Potential Copper Mining Near Northern Baxter

[Raven]

http://mainepublic.org/post/canadian-mining-company-completes-purchase-maine-lands

Foreign company purchases 6871 acres of land near Patten, Maine and looks to open first commercial mine in Maine in decades. Apparent copper deposit under Pickett Mountain.

Public meeting in Stacyville, Maine on Dec 5. For those who are not familiar, Stacyville and Patten are towns at the northern entrance to Baxter State Park.

The following discusses what's left from the former Callahan copper mine in Maine, the last commercial mine seen in the state. It's now a Superfund site that is still leaking carcinogens (cadmium, copper, lead, etc.) into the water. The tax payers of Maine will never afford to clean this up and there's no Superfund money left.

http://www.pressherald.com/2013/09/20/researchers-look-at-maine-mine-contamination/

 

[nartreb]

Where's the smelter? I don't see a major gas line near Patten, and I suspect building a coal-fired smelter wouldn't be popular even if they could bring in enough coal cheaply, so will they ship out raw ore? BAR rail line isn't too far away, are they planning to build a spur line?

 

[peakbagger]

My guess is they will characterize the deposit and then figure out if they can make a buck within the new Maine mining restrictions which apparently means underground mining. Irving a major landowner in the area was trying to get the Maine mining regulations watered down to allow open pit mining at Bald Mountain but the regs were reigned back to open up some options but hopefully no more open pit "cut and run" mines where the public gets to deal with the long term environmental issues after the original owner has conveniently gone bankrupt. Even with underground mines its still a sulfide deposit and that opens up for the potential for acid mine issues.

 

[Mac]

266 miles to smelter in Belledune, NB. Irving owns Maine Northern Railway (uses BAR trackage).