Windy Craggy Deposit
Canada /
Yukon /
Haines Junction /
World
/ Canada
/ Yukon
/ Haines Junction
World / Canada / British Columbia / Stikine
mine
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This is the location of the Windy Craggy Deposit which has a major commodity of Copper and minor commodities of Cobalt, Gold, and Silver. It is a massive sulphide Copper, Cobalt, Gold, Silver, Zinc deposit is located in the Atlin district of far northwest British Columbia, Canada. An access road was constructed on the Tats Glacier and a portal was sunk at the end of the southwest ridge of the peak where the access road meets the ridge. (see picture)
It lies within the allochthonous Alexander terrane which comprises a thick succession of complexly deformed Proterozoic to Permian basinal and platformal carbonate and clastic rocks with a subordinate volcanic component. These rocks have been subject to relatively low grade metamorphism and are unconformably overlain by a Late Triassic succession of calcareous turbidites and a bimodal volcanic suite which host the Windy Craggy deposit
Geddes Resources Ltd. was exploring the property and the massive sulphides in the samples indicated that Windy Craggy was one of the most important mineral finds in North America.
Windy Craggy is in the Tatshenshini Area of Northwestern British Columbia, about an hour west of Whitehorse by helicopter. The area is isolated with no ready surface access, and no permanent residents. It is not prime hunting and fishing territory. In fact, the only person working a trapline in the area at the time it was explored was a man named Yurg Hoffer, who had emigrated from Switzerland. His trapline extended along the west side of the Haines Road from about the Yukon Border to the Alaska border near Haines—a distance of about 40 miles. The scenery in the area is typical of the Rocky Mountains which extend northwest through Alaska, and south through the western United States and into Mexico.
In that time, Geddes spent a total of about $50 million on exploration. However, neither the company, nor its investors, nor BC workers, nor Canadians in general will ever benefit from the work done to discover and delineate the massive copper reserve or any of the other ore bodies that most certainly exist in the area. Instead, these reserves are today part of a 5 million hectare United Nations World Heritage Site—by far the largest World Heritage Site in North America.
The excluded mineral deposits in the Tatshenshini area are among the largest known in the world. The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources placed a value of $15 billion on metal contained in the Windy Craggy deposit. Geddes Re-sources' estimate was $8.5 billion. (These figures are based on the probable and proven reserves without taking into consideration the extensions and indicated reserves of Windy Craggy).
The economic contribution of the mine would have been immense. The Commission on Resources and Environment of British Columbia indicated that initial capital investment would have been $550 million, plus an annual average expenditure of $150 million. Employment would have included 500 direct jobs plus another 1,500 indirect jobs. Some estimates gave the mine a minimum life of 50 years. Geddes estimated the gross direct taxes to federal and provincial coffers at almost $1.3 billion. The Ministry's estimate was even higher—$1.6 billion. All those billions of dollars were tied to Windy Craggy alone. Many millions of acres remain unexplored.
References for information:
oldfraser.lexi.net/publications/forum/1998/january/cove...
www.portergeo.com.au/database/mineinfo.asp?mineid=mn111...
gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/mindep/photolib/vms/windycraggy/index_e...
Reference for location:
www.mineralmundi.com/canada/british-columbia/windy-crag...
It lies within the allochthonous Alexander terrane which comprises a thick succession of complexly deformed Proterozoic to Permian basinal and platformal carbonate and clastic rocks with a subordinate volcanic component. These rocks have been subject to relatively low grade metamorphism and are unconformably overlain by a Late Triassic succession of calcareous turbidites and a bimodal volcanic suite which host the Windy Craggy deposit
Geddes Resources Ltd. was exploring the property and the massive sulphides in the samples indicated that Windy Craggy was one of the most important mineral finds in North America.
Windy Craggy is in the Tatshenshini Area of Northwestern British Columbia, about an hour west of Whitehorse by helicopter. The area is isolated with no ready surface access, and no permanent residents. It is not prime hunting and fishing territory. In fact, the only person working a trapline in the area at the time it was explored was a man named Yurg Hoffer, who had emigrated from Switzerland. His trapline extended along the west side of the Haines Road from about the Yukon Border to the Alaska border near Haines—a distance of about 40 miles. The scenery in the area is typical of the Rocky Mountains which extend northwest through Alaska, and south through the western United States and into Mexico.
In that time, Geddes spent a total of about $50 million on exploration. However, neither the company, nor its investors, nor BC workers, nor Canadians in general will ever benefit from the work done to discover and delineate the massive copper reserve or any of the other ore bodies that most certainly exist in the area. Instead, these reserves are today part of a 5 million hectare United Nations World Heritage Site—by far the largest World Heritage Site in North America.
The excluded mineral deposits in the Tatshenshini area are among the largest known in the world. The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources placed a value of $15 billion on metal contained in the Windy Craggy deposit. Geddes Re-sources' estimate was $8.5 billion. (These figures are based on the probable and proven reserves without taking into consideration the extensions and indicated reserves of Windy Craggy).
The economic contribution of the mine would have been immense. The Commission on Resources and Environment of British Columbia indicated that initial capital investment would have been $550 million, plus an annual average expenditure of $150 million. Employment would have included 500 direct jobs plus another 1,500 indirect jobs. Some estimates gave the mine a minimum life of 50 years. Geddes estimated the gross direct taxes to federal and provincial coffers at almost $1.3 billion. The Ministry's estimate was even higher—$1.6 billion. All those billions of dollars were tied to Windy Craggy alone. Many millions of acres remain unexplored.
References for information:
oldfraser.lexi.net/publications/forum/1998/january/cove...
www.portergeo.com.au/database/mineinfo.asp?mineid=mn111...
gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/mindep/photolib/vms/windycraggy/index_e...
Reference for location:
www.mineralmundi.com/canada/british-columbia/windy-crag...
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 59°43'31"N 137°44'39"W
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