China Minerals eyes gold in Cassiar tailings

China Minerals Mining Corp. Feb. 26 announced plans to evaluate the content and potential recovery of gold from tailings of the historical Erickson Mine on its Cassiar gold property in northwestern British Columbia.

The 140,470-acre (56,846 hectares) Cassiar property hosts the past producing Main (formerly Erickson), Cusac, Bain, Taurus, Sable, Plaza and Vollaug hardrock mines that produced 350,651 ounces of gold. Most of this aurum, roughly 315,000 oz, was recovered from a 300-metric-ton-per-day plant that operated at Erickson principally between 1979 and 1999

The average head grades at Erickson ran between 10 and 32 grams per metric ton gold.

Mill records documented the estimated grade and quantity of tailings that were discharged to the TM-TSF #1 tailings facility at Erickson. Sampling of those tailings in the 1980s helped to further refine the quantity tonnage and gold grade of the tailings contained in the storage facility.

Based on this information, China Minerals estimates Erickson TM-TSF #1 contains 400,000 to 500,000 metric tons of tailings averaging 0.97 to 1.25 g/t gold.

–SHANE LASLEY