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 In terms of both production and lifespan, 777 North is a decidedly modest mine. But you wouldn't have known it from the enthusiasm shown Wednesday as Hudbay officials celebrated this expansion of 777 Mine. '777 North was an idea, and it was an idea generated by our team at 777,' said Richard Trudeau, the company's manager of Flin Flon and Snow Lake mines. 'Over the years we had looked at it and...recently we had a closer evaluation of 777 North _ and favourable metal prices certainly helped _ and we started this project.' See 'Ribbon...' on pg.11 Continued from pg.3 Trudeau addressed nearly 20 hard-hatted Hudbay officials, including CEO David Garofalo and board chair Wesley Voorheis, near the portal stretching down into the mine. Speeches led to a ribbon-cutting ceremony a few dozen metres in front of the portal. Appropriately enough, the 777 head frame, though off in the distance, remained visible. 'I love hearing the stories of how mines are made, because they're not discovered, they are made _ it's the ingenuity of people, it's the effort, the blood, sweat and tears,' Garofalo told the officials, who had been bussed to the site. Though not in the production phase until the first quarter of 2013, 777 North has already yielded more than 17,000 tons of ore in the development phase. To make 777 North a reality, Trudeau said, planners had to to find numerous ways to reduce costs. 'One good example is moving the portal to where it is now,' he said. 'We were able to use the retired (copper) smelter infrastructure (nearby) for water, power, air _ all those things that you need for a mine. And also the people here at Hudbay (deserve recognition), the cooperation that we got from the entire team at Hudbay to get this project on the go.' 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 time 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. 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 forecast to last four and a half years, though it is always possible that exploration will lengthen that estimate. As of last month, 777 North employed 33 workers. At its peak, it will have 42 employees. Trudeau said 777 North will enable 777 to become more efficient, in part thanks to equipment sharing. 777 North will not replace the ore from the recently closed Trout Lake Mine, but, as Trudeau previously said, 'it will be an independent feed of ore that will assist in keeping our mill running at acceptable levels.'
