With a renewed interest by established gold producers on grade and low production costs, the Red Lake mining camp in northwestern Ontario continues to garner world attention. The leader in the camp, Goldcorp Inc., is processing ore from its underground mining operation that averages more than 2.0 ounces of gold per ton - unheard of anywhere else in the world for a mine of its size. The area hosts several gold mines, where the combined production and remaining proven resources are more than 30 million ounces of gold. Initial gold production occurred at the Howey mine in 1930, and two mines (Campbell and Red Lake) remain in operation today. The largest mines historically are Placer Dome's Campbell mine (cumulative production and remaining resources of 13 million ounces) (now owned by Goldcorp), Goldcorp's Red Lake (10 million ounces) and Madsen mines (2.5 million ounces). Goldcorp's Red Lake mine lies immediately adjacent to the Campbell mine, and the deposit mined at each are interpreted to be portions of the same ore body. However, the deep high-grade zone of the Red Lake mine continues to be one of the highest-grade deposits in the world.
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Goldcorp's Red Lake Mine Click to Enlarge	Goldcorp's Campbell Mine Click to Enlarge
Gold from Goldcorp's Red Lake Mine Click to Enlarge	Gold from Goldcorp's Red Lake Mine Click to Enlarge
Gold from Goldcorp's Red Lake Mine Click to Enlarge

Classic Greenstone Gold Belt

The Red Lake gold district is situated in an Achaean greenstone belt consisting of a series of metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks. Most of the gold production in the district has come from structurally controlled vein-type gold deposits hosted in sequences of ultramafic mafic to felsic volcanics and sediments. Regionally, the belt hosts a system of at least five northeast and northwest-trending deformation zones with associated hydrothermal alteration. All of the key producers in the district are located close to a regional mafic volcanic-sediment contact or 'break' which for years may have been overlooked as an important control on gold mineralization.

Major gold camps in the Timmins and Kirkland Lake areas of northeastern Ontario also show a close association with similar breaks. The most prolific gold producers in the Red Lake district, are hosted by the northwest-trending Cochenour-Gullrock Deformation Zone and are situated within the well-established "mine trend" of the Red Lake gold district.

Gold deposits in the Red Lake district have been classified into three main categories: mafic volcanic-hosted; felsic intrusive-hosted; and stratabound. The majority of the productive zones in the Red Lake camp are of the mafic volcanic-hosted type and occur as vein systems within a lower mafic to komatiitic and ultramafic volcanic sequence. Goldcorp's mine lies in the eastern section of the Red Lake Precambrian greenstone belt, an older assemblage of mafic and felsic volcanic rocks within a sedimentary sequence.

As a result of the proven potential of this gold camp and the continued excitement being generated by Goldcorp's Red Lake mine, the Red Lake and Birch-Uchi greenstone belts have attracted many firms, from senior producers to junior exploration companies, to stake and explore the district. Active major companies in Red Lake include Goldcorp and Placer Dome. In addition, there are many junior exploration companies actively exploring the camp.