Pitch-Ore Beaverlodge Site
Location
The Pitch-Ore Beaverlodge mine site is located between Beaverlodge and Martin Lake approximately two kilometres south of the Uranium City airport.
General Description
The mine site, located near a power line right-of-way, is accessible by a narrow trail that travels along Beaverlodge Lake’s northwest shore for approximately 1.9 kilometres.
Pitch Ore Uranium Mines Limited explored the property between 1951 and 1952 with a diamond drill program. Based on the results of the drilling, an adit was started above the shores of Beaverlodge Lake in 1952. A drift was also completed. Work ceased after Dunbar and Sadoway completed extracting ore in 1959.
F. Lieber completed a survey on the claim site in 1968, but found no new deposits. In 1969, Albex Minerals Limited conducted diamond drilling south of the adit, but did not find anything of economic value.
When the mine closed, waste rock was piled up in front of the adit to prevent entry. This closure is now showing signs of failure, as the waste rock is slumping away from the opening. In addition, waste rock makes up a section of the power-line access road that leads to a trail along the shoreline of Beaverlodge lake.
An open raise north of the adit was also located during the 2007 assessment. The deep three-metre-wide opening represents a public safety hazard, particularly in winter when snow could obscure its presence.
A second adit reported to have been blasted when the mine closed on the Martin Lake side of the ridge, was not located during the 2008 summer assessment.
