New vitality in the Val-d'Or mining camp

Pierre Pilote and James Moorhead
Bureau de l’exploration géologique du Québec

The interest of prospectors in the Val-d'Or area dates back to the early 1900s. Following the discovery of gold veins at the western extremity of the Bourlamaque Batholith in 1911 (Sullivan mine, operated from 1934 to 1967), there was a real gold rush in the area. Several other gold showings were soon discovered, including:

• Greene-Stabell (1914)
• Siscoe (1915)
• Lamaque (1923, mined from 1932 to 1985)
• Sigma (1933, mined from 1936 to the present).

Prospecting activities in the Val-d’Or area, historically known as the "Valley of Gold" by prospectors, have increased considerably over the past few years, after being sluggish for a while. At this time, the total combined gold production from the Val-d’Or and Malartic mining camps exceeds 25 million ounces.

The winning combination!

A combination of factors explains this renewed interest in the area. The price of an ounce of gold has more than doubled since 2002 and stands today at about US$600/ounce. This increase was also accompanied by historic highs in base metal prices: silver at US$11.40/ounce, copper at US$3.50/lb, zinc at US$1.70/lb and nickel at US$15.00/lb. Emerging markets in Southeast Asia , particularly the Chinese market, are largely responsible for these sustained increases.

These high gold and metal prices have generated and sustained vigorous exploration in Québec's traditional mining regions, including Abitibi and, more particularly, the “Valley of Gold”. They have also encouraged a reassessment of formerly uneconomic deposits.

The implementation of new mining and processing techniques (processing large volumes of low-grade ore, open pit operations) has also made it possible to reconsider developing previously known deposits. In the Val-d’Or area, production startup at Agnico-Eagle Mines’ Goldex deposit and development of the Herbin Lake gold deposit by Alexis Minerals Corporation are examples.

At Agnico-Eagle Mines’ Goldex project, sinking of a concrete-lined shaft will provide access to reserves of 21 million tonnes of low-grade ore containing more than 1.6 million ounces of gold. Annual production is estimated at 170,000 ounces over a minimum of 10 years.

Activities resume

In the Malartic area, several old gold deposits are being re-evaluated in light of new mining techniques or new geological data. These include Osisko Exploration’s open pit project, the East Amphi Mine, operated by Richmont Mines, and the Midway project, under the management of Northern Star Mining Corporation. The latter is currently building a headframe.

All these projects suggest that the “Valley of Gold” has many more surprises in store. Even the economic characteristics of deposits formerly considered depleted or unprofitable can rapidly change for the better. This is due, on the one hand, to current favourable economic conditions (high price of gold and metals) and to technological innovations in the mining industry. On the other, this revitalization is also related to an increase in our geological knowledge over the past few years and a better understanding of the various large families of gold and volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits that make up the “Valley of Gold”. The bottom line is that improvement in our geological knowledge contributes significantly to the development and application of innovative exploration models, which are instrumental to the mining industry’s success in Abitibi.