Heart Of Gold

When it comes to location, few mining operations anywhere in Canada can match that of Goldcorp’s proposed Hollinger gold mine project near Timmins, Ontario. In fact, the word “near” is incorrect because the property is actually “within” the City limits and in typical Canadian fashion, it’s also “within” walking distance of a Tim Horton’s and McDonald’s.

That’s right, it’s true, and unlike most mines that are usually found in remote locations, the Hollinger site is right in the heart of the community and surrounded by houses, schools, strip malls, motels, and did we mention an A&W, and KFC, as well as a Shoppers Drug Mart, Rona, and numerous gas stations and other conveniences.

In other words, it’s not the typical setting for a mining project but as the saying goes “build it and they will come” and that’s exactly what has happened in this case. The fact is, mining on the site first started in 1910 and slowly over the years, a community naturally developed and people and businesses migrated to the area to the point where it is today with nearly 43,000 people living within 10 kms of the site.

But again, the mine was there first and from its discovery in 1909 until it was officially closed in 1989, more than 19.5 million ounces of gold had been recovered from the site. But as already mentioned, the mine was sadly closed for economic reasons and work within its vast network of underground tunnels and shafts came to a halt.

As with all projects of this nature, especially those in close proximity to urban communities, great care had to be taken to ensure that the site was indeed “closed” and “safe and secure.”

It was during this boarding-up process, however, that Goldcorp’s engineers and geologists continued discovering the potential of the property and even though they committed to spending $9 million with the Ministry of Northern Development & Mines to fill and cap mine openings for public safety reasons, they never abandoned the idea that someday the Hollinger mine would reopen.

Over the next few years, Goldcorp continued to evaluate the site’s reserves and in 2007, it announced plans to reopen Hollinger but this time, as an open-pit mine.

Faced with transforming an underground “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” operation into an “in-your-face” project would take a real selling job in the community and for this reason, Goldcorp included everyone from City councillors, to municipal and provincial authorities, to First Nations’ representatives, to naturally, local ratepayers, to voice their opinions on the concept of the project.

It was of little surprise to Goldcorp officials that there were definitely some objections to its plans for an open-pit mine “within” the city and currently a comprehensive consultation program is underway tied to the current work in progress to obtain permit approvals with all government agencies.

Peter Andrews, a senior project engineer, says that once the permits needed for start-up have been received, the company will accelerate the removal of existing mine hazards through filling or mining of historic workings. Numerous shafts, raises, and slopes have already been filled with sand and capped with concrete and a perimeter fence has been built around the property to meet provincial rehabilitation guidelines, including signs to prevent people from trespassing on the property. One of the key benefits of the open-pit mining project is the removal of the existing mine hazards at surface by either mining through them or filling and covering them over with rock.

Goldcorp plans to start mining in the centre of the property. Three open pits will be mined with waste rock being used to construct a separation berm to surround the property to reduce noise and dust emanating from the mine site to the neighbouring community.

The berm is also one of the more imaginative components of the whole project because Goldcorp plans to use sections of those berms as ‘observation’ points for the neighbours. Much like a “peep hole” in a plywood wall surrounding a downtown excavation, it’s believed the berm will also attract people to just see “what’s going on?”

But as already mentioned, mining operations where heavy equipment is working above ground involves a certain amount of unavoidable noise and dust and that’s why Goldcorp is going one step further to help reduce these annoyances by building its own 5-km long haul road to move ore from the pits to its existing Dome Mill, keeping a maximum separation distance from the residential areas.

How much ore will be moved depends again on the economy and the demand for gold but Peter Andrews says the Hollinger project has great potential because Goldcorp’s recent exploration drilling programs have identified an approximate five-year mine life that fits within its master plan for the site.

With a plan that continues to extend 100 years of mining in Timmins, as well as rehabilitating an historic mine site, it’s no wonder Golder has restored faith in its Hollinger Project and at the same time, is working on a consultation program to build the support of the community.

After all, with sustained mining operations, the company will continue to employ more than 600 people and several hundred contractors for many years to come and will continue to make mining in Northern Ontario one of the most valuable assets in the province.