Mining Month — May 2022

WEDNESDAY, May 18, 2022

www.kamloopsthisweek.com

MINING

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MINING MONTH MAY 2022

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ENGAGING COMMUNITY TO

Help Build a Plan for the Future

Beyond New Afton Committee Members (L-R): Jordann Hazelwood, Brandon Lewis, Korah De Walt, Jeremy Currie, John Andrew, Brianna Maurer

“Communities become stronger when leaders lead by example and when we all work together. I am pleased to recognize the good work of New Gold (NG) and their Beyond New Afton Project. This project is a positive example of leadership, collaboration, and economic prosperity while upholding our environmental stewardship and cultural protocols and laws. As the mine looks to the future, when it will eventually wind down operations, these NG leaders and their Beyond New Afton Project, are reaching out now to understand what impacts are likely. Together we can plan to reduce those impacts through restoration and remediation of the lands recognizing the importance of the impacts and decisions we make for the next seven generations.

We are proud that our people are a part of the decision making through free, prior, and informed, consent and play an important role by upholding our cultural and environmental laws in this work.”

Kúkpi7 Rosanne Casimir Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc

The Beyond New Afton Project is an opportunity to engage with our community through our Beyond New Afton Survey.

The anticipated mine life for New Afton Mine is 2030* with additional exploration that could further extend the mine’s life.

By understanding potential impacts specific to our community, we can start developing strategies now to reduce those impacts, long before the mine winds down operations.

Join us and help plan for the future, together.

Learn more and fill out the survey...

www.bit.ly/BeyondNewAfton

*For the most up-to-date New Afton Mine life information, visit www.newgold.com

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MINING

WEDNESDAY, May 18, 2022

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The Highland Valley Copper mine near Logan Lake is Canada’s largest open-pit copper mine. It is an amalgamation of three historic mining operations: Bethlehem (later Valley Copper), Lornex and Highmont.

MAY IS MINING MONTH IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

Changing mines, changing minds in 2022

T

he province of British Columbia and Mining Association of British Columbia (MABC) have announced that May is officially BC Mining Month, which looks to celebrate and recognize the contributions of the mining industry on communities across the province and its role in reducing carbon emissions.

Mines and smelters across B.C. create 35,000 jobs, with an average wage of $123,700.

Their annual contribution to all

levels of government is clos to $2.5 billion. Owners of mines in the province spend an estimated $3 billion annually with 215 small- and medium-sized and Indigenous-affiliated businesses.

“B.C. Mining Month is an excellent opportunity to showcase the willingness of our industry to embrace change and innovation, whether that be social, environmental or technological,” said Michael Goehring, president and CEO of the MABC. “B.C. is a world-class mining jurisdiction that has stepped up

to find new and better ways to produce metals and minerals, providing important benefits for the communities they operate in.”

This year’s theme of Changing Mines, Changing Minds highlights how mining impacts environmental issues such as carbon emissions, climate change and safety.

The MABC’s aim is to support the industry’s continuous improvement and implementation of green technologies to reduce emissions, improve efficiency and enhance the safety of

communities and workers.

“For more than 170 years, mining has played a key role in the development and growth of British Columbia,” said Mines Minister Bruce Ralston.

“As we undergo the massive shift from reliance on fossil fuels to cleaner technology, B.C.’s mining industry will be critical to meeting the global demand for the raw metals and minerals needed to transition to a lowcarbon future.”

The International Energy Agency predicts demand for metals and minerals will grow

six-fold by 2040 to support the global energy transition required to meet the Paris Agreement’s cliamet change-related emissions targets.

British Columbia’s 16 mines and two smelters produce copper, aluminum, gold, silver, steelmaking coal and additional metals and minerals used to construct electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar farms, electricity transmission and other vital infrastructure.

Mines in B.C. contribute up to $2.5 billion in annual revenue to all levels of government.

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WEDNESDAY, May 18, 2022

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BUILDING & POWERING A BETTER WORLD We’re helping our customers meet their sustainability goals by using technology to reduce emissions and providing cleaner power solutions.

Together, we’re mining better.

Learn more about our initiatives in safety, alternative fuels, remanufacturing and more in our recent Sustainability Report at finning.com/sustainability

WEDNESDAY, May 18, 2022

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B.C. mines will seize low-carbon opportunity A message during Mining Month from Michael Goehring, president and CEO of Mining Association of British Columbia.

