Location | |
---|---|
Location | Quesnel Lake |
Province | British Columbia |
Country | Canada |
Coordinates | 52°30′48″N 121°35′47″W / 52.513437°N 121.596309°W |
Production | |
Products | |
Production | |
Financial year | 2013 |
History | |
Discovered | 1969 |
Opened | 1997 |
Closed | 2019 |
Owner | |
Company | Imperial Metals |
Website | Mount Polley Mine |
Year of acquisition | 1980 |
Mount Polley mine is a Canadian gold and copper mine located in British Columbia near the towns of Williams Lake and Likely. It consists of two open-pit sites with an underground mining component and is owned and operated by the Mount Polley Mining Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Imperial Metals. In 2013, the mine produced an output of 38,501,165 pounds (17,463,835 kg) of copper, 45,823 ounces of gold, and 123,999 of silver. The mill commenced operations in 1997 and was closed and placed on care and maintenance in 2019. The company owns 20,113 hectares (201.13 km2) of property near Quesnel Lake and Polley Lake where it has mining leases and operations on 2,007 hectares (20.07 km2) and mineral claims on 18,106 hectares (181.06 km2).[2] Mineral concentrate is delivered by truck to the Port of Vancouver.[2]
As of January 2020, Mount Polley's Proven and Probable Reserves were 53.8 million tonnes of ore grading 0.34% copper, 0.30 grams per tonne gold and 0.9 grams per tonne silver, equating to 400 million pounds of copper, 517,000 troy ounces of gold and 1.55 million troy ounces of silver.[3]
Mount Polley Mining Company reopened the mine in July 2022. Mount Polley Mining Company estimates that the reopening of the mine created 300 local jobs.[4]