Pend Oreille

Overview

The Pend Oreille mine is located in the American state of Washington.  The property consists of 5,798 acres of fee simple property, 487 acres of patented mining claims, and 1,925 acres of unpatented mining claims in Metaline Falls.

Pend Oreille is an underground operation that is mining a rich zinc-lead ore body. Processing is done by flotation and the resulting concentrate is shipped to Teck’s Trail for smelting. Teck owns 100% interest in the tenements.

In February 2009, Teck temporarily suspended operations at the Pend Oreille mine due to economic factors. The operation will remain on care and maintenance until market conditions improve.

Location

The Pend Oreille mine is located in Metalline Falls in northeastern Washington State, USA.

Pend Oreille County is a county located in the US state of Washington. The name Pend Oreille derives from a French-Canadian fur trade moniker for local Indians who probably wore large ear pendants. The mountainous area was populated by indigenous people first, and then travelled by fur traders and explorers, followed by missionaries, miners, loggers and homesteaders. The area’s most successful economic activities proved to be mining and logging followed by dairy farming.

Geology & Mineralization

The Pend Oreille mine is a carbonate hosted zinc-lead ore body situated within the Metaline Formation in the southern portion of the Kootenay arc, an arcuate, narrow belt of sedimentary, volcanic and metamorphic rocks separating Precambrian metasediments to the east and Mesozoic volcanic and sedimentary units to the west.  

Mineralization at the Pend Oreille mine is located within the Yellowhead horizon of the Metaline Formation, an intensely altered stratabound dolomitic solution breccia, which has been invaded and replaced by fine grained pyrite with lesser zinc and lead sulphides. The sulphide zone has relatively simple mineralogy. Sphalerite and galena are the two ore minerals of interest. Gangue minerals include pyrite, dolomite and calcite.

Reserves & Resources: 1.71 Mt at 6.1% zinc, 1.2% lead (p+p, Dec2011). Inferred resources stood at 2,430 t grading 5.9% zinc and 1.2% lead.

Mining & Operation

The underground mine began commercial production in early 2004.

The Pend Oreille operations were suspended in February 2009, and the mine was placed on care and maintenance. The operation will remain on care and maintenance until market conditions improve.

Processing

Pend Oreille process flow sheet consists of a conventional crushing, grinding and flotation for obtaining zinc and lead rich concentrates.

Concentrates are being trucked to the Trail smelter, some 80 km to the northwest in British Columbia, Canada.

Environment & Community

Teck works hard to protect the environment and always strive to act with care and sensitivity towards our surroundings. Its people take this responsibility seriously and show dedication towards environmental stewardship.