Mineral Exploration

36 S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 was discovered at the southwest corner of the island, close to the shore. It was also explored with an 11-metre tunnel. MacDonald also had high hopes for the original copper-silver discovery on Silver Island. His determination to develop a mine at this property was even- tually realized. However, it was never a big producer and was closed when the market crashed in 1929. In May 1929, the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Limited, which later became Cominco, optioned the R ichmond property on McDonald Island, drilling eight diamond drill holes totalling 1,219 metres. A zone of copper mineraliza- tion was identified, and a resource of approximately eight million tons grad- ing 0.8 per cent copper, with minor gold and silver, was estimated. Possibly due in part to the economic downturn, explo- ration was halted the same year, and the property reverted back to MacDonald and Newman. By 1940, E.T. Campbell and Associates had acquired the Richmond and Newman properties. The company, however, focused on the lead-zinc-silver occurrence at the southwest corner of McDonald Island rather than evaluating the copper potential, and the properties remained dormant for several years. In 1943, Dr. Victor Dolmage was requested to re-examine the potential of McDonald Island – in particular, the drilling completed by the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Limited. However, it was not until 1955 that Dolmage's favourable report caught the attention of Larry Postle and Keith Fahrni of Granby Mining Company, sparking an imme- diate decision for followup exploration. Fahrni was especially impressed with the numerous copper showings on the island. Granby drilled eight diamond drill holes, totalling 675 metres, before freeze-up. The crew returned early the following spring to mobilize equip- ment, supplies and camp to McDonald Island. A major drilling program, con- sisting of 40 holes, was completed in the summer. Granisle Copper Limited was estab- lished in 1957 as a subsidiary of Granby to co-ordinate the company's Babine programs. By the end of 1962, drilling had defined the Granisle copper deposit to a depth of 152 metres, and an open pit reserve of 22.7 million tons grading 0.53 per cent copper was evaluated. Based on this, a feasibility study for mine develop- ment was completed in 1963, and plans were announced for mine construction and ore production at 5,000 tons per day. Construction of the plant commenced in the summer of 1963, along with prepara- tion for a townsite on the southwest shore of Babine Lake. To ensure year-round barge access, an innovative bubbler sys- tem was installed to maintain a 30-metre- wide open channel across the lake during the winter season. Production commenced on November 16, 1966. With the mine operating at capac- ity and the ore body extended to depth, expansion plans were considered in 1970. However, Granby was facing a corporate takeover by Pacific Holding Corporation of California, which had acquired 51 per cent of Granby's shares. In 1971, Zapata Norness Inc. purchased Pacific Holding's ownership of Granby shares and, in 1979, amalgamated Granby and Granisle with Zapata to become Zapata Granby Corp. The takeover marked the end of Granby, one of the longest-stand- ing, most resourceful and most success- ful companies in the history of British Columbia's mining industry. In the midst of the corporate turmoil, a major plant expansion, upgrading it from 6,000 to 14,000 tons per day, was completed in 1972. This included addi- tional housing at the townsite, a new barge landing dock at the mine site and the acquisition of larger equipment. By 1974, Granisle employed approximately 300 workers. In 1979, Noranda Mines Ltd., which was operating the adjacent Bell copper mine, purchased the Canadian holdings of Zapata Granby. The two mines oper- ated under Noranda until 1982, when pro- duction stopped due to low copper prices. The small lead-zinc-silver veins that MacDonald and Newman discovered in the early 1900s were about 800 metres west of the Bell copper deposit. In 1945, bulldozer trenching exposed a pyrite- bearing porphyry rock unit. Seventeen years later, the notation of this exposure caught the attention of Dr. Archie Bell of Noranda as being possibly favourable for copper mineralization. Claims were quickly staked across the peninsula. Noranda immediately commenced exploration on the newly staked claims and the surrounding area. Co-ordinated by Dave Lowrie and Gavin E. Dirom, initial exploration involved geological mapping and soil sampling around the old lead-zinc showings, and stream sediment sampling of drainages on and around Newman Peninsula. Fortuitously, when one of the field crews could not be mobi- lized due to a helicopter breakdown, the stranded crew decided to conduct a pre- liminary electromagnetic test survey, extending across the peninsula from the lead-zinc showings and an adjacent rusty bluff. Strong anomalous readings were immediately recorded; it was later deter- mined that they represented the pyrite halo bounding the yet-to-be-discovered Newman copper deposit. With this encouragement, additional soil sampling in early 1963 defined a prominent copper anomaly. Three dia- mond drill holes were drilled to explore the geochemical and electromagnetic anomalies. A fourth hole, drilled at the start of the 1964 drill program, intersected 58 metres grading 0.94 per cent copper. These four holes were the discovery holes for the Newman cop- per deposit, later renamed the Bell copper deposit. Followup drilling from 1964 through 1968 defined this new deposit to a depth of 244 metres, and a mineral resource of 128 million tons grading 0.48 per cent copper was estimated. Based on this, a feasibility study to develop the Newman

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