Dease Lake Railway Early in 1977 the B.C. Railway will open for traffic its 420-mile northern extension line from Fort St. James to Dease Lake. Mineral traffic, on which construction has been- predicated, will not be forthcoming for at least six years after that. In 1972 the cost of the branch was put at $102 million and by June of this year the figure had risen to $232 million. ~ Mining industry spokesmen question BCR optimism about the traffic potential of the Dease line, claiming that there can be little or no traffic for years after the last spike is driven. There are two major ore bodies, almost certain to be developed some time, that offer the prospect of 500,000 tons a year of freight traffic for the BCR. But it will take between six and 10 years to create producing mines and no prompt start on this preliminary work is expected. Liard Copper Mines Ltd. has reserves of low-grade copper ore that are conservatively stated at 300 million tons located 45 miles from the Stewart-Cassiar highway and nearly 200 truck miles from tidewater. The railway is not essential for Liard, but it will probably use the line to ship concentrates as well as bring in supplies for its mine and a company town. Alex C. Ritchie, president of Silver Standard Mines Ltd. which owns a controlling interest in Liard, says that it will take from seven to 10 years to put in a mine into production to mill at the rate of 50,000 tons of copper-molybdenum ore a day. Besides a favorable taxation climate, not at present existing, Liard will need to be assured of an adequate power supply before it can contemplate further work. Facing it are probably two years of further site investigation work and feasibility studies. No drilling has been done on the property since the fall of last year Ritchie estimates that it may cost $300 million and upwards, not allowing for inflation, to put the mine into production. A higher estimate of $385 million is put forward by Stikine Copper Ltd. as the cost of mining its remote ore body in the northwest. ‘Stikine has not yet decided whether it will aim for a 24,000 or 32,000 ton-a-day operation, but says the lead time on getting a mine into production could be as long as eight years, whatever its capacity. Stikine has the better grade of ore of the two main prospects in the northwest, but must overcome some difficult physical problems. The company stopped work on its property in 1973 and abandoned a $1 million drilling program set for 1974. Recently it denied a report that the provincial govern- ment's new placatory approach to the mining industry was an inducement to resume work. Originally Stikine contemplated driving a truck road down the valley of the Stikine river, which drains into the U.S. and shipping concentrate out: through the Alaskan panhandle. It will now use the BCR connecting with it by means of a truck road. Both Stikine and Liard will be anxious to see what other infrastructure is provided besides the railway, which they could do without. B.C. Hydro has no plans for power generation in the area, but the two mines will call for sizeable amounts of electricity. Northwest mining properties gm Ste \ a can | To Dease Lake fh ; ee Aer : ib pe e 2 +e bes PP A ies branch Hine: , “Telegrach Ns ; * Lo fas 2s Fae enema re er 4 % ee oe 3. 7 \ ts % ag, J x ak os yf . , , ‘ e ai z ‘Sy % > OF i Sit, 2 Pat eh jess J. 3% ‘ eae. \, vy oS (epee ee \ / sf ‘ ME ee * \ ® Liard Copper’ i ) 5 2P S w , Ne Mites ee ‘ 5 cee ET SE Be LW ace 4 - BR ss - \ ) ‘Atay selsse BRITISH Ke NF COLUMBIA ( AL No ©, SN La pee. V6 Uskut ‘River : Surveys have shown that there is a potential for generating 3,000 megawatts on the Iskut and Stikine Rivers, a figure which challenges the 5,100 mw. of hydro- electric power already installed in the province. Something much more modest would suffice and it has been calculated that a 100 mw. hydro scheme on More Creek, a tributary of the Iskut; would take care of the needs of both Liard and Stikine. When copper concentrates start to flow from the northwest they will likely move in 100-ton rail cars, which will test the lightweight rail used to date on the Dease Lake line. The BCR has now decided to lay heavier 100-1b rail on the sections of the extension line still without steel. The federal governmnet is now involved in the Dease project on a cost sharing basis. Part of its enthusiasm for collaboration in the railway was based on a 1970 study of traffic potential. The study said that mining within what was termed "the sphere of influence" of BCR and CNR development lines could increase by $560 million a year. The CNR has not made progress with its own develop- ment line from Terrace to link with the Dease extension and none of the $560 million forecast in 1970 has as yet been forthcoming. .° Fred Higgs, manager of the B.C. and Yukon Chamber of Mines, says one impediment in the way of speedy mining development could be the cyclical nature of copper prices "Anybody who is contemplating laying out hundreds of millions of dollars is going to want to be as certain as they can be that their mine is going to come into pro- duction so as to take advantage of improving prices. "Prices peaked in the spring and have since softened The previous peak was in 1969. It may be that mining companies will miss the next peak and will have to aim at hitting the one beyond." —— = ESAS HHS 0000000000000 Gordon Steid! N.D.P. candidate GORDON STEIDL arrived in Cassiar Tuesday, November 18, 1975 and conducted the first PUAse of a door-to-door campaign. Gordon has lived in the Atlin Riding for five years as Principal of the Stewart Elementary and Secondary Schools. _He has been active in Community affairs and Sports as well as the development of education in the Stewart area. . Gordon will be travelling throughout the Atlin Riding before the December llth election and plans to return to Cassiar on December 3rd.