RED LAKE

MINING

Red Lake Complex | Campbell Complex

Red Lake Complex

The Red Lake head frame is set over the mine’s principal operating shaft (#1 Shaft) which extends to a depth of 1,023 metres and serves the mine from 1 Level to 23 Level. The first four levels are spaced 38.1 vertical metres apart, and the remaining levels are spaced 45.7 vertical metres apart. On 23L, a main access drift connects #1 Shaft to #2 Shaft (winze) which is situated 914.4 metres to the south and which services the mine from 23 Level to 38 Level. A branch of this main track access drift also connects to a main access ramp, which connects the levels from 21 Level to 42 Level. This ramp is planned to eventually reach 50 Level. The total current depth of the mine is over 1,829 metres. The shafts are connected to the ramp on the levels by 9 feet by 9 feet track drifts. The ore zones are connected to the ramp by 10 feet by 13 feet trackless drifts. The ramp is also 10 feet by 13 feet at 17% grade. The #1 Shaft has two production compartments, which are equipped with skip/cage and skip/counterweight conveyances operating in balance. The #1 Shaft also has one service compartment equipped with an eighteen person double deck cage for moving personnel and material. The #2 Shaft is equipped with two skip/cage conveyances operating in balance for handling production, personnel and material. The #2 Shaft cages can carry seven people. 

The new #3 shaft was completed in January 2007 when it reached a depth of 1,924 meters below surface.  Personnel and material began travelling via the new shaft in mid-2007 and, following the completion of teh 43 level loading pocket, skipping of development waste commenced.  Work continues on the waste/ore handling system for the new shaft, which includes the 43 level conveyor, underground bins and truck dump, and is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2008.  Ventilation upgrades are also in progress and a scheuduled for completion by mid-2008 allowing for additional ventilation a increased mining rates.

The primary mining methods utilized are overhand and underhand cut and fill, pillar recovery and longhole. These methods where chosen: (a) to selectively mine highly variable and complex ore structures, allowing for full production geology control of each ore blast; (b) to reduce dilution in order to make the most of the limited available hoisting capacity by optimizing the grade of the ore hoisted; (c) to mitigate the potential for and damage from seismic events by controlling the open mining span, providing better control of teh mining sequence and minimizing the creation of sill pillars; (d) to maximize ore recovery; and (e) to develop methods that could be applied to future mine expansion at depth.

 Jacklegs, stopers, longtoms, two boom air jumbos, and single boom electric/hydraulic jumbos are used for drilling ore and waste. Mucking machines and trains, scooptrams ranging in size from 1 yard to 3.5 yard capacity, and 16 ton trucks are used to move the broken rock. The most common explosive used in blasting is ANFO. Ground support consists of various combinations of rebar bolts, swellex bolts, and screen, depending on the requirements of the heading being driven. Blasting is carried twice a day when all workers are out of the mine, and is initiated by an electrical central blasting system. On-shift blasting is heavily restricted, and only permitted with proper guarding procedures in place. Broken muck is dumped into passes located near the ore zones by trucks and scooptrams. The muck is pulled from chutes on 37 Level and 34 Level, and hauled by train to passes near #2 Shaft, which feed the loading pocket on 38 Level. At the loading pocket, muck is loaded into the 6 ton skips, and hoisted up #2 Shaft, and dumped into bins on 23 Level. A 36 ton train is used to transfer the muck across 23 Level to passes that feed another loading pocket at the bottom of #1 Shaft. From that loading pocket, muck is loaded onto 4 ton skips and hoisted up #1 Shaft, and dumped into bins on surface that either feed the process plant or the trucks that haul to the waste dump.

Campbell Complex

Mine access is through two separate shafts. The No. 1 Shaft is a four-compartment shaft sunk to below 27 Level, a depth of 1,316 metres below surface. There are 27 Levels at 45 metre vertical intervals, with an average of 6,000 metres of development per level. The Reid Shaft is located 150 metres west of the No. 1 Shaft, and extends to a depth of 1,819 metres. Capital development work will continue in 2006 to open up the DC Zone between 41 and 43 levels. Forty thousand metres of exploration drilling will be undertaken in 2006 below 39 Level.  Exploration development will be achieved for SR zone and PCB zone and will provide diamond-drilling platforms.  Each one of those two zones has more than 1 million oz in resources.  Above 27 Level, a combination of mechanized, rubber-tired diesel equipment and conventional track haulage is utilized for mining. Full track haulage facilities exist on all 27 levels. Below 27 Level, all mining is mechanized to provide greater flexibility and productivity.