened at this point,” de Bakker told The Northern Miner.

Based on previous visits to the mine site, Jim Bagshaw, supervisor at the investigations branch, said he is convinced that Madeleine can operate a viable mining operation if and when the necessary permits are in place.

“But because Madeleine has gone ahead with construction without approval, modifications may have to be made to the mill and crusher before they come anywhere close to being in compliance with the law,” he says.

President Patrick Sheridan could not be reached for comment on this story. But top of the list of the Environment Ministry’s concerns is the potential for damage caused by an accidental discharge of liquid effluent into the environment.

“If the mill does put out effluent, the company is technically in contravention of the Ontario Water Resources Act,” says Bagshaw.

Meanwhile, the Madeleine report says the calculated indicated tonnage of the project’s main Roby zone and adjacent C1 and C2 zones is 16,500 tons per vertical ft. with an average grade of 0.19 platinum group metals per ton.

“It is currently planned to exploit the Roby zone and later the C1 and C2 zones, by open pit mining,” the report says. “Consideration will be given to mining the northern and southern extremities of these zones by underground ramp style mining as the pit progresses.”

Other features of the Lac des Iles project include three 2,000 KVA Caterpillar generators capable of generating 6,000 horse-power. They are currently diesel fuelled but plans include operating the plant on natural gas, the company says.

At a mining rate of 3,000 tons per day, the pit will decline at about 60 ft. per year. “Present plans call for the pit to continue to approximately the 600-ft. level,” according to the company.

Having earned a 50% stake in the Lac des Iles project from The Sheridan Platinum Group, a private company owned 90% by Boston Bay Mines (COATS) and 10% by Patrick Sheridan, Madeleine says it is essentially debt free.