Photograph : George Hunter 50781 s P r i n G 2 0 1 4
47
By 1958, a total of 36 properties in the
camp had been explored by underground
methods; of these, 16 would become pro-
ducing mines. The two largest mines
to be developed were Eldorado Mining
and Refining's Ace-Fay-Verna mine and
Gunnar Mining Limited's Gunnar mine.
The Ace-Fay-Verna mine was the first
to begin production in 1953 with a treat-
ment plant initially rated at 500 tons per
day. The mill facilities were expanded
to 2,000 tons per day by 1957. The Ace,
Fay and Verna mines were developed by
three shafts, and the underground work-
ings were all connected by main haulage
levels. The main Fay production shaft at
the plant site facilities was developed to
a depth of 1,250 metres and serviced by
24 levels. Most of the ore for these three
mines was extracted from eight zones
of mineralization occurring along an
approximate three-kilometre trend of the
St. Louis Fault. (In the 1970s, Eldorado
also developed and mined high-grade ore
from two smaller deposits, the Hab and
Dubyna Lake, which occur several kilo-
metres east of the Verna shaft.)
The Gunnar mine property advanced
rapidly following the discovery of the
radioactive boulders in 1952. Uranium
mineralization was hosted in a steeply
plunging 137-metre-wide pipe-like
syenitic body that extended to a depth of
305 metres. A resource of four million tons
grading 0.2 per cent U
3
O
8
was estimated.
The mine was initially developed by open
pit; production commenced in September
1955 with an approximate mill through-
put of 2,000 tons per day. As the open pit
was being mined out, underground pro-
duction was phased in starting in 1958
and continued until October 1963, when
the ore body was depleted. A total of 5.5
million tons of ore grading 0.175 per cent
U
3
O
8
was milled.
The Ace-Fay-Verna mine and surroundings.
p44-49_CampsOfFame.indd 47 14-02-14 3:03 PM
