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Northwest Territories Mine Summaries

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Northwest Territories Mine Summaries ReSDA Atlas: Summary of Northwest Territories Mines Compilation of summary information of mines past 2016 and present for the Northwest Territories ReSDA Atlas: Summary of Northwest Territories Mines ReSDA Atlas: Summary of Northwest Territories Mines COMPILATION OF SUMMA RY INFORMATION OF MI NES PAST AND PRESENT FOR THE NORT HWEST TERRITORIES Amauligak Project Oil and Gas Prairie Creek Mine Beaulieu Mine Ptarmigan/Tom Mine Camlaren Mine Rayrock Mine Cantung Mine Ruth Mine Colomac Mine Salmita Mine Con Mine Snap Lake Mine Courageous Lake Project Thompson-Lundmark Mine Diavik Mine Tundra Mine Discovery Mine Yellowknife Gold Project Mine Echo Bay Mine Yellowknife City Gold Project Ekati Diamond Mine Eldorado Mine Gahcho Kué Project Mine Giant Mine Mackenzie Gas Project Nechalacho Project Mine Negus Mine Nico Project Mine Norman Wells Oil Field Outpost Island Mine Pine Point Mine AMAULIGAK PROJECT SUMMARY AMAULIGAK Project Oil and Gas Proposed development Description Amauligak was discovered in 1984 and is still the largest oil and gas discovery in the Mackenzie Delta or Beaufort Sea areas at 41,936 acres. ConocoPhillips holds a 55-percent interest in the field, with partners Chevron and the Calgary-based ATCO controlling the remaining 40 percent and 5 percent respectively. In the 1980s, ConocoPhillips acquired 2D seismic data over the field and also drilled some 10 wells. The company is currently conducting a three-year study with other interest holders, to determine how best to develop this asset. The study is looking into regulations, subsurface conditions, environment, stakeholder interests and the potential concepts to develop the field. This study may lead to additional project planning phases to prepare a design concept to drill wells and develop the offshore field. In the second quarter of 2014 the company recorded an impairment for the Amauligak property after a decision not to pursue further development at this time. The company has stated it is committed to the potential of the area as technology develops and price environment improves. Photographs/Videos General Information Location: Mackenzie Delta, under 30 metres of water in the Beaufort Sea, Northwest Territories Type of project: oil and gas exploration project. Owner: ConocoPhillips, Chevron, AMCO Date opened: Not yet operational Estimated project life: N/A Average number of employees: N/A Estimated size of ore body: 2.2 billion barrels of oil and 1.6 trillion cubic feet of gas. Estimated production value: Currently USD $41 a barrel. Local employment figures: N/A Mining activities conducted: Year-round Nearby communities: Tuktoyaktuk, NWT (75 km, 47 miles) Kittigazuit, NWT (57 km, 35 miles) Access to mine: by ship Impact and Benefit Agreement (IBA): None ReSDA Atlas March 2016 Page 1 of 3 AMAULIGAK PROJECT SUMMARY Impacts of Project Positive Negative Because the offshore field is near the town During consultations, community members of Tuktoyaktuk, the NWT government expressed concerns regarding potential hopes the play will fuel the local economy, negative environmental impacts such as ConocoPhillips has contributed over groundwater contamination, impacts on $300,000 to monitoring barren-ground traditional land use and wildlife, and cumulative caribou herd movements since 2006, which impacts of development. Socio-Economic overlaps with onshore areas of interest concerns included traffic volumes, impacts on related to the Amauligak Study Program. local emergency services, and the preservation CP has awarded 48 bursaries to Aurora of culture and traditions. College students, and has advanced training and employment preparedness opportunities related to the potential Amauligak development. Relevant Links ConocoPhillips (2015), “Canada: Fact Sheet - March 2015” Dutta, Ashok (2014), “Canadian Arctic is Next Destination for Global Majors”, Oil & Gas Eurasia. Nikiforuk, Andrew “The Arctic Is Not A Casino: The Beaufort Sea Project and the Enduring Hazards of Arctic Offshore Drilling”, Greenpeace Canada. Carbon Tracker Initiative (2014), “Oil & Gas Majors: Fact Sheets – ConocoPhillips” Tait, Carrie and Jeffrey Jones (2014), “Fracking and climate change: Canada’s Far North gets an energy boost”, The Globe and Mail. ConocoPhillips (2013), “ConocoPhillips Canada Commitments and 2013 Progress”. Lueers, Ken (2012), “ConocoPhillips Canada Sustainable Development Portal – Executive Message”, ConocoPhillips Canada. Callow, Lin (2012), “Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Activity Forecast: Canadian Beaufort Sea 2012-2017”, Prepared for Beaufort Regional Environmental Assessment, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. List of relevant research: Enachescu, M.E., Meehan, P.J, Smee, G.W. (1991), “Amauligak