New resource estimate could revitalize historic Pickle Crow Mine

Andrew Topf | June 8, 2011 | 10:47 pm Precious Metals Canada Gold 

One of Canada’s most successful, historic gold mines is poised for a renaissance following a new resource estimate that outlines 1.26 million ounces of gold.

The updated NI-43101, filed Wednesday by Ottawa-based PC Gold, says the gold is contained in 10.15 million tonnes of ore averaging 3.9 g/t Au. The deposit has a higher-grade underground component of 1.1 million ounces averaging 5.4 g/t Au, with almost half — 600,000 ounces  — contained in high-grade veins grading 9.3 g/t Au.

“The resource demonstrates something new for Pickle Crow: millions of tonnes of bulk underground zones to complement high grade vein resources typical of the historical operation, in addition to a new open pit component, all of which remain open for expansion,” PC Gold stated in a news release. “Combining feed from these various mining styles is expected to allow for considerably more flexibility in future mine design and a potentially much larger operation than the historical Pickle Crow mine.”

The Pickle Crow Gold Mine, located in northwestern Ontario, was among the higest-grade, and longest-lived, underground gold mines in Canada. The mine operated for 31 years from 1935 to 1966, producing some 45 tonnes of gold and 5.25 tonnes of silver, from 2.78 million tonnes of ore milled. Average grades throughout the life of the mine were 16.14 g/t gold, and 1.88 g/t silver.

An informative history of the mine can be found on PC Gold’s website, including the following historical tidbits:

  • The mine established a Canadian record by paying a dividend to its shareholders a mere 11 months after beginning production.  In its first year the mine earned $415,962 (equivalent to about $6.5 million 2007 US$) after taxes and continued to earn substantial profits through World War II, labour shortages and constantly declining real gold prices (adjusted for inflation), for 28 consecutive years.
  • In the post-war years, under the stewardship of Dr. Norman B. Keevil, then President of PCGM, these profits from the Pickle Crow Mine partially underwrote the growth of another great Canadian mining success story, Teck Corporation (now Teck Resources).
  • In 1965, after the mine closed due to low gold prices ($35/oz) and higher operating costs, an enterprising person(s) unknown to this day, succeeded in extracting one final big payday out of the old operation in September 1966, by making off with the last three gold bars poured at Pickle Crow.
An animated video and rotating 3D model of the Pickle Crow gold mine, including underground development, stopes, principal veins and BIF hosted gold zones and resources, can be viewed on YouTube. Click here to watch the video.

Image by PC Gold Inc.

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2 Comments

  • Eileen

    Do you have any idea who the miners in the picture are? The one in the center sure looks like my father who worked there around that time.

  • Andrew Topf

    Unfortunately I don’t. The image is courtesy of PC Gold, so you may want to contact them directly. Good luck!

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