A

s president and CEO of the Mining Association of BC, I spend a lot of time talking with people in the Lower Mainland who don’t realize the significant contribution mining makes to communities across our province.

For more than 100 years, however, Kamloops has been the heart of mineral exploration and mining activity in the province.

Today, in addition to numerous exploration projects, the region hosts New Gold’s New Afton gold-copper mine and Teck’s Highland Valley Copper

operation near Logan Lake.

Together, these two mines employ nearly 2,000 people.

The opportunities created by the mining supply sector in Kamloops are also critical to the region. Prior to the pandemic, B.C.’s mining industry spent more than $340 million at 410 Kamloops businesses.

Without question, Kamloops is a mining powerhouse.

I want to thank everyone regionally involved in mining, from the haul truck drivers, hydrologists, skilled tradespeople, human resources, suppliers and everyone in between for their contributions to mining and the regional economy.

One of our greatest strengths as a global mining jurisdiction is our people.

A remarkable amount of expertise and experience forms

the foundation of our industry — expertise and innovation that is exported and emulated around the world.

The strength of B.C. mining is why I’m optimistic our province will be able to seize a fastdeveloping opportunity that lies before us.

According to the International Energy Agency, we need up to six times more minerals and metals by 2040 than is currently being produced to build the electric vehicles, wind turbines and other clean technologies required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change.

The minerals and metals British Columbia mines and refines today — copper, steelmaking coal, silver, aluminum and more — are essential to the

clean technologies the world needs to transition to a low carbon future.

For example, electric vehicles require three to six times more copper (and other metals and minerals) than does a traditional car.

Trust me, I understand that a compact car with limited range won’t work for most people in communities outside Greater Vancouver, but automakers are rapidly debuting new models with different capabilities and ranges to meet different needs.

British Columbia mines are even starting to use electric or electric-assisted haul trucks.

A prosperous B.C. relies on a diverse economy with a mix of goods and service-producing industries that support urban and rural communities through

job creation, economic reconciliation and a growing tax base to fund public services we all value.

Mining supports 35,000 high-paying jobs in the province and generates upwards of $2.5 billion annually in taxes to governments.

And there’s potential for these contributions to grow.

We need to be clear-eyed about this opportunity. It’s very real, but it’s also a highly competitive world.

We need to work together — industry, communities, workers, Indigenous nations and senior levels of government — to ensure British Columbia pulls out all the stops to become a preferred supplier of low-carbon minerals and metals the world needs for a cleaner future.

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MINING MONTH

SETTLE IN FOR A KEG LECTURE ONLINE Did you know you can watch the entire 2022 Kamloops Exploration Group Lecture Series on deman?

All you need to do is go online to https://www.keg.bc.ca/lecture-series/ default_new.htm and choose a lecture to view.

The KEG Lecture Series includes: • Dr. Philip Currie on Hunting Dinosaurs in the Gobi Desert of China and Mongolia • Dr. John Jamieson on Deep-Sea Mineral Resources: Mining’s Newest Frontier • Dr. John Clague on The 2021

Southern BC Flood: A Foreseeable Disaster • Victor Baker on The Ancient Oceans of Mars: My Five Decades of Mars Geological Research • Dr. Victoria Arbour on Dinosaurs of the Sustut Basin in Northern British Columbia • Andrew Cooper on Energy Conservation: The Cornerstone of your Low Carbon Objectives • Sally Pehrsson, John Percival and Roger Paulen on Rocks, Water and Time: The Science of Whisky

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MINING

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New Afton mine’s life span extended to 2030 The New Afton mine just west of Kamloops is focused on new caves, closing old ones, tailings management and utilizing electric vehicles in 2022.

Mine senior engineer Josh Parsons gave an update on what is happening at New Gold’s underground New Afton copper and gold mine during the recent Kamloops Exploration Group Conference.

Since March 2021, New Afton has employed a battery electric scoop vehicle used for loading trucks — one of the first ever at the mine site — and has been using others on trial runs, Parsons said.

“We feel the EVs [electric vehicles] are an important part of the future of underground mining,” Parsons said, noting they have the benefits of the lacking emissions,

heat, fuel consumption and ventilation requirements.

In 2022, the mine is purchasing two electric haul trucks, the first of which is already being commissioned on site. The second is expected to be delivered later this year.

