The newly rehabilitated Skagway Ore Terminal took delivery July 17 of its first ore concentrate shipments since early 1997. Sherwood Copper Corp. produced the concentrate at the Minto copper-gold mine in the Yukon Territory and hauled it to the terminal by truck. Sherwood is renting about 25 percent of the terminal to store and load its concentrate onto oceangoing bulk carriers bound for a smelter in Asia.
Testing of the terminal’s rebuilt load-out conveyor went well and the remainder of rehab work on the terminal is expected to be completed in September, according to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, the terminal’s operator.
Sherwood Copper will stockpile deliveries of concentrate at the Skagway terminal until it accumulates enough for shipment, said John Wood, AIDEA’s project manager.
“We are busy making the facility ready for shipment. The last time Skagway saw concentrates was early 1997,” Wood said. “We expect Sherwood to make its first shipment to the smelter around Sept. 1.”
Once the terminal successfully completes a shipment of concentrate to market, Wood said he expects heightened interest from Canadian mine developers in the Skagway port facility.
“We’re excited about the future,” he added.
AIDEA is currently talking with Redfern Resources Ltd. about renting Skagway terminal space to load concentrate from the Tulsequah Chief mine in British Columbia and a group doing a feasibility study for developing the Howard’s Pass log-grade zinc deposit in Yukon Territory, he said.
—Rose Ragsdale
