LETTERS New Refinery

I have just read your article “Very Refined” in the September, 1987, edition. This article reports on “Canada’s private precious metal refiners — Degussa Canada in Burlington, Ont…. and Johnson Matthey in Brampton, Ont.” One is left with the impression that, together with the Royal Canadian Mint, these are the only gold refiners in Canada. May I draw your attention to another refinery; Noranda Inc.’s new gold refinery at its ccr division. As you will see, this refinery employs up-to-date technology and was built to replace the old refinery which used the “centuries-old technique that … changed little through the ages.” At the recent Canada Awards for Business Excellence, held in Halifax in September, this new refinery was awarded a silver medal for innovation.

The new ccr refinery treats both dore anode mud (gold mud) as well as mine bullion from the new Hemlo mine. In 1988, ccr processed close to one million ounces of gold (as well as nearly 100,000 oz of platinum/palladium). This is nearly 25% of Canadian mine production, and therefore ccr is a significant Canadian gold refinery. Noranda treats a variety of precious metal-bearing material (as do the other refineries), and it should have at least merited a mention in your introduction. G.B. Harris, PhD Senior Group Scientist, Department of Extractive Metallurgy, Noranda Research Centre, Pointe-Claire, Que. Editor’s note: Inco Ltd. also has two small precious metals refineries: One at its research facility in Port Colborne, Ont., and another in Sudbury, Ont.