“Haul trucks are one of our biggest pieces of equipment underground,” Parsons said.

“They use the most ventilation, consume a lot of fuel and they’re a huge win for us if we can replace them with battery electric vehicles.”

Later this year, New Afton will also shift its tailings management and stop placing the material in its tailings storage facility, which is expected to reach capacity in late 2022. Instead, the tailings will be thickened by removing water and adding cement before being

depositing back into the dormant New Afton open pit.

The mine will also undertake one of its largest infrastructure projects with the construction of its main crusher in 2023, Parsons said.

New Afton consists of four block caves, with east and west caves known as B1 and B2 located 600 metres below the surface, a B3 cave 760m below the surface and the C-Zone 1,200 metres below the surface.

At present, New Afton is closing up the B1 and B2 caves — the mine’s main source of production for a decade, with 800 million pounds of copper and 800,000 ounces of gold mined — and focusing on development of its B3 and the C-Zone caves.

In B3, cave construction and blasting is on schedule to complete by November, while

Highland Valley Copper Formed in 1986 through merging existing mines in the valley, the operation produces copper and molybdenum concentrates through a process involving grinding and flotation.

Approximately 1300 people are employed at HVC, primarily residing in Kamloops, Merritt, Logan Lake, Lower Nicola, Ashcroft and Cache Creek. The pursuit of sustainability guides our approach to business. Focus areas of our comprehensive sustainability strategy are Health and Safety, Community and Indigenous Peoples, Climate Change, Our People, Responsible Production, Biodiversity and Reclamation, Water, and Tailings Management.

HVC is proposing the Highland Valley Copper 2040 Project (HVC 2040) to extend the life of the operation to at least 2040, through an extension of the existing site infrastructure. HVC 2040 allows for the continuation of social and economic benefits for the region, while also helping to meet the growing demand for copper driven by the transition to a low-carbon future. Copper is a critical material for the low-carbon transition as it is required for green energy systems and technologies including electric vehicles.

We are committed to being an industry leader in proactive engagement with our communities. To ensure that our communities are being heard, we have established a few channels of communications.

We can be reached by Email: hvc.feedback@teck.com Phone: 1•855•523•3429 Mail: PO Box 1500, Logan Lake, BC V0K 1W0

the C-Zone’s intended depth is expected to be reached this month after three years of construction.

“This has been one of our biggest projects over the last couple of years,” Parsons said of the C-Zone.

In B3, Parsons said, the mine has expanded its instrumentation network measuring cave growth from what was used in B1 and B2.

“Cave growth is really critical to us. It provides safety information such as how a cave is growing and how that relates to the risk of air blasts,” Parsons said. “It also gives us feedback on cave dynamics, which we can implement changes around.”

Parsons said the instrumentation used in B3 now includes cave tracker beacons, which can provide data from inside a cave.

“We can get a relative good idea of where their position is as they move down through the cave, which is information in the past that would be almost impossible for us to get,” Parsons said.

“Once something’s in the cave, we don’t know what’s happening, so this improves the amount of information we can get and the decision-making we can do.”

Annually, New Afton mine produces about six million tonnes of ore, typically yielding 7,000 ounces of gold and 85 million pounds of copper, Parsons said.

As of the end of 2021, New Afton’s reserves are about 900,000 ounces of gold and 675 million pounds of copper, with the mine’s life span expected to extend until 2030.

— Michael Potestio/KTW

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WEDNESDAY, May 18, 2022

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MINING

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An extremely unique mining-related job

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Logan Lake man is one of very few in the world designing highly complicated mining circuits and similar equipment, and hopes to highlight the importance of the industry’s very direct impact on our lives.

Alex Doll of Alex G. Doll Consulting quipped that when he tells border security agents his source of employment, the responses to his incredibly niche answer are often cloaked in confusion.

“The formal term for what I’m doing is consulting process engineer. I specialize in the conceptual design of mineral grinding circuits,” Doll explained.

“In a typical processing plant, like the one down the road at Highland Valley here,

they’ve got these great big grinding mills. I am one of about half a dozen people in the world that chooses the dimensions and motor sizes of those mills.”

Doll’s consulting business is often contracted by larger companies looking to conceptualize and build new mines or improve on current operations.

The complex nature of many mining circuits requires many different areas of expertise, Doll said.

