The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor An expansion of Flin Flon's last remaining mine is set to reach full production early next year. Hudbay expects the 777 North Mine, adjacent to the 777 Mine, will enter the production phase in the first quarter of 2013. 'With Trout Lake (Mine) completing its mine life, Hudbay requires another source of feed to our Flin Flon concentrator,' says Richard Trudeau, the company's manager of Flin Flon and Snow Lake mines. '777 North will not replace the production from Trout, but it will be an independent feed of ore that will assist in keeping our mill running at acceptable levels.' Compared to other Hudbay mines in production or development, 777 North is a small operation. Currently in the development stage, 777 North employs 33 workers. At its peak, it will have 42 employees. The mine is expected to generate 350 to 500 tons of ore a day, less than 10 per cent of overall Flin Flon-Snow Lake production. The mine is projected to last four and a half years, though it is always possible that exploration will lengthen that estimate. 'The present ramp system...will provide underground diamond-drill platforms, giving us an opportunity to further explore the 777 and 777 North ore bodies,' Trudeau says. Work in progress The 777 North ramp is still a work in progress. It is scheduled to reach the mine's North Zone in the final quarter of this year, at which point some ore will be extracted. Development will continue to the 440-metre level, connecting 777 North to the existing 777 underground ramp system sometime in the final three months of 2013. Ore from 777 North will be crushed on surface and sent directly to the existing mill. Aside from its ore supply, 777 North was viewed as an attractive project because of the timing and location involved. 'With the (copper) smelter closing (in 2010), 777 North was able to utilize its power, water and the surrounding infrastructure to support the mine,' Trudeau says. 'The project team was able to reduce project costs substantially by placing the mine where it is. Another advantage is the short haul distance from the mine to the concentrator.' The project offers other advantages as well. 'Besides opportunities for exploration drilling underground, the 777 North ramp will provide another access into 777 Mine,' says Trudeau. 'Presently all underground equipment must be taken apart and slung down the shaft to the 1,262-metre level, then reassembled. With the new ramp, a piece of equipment will not have to be taken apart and can be put to work the first day it arrives on site. It also gives us flexibility to share equipment resources with our other operations.' See 'Most...' on pg. 3 Continued from pg. 1 Though not in the production phase until the first quarter of next year, 777 North has already yielded 17,000 tons of ore during the development phase. The mine has gleaned most of its workforce _ 27 of 33 employees _ from Trout Lake Mine, which closed last month. Unlike Trout Lake Mine, which once relied on dozens of contractors, 777 North has just one contractor on site, according to Trudeau. Since the 777 North project started in the fall of 2010, there had not been a single lost-time injury as of July 11. This past May, 777 North hosted the 2012 Manitoba Provincial Mine Rescue Competition. Hudbay has long been aware of most of the ore within the 777 North area, but it did not always plan to establish a new access point within the mine. The ore to be mined from the area is similar to that of the rest of 777, containing zinc, copper, gold and silver. The 777 Mine became the only operational Flin Flon mine after Trout Lake closed.
