Mount Sicker.
Our flagship near Duncan: a turn-of-the-century copper-gold camp that left more than 400,000 tonnes of mineralized waste rock at surface. This is where the model began.
year
Acid-generating eyesore
mines
Former producers
t
Waste rock at surface
year
Estimated clean-up
Mount Sicker
Near Duncan on Vancouver Island, Mount Sicker hosted four producing mines, Lenora, Tyee, Richard III and Twin J, operating from 1895 to 1946, with peak production in the early years. Working to cut-off grades as high as 8% copper, they left more than 400,000t of mineralized, acid-generating waste rock on the mountain.
Our grid sampling, hand-auger work and a 528 kg ore-sorting test confirm that this waste contains high-grade materials. The plan: mobile crushing and sorting on site, high-grade material shipped off-site, and an estimated one-to-two-year recovery program per area once permitted, closing open shafts and adits as we go.
High-sulphide waste
400,000+ t of historic mine waste containing gold, silver, copper and zinc (but also sulphur, arsenic and lead) sits in massive piles at surface, leaching contaminants into the surrounding environment.
Ore-sorting
Utilizing well-established ore-sorting technology in a no-chemical, closed-loop process, >95%+ of sulphides can be removed from the waste to create a high-grade and valuable product.
Recovery & remediation
High-grade material is removed and sold, the site is remediated, and a 100+ year “wasteland” returns to nature – critical minerals enter the supply chain with no new mining infrastructure or waste.
Waste Rock.
Explore Mount Sicker’s historic waste rock piles.
Average grades, before
and after sorting.
Starting-grades are from the 97-sample surface grid program, after-grades are from a 528 kg ore-sorting test (TOMRA XRT).*
BEFOREAFTER SORTING
48.6 g/t→180 g/t
BEFOREAFTER SORTING
1.22 %→4.92 %
BEFOREAFTER SORTING
3.05 %→8.7 %
Waste is crushed and sorted on-site using a mobile system; only high-grade material and fines leave the property.
*Results show only rough guidance, as surface grid samples and ore-sorting samples may not be identical.
Progress highlights.
Work has concentrated mainly on two large waste piles, Lenora and Tyee, shown below. Since 2022, the Company has run multiple waste rock and surface sampling programs, as well as ore testing and hazard assessment/mapping.
Results.
Selected results from sampling and drilling across the project’s targets – for more detailed description of each program and their results, please refer to related news releases.
Surface grid sampling WASTE ROCK
97 samples · across all waste piles
Channel sampling OUTCROP
5 samples · continuous channel of outcrop under waste pile
Hand/auger 2-3m sampling WASTE ROCK
30 samples · 2-3m Mount Sicker main waste piles
Ore-sorting test PROCESSING
528 kg bulk · TOMRA XRT
Surface, grid, channel and ore-sort samples are selective by nature and are not necessarily representative of the mineralization across the property. Historical production and results were obtained by prior operators and have not been independently verified by the Company; they are not current mineral resources. Technical disclosure reviewed and approved by a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. See SEDAR+ for details.
Reports, results & downloads.
May 2022 · prepared by Jacques Houle, P.Eng (eff. May 15, 2022)
May 2022 · airborne geophysics final report
December 2025 · assay data
What to expect.
The Company is in permitting to advance the Mount Sicker legacy mine site to an operational (clean-up) phase, expected to begin in 2027 (pending permit approval). We are proceeding via a notice-of-work application and are currently working with permitters – Okane Consultants is developing a comprehensive site closure plan expected to complete in late 2026 (also subject to permit review). Meanwhile, ore-sorting and metallurgical test work continue, and First Nations consultation is ongoing.
From liability to landscape.
Mount Sicker waste-rock sites, before recovery and after the ground is restored. Drag to compare.
Lenora
Acid-generating waste rock returned to forest.
Tyee
Bare rock reclaimed and revegetated.
Lower Waste
A century-old liability, made whole.
Renderings illustrate the projected post-remediation landscape once
acid-generating waste is recovered and the ground is reclaimed.
The latest news about the project.
Explore the rest of the portfolio.
Copper Road
Mount Sicker area, Vancouver Island, BC
Cu
View project →
Blue Grouse
South Cowichan Lake, Vancouver Island, BC
Cu
View project →
Santana
Quadra Island, BC
.
Cu Ag Au
View project →
Slesse
South of Sardis / Chilliwack, BC
.
Cu Ag Au
View project →
Alberni Claims
Port Alberni region, Vancouver Island, BC
Cu Au
View project →