Kemess Mine
Kemess Mine in 2012 | |
Location | |
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![]() ![]() Kemess Mine Location in Canada | |
Location | Thutade Lake |
Province | British Columbia |
Country | Canada |
Coordinates | 57°0′17″N 126°45′31″W / 57.00472°N 126.75861°WCoordinates: 57°0′17″N 126°45′31″W / 57.00472°N 126.75861°W |
Production | |
Products | Copper, Gold, Molybdenum, Silver |
History | |
Opened | 1998 |
Closed | 2011 |
Owner | |
Company | AuRico Gold |
Website | www.kemess.com |
Year of acquisition | 2011 |
The Kemess Mine was an open-pit copper and gold mine, located just northeast of the foot of Thutade Lake, at the head of the Finlay River, in the Omineca Mountains of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It was operated by Royal Oak Mines from 1998 to 1999, when it was bought by Northgate Minerals. Northgate operated the mine until its closure in 2011; that year Northgate was taken over by AuRico Gold. AuRico is implementing a reclamation program for the mine.
The deposit mined was a copper-gold porphyry. Over its life the mine produced approximately 3 million ounces of gold and 800 million pounds of copper.
The mine is serviced by Kemess Creek Airport and the Omineca Resource Road from Prince George. Air distance from Smithers is 280 km, approximately due north; road distance from Prince George is approximately 550 km.
Near the mine is the Kemess Underground Project, also owned by AuRico. This separate deposit is currently in the development stage, and has not been approved for production.
External links
- Kemess Mine official website, snapshot from the Internet Archive
- BC Government MINFILE report
- Kemess Underground Project website