Con Mine
Encyclopedia
The Con Mine was a large gold mine located in the Northwest Territories
, just south of Yellowknife. The property was staked by Cominco
in September 1935 in response to the discovery of visible gold
nearby. The advent of winter prevented any prospecting from being conducted, but work in the summer of 1936 led to the discovery of numerous gold veins. Con Mine entered production in 1938 and ceased operations in 2003. It has produced over 5000000 ozt (155,517.4 kg) of gold from 12,195,585 tons of ore processed.
Owners of the mine have included Cominco (1938–1986), Nerco Minerals
(1986–1993), Miramar Mining Corp. (1993–2008), and Newmont Mining Corp. (2008-present).
Con Mine is within the Kam Group
which is part of the Yellowknife greenstone belt.
A Memorandum of Understanding forged between the city of Yellowknife and Corix Utilities in June 2011 gave new impetus to the project.
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
, just south of Yellowknife. The property was staked by Cominco
Teck Cominco
Teck Resources Limited known as Teck Cominco until late 2008, is a Canadian mining company. It was formed from the amalgamation of Teck and Cominco in 2001.-History:...
in September 1935 in response to the discovery of visible gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
nearby. The advent of winter prevented any prospecting from being conducted, but work in the summer of 1936 led to the discovery of numerous gold veins. Con Mine entered production in 1938 and ceased operations in 2003. It has produced over 5000000 ozt (155,517.4 kg) of gold from 12,195,585 tons of ore processed.
Owners of the mine have included Cominco (1938–1986), Nerco Minerals
NERCO
NERCO was an American mining company headquartered in Portland, Oregon with interests in coal, natural gas, and oil. The company also had significant operations in gold and silver mining, and manufacture of gallium arsenide wafers....
(1986–1993), Miramar Mining Corp. (1993–2008), and Newmont Mining Corp. (2008-present).
Con Mine is within the Kam Group
Kam Group
The Kam Group is a thick Archean volcanic group in the Yellowknife greenstone belt of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It consists of tholeiitic mafic and subordinate felsic volcanic rocks that were erupted in a submarine environment about 2706 million years ago.-See also:*List of volcanoes in...
which is part of the Yellowknife greenstone belt.
Future prospects
The defunct mine's deep shafts pose the possibility of extracting geothermal energy for heat generation free of greenhouse gases. The mine has the potential to heat half of the city of Yellowknife.A Memorandum of Understanding forged between the city of Yellowknife and Corix Utilities in June 2011 gave new impetus to the project.