“It’s an onion with all these layers and the deeper down you go, the more specialized the skills become,” he said. “I work on about 50 projects a year, scattered all over the world.”

While Doll’s role is often producing a technical memorandum of his findings and recommendations, he is often out in

the field at mining operations all over the world.

Doll has spread the name and good reputation of B.C.’s mining community not just across Canada, but as far as Mexico, Chile and Brazil.

He is currently working on multiple research projects and despite the global nature of his work, utilizes resources close to home.

“There’s actually two labs in Kamloops that can do the tests that I need,” Doll said. “British Columbia is known globally as a source of mining expertise.”

Residing in Logan Lake, Doll knows directly the impacts mining has on small communities such as Merritt and Logan Lake.

“There’s a lot of jobs that are directly related to activities in B.C. ore bodies. There are

Happy Mining Month

Alex G. Doll Consulting Ltd.

www.sagmilling.com alex.doll@sagmilling.com | +1-778-388-2444

two mineral deposits south of Merritt creating jobs, as well as Highland Valley, New Afton, and several exploration projects,” he said.

“These are middle-class and upper middle-class jobs and there are thousands of them.”

Those jobs benefit the local economy greatly, he said, enabling consumers to buy products and services throughout the community. Doll said the products and services need to come from somewhere.

“If it can’t be grown, it’s got to be mined. People want products and those products either come from resources that are mined or it can come from renewable resources,” he said. “Everything tangible, every telephone you use and pen you pick up, has components that come from mining and oil

extraction, as well as agriculture.”

Moving forward, Doll is focused on his numerous ongoing projects at mining operations across the globe, in partnership with fellow industry experts and mining companies.

He is optimistic about the industry’s future, but warns that the province must tread carefully.

“The hard truth is that mining exploration requires access to vast quantities of land, but very little of it will ever be developed as a mine,” Doll said.

“You can only find usable ore bodies where they already exist.

What’s important in a province like British Columbia is that we don’t cut off too much of the land base from mineral exploration.”

— Marius Auer/ Merritt Herald

• Metallurgical and grindability sampling for 43-101 programs • Grindability testwork supervision • Grinding circuit conceptual design

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MABC on major mines reclamation policy The provincial government’s new interim Major Mines Reclamation Security Policy is one of the most stringent mine reclamation bonding policies in the world, according to the Mining Association of British Columbia (MABC).

The interim policy requires major operating mines to provide assurance that taxpayers will not be liable for mine site reclamation and environmental clean-up.

The policy encourages proactive reclamation, where mines conduct restoration work throughout the life cycle of the mine on areas where mining activity no longer occurs.

“We are reviewing the interim policy and will consult with our membership, MABC president and CEO Michael Goehring said.

“On first look, the interim policy includes substantial bonding requirements that exceed most other jurisdictions in the world. It appears to encourage long-term environmental stewardship and the responsible development of the metals and minerals the world needs to support the low carbon future.”

B.C.’s mining industry currently provides more reclamation security than other natural resource sectors. In total, the province holds more than $2.3 billion in reclamation security from mining companies in the province, an increase of more than $1 billion since 2016.

“One important aspect of the interim policy to be developed is a transparent bonding calculator that establishes reasonable and fair costs for recla-

mation work,” Goehring said.

“MABC encourages the government to continue to work with industry to ensure mines have clarity on how reclamation security costs are determined.”

In addition to the new interim policy, the laws and regulations governing B.C.’s mining industry have undergone significant changes in recent years, including a new Mines Act, a revised Health, Safety and Reclamation Code, new water quality guidelines and ongoing monitoring to protect downstream communities and critical salmon habitat.

The MABC noted that the independent Chief Mines Auditor has determined that British Columbia’s tailings storage facilities regulations are among the best in the world.

Mining is foundational to both achieving our climate change objectives and to supporting communities and economic reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

MABC acknowledges and thanks all Kamloops area residents who work in or support the mining sector.

Enjoy Mining Month 2022!

“It appears to encourage long-term environmental stewardship and the responsible development of the metals and minerals the world needs to support the low carbon future.”

— MINING ASSOCIATION OF BC PRESIDENT AND CEO MICHAEL GOEHRING

WEDNESDAY, May 18, 2022

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The CIM remains passionate about mining

T

he Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) is proud to acknowledge Mining Month 2022.

