Letters to the Editor Gordex not first

A story in a recent issue of The Northern Miner states that Gordex is Canada’s first gold heap leaching operation. This is not true.

Anaconda Caribou treated 60,000 tonnes of gossan ore grading 0.156 oz gold per ton and five oz silver in 1982-1983, at their deposit near Bathurst, N. B. They recovered 8,150 oz of gold and 108,000 oz of silver. This was a heap leach of the gossan material.

Heath Steele treated 178,000 tonnes of gossan ore grading 0.139 oz gold per ton, and 5.12 oz silver in 1983-1984, at their deposit near Newcastle, N.B. They recovered 20,188 oz of gold and 543,717 oz silver. They leached the gossan material in their mill in order to improve recovery.

The above figures were provided by Neil Smith of Caribou and Don Archibald of Heath Steele.

These operations predated the Gordex operation by several years. Please set the record straight regarding heap leaching in Canada. William Luff Chief mine geologist Brunswick Mining