The Module 2B Group in the field at Raglan, Canada. Photographs by Mike Porter
The group had arrived at the Raglan Mine Complex at Katinniq on the afternoon of Thursday 15 June. After settling in, the group was given a detailed presentation at the exploration camp on the deposit and its setting by senior Falconbridge geological staff and by Professor Mike Lesher, who was on site to advise Falconbridge separately. We were also shown drill core through the deposit and host sequence, before two members of the group gave presentations to Falconbridge staff on nickel deposits in Australia. The meeting broke up at 11:00 pm. It was still light outside, but it had been a long day and the group slept well.
Next morning the group were up early for breakfast. We were given another briefing at the mine office on what we were to see and then kitted up and taken underground to study the orebodies for the remainder of the morning. In the afternoon the group was given suitable cold weather safety clothing (top left and top centre), and taken on a surface traverse of the host volcanic sequence, led by Prof. Mike Lesher and expert Falconbridge geologists. This started with a briefing over a detailed geological map in the open pit (top right), then the traverse through the snow (bottom right).
The original plan had been to fly out of Donaldson to Kuujjuaq on the evening of Friday 16 to catch the flight south in the mid afternoon of next day. The near full spare day had been planned in case bad weather held up flights. Late that afternoon we learned that snow flurries and poor visibility meant our charter flight was unable to either leave Kuujjuaq or land at Donaldson, so we had to spend another night at Katinniq as per the contingency plan. That evening, we had a series of further talks from our hosts, Mike Lesher and tour group participants that lasted until after 9:00 pm.
Next morning, the weather had not appreciable improved, but by late morning it had cleared and our charter aircraft (bottom left) arrived and after a quick turn-around we landed at Kuujjuaq with little time to spare to connect with the flight south to Montreal, arriving late afternoon on Saturday 17 June.
The group then said farewell to those leaving the tour at the end of Module 2B, before checking in for our flight across the Atlantic to London and connecting to Moscow.
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