PROJECT

Artemis Gold – Blackwater Mine

Tailings Dam Lift & Material Placement

Project Details

CLIENT

BW Gold Ltd. (Artemis Gold) 

PRIME CONTRACTOR

Frost Group 

LOCATION

Blackwater Mine – Central British Columbia 

CONTRACT

Tailings Dam Lift / Zone F & T Placement 

DURATION

2025–2026 work phases 

Project Overview

Frost Group delivered material hauling, stockpile management, and filter and transition placement for tailings dam lift works at the Blackwater Mine in central British Columbia. The work combined bulk material movement with excavator shaping, skid-steer levelling, vibratory compaction, and supporting earthworks. 

The 2025 placement campaign connected the Esker pit, intermediate stockpiles, and the dam construction front. In 2026, field crews also hauled transition material to a stockpile west of the dam and maintained the haul road, supporting the continued movement of materials within the mine.

The work combined material hauling with placement, shaping, compaction, slope work, and construction support. 

Filter, Transition & Slope Works 

  • Zone F filter sand and Zone T transition gravel placement 
  • Excavator placement and slope shaping 
  • Skid-steer levelling and vibratory compaction 
  • Oversize removal from filter and transition work areas 
  • Zone S removal and slope repairs 

Hauling, Stockpiling & Field Support 

  • Loading and hauling from the Esker pit to dam-area stockpiles 
  • Hauling from stockpiles to the dam placement front 
  • Haul-road grading and maintenance 
  • Field supervision, mechanical support, and progress reporting 

Material / activity 

2025 report 
17 September 2025 

2026 report

Zone F — load, haul & place 

29,248.10 m³ 

Awaiting figures 

Zone T — load, haul & place 

29,219.00 m³ 

Awaiting figures 

Zone C — haul & place 

66,598.00 m³ 

Awaiting figures 

 

Zone F filter sand and Zone T transition gravel were handled as separate materials within the dam-lift works. The mine’s material specifications identify Zone F for the filter chimney and filter zone, with Zone T used on the downstream side of the filter zone. 

During the 2025 campaign, two excavators supported placement and shaping of the filter and transition materials. A skid steer levelled the work areas, and a 10-ton vibratory packer was used as required. The placement operation brought together truck deliveries, excavator work, levelling, and compaction at the dam.

The haul arrangement connected the Esker source, stockpiles near the dam, and the active placement area. Rock trucks moved materials from the pit to stockpile, while a separate truck allocation moved stockpiled material to the dam. The September 2025 field report records four trucks working on the stockpile-to-dam leg, alongside continued hauling from the Esker pit and a truck hauling from the plant site. 

The June 2026 dam-lift record documents wheel-loader loading at the Esker pit and rock-truck delivery of Zone T to a stockpile west of the dam. This later phase continued the material-hauling and stockpile-support work. 

Zone S removal and slope repairs accompanied the filter and transition placement activities. The September 2025 construction report records removal work and repairs to the Zone S slope, together with grader support on C Trail. 

Haul-road maintenance remained part of the later field operation. In June 2026, grader work on the haul road accompanied the delivery of transition material to the west-side stockpile.

Field quality controls included keeping the placement area clear of oversize material and removing rocks from the Zone F and T areas as required. These checks formed part of the recorded field work alongside placement, shaping, and compaction. 

Terracon’s material-testing record identifies a Zone F filter-drain sample collected in June 2025, with the source listed as Frost Crusher. The report records the sample identifier, location, elevation, particle-size distribution, and moisture content, providing a traceable example of material documentation associated with the filter work. 

Field supervision coordinated hauling and placement activities, equipment assignments, and work priorities. Daily construction records captured completed work, manpower, equipment use, planned next-shift activities, quality observations, and site concerns. 

Material movements were recorded by activity, distinguishing hauling to stockpiles from deliveries to the placement front and recording removal-and-replacement work separately. This reporting structure kept the different stages of material handling visible within the construction records. 

The field operation combined loaders and articulated trucks with excavators, a skid steer, a vibratory packer, and grading equipment. Hauling and placement crews were supported by supervision and mechanical resources, with equipment assignments recorded against the work being performed. 

The operation required coordination of fleet assignments between source hauling, stockpile supply, and dam placement. Field planning linked those activities so that truck availability and the needs of the placement crew could be considered together. 

The Blackwater Mine dam-lift work demonstrates Frost Group’s ability to combine material hauling and stockpile operations with detailed filter and transition placement, slope shaping, and compaction. The work brings together truck-fleet coordination, excavator operations, access maintenance, and field documentation within a mine construction environment. 

The hauling and placement scope complements Frost Group’s aggregate-production capabilities while showcasing a distinct civil construction role at the tailings dam.

