photo: BC Ministry of Mines
From mid-July to early September, 2008, Selkirk Metals Corp. of Vancouver ran its first exploratory drilling camp on Catface Mountain in Clayoquot Sound. A dozen crew drilled eight core sample holes. Drilling is assessing the economic feasibility of developing the low-grade copper-molybdenum Catface deposit into an open-pit mine that would remove the top third or more of the mountain, including its ancient forest.

On October 14th, Selkirk released results from its second drill hole, which encountered copper mineralization over a depth of 285 metres and contained an average of 0.32% copper and 2.5 grams/tonne silver.

In mid-September, Selkirk released results from its first drill hole, which found copper mineralization over its entire depth of 355 metres. Weighted averages for this hole include 0.37% copper, 49 parts per million (grams/tonne) molybdenum, 51 parts per billion gold and 2.7grams/tonne silver.

The results from both holes merely confirm what is already known from Falconbridge’s 1960-1989 exploration and do not add any new information.

Obviously, there are many concerns about the environmental impacts of a potential copper mine on Catface Mountain. To give just one example, the west coast of Vancouver Island is an active seismic area, and if an earthquake were to break the containment dam for a tailings pond, hundreds of millions of tons of toxic sludge would spill into adjacent rivers, ocean and lowlands.

Several more years of exploration would be required before an actual mine plan could be proposed. It remains to be seen what the results of Selkirk’s other drill holes will show, and whether the company will apply for another season of exploration in 2009.

Meanwhile, please keep up the pressure to stop a disastrous mine on Catface Mountain in the ecologically precious Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

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