Redcorp Ventures

In with the oldGary Toushek learns how Redcorp Ventures Ltd. is employing some innovative methods to make an old mine new again. New commodity prices for base minerals and precious metals are good reasons to revisit an old mine that produced faithfully for seven years.  The Tulsequah Chief mine is located at the juncture of the Tulsequah and Taku Rivers in a remote part of the northwestern corner of British Columbia, very close to the Alaskan border, not far from Juneau. Originally mined by a subsidiary of Cominco Ltd. (now Teck Cominco, based in Vancouver) from 1951 to 1957, it produced mainly zinc, as well as copper, lead, gold and silver. Then the operation was discontinued because of the cost of mining relative to the low market prices for metals at the time. Fast-forward to 1992, when exploration and development company Redfern Resources Ltd. (founded in 1981 and also based in Vancouver, with other mining interests in Portugal) purchased ComincoÔÇÖs interest in Tulsequah. In 2000 Redfern became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Redcorp Ventures Ltd. But it wasnÔÇÖt until 2005 that Redcorp was curious enough to have a closer look at the old mineÔÇÖs potential and hired an independent engineering consultant to re-examine a previous feasibility scoping study.The recommendation for new opportunities was positive, with a mine life estimated at eight or more years, and in 2006 Redcorp decided to go ahead with a large exploration program to expand and further define the mineral resources. The company raised the required exploration funds and engaged the services of full-service engineering firm Wardrop Engineering Inc. (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) to update the feasibility study in detail. Another challenge was access to the mine site. There was no road, so surveys and engineering design work were necessary in order to acquire a special use permit, which would allow construction of a 160-kilometer (100-mile) road for inbound supplies and outbound haulage. The road would traverse property belonging to the Taku River Tlingit First Nations (TRTFN) band, and lengthy negotiations were undertaken. In the meantime, Redcorp had been looking for a backup plan, and in the fall of 2006 it realized a less expensive, less intrusive method of transport: the air cushion barge (ACB), manufactured by Hovertrans Air Cushion Systems Inc. (based in the UK with its US division based in Houston). The ACB is a slow-moving (five to ten knots), shallow-draft barge towed by conventional tugs in the aquatic season and amphibious tractors in the winter season. ItÔÇÖs built to marine specifications to accommodate specific water conditions but is also amphibious and able to operate in open water, on ice, mud or land. Unlike a hovercraft, an ACB uses high volumes of low-pressure air to hover on the surface of the water and needs to be towed. The ACB is powered by diesel engines and blowers to compress air and does not create significant waves or wake. An early version of the ACB was used on the Yukon River in the 1970s during the construction of the Trans Alaska Pipeline.ÔÇ£Major advantages of using the ACB on the Taku River are that itÔÇÖs environmentally superior and itÔÇÖs a shorter route than building a road,ÔÇØ says Salina Landstad, manager of public relations and corporate communications for Redcorp Ventures/Redfern Resources. ÔÇ£A challenge of this river system is that it changes from one season to another, which makes it somewhat unreliable for regular transport. The Taku River is frozen in winter, and it gets very shallow in the fall and spring. But the ACB can cross the shallow areas without a lot of effort and without disturbing much below it. The major benefit is that since weÔÇÖre pursuing the river for transport rather than constructing a road, our relationship with the Taku River Tlingit First Nations band has significantly improved. Right from the start the TRTFN have been an integral part of our project, including the permitting process, and theyÔÇÖre part of a working group committee comprising US and Canadian regulatory agencies that essentially governs the barging aspect of the project. We fully respect their traditional territory, and we strongly believe that we share the same goals of ensuring that our operations not only comply with environmental regulations and stewardship but exceed them, so thatÔÇÖs been a mutual common ground. ÔÇ£IÔÇÖd also like to acknowledge the assistance of our other consulting and service partners,ÔÇØ she continues, ÔÇ£such as Sandwell Engineering Inc. (an engineering, procurement, and construction services company), Alaska Marine Lines, Inc. and AMAK Towing (barge towing) of Ketchikan, Alaska, as well as Gartner Lee Ltd. of Whitehorse, Yukon, who along with Wardrop Engineering Inc. have made a significant contribution to our project under a tight timeline, in permitting, environmental stewardship and development strategy.ÔÇØ ┬áRedcorp has placed an order for one ACB to be constructed at a shipyard in Portland, Oregon, but in the meantime, conventional barging has been employed seasonally (since 2007) to transport construction equipment and supplies to the site. From early in 2008, two camps have been set up at opposite ends of the site, and construction (by Arctic Construction Ltd.) is ongoing, including a road to the barge landing area, and a road and airstrip for transporting personnel and supplies via plane (rather than using helicopter). Mineral concentrate will be barged by ACBs in sealed containers to Juneau, from which it will be barged to Skagway, Alaska, and Stewart, British Columbia, where it will be loaded into bulk ocean carriers for transport to smelters in Asia. The estimated cost of the project is $297 million, including contingency, and the company anticipates being in production by the third quarter of 2009.