The CIM is the leading not-forprofit technical society of professionals in the Canadian minerals, metals, materials and energy industries, with branches across Canada.

The CIM’s South Central B.C. branch has a long history in Kamloops, with members who are part of mining operations and suppliers/vendors from many areas/communities across British Columbia and the Yukon.

The CIM hosts conferences and other events that help us bring together people who are passionate about the mining industry and bring forward leading- edge technologies that will

Brad Price, Katherine Ray, Shawn Maunula, Tyler Thompson of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum.

CIM PHOTO

allow the industry to remain sustainable and move toward greener technologies.

CIM National just held its first in-person conference in Vancouver in two years. It was well attended and great to see people again. It is important to recognize mining’s contributions to not only local economies, but to many dif-

ferent industries, such as health care, automotive manufacturing (i.e. electric vehicles), renewable energies (solar, wind) and technology (mobile, laptops). Mining touches many aspects of our lives.

With two large active mines near Kamloops, as well as more than 410 mining suppliers within the city, Kamloops remains a

backbone of mining in B.C. and a large employer in our region, which allows us to be a leader in the sustainable future of mining.

Another important aspect of the CIM South Central B.C. branch is giving back to local communities. Amid the pandemic and its related impact during the past two years, our branch realized community support is more important than ever.

Total community donations over the last six years are more than $200,000. This includes in excess of $60,000 in 2020 and 2021 to assist various organizations deal with the community impact of the pandemic, along with the

unprecedented fire and flood events in our region.

Another key value is education and the CIM continues to contribute to local bursaries and to the Mining Association of B.C.’s Mineral Resource Education fund.

The CIM South Central B.C. branch looks to return to an inperson annual general meeting and conference in September at the Delta Hotel downtown. Stay tuned for more information in the coming months.

If you would like more information about the CIM South Central B.C. branch, send an email to southcentralbc@cim.org.

— Katherine Ray is secretary of the South Central B.C. branch of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum.

Our 2021 Donations to the Community We are a not for profit technical society, Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) valuing education as well as supporting the communities in which we work.

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Join us! Contact CIM South Central southcentralbcevents@cim.org for more information.

The CIM South Central Branch Would Like To Thank All Our Sponsors For Their Continued Support.

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WEDNESDAY, May 18, 2022

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MINING

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Kamloops has a claim to a rich mining legacy THE NAMES OF CLAIMS WERE NUMEROUS AND IMAGINATIVE, REFLECTING THE OPTIMISTIC NATURE OF THE MINING BUSINESS AND NEED TO ATTRACT NEW SPECULATORS

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ode mining, also known as hard rock mining, has been an important part of Kamloops’ economy since it overtook ranching as the main industry in the 1890s.

The Kamloops Mining Camp, also called the Coal Hill Mining Camp — including Coal Hill, Iron Mask Hill, Dufferin Hill and Sugar Loaf Hill — involved digging underground and making a large capital investment.

Coal was found in 1888 on the hill that bears its name five kilometres south of Kamloops, but by 1896, it was also mined for lucrative deposits of cop-

per, gold and silver.

The term “mining camp” refers to a number of claims centred on a mineral belt.

In the Kamloops area, the Iron Mask batholith or pluton, a volcanic belt south and west of Kamloops, was the focus for early exploration.

One of the original producers resulting from this exploration was the Iron Mask mine located on the northern edge of the batholith.

The claims in the area passed through many hands over the years.

The names were numerous and imaginative, reflecting the optimistic nature of the mining business and need to

attract new speculators.

More than 200 claims, most never developed, went by such names as the Evening Star, Prospect, Golden Tip, Tom Thumb, Smuggler Boy, Lucky Strike, Shamrock, Eureka and Cleopatra.

The Python and Noonday claims were the first staked on Coal Hill southwest of Kamloops in August 1896 by Robert Buchanan of Kamloops, and work began on sinking a 12-foot shaft.

Assays made of the copper ore showed a value of $79 per ton. Gold and silver were also found.

The shaft was extended to 55 feet, with drifts constructed

at 15 and 35 feet. The Pothook claim later became the site of Afton Mine.

Ownership of the property in 1897 passed to Wentworth F. Wood and associates, who formed the Python Mining Company Limited, incorporated in 1899.

