Kidd Mine or Kidd Creek Mine is an underground

base metal A base metal is a common and inexpensive metal, as opposed to a precious metal such as gold or silver. In numismatics, coins often derived their value from the precious metal content; however, base metals have also been used in coins in the past ...

(copper-zinc-silver) mine north of

Timmins Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 at the 2021 Canadian census and an estimated population of ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. It is owned and operated by Swiss multinational

Glencore Glencore plc is an Anglo-Swiss Multinational corporation, multinational commodity trading and mining company with headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, Baar, Switzerland. Glencore's oil and gas headquarters are in London, London, England as well a ...

Inc. The ore deposit was discovered in 1959 by Texas Gulf Sulfur Company. Exploration drilling at the Kidd site began in November 1963. In 1981, it was sold to Canada Development Corporation, then sold in 1986 to Falconbridge Ltd., which in 2006 was acquired by

Xstrata Xstrata plc was an Anglo-Swiss Multinational corporation, multinational mining company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It was a major producer of coal (and the world's largest exporter o ...

, which in turn merged with Glencore in 2013.

Ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

from the Kidd Mine is processed into

concentrate A concentrate is a form of Chemical substance, substance that has had the majority of its diluting agent or diluent (in the case of a liquid: the solvent) removed, such that the substance becomes the majority of the composition. Typically, this w ...

at the Kidd Metallurgical Site, located southeast of the mine, which until 2010 also smelted the ore and refined the metal produced. Following the closure of most of the Met Site, concentrate is now shipped to Quebec for processing. Kidd Mine is the world's deepest copper-zinc mine ( below the surface).

History

An aerial

geophysical survey Geophysical survey is the systematic collection of geophysical data for spatial studies. Detection and analysis of the geophysical signals forms the core of Geophysical signal processing. The magnetic and gravitational fields emanating from the ...

, conducted by Texas Gulf Sulphur Company in March 1959, indicated an anomaly in the Kidd-55 segment warranting ground investigation. A ground electromagnetic survey was conducted in October 1963 and a drill rig started drilling a 600-foot

core sample A core sample is a cylindrical section of (usually) a naturally-occurring substance. Most core samples are obtained by drilling with special drills into the substance, such as sediment or rock, with a hollow steel tube, called a core drill. The ...

in November. The core, later confirmed by the Union

Assay An assay is an investigative (analytic) procedure in laboratory medicine, mining, pharmacology, environmental biology and molecular biology for qualitatively assessing or quantitatively measuring the presence, amount, or functional activity ...

Office in Salt Lake City, showed an average copper content of 1.15%, an average zinc content of 8.64%, and 3.94 ounces of silver per ton. A second hole was drilled in March 1964, followed by two more in early April. The copper-zinc-silver ore deposit at Kidd Mine discovery was announced in a

press release A press release (also known as a media release) is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing new information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public releas ...

after the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

meeting on 16 April 1964. Seven drill holes indicated an

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

body 800 feet long, 300 feet wide, and a vertical depth of 800 feet. During the initial exploration of the site, then known as Kidd-55, officers of the company engaged in

insider trading Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider informati ...

in Texas Gulf shares. The ensuing lawsuit by the

Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

resulted in a

landmark decision Landmark court decisions, in present-day common law legal systems, establish precedents that determine a significant new legal principle or concept, or otherwise substantially affect the interpretation of existing law. "Leading case" is commonly ...

that established the right of all market participants to have "relatively equal access to material information." The mine began ore production in 1966, as an open pit mine and eventually evolved into an underground mine. The mine produces copper, zinc, and several other metals. The mine has the oldest-known flowing water on Earth. A billion-year-old water sample collected from the mine was added to the collection at Ingenium in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

on November 25, 2020.

Geology

The Kidd deposit is one of the largest

volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposit Volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposits, also known as VMS ore deposits, are a type of metal sulfide Ore, ore deposit, mainly copper-zinc which are associated with and produced by volcanic-associated hydrothermal vents in submarine environments ...

s in the world and one of the world's largest base metal deposits. It lies within the Abitibi greenstone belt.

Current operation

Kidd Mine and Met Site collectively employ approximately 850 employees and contractors. In 2008, the company committed to investing $120 million to extend the production to 2017, and deepen the mine to . The investment would add 3.4 million tonnes of ore into the mine plan. The expansion included the development of three additional production levels and deepening the ramp from the 9100 level to the 9600 level, where the loading pocket is located. This included an extension of the

ventilation Ventilation may refer to: * Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation ** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing *** Respirator, a ma ...

and backfill systems to the new sections of the mine. The mine's expected production life has since been extended to 2021. In 2019, exploration drills were set up on the 9,800 level to search out and define the new ore zone.

Depth

Kidd is the deepest

mine in the world. The bottom of N° 4 shaft at Kidd Creek Mine D is below the surface,

below sea level This is a list of places on land below mean sea level. Places artificially created such as tunnels, mines, basements, and dug holes, or places under water, or existing temporarily as a result of ebbing of sea tide etc., are not included. Places ...

, the deepest accessible non-marine point on Earth.

References

Sources

* Hannington, M. D., and Barrie, C. T., editors, (1999). The Giant Kidd Creek Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Deposit, Western Abitibi Subprovince, Canada: Economic Geology Monograph 10, The Giant Kidd Creek Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Deposit, Western Abitibi Subprovince, Canada. 672 p. * John Brooks, "Annals of Finance: A Reasonable Amount of Time," ''The New Yorker,'' Nov. 9, 1968, p. 160. ** Reprinted in John Brooks, ''Business Adventures.'' New York: Weybright & Talley, 1969. Ch. 4, pp. 118–144.

External links

* {{Official website, www.kiddoperations.ca Copper mines in Ontario Mines in Timmins Volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposits Xstrata Zinc mines in Canada Silver mines in Canada