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FAQs

How big will the Black Butte Copper Project be underground?

Mining of the Johnny Lee deposit requires only a small underground operation by modern standards. The upper zone ranges from 150 feet to 600 feet deep and is 3,000 feet long in a north south direction, and 1500 feet wide in an east west direction. The Johnny Lee lower zone lies 1500 feet below the bottom of the Sheep Creek Valley, and gently rises to a depth of 1100 feet on its western end and is 3,000 feet long in an east-west direction and up to 500 feet wide in a north south direction. The surface opening (portal) for the 5,000-foot long access tunnel for the Johnny Lee deposit will lay on the south side of Sawmill Hill, well outside the Sheep Creek Valley, and is about 200 feet above the water table. Though relatively small, the high-grade Johnny Lee deposit contains just under one billion pounds of copper.