Porcupine is the mine’s main pit. It
extends some 600 feet below the origi-
nal surface and will eventually reach a
maximum depth of 800 feet. The Por-
cupine orebody, which is 80 to 250 feet
wide, 800 feet deep, and 2,000 feet
long, contains good quality ore with a
recoverable factor of five and one half
percent of chrysotile asbestos fibre.

The second, or Snowshoe pit, shown
on opposite page, is located about
1,800 feet east of Porcupine. It is a
sidehill operation and extends 200 feet
down the north slope of Snowshoe Hill.
The ore is similar to that of Porcupine.

Creek pit, the third of Clinton Creek's
mineable ore zones, lies between Por-
cupine and Snowshoe pits. It contains
a relatively small tonnage of good

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quality ore and it is mined as part of
Snowshoe pit.

The amount of waste and ore
handled at the mine in any given year
can vary a good deal. Mine records
reveal, however, that since its incep-
tion Clinton mine has removed four
tons of waste for every ton of ore it has
produced. Presently available mining
equipment is capable of handling in ex-
cess of 10,000 tons of waste per day
and 7,000 tons of ore.

The waste and ore are prepared for
blasting by three electric powered rot-
ary drills capable of drilling 9” and 97”
blast holes at a rate of 480 feet per
eight hour shift. Diesel powered 10
cubic yard front end loaders and an
electric powered 5 cubic yard shovel,

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plus a standby diesel powered 212
cubic yard shovel, load the waste and
ore into 65 ton rear dump trucks.

The waste is hauled to the waste
rock and overburden dumps and the
ore is trucked to the primary crusher
which is centrally located near Creek
pit. Here an apron feeder at the bottom
of the dumping bin carries the ore over
a grizzly with four inch openings. Ore
greater than four inches drops into an
overhead eccentric jaw crusher. A belt
conveyor with a capacity of 400 tons
per hour carries the ore from the pri-
mary crusher to a 6’x14’ tyrock screen
with five inch openings. Oversize is re-
directed for additional crushing and
eventual discharge into a 60” conveyor
belt leading to the tramline feeder.