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MINING NEWS: B.C. molybdenum project starts construction Vancouver-based junior vies to develop world’s first large-scale molybdenum mine in 25 years near headwaters of remote Ruby Creek Rose Ragsdale For Mining News
Adanac Molybdenum Corp. said Nov. 7 it has begun construction at its open-pit molybdenum mine site near the headwaters of Ruby Creek about 125 kilometers, or 78 miles southeast of Whitehorse, near Atlin, B.C.
With a permit from the B.C. Ministry of Forests, work is under way on an access road and associated earthworks. Construction is expected to continue through the winter of 2007-08 on excavation of overburden, installation of a 550-person onsite camp and preparation of all construction infrastructures.
“The years of preparation have paid off, and now we’re actually beginning construction of a molybdenum mine,” said Adanac President and CEO Michael MacLeod, who describes Ruby Creek as the company’s flagship property. Adanac owns three other moly prospects in Nevada.
The Ruby Creek project has open-pit reserves of 143.7 million tonnes (metric tons) grading 0.059 percent molybdenum at a 0.04 percent moly cutoff grade.
Molybdenum hit a 16-month low of C$21 a pound in February 2006, but has since recovered to around C$32 a pound, only C$7 away from the record high of about $39 a pound set in June 2005, when a processing bottleneck hit supplies.
Demand for molybdenum drives project Three-quarters of global annual molybdenum production is used to manufacture stainless steel, demand for which is expected to grow by around 6 percent a year for some years to come.
Adanac hopes to make Ruby Creek the world’s first large-scale primary producer molybdenum mine in 25 years, and company officials estimate they have an 18-month head start on rivals.
Plans call for developing a low-grade bulk-type mining operation expected to produce 12-14 million pounds of molybdenum annually during the first four years of an estimated 21-year mine life. Startup and commissioning of a 20,000 tonne (metric ton) per day concentrator is scheduled for the first quarter of 2009.
Adanac hired Ledcor CMI Ltd. of Vancouver to act as general contractor for the construction, along with local and regional subcontractors.
The British Columbia government issued an Environmental Assessment Certificate for the Ruby Creek project in September. The project is described by regulators and stakeholders as “socially and environmentally” clean.
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