For those who enjoy hunting out and exploring old mines, the Iron Mike Mine is a few km out of wayward and was fairly easy to find. That is, until last year, when they were logging the area, and I tried to return to the mine, but we could not use the road. Have not returned to see what this logging has done to the mine sites.
The property where the Iron Mike mine is located is about 4 miles southwest of Sayward and 3 miles west of the junction of the White and Salmon Rivers. On the upper Elk Creek. Mineralization was discovered at the 450 metres on a steeply rising mountainside by prospector R. Hartt in 1959. He staked 17 claims, including the Iron Mike, Iron Jim, and Iron Mac. An option was given to Marwell Construction Co. Ltd. in 1960, and 19 diamond drill holes, totalling 587 metres, were put down. The option was dropped the following year, and Hartt resumed prospecting.
In 1962, 640 metres of diamond drilling were done in 24 holes. A small amount of stripping and X-ray diamond drilling was done in 1962. Inter-Can Development Co. Ltd. leased the property in 1963, and a program of stripping and diamond drilling began.
The decision was reached to prepare for production, and Orecan Mines Ltd., incorporated in September 1964, was assigned the lease on the 36 claim property. Prospecting of the two main anomalies was continued with some 5,000 feet of X-ray and BX wire-line drilling early in 1965. Dip needle surveys indicated ten anomalies; however, the original concept of the deposit as two or more separate orebodies has been replaced, after more and closer diamond drilling, as one large flat-lying orebody.
Part of the orebody will be mined by open pit methods and the balance by underground work. A 1,000-ton mill was under construction early in 1965 with production scheduled for late in the year. A contract was arranged for the sale of 1,000,000 tons of 62% iron concentrate to Japan. Ore reserves were estimated at two million tons, of which 1,300,000 tons constituted proven and reasonably assured ore grading 43.3% iron with an additional 700,000 tons of indicated similar grade.