Resource World Magazine

Exploration & Mining in BRITISH COLUMBIA by Ellsworth Dickson E Ever since gold was discovered in the Fraser River in 1858, an event that resulted in thousands of Californians heading north, British Columbia has been recognized as a mineral-rich region. Although the placer gold rushes were relatively short-lived, they jump-started politicians, both in BC and in England, to make the western part of Canada a province in 1871. Since those early years, BC has been a major source of coal, copper, zinc, molybdenum, gold and silver. With the benefits provided by the old Vancouver Stock Exchange, the city eventually grew into the exploration capital of the world, home to many geologists, mining engineers, assayers, plus some 1,200 junior exploration companies and a few majors. While there has been a bear market in the junior mining sector, since last spring, the mining industry still plays a crucial role in the economic health of the province. The 2012 figures are not in yet; however, gross 22 www.resourceworld.com mining revenues for the BC mining industry increased by 25% from 2010 ($7.9 billion) to $9.9 billion in 2011, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Capital expenditures increased by 135% from $1,252 million in 2010 to $2,943 million in 2011. Despite a slight pullback in 2012 exploration, there are still some 350 active mineral exploration sites and about 25 potential new mine projects throughout BC. Below is a selection of companies exploring for a variety of mineral commodities. Abacus Mining & Exploration Corp. [AME-TSXV], 20%, and KGHM International Ltd., 80%, are developing the feasibilitystage Ajax Mine near Kamloops. A feasibility study concluded that the project has proven and probable mineral reserves of 3 billion lbs copper and 2.7 million oz gold at 0.27% copper and 0.17 g/t gold. The study suggested a 23-year mine life at a processing rate of 60,000 tpd or 21.9 million tpa at a stripping ratio of 2.4:1. Initial capital costs are $795 million, including contingency of $87 million. Anglo Swiss Resources Inc. [ASWTSXV] controls precious and base metal and flake graphite exploration properties, including the 100%-owned Kenville Gold Mine property and Blu Starr flake graphite project in southeast BC, and its Lansdowne House nickel-copper-PGE, Ring of Fire Project, northwest Ontario. Auramex Resource Corp. [AUX-TSXV] has two prospects in BC: the Brandywine property 90 km north of Vancouver with targets prospective in silver, zinc and gold mineralization and the 40,000+ hectare Stewart properties, a grassroots exploration project near Stewart, northwest BC. On the Stewart properties, drill permits are in hand for the Tide North property, the Georgie River property and for several locations in the Bear River/Surprise Creek claim block: the Breccia Zone, Gravel Anomaly, West George Copper and Grey Copper. The comDECEMBER 2012/JANUARY 2013

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