J.S. Redpath Ltd, mining contractors and engineers, along with joint venture partners Tawich Construction and Norascon Mining, completed the sinking of Goldcorp’s Éléonore mine production shaft to a depth of 1,180 m at the end of May 2015. The bottoming out of the 7.0 m diameter concrete lined shaft comes on the heels of the earlier completed work by the joint venture for the exploration/ventilation shaft and ramp development; both of which are currently servicing mine building activities. The production shaft crews earned a remarkable safety milestone of 600 days without a Loss Time Incident or Medical Aid. This is the first production shaft for this exciting new gold camp, situated in northern Quebec, Canada.

“While this shaft does not challenge the major shafts of the world in depth, it most certainly presented the shaft sinking teams with extraordinary challenges not normally encountered in this type of work.” stated Kevin Melong, Senior Manager Shaft Projects for Redpath. “The project began in the remote James Bay lowlands of northern Quebec; at a time without any infrastructure, roads or power. Meeting this challenge alone required a tremendous logistical team effort.”

Alongside mine owner, Goldcorp, the team included the joint venture partnership between three mine construction companies; Redpath, Tawich and Norascon Mining. The RTN JV was formalised in April 2011 and continues to be a productive entity. Key to the success of the venture was the partnering with Tawich; a Cree construction company from the Cree Nation of Wemindji. Through this partnership while working at Éléonore, the greatest number of Cree workers in the province of Québec has been integrated into the mining sector. On-site coaching and training has resulted in a regional skilled workforce, necessary to sustain the mine’s development and production for the long term. Working on one of the most significant projects in the province, has afforded many training opportunities in a variety of job functions.

Guy Belleau, Goldcorp’s General Manager of the Éléonore Mine stated, “This is an exceptional milestone achieved by the shaft sinking team. This shaft was successfully carried out through very seismically active ground conditions, with significant water inflows further complicating shaft sinking efforts. To sink in excess of 600 days approaching 250,000 man-hours at high productivity levels without an injury is a testament to the strong safety culture and dedication of all who participated in this great achievement. I am proud of the way each of the challenges was met and overcome by our combined Goldcorp and Redpath-Tawich-Norascon Mining team.”