Mineral exploration over the border.

• Author: Rishel, John

Hot mining prospects in British Columbia could bring profits to Alaska and Canada -- if a proposed road gets built to bring the resources to market.

Mining companies have been active in the Tulsequah-Taku district of northwestern British Columbia, about 45 miles northeast of Juneau, Alaska. Two of the properties, the Tulsequah Chief and the Polaris-Taku sites, are now in an advanced exploration stage and could be close to a development decision within the next two to three years. Exploration to date shows that both properties rank among Canada's largest undeveloped mineral deposits.

TAPPING THE TULSEQUAH CHIEF

The Tulsequah Chief property, 100 percent owned by Vancouver-based Redfern Resources, is the farthest advanced of the two projects. The property contains two former mines, the Tulsequah Chief and the Big Bull. Both of these deposits are similar to the Greens Creek mine in southeast Alaska.

Drilling at the Tulsequah Chief mine has found nearly 10 million tons of rock containing 1.48 percent copper, 1.17 percent lead, 6.85 percent zinc, 0.07 troy ounces of gold and 2.72 troy ounces of silver per ton. John Greig, president of Redfern Resources, estimates that current mineable reserves are 7.7 million tons, all in the Tulsequah Chief deposit. The site remains open at depth and along strike, upping the probability of increasing current reserves. Redfern Resources plans to complete 25,000 feet of definition drilling on the Tulsequah Chief deposit this year.

Based on drill-indicated reserves at the end of 1992, a study on a mine producing 2,480 tons per day from the Tulsequah Chief deposit indicates that the operation would be profitable. Estimated capital costs for developing the mine and building a road through the Taku River corridor to tidewater are $130 million over the mine's nine year life. Recent studies also indicate that mining conditions are good, and recovery of metal-bearing minerals from raw ore, as well as the grade of the resulting concentrate, are high.

The odds of finding additional economic deposits in the Tulsequah area are very high since deposits like the Tulsequah Chief often occur in clusters. Besides the Big Bull deposit, Redfern has identified four high-priority targets on the property and is currently conducting geological mapping and geophysical surveys to define additional targets. Al Clough, a geologist with the Alaska Department of Commerce and Economic Development, believes that a reasonable chance exists to...