Drilling kicks-off BC’s gold tunnels
10 July 2020Toronto-based Seabridge Gold has announced that geotechnical drilling has begun along the proposed alignment of two twin-tube tunnels that will connect a gold/copper mine to a remotely-located mill. The Mitchell Treaty Tunnels (MTT) will form a key component of the KSM gold-copper project in north-western British Columbia (BC), Canada.
Two 23km-long parallel tunnels are proposed to connect the KSM mine site to the processing plant and tailings management facility. Permission to drill was obtained from the BC government on June 30 and is confined to a 110m-wide corridor in which the tunnels will be constructed.
In order to gauge the geology through which the tunnels will be driven, this first tranche of drilling comprises around 4,000m in 10 holes. This is lower than the original permit of 40 holes due to the impact of Covid-19, however drilling will continue later this year, particularly around the sites of the tunnel portals. Instrumentation is also being installed for ongoing data collection.
When completed, the MTT tunnels will enable an efficient bi-directional transfer: one tunnel will convey ore from the mine site to mill, the other will supply electricity, fuel and other consumables to the mine.
Tunnels were chosen as the preferred option to overland transport due to their cost effectiveness and lower environmental impact over the multi-decade life of the mine.
