Port Hardy Copper Mine - by Linda Wegner

It’s quite possible that there’s copper in them thar hills…and perhaps a lot of gold and molybdenum, too. At least that’s what IMA Exploration Inc. (TSXV: IMR) is going to prove.

In a May 12, 2008 press release IMA Explorations Inc. and Western Copper Corporation announced that the two companies had entered into a binding Letter of Intent and were preparing an Option Agreement that would facilitate further exploration and development of what is known as the Island Copper Project containing the known Hushamu deposit. For more than two decades the Island Copper Mine, located approximately 25 kilometers southwest of Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island, was mined and operated by BHP.

The former Island Copper Mine was an important part of the region’s economic base from its formation in 1971 until its closure in 1995. At one time, the mine employed over 900 people, and helped turn the tiny community of Port Hardy into a town of 5,000.It was low commodity prices that contributed to its closure; it’s now soaring commodity prices, better recovery technologies and demand that fuel the quest to determine the viability of opening a new operation in the area.

“The former company left the project more because of low commodity prices but we believe that there is still great exploration potential to prove up additional resources. There are multiple zones of copper-gold-molybdenum mineralization to explore and advance on IMA’s large property. Positive results on the project could lead one day to a production decision.
 
However, we’re too early to discuss any actual future production at this stage as we are still in the exploration phase said,” Keir Reynolds, Manager, Corporate Communication for IMA.
 
According to Reynolds, the arrangement involves