Canada is spread across a huge area, and it is a very vital country for metal and mineral deposits. Canada is among the largest countries in terms of the production of a variety of metals, including gold, silver, copper, nickel, molybdenum, manganese, etc. However, the Canadian deposits are barely tapped, and most of them are still unexplored under the glaciers and basalt. These mineral riches are now being explored more by government and mining companies to increase the production of metals. To achieve this, companies have set up several large-scale copper exploration projects.
Four Important Copper exploration projects
1. Tatogga Project – The Project is based in the province of British Columbia’s Golden Triangle. Various explorers were operating in this area for over seven decades, but it was in 2016 that extractable precious metals were confirmed. GT Gold has set up a new division called New Chris Minerals in 2011, which will be operating this project and look for future opportunities. Now, it depends on the result of this exploration whether Tatogga property is suitable for mining or not.
2. Project Ajax – Project Ajax is another project based in British Columbia, Canada. This project is working towards constructing an open-pit mine to extract gold and copper. KGHM, one of the largest mining companies in the world, is overseeing the project while holding 80 percent shares. The headquarter is in Vancouver, and the project is still in the planning phase. The mine, once the project is completed, is expected to produce an average of 53000 tonnes of copper annually.
3. Toodoggone Project – Toodoggone project is named after the British Columbian district it is based in. Geoscience BC is operating this project to extract porphyry minerals. This project aims to figure out the types of ores available, the relationships within the different minerals present, and how deep the deposits are expanded into the earth. Also, it aims to find how long ago the formation of deposits took place.
4. Schaft Creek Project – Canadian copper mining companies, Teck resources and Copper Fox have come together for a joint venture called Shaft Creek. Started in 2013 with an estimated expense of about 220 million dollars, Schaft Creek Project is the largest unexplored deposit of copper, gold, and molybdenum in North America. The deposits are calc alkali systems similar to controlled breccia systems. It is divided into three zones, the Liard zone, the Paramount zone, and the West Breccia zone. The mine is going to be an open pit operation with the use of top-notch equipment.
Several other exploration programs are being operated by companies like Solaris Resources inc (TSX SLS), Cascadero Copper (TSX CCD), etc. These projects are focused on increasing the production of copper and finding resources to be used in the future.
Summary
Mines have a definite life span and get exhausted after a few years. It is, therefore, necessary to keep exploring for a new mine to extract minerals once the previous mines have run out. Hence, these exploration projects are as important as mining projects.