A group of claims on Sugar Loaf Hill revealed high-grade copper-gold ore. Dufferin Hill was the site of the Kamloops Bonanza mine, also exhibiting rich ore. The Iron Mask Mine, about six kilometres from Kamloops along the old road to Jacko Lake, like the Python, was also staked in 1896.

The first batch of ore was sent to a smelter in Swansea,

Wales — 20 tons for a profit of $200 — although there was talk of building a smelter in Kamloops. Only 100 tons had been extracted by the time the mine closed in 1900. It reopened in 1902, employing between 15 and 35 men and, by 1903, 100 tons a day were being produced.

The shafts were timbered and the hoisting of the ore was done by a 12 horse-power gasoline engine.

The mine comprised two shafts — the Iron Mask shaft inclined at 68 degrees was sunk to 780 feet and the Erin shaft inclined at 70 degrees to 330 feet.

CONTINUED ON C13

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MINING

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Iron Mask constantly opened, closed

The sloping building in the middle of the photo was the concentrator at the Iron Mask Mine, installed in 1903.

KAMLOOPS MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES #8029

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By 1909, Iron Mask Mine was a large operation with 16 claims and a new owner, incorporated as the Kamloops Copper Company by a group from Duluth, Minn.

The mine was reopened in 1910 and, after suffering a fire in 1914, a 150-ton per day mill was built in 1917, expanding to 300 tons per day in 1918.

At its peak, the Iron Mask employed 75 men. There was a large hotel, several family homes and even a school. But the operation gradually became unprofitable and the mine closed in 1920.

By that time, shipments of copper concentrate were transported to the smelter in Trail.

Two years later, the Iron Mask reopened, but it closed again in 1924.

During its intermittent operation from the years 1904 to 1928, the Iron Mask and adjacent Erin ore bodies produced 165,557 metric tonnes of copper, gold and silver ore.

— Ken Favrholdt is a freelance writer, historical geographer and former curator/archivist of the Kamloops Museum and Archives.

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MINING

MONTH

No Mystery about this company’s ultimate goal

H

Tom Ver Hoeve is a consulting geologist with Happy Creek Minerals.

MICHAEL POTESTIO/KTW

appy Creek Minerals is eager to explore its recently purchased, and aptly named, Mystery property, adjoining its Highland Valley property southwest of Kamloops, as the company seeks to discover the province’s next big copper mine.

Tom Ver Hoeve, a consulting geologist with Happy Creek, spoke on some of the company’s new targets during this year’s Kamloops Exploration Group (KEG) Conference, which was in April. It was the first conference since 2019, with the event cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.

Happy Creek owns 24,000 hectares of land next to Teck’s Highland Valley Copper mine near Logan Lake, which it con-

solidated from pieces of land in the area over the course of more than 15 years, Ver Hoeve said.

Most recently, the company acquired a 483-hectare property around Mystery Lake in the valley in December 2021.

“That’s been a fairly coveted piece of land,” he said.

Ver Hoeve said limited work was done on the property, with only three holes dug by Hudson Bay in 1993, but noted there are signs of an uptick in copper in them.

“We’re really excited to get out on the ground this year and do some prospecting,” Ver Hoeve said.

The company’s plans for 2022 at its Highland Valley project include refining drill targets, conducting more archaeological work and cultural studies and commencing

drilling work in the fall.

Near Highland Valley Copper, Canada’s largest copper producer, Ver Hoeve said Happy Creek has “all the right ingredients to find something similar on our ground.” Ideally, he said, the company would like to make a major discovery that can support a standalone mining operation.

“We’d like to find a Highland Valley [mine] of our own and I think we have the tools to do it,” Ver Hoeve said.

Happy Creek’s Highland Valley project covers the southern third of the Guichon Creek batholith, with many undrilled targets and the potential for the discovery of new a major copper deposit.

Happy Creek Minerals has existed since 2006 and is focused on making discoveries

in B.C. in proximity to infrastructure on 100 per cent owned properties, Ver Hoeve said.

According to the company, its Highland Valley project, comprising the West Valley and Rateria copper properties, is an under-explored asset in the Highland Valley district.

Happy Creek’s zone 1 and zone 2 discoveries, which lie just 6.5 kilometres southeast of Highland Valley Copper’s Highmont open pits, show laterally continuous mineralization that has been outlined with 28,000 metres of drilling and remains open in several directions.

The company also continues to generate new copper targets within its large, prospective property.

— Michael Potestio/KTW

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