Kidd Mine

Kidd Mine
Location
Kidd Mine
Location in Ontario
Location Timmins
Province Ontario
Country Canada
Coordinates 48°41′13″N 081°22′16″W / 48.68694°N 81.37111°WCoordinates: 48°41′13″N 081°22′16″W / 48.68694°N 81.37111°W
Production
Products Copper
Zinc
History
Opened 1966
Closed 2017 (estimated)
Owner
Company Xstrata Copper
Website Kidd Mine information on Xstrata website
Year of acquisition 2006 (takeover of Falconbridge Ltd.)

Kidd Mine is an underground base metal mine in the city of Timmins, Ontario, Canada. It is owned and operated by Xstrata Copper, following the August 2006 takeover of Falconbridge Ltd. Ore from the Kidd mine was processed at the Kidd Metallurgical Site, located 27 km (17 mi) southeast of the mine.[1] The ore is now shipped to Quebec for processing.[2] Kidd Mine is the world's deepest copper/zinc mine.[3]

History

The ore deposit at Kidd Mine was discovered in 1964 by the Texas Gulf Sulphur Corporation. During the initial exploration of the site, then known as Kidd-55, officers of the company engaged in insider trading in Texas Gulf shares.[4] The ensuing lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission resulted in a landmark decision that established the right of all market participants to have "relatively equal access to material information."[5]

The mine began operation in 1966, as an open pit mine and eventually evolved into an underground mine. The mine produces copper, zinc, and several other metals.[3][6]

Geology

Open pit at Kidd Mine. Volcanogenic massive sulfide ores formed 2.7 billion years ago on an ancient seafloor

The Kidd deposit is one of the largest volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposits in the world, and one of the world's largest base metal deposits.[3] It lies within the Abitibi greenstone belt.[7]

Current operation

Kidd Mine and Met Site collectively employ 2,200 employees and contractors, and in 2008 committed to investing $120 million to extend the production to 2017, and deepen the mine to 9,600 feet (2,900 m), from its current depth of 9,100 feet (2,800 m).[3][6] The investment would add 3.4 million tonnes of ore into the mine plan. The expansion will include the development of three additional production levels and deepening the ramp from the 9100 level to the 9600 level, where the loading pocket is located. There will be an extension of the ventilation and backfill systems to the new sections of the mine.[3]

Depth

The mine is the deepest base metal mine in the world. The maximum depth of almost 10,000 feet (3,000 m) and its northerly latitude mean that the bottom of the mine is the closest accessible point to the centre of the Earth.

See also

References

  1. "Strike begins at Xstrata's Ontario plant". The Toronto Star. Oct 1, 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
  2. Kidd Metallurgical Site
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Diekmeyer, Peter. "A supersized combo". CIM Magazine (Montreal: Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum) 4 (2): 54–57. ISSN 1718-4177.
  4. Brooks, John (November 9, 1968). "A Reasonable Amount of Time". The New Yorker: 160–188.
  5. Securities and Exchange Commission Historical Society. "Fair To All People: The SEC and the Regulation of Insider Trading".
  6. 6.0 6.1 Kerawala, Minaz (September–October 2008). "Xstrata Copper to extend Kidd mine with fresh investment". CIM Magazine. p. 20.
  7. On Geology and Ore Deposits of the Timmins District, Ontario. Geological Survey Of Canada (open file 2161, field trip 6)

External links