Mount Polley mine

Mount Polley mine
Mount Polley mine
Location
Mount Polley Mine is located in Canada
Mount Polley Mine
Mount Polley Mine
Location in Canada
LocationQuesnel Lake
ProvinceBritish Columbia
CountryCanada
Coordinates52°30′48″N 121°35′47″W / 52.513437°N 121.596309°W / 52.513437; -121.596309
Production
Products
Production
  • 38,501,165 pounds copper[1]
  • 45,823 ounces gold[1]
  • 123,999 ounces silver[1]
Financial year2013
History
Discovered1969
Opened1997
Closed2019
Owner
CompanyImperial Metals
WebsiteMount Polley Mine
Year of acquisition1980

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]

  1. ^ a b c Imperial Metals (31 March 2014), Imperial Reports 2013 Financial Results
  2. ^ a b Mount Polley Mining Corporation (June 2020), Mount Polley Update on Mineral Resource Estimate and Exploration Drilling, retrieved 7 August 2020
  3. ^ Reserves and Resources (PDF), Imperial Metals, March 2021, retrieved 19 July 2021
  4. ^ BC Local News (6 May 2021). "Mount Polley mine expected to open by fall 2021: Imperial Metals". Retrieved 18 June 2021.