Hercules Metals exploration phase could last up to seven years

Editor’s note: The following is part 2 of a series about Hercules Metals Corp., which is conducting mineral exploration on state and federal land north of Cambridge.

 

 CAMBRIDGE – Hercules Metals Corp. held a townhall meeting June 26 to keep the public updated on mineral exploration underway on Cuddy Mountain near Cambridge.

 Their first public meeting was held in December. Both included question and answer sessions.

 During the June 26 meeting, Hercules CEO and Director Chris Paul and VP of Exploration Chris Longton began with a brief historical overview of mining operations in the area that date back to the 1800s.

 The company’s maiden drilling operation, which initially anticipated silver deposits, began in late 2023 and ultimately netted five separate holes that reached depths of 1,000 to 1,500 feet below ground level. 

 Core drilling/sampling is a crucial process that helps give geologists like Longton and Paul a better understanding of the size and location of mineral deposits. It involves extracting cylindrical samples (rock core) from the subsurface layers of the earth using a hollow drill bit that is attached to a drill rod.

 An Idaho-based drilling company based in Hayden, Idaho has been employed to do the work.Samples were made available for the public to see and touch at the June 26 meeting.

 Geologists examine the core to determine the rock type, mineral composition, structural features, and other aspects of the rock quality.

 Copper was discovered in hole five during the 2023 drilling program. 

 “While silver as a metal is more valuable than copper, porphyry copper deposits tend to have more metal and are more valuable as a deposit type,” Longton explained.

 The find is apparently so promising, it prompted a name change, from Hercules Silver Corp. to Hercules Metals Corp. to blanket whatever they might find in their exploration efforts.

 Since then, a number of other exploration companies have descended on the Cuddy Mountain area. Washington County administrators have seen over 6,000 claims made since the first of the year.

 The process

 For clarification purposes, Longton discussed the typical life cycle of a modern mine operation, which, of course, begins with exploration. It is the first step in a slow, multi-phased cycle that includes mine design, construction, production, closure, and reclamation.

 “So, we are exploring right now; that involves different methods,” Longton said. “We are using geophysics to map, and drilling; we do all this stuff to try to find something, and we’ve found it. That doesn’t mean it’s a mine. We found something and then we develop that, and we need to find more.”

 Though Hercules drilled a hole that reveals a potential significant copper deposit, the company must make sure it’s as big as they think, which means more drilling.

 The process, in large part, involves following environmental regulations enforced through a number of regulatory agencies that all must sign off on the project. They also must secure permits for land where they are drilling. 

 The various entities include the BLM (Bureau of Land Management), U.S Forest Service, State of Idaho, and DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality), all under the federal guidelines set by NEPA (National Environmental Protection Act). The Act has generated a lengthy process, which involves multiple agencies and regulates everything from migratory birds to construction materials to air quality to noise pollution and everything in between, according to Longton.

 “We have to … make sure that we find enough resources to make all the rest of it make sense,” he reiterated. “This takes years and exploration is where we are. We are in the discovery phase.”

 Longton and Paul said the exploration process could take anywhere from five to seven years and if the deposit is proven, they move into the mine design stage.

 Mine design involves engineers, more permitting, a GIS analysis, and a concerted effort to build a project that “works for people, environment, and the business.”

 Next is construction, which involves constructing the actual mine, which can include new electrical transmission lines and power grids to buildings and processing facilities to small airplane landing strips, though it is not yet known what the project would require.

 Once that is complete, production can begin. That’s where the money is made, according to Hercules, Longton and Paul underscoring the company’s intent to hire as much local help as is possible. 

It will take engineers, accountants, environmental specialists, geologists, supply chain specialists, surveyors, operators, and more to keep the mine in production.

 The average time from resource discovery to mine production in the United States is 13 years, according to Paul.

 All mines ultimately close, which entails operation ramp-down, dismantling of buildings, and transitioning out employees as the mine prepares for reclamation.

 Reclamation is the final stage of a mine’s life cycle, as efforts are deployed for revegetation, re-contouring of the earth and water treatment to return the land to near pre-disturbance conditions. Reclamation, however, can take decades to ensure safe conditions for humans and wildlife.

 During the townhall meeting, Paul and Longton shared what the company has been up to since last December, which included the purchase of a house located on Cemetery Road in Cambridge.

 Be sure to read part 3 of this series in a future issue of the Signal American. The next installment will include Hercules’ latest activities and responses to questions posed by attendees.