Ferderber Mine (Val-d’Or)

 mine, gold mine

 Upload a photo

This mine is located on the Lac Herbin property which is 100% owned by QMX Gold and it was in production from February 1979 until the end of 1994.

a total of 1,877,704 tonnes (short) of ore averaging 0.201 oz Au/st was produced since the opening of the mine in February 1979. Production came from 74 stopes (as of December 1st, 1994) developed over nine (9) levels along three (3) principal structures, the Ferderber vein being the main orebody. Underground development covers a total lateral extend of 7,600 ft. The orebodies can be accessed via a 3,300 ft inclined ramp to a depth of 560 ft and 1,300 ft vertical shaft located east of the ramp.

Production statistics per level at the Ferderber mine are summarized in Tables 4 and 5. Mining extraction was achieved mostly using shrinkage, prior to the infamous caving of a surface pillar in May 1980, and subsequently through cut-and-fill methods, due to difficult ground conditions and heavy dilution problems. Long hole mining methods were also employed to the west of the shaft where better ground conditions permitted. The total average mining cost at Ferderber mine, based on the February 1994 Monthly Production Report, is estimated at $71 per tonne. Over 15 years of operation at Ferderber, gold recovery from the mill averaged nearly 95% for a total of 362,000 oz of gold.

In May 1980 at the Ferderber mine, the back of a stope on level 200 caved at the bedrock-overburden interface, allowing considerable amounts of mud, gravel and water into the mine. This accident caused 8 fatalities and operations were suspended for nearly 6 months. In court, a jury eventually acquitted Belmoral Mines of the charges of criminal negligence that were laid.