ey

oe er way
Vea

:

-M he biggest, most ambitious, most promising ‘con

'* is Windy Craggy, the mountain with the poetic name that Geddes Resources of Toronto.
..’ wants to mine for one of the richest copper deposits in the world. The Windy Cragey
“camp is at a stratospheric elevation in the St. Elias Mountains in the far northwest

nd most controversial copper play!

_ corner of B.C., a habitat that even:the mountain goats find questionable.
"Although a copper deposit was identified at Windy Craggy Mountain’ by
“prospéctors working for Falconbridge in 1958, serious exploration did not begin until
_.. 1981 when Geddes acquired the claim and began diamond drilling. Few people had
--. heard of the Tatshenshini and Alsek rivers that Windy Craggy overlooks until 1989,
+. when Geddes concluded it lad a truly massive copper deposit in the mountain and

-” announced the intent to develop a truly big mine. In 1990 organized opposition to the
--... project began, with adventure tourism operators and a selection of environmental
"activist groups claiming the proposed mine had ‘the potential to ruin an invaluable

‘wilderness area, ee
~~” Geddes has continued exploring and attempting to answer the dire predictions of
the mine’s environmental impact for the past.two years, claiming that acid generation
from tailings can be controlled and that the mine proposal would be subject to a

“Vigorous environmental, social and economic examination before proceeding.
<-" ‘The most recent declamation against the mine proposal came two weeks ago when

~ a pair of U.S. politicians announced the: intention to have the Tatshénshini-Alsek

- system designated a world heritage site. Senator. Albert Gore of Tennessee and
. . Congressman Wayne Owens of Utah are sponsoring a joint resolution to that effect.
through the U.S. federal government. The two believe that if the resolution passes,

_,Ppublic pressure will increase to have the rivers protected and that may bring about

bilateral negotiations between the U.S. and: Canadian federal governments on the
issue, | a a _ oe,

‘2 Downstream of Windy Craggy, the two rivers pasa through a narrow strip of the
’.Alaska panhandle. SO , oo, -
~..°"'The current outline for the mine project shows an open pit operation processing

. 20,000 tons of ore a day to produce 120,000 tons of copper concentrate annually. Life
- of the mine using current reserve calculations-is estimated to be 30-40 years, with the
. last. decade being .an underground ' operation. During the open pit stage it would
_; &mploy'600 people; It would take 500 workers two years to build-the mine and 400

.:workers 18 months to build an access toad. |
~:~ Geddes expects to gross $5 billion over the life of the mine. CS
~~ Keith Somerville, a Vancouver-based vice president for Geddes, will be making‘a

~~

Windy Cragey Mountain

34

“Sea CR EE eas Rare anita Seiad

“Terrace Review — April 16, 1992

FES RTE PRENTSE TTS ry MRS a Se EE ec Ti

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