Williams Mine | mining

Canada / Ontario / Manitouwadge /
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One of Ontario's great success stories is the Hemlo gold camp. Discovered in 1979, and opened in 1985, the Hemlo mines were estimated to hold 25 million ounces of gold.

The Williams mine is jointly owned by Teck Cominco and Barrick Gold. Primarily an underground operation with some open-pit mining, it has been operating since the fall of 1985.

The Williams mine is one of the largest gold-producing mines in Canada. The underground mine is accessed by a 1,300 metre production shaft, and mining is carried out by longhole stoping with paste backfill. The open pit mine lies immediately above and adjacent to the underground mine, and ore from these two sources plus the David Bell mine is treated in the Williams mill. The mill started production in 1985 at the rate of approximately 3,000 tonnes per day, and capacity was expanded to 6,000 tonnes per day in late 1988. The Williams mill presently operates at the rate of approximately 10,000 tonnes per day. It uses semi-autogenous grinding and a carbon-in-pulp gold recovery circuit. Approximately 20% of the gold is recovered by a gravity circuit.

The Williams mine is scheduled to close in 2011.
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Coordinates:   48°41'51"N   85°55'22"W

Comments

  • Did the will mine use steel guide for their cage?
This article was last modified 16 years ago