and Beyond: The Quest for a Canadian Beaufort Sea Economic Threshold”, Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology, 39(2): 211. Krizan, Julia (2014), “Amauligak Traditional Land Use and Traditional Ecological Knowledge Studies Program 2014/2015”, Aurora Research Institute: NWT Research Database. ReSDA Atlas March 2016 Page 2 of 3 AMAULIGAK PROJECT SUMMARY Sharpe, Roberrt, Gerry Gurba & Bernhard Sleumer (1988), “Offshore Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin and Amauligak Oil Discovery”, AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91030. Review Board Decision: N/A ReSDA Atlas March 2016 Page 3 of 3 BEAULIEU MINE SUMMARY BEAULIEU Mine Description of the mine The Beaulieu Mine was a post-World War II gold mining operation near Yellowknife. It began as an effort by Toronto-based business group Beaulieu Yellowknife Mines Limited to develop the Norma gold prospect staked by S. Henson in 1939. The purported gold zone was a quartz vein hosted in sedimentary strata. Early assays were impressive. Hole 57 was probed to a depth of 185 feet, with grades of 1.25 ounces per tonne, while chip sampling in old trenches revealed up to 38 ounces per tonne. These assays fostered investor intrigue, and reports were carefully edited to highlight potential. The company built a small mill (90 tonnes daily capacity), and began production in October 1947, but by the end of November only 7 troy ounces (220 g) of rough gold were recovered. Additional gold was recovered during 1948, but altogether the mine recovered only 30 troy ounces (930 g) of fine gold. The operation folded in chaos and bankruptcy. It is an interesting example of one of the many properties that were strenuously promoted during the heyday of the gold fever in Yellowknife, yet had little real economic value. All buildings at the former mine were destroyed in 1994 during a government cleanup effort. Photographs/Videos General Information Location: Beaulieu River, North Slave Region, the Northwest Territories Type of mine and ore: Open pit gold mine Owner(s): Beaulieu Yellowknife Mines Limited Time of operation: From October 1947 to November 1947 Average number of employees: Unknown Estimated size of ore body: 1,200 tonnes Average production value: erratic, .65 ounce gold per tonne Local employment figures: Unknown Percentage of Indigenous employees: Unknown Mining activities conducted: N/A Nearby communities: Yellowknife (75 km, 46 miles) Discovery (93 km, 57 miles) Access to mine: By floatplane onto Hansen Lake. Impact and Benefit Agreement (IBA): None ReSDA Atlas March 2016 Page 1 of 2 BEAULIEU MINE SUMMARY Impacts of Mine Positive Negative Recovered 7.5 ounces of gold Market manipulation Major loss to investors attracted by false reporting of ore reserves After only one month of production the mine was left to decay for nearly 50 years. Remediation concerns include hydrocarbon contamination, waste rock and tailings with metal contamination, and physical hazard such as old buildings, debris and mine shaft openings. Revealed flaws in the securities business. Relevant Links Silke, Ryan (2013), “Yellowknife’s goldless gold mine”, Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Magazine. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (2012), “What’s happening in areas subject to on-going negotiations? Contaminated Site Remediation: 2012 in review” The Northern Miner (1987), “Queries: Beaulieu Yellowknife a horror story” Link to Environmental Impact Statement: N/A List of relevant research: Government of the Northwest Territories (2002), “The History of Mining in the Northwest Territories" in Minerals, Oil and Gas, History of Exploration and Development. Silke, Ryan (2009), “The Operational History of Mines in the Northwest Territories, Canada”, NWT Geoscience Office. Wade, Frank (2004), Advocate for the North: Judge John Parker - His Life and Times in the Northwest Territories. Victoria: Trafford Publishing. Review Board Decision: N/A Training programs: N/A ReSDA Atlas March 2016 Page 2 of 2 CAMLAREN MINE SUMMARY CAMLAREN Mine Description of the mine The Camlaren Mine was a small gold and silver mine 83 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, at Gordon Lake on the south-end of a narrow island, unofficially known as Muir Island. It consists of a property totalling about 981 hectares. The two claims that make up the property were staked in 1936 by prospectors Don Cameron and the Mclaren brothers and developed with two shafts during 1937-1938. Conditions attributed to World War II halted development at Camlaren in 1938. The mine did not produce any gold until 1963 when more modernized mining methods were introduced. About 11,000 tons of ore were transported to Discovery Mine for processing, resulting in about 15,000 troy ounces (466.6 kg) of refined gold. Additional mine development was completed in 1974-1975.
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