The mineralization at Musselwhite can be classified as an Iron Formation hosted gold deposit. Typically, gold in these deposits occurs in cross-cutting quartz veins and veinlets or as fine disseminations associated with pyrite, pyrrhotite, and arsenopyrite hosted in iron formations and adjacent rocks within volcanic or sedimentary sequences (McMillan 1996).

Mesothermal veins.
Mineralization is predominantly hosted within meta-chemical sediments (banded iron formations) and in particular within garnet-magnetite-grunerite facies meta-banded iron formations (locally termed the Northern Iron Formation). The location of mineralization is controlled by the intersection of shear zones and folded meta-banded iron formations. These geological controls result in mineralized shoots, which plunge at approximately 15 degrees to grid north, have a down dip extent of up to 150 metres, down plunge continuation in excess of 1.5 kilometres, and across-lithology width of up to 10 metres. Mineralized zones are characterized by abundant pyrrhotite, quartz flooding and, rarely, visible gold.

The mine site consists of a potable water treatment plant, crushing plant, mill and tailings complex, tailings thickener facility, groundwater interception system, conveying system, shop/warehouse and other ancillary facilities.

The milling facility uses two-stage crushing to reduce the ore and conventional gold extraction techniques to concentrate the gold. The tailings or residue from this process is washed with incoming tailings reclaim water in thickeners to recover cyanide. Residual cyanide is treated by an INCO SO2 cyanide destruct system prior to being pumped to the tailings thickener plant (installed in 2010) which is located in the Tailings Management Area (TMA) approximately 3 km west of the plant site.

The use of cyanide begins with the grinding area, which uses re-circulated cyanide bearing solution from the counter current decantation (CCD) wash circuit as process water within the grinding mills, Knelson concentrators, Delkor linear screen and pump b ........