The Johnny Mountain Mine is a closed underground gold mine located in the Coast Mountain Range of British Columbia (BC), approximately 100 km northwest of Stewart, British Columbia within Tahltan Traditional Territory. Known for its high-grade, near-surface occurrences of both precious and base metals, the history of the Iskut Property spans more than 100 years and the area has attracted a succession of prospectors, junior explorers and major mining companies.
Johnny Mountain mine site was a hidden gem until the 1980s. It was part of the Iskut Property and its resources were first discovered by Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd. who explored the area from 1954 through 1960. There was little follow through on these discoveries, primarily due to the remote location. The commercial production at JMM was carried between November 1, 1988 and September 1990, and then a brief re-opening from September to November 1993. During operation, JMM produced –
- 90,500 ounces of gold at 11.3 grams per ton
- 19,800 ounces of silver at 2.5 grams per ton
- 2.2 Million pounds of copper at 0.40%.
In 1993, JMM ceased operations due to low gold prices and high operating costs.
Until late 2005, the property had been operated and managed by more than a dozen companies which resulted in the lack of a consolidated and focused environmentally sustainable development plan. Commencing in late 2005, Skyline Gold began an aggressive strategy of acquiring adjacent mineral properties and by May of 2012, the company changed its name to SnipGold Corp. In June 2016, Seabridge Gold acquired SnipGold Corp and obtained the entire Iskut Property including Johnny Mountain mine site.
