30 www. bus- ex. com JANUARY 10 we'll mobilize drills underground." A considerable amount of work lies ahead. Drilling will continue in order to establish the resource and finally the reserves of the BCD. Meanwhile, the Cochenour shaft will be upgraded next year, and the company is working to link the project with the Red Lake Mine by driving a 5- km tunnel between the two at a depth of 5,400 feet. The tunnel will carry a high- speed electric rail connection for transporting gold ore from the BCD to the processing plant at Red Lake. It will also provide ventilation for the mine and alternative access in case of emergency. In addition, the tunnel will punch straight through highly prospective gold- bearing ground around the Red Lake camp and will therefore act as an enormous exploration drift- a distinct benefit. " Concurrently with this, we are also going to drive a ramp from the bottom of the Cochenour shaft to access the ore in the BCD. From there we'll be able to drop the ore by gravity through a series of ore passes down to the 5,400- foot level so it can be hauled out to Red Lake," Lalonde says. It's very much a long- term project. It will take about four years to develop the mine to full production. Detailed engineering and costing are in progress, and the projected capital cost and production rate will be determined shortly. Investment at Red Lake, meanwhile, is set to continue at around $ 100 million annually in ongoing capital expenditure and exploration. " We will also be embarking on a program of deepening the Red "" We're dewatering the old Cochenour shaft as we speak, and we expect to have it pumped out to the 2,050- foot level early in the New Year, at which time we'll mobilize drills underground"

skills and legislated training but also in the so- called soft skills. Safety, too, is at the top of the agenda. Over the past year the injury frequency at Red Lake- encompassing both minor and major injuries- has fallen by one- third. It's interesting that this successful safety policy evolved after senior management attended an industry- wide safety conference two years ago in Salt Lake. " A question was put to the attendees: Would you let a family member work in the most dangerous job in your mine? The answer was that 90 percent of the conference attendees would not do so," Lalonde says. " At that point Goldcorp's senior management decided to make this our goal: to make our operations safe enough for our families." It's the personal approach again: the instinct to make the right decision at the right time, which governed the company's first acquisition of Red Lake, its subsequent purchase of the BCD, and its expansion into a world force in gold mining. Lake Mine over the next several years." The company is also doing exploration in a 40- km radius around Red Lake, some of it in conjunction with junior exploration companies. " We did a considerable amount of drilling on the surface in Balmertown in 2008, and we're looking at the possibility of opening a pit operation here several years down the road." Not surprisingly, Goldcorp is the major employer in the area. Some 4,600 people reside in the towns of Red Lake, Balmertown, Cochenour, McKenzie Island, Madsen and Starratt Olsen. Before the US house- building crash and the rise in value of the Canadian dollar, there had been a substantial local logging industry. Today there is an element of tourism, but Goldcorp and its contractors employ the majority of the adult population, providing jobs for around 1,300 people. Like many companies, Goldcorp puts people at the heart of operations, investing a considerable amount in training staff and hourly workers, not only in the hard Goldcorp: Red Lake Gold Mine JANUARY 10 www. bus- ex. com 31