Mineral Exploration

(clockwise from top right) Logging core near Babine Lake, 1929; Location of Bell and Granisle mines; The pit at Granisle mine, 1977; The Bell mine in 1989 during its second production run; The barge connecting the Granisle mill and townsite. Photographs: Noranda Minerals Inc. ; Tom Schroeter/Property File; Grant Webb/Granisle Public Library; Granisle Public Library S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 37 deposit commenced in 1969, and a mineable ore reserve of 46 million tons grading 0.5 per cent copper was evalu- ated. Construction of the 10,000-ton- per-day open-pit mine started in 1971, pre-production mining operations com- menced in February 1972, and the first ore was delivered to the concentrator in October 1972. New housing was constructed at Granisle. As before, a bubbler system was installed across Babine Lake to ensure year-round access to the mine site. In recognition of this exciting dis- covery and the successful development of the mine, Noranda established its Bell Copper Division as a tribute to Dr. Bell and the exploration crews. Concurrent with the exploration work at the Bell copper deposit, Noranda was actively co-ordinating a regional exploration program on and around the Newman Peninsula. This included stream sediment sampling from creeks draining into Morrison Lake north of the deposit. Two of the samples were highly anomalous in copper, and the followup examination at the beginning of the 1963 field season discovered copper miner- alization in float and exposures along a small creek bed near the southeastern end of the lake. This was the discovery of the Morrison copper deposit. For Noranda's field crews, 1963 was a banner year, as they discovered two major copper projects in one camp. Seven dia- mond drill holes were drilled in 1963, and by 1973 subsequent drilling had delin- eated the Morrison deposit. Considerable exploration and advanced evaluation studies have been undertaken since 1973 by a junior exploration company, but the project has not yet been developed. The discover y of t he Bell and Morrison porphyry copper-gold deposits in 1963 and mine construction at Granisle in 1965 attracted many mining and explo- ration companies to the Babine Lake area. Using geochemical and geophysical techniques, a number of new discover- ies were made. One of the most intrigu- ing discoveries was made by Tro-Buttle Exploration in 1967, with the uncovering of spectacular chalcopyrite-filled breccia mineralization in a bulldozer trench on Hearne Hill. A large slab of this flashy mineralization was displayed in Smithers, creating immediate excitement for the exploration companies. This discovery was located only about 1.5 kilometres southeast of the Morrison deposit. Texas Gulf Sulphur Company optioned the property and proceeded to identify a large, low-grade porphyry copper system, within which a com- paratively restricted high-grade copper breccia pipe was defined. The propert y was subsequently explored by several other companies that identified a second high-grade breccia pipe. Due to the rather small size of these breccia pipes, the property is still undeveloped. Additionally, a number of other discoveries in the Babine camp were tested by diamond drilling and limited percussion drilling. Properties such as Nak, Dorothy, Old Fort and Trail Peak were explored quite extensively but have not been advanced. The closure of the Bell and Granisle mines in October 1982 due to low cop- per prices was devastating for workers at the mines. The population of Granisle decreased from more than 1,500 to under 500. Economic studies were undertaken to determine if the Bell mine could be reopened, but the bleak forecast for copper prices dampened these plans. (The Bell mine did subsequently oper- ate once more from 1985 to 1992). There are, however, optimistic visions that the Morrison project might be developed in the near future. ■

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