History of Eskay Creek mine, the world's massive h
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Posted On: 02/21/2021 11:52:02 AM
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History of Eskay Creek mine, the world's massive high grade gold mine
In 1932 a prospector named Tom Mackay of Consolidated Stikine Resources was the first to recognize the area's unique geological setting after spotting an alluring rock outcrop from his single-engine bush plane. After staking the property he discovered a boulder broken free from its source higher up on the mountain, rolling several dozen meters downslope, assays from the boulder returned a spectacular five ounces of gold per tonne. Mackay explored the property for over 50 years but bonanza gold deposit was never found. In 1988 after investing in Consolidated Stikine Resources which held rights to Eskay Creek, geologist Ron Netolitzky became Stikine’s technical person and one of five controlling shareholders. He teamed up with Murray Pezim of Calpine Resources to raise $900,000 for a drill program and started exploring the area in the summer of 1990. After drilling 108 holes and with momentum building, they hit a fault. Chet Idziszek, Pezim’s geologist with a M.Sc. degree from McGill University observed gradually increasing gold grade and increasing interval length in the assays, he had an intuition that he must be very close to the main gold vein, he studied the maps and analysed the terrain then he ragged the drill rig to a spot 350 meters from the last hole drilled and drilled hole #109. Assays from hole 109 returned spectacular 27.2 g/t gold, 30.2 g/t silver over 208 meters (682 feet). Later rivals Placer Dome and International Corona launched takeovers for Stikine and Stikine's shareholders accepted Corona’s $67-per-share bid and the company was sold. In 1994 Eskay Creek went into production that lasted 14 years and finally ended in 2008. Eskay Creek had the highest grade gold on the planet and produced 3.3 million ounces of gold at a breathtaking 45 g/t Au, also 160 million ounces of silver at 2224 g/t.
Mr. Netolitzky has had a very successful career in mining and mineral exploration with decades of experience and having been directly associated with three major mineral discoveries in Canada that have subsequently been put into production: Eskay Creek, Snip and Brewery Creek. At Eskay Creek, Mr. Netolitzky’s Consolidated Stikine Resources was acquired by Placer Dome and International Corona for $67 per share in what was one of the more famous transactions in Western Canadian mining history. Mr. Netolitzky was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in 2014.
In 1932 a prospector named Tom Mackay of Consolidated Stikine Resources was the first to recognize the area's unique geological setting after spotting an alluring rock outcrop from his single-engine bush plane. After staking the property he discovered a boulder broken free from its source higher up on the mountain, rolling several dozen meters downslope, assays from the boulder returned a spectacular five ounces of gold per tonne. Mackay explored the property for over 50 years but bonanza gold deposit was never found. In 1988 after investing in Consolidated Stikine Resources which held rights to Eskay Creek, geologist Ron Netolitzky became Stikine’s technical person and one of five controlling shareholders. He teamed up with Murray Pezim of Calpine Resources to raise $900,000 for a drill program and started exploring the area in the summer of 1990. After drilling 108 holes and with momentum building, they hit a fault. Chet Idziszek, Pezim’s geologist with a M.Sc. degree from McGill University observed gradually increasing gold grade and increasing interval length in the assays, he had an intuition that he must be very close to the main gold vein, he studied the maps and analysed the terrain then he ragged the drill rig to a spot 350 meters from the last hole drilled and drilled hole #109. Assays from hole 109 returned spectacular 27.2 g/t gold, 30.2 g/t silver over 208 meters (682 feet). Later rivals Placer Dome and International Corona launched takeovers for Stikine and Stikine's shareholders accepted Corona’s $67-per-share bid and the company was sold. In 1994 Eskay Creek went into production that lasted 14 years and finally ended in 2008. Eskay Creek had the highest grade gold on the planet and produced 3.3 million ounces of gold at a breathtaking 45 g/t Au, also 160 million ounces of silver at 2224 g/t.
Mr. Netolitzky has had a very successful career in mining and mineral exploration with decades of experience and having been directly associated with three major mineral discoveries in Canada that have subsequently been put into production: Eskay Creek, Snip and Brewery Creek. At Eskay Creek, Mr. Netolitzky’s Consolidated Stikine Resources was acquired by Placer Dome and International Corona for $67 per share in what was one of the more famous transactions in Western Canadian mining history. Mr. Netolitzky was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in 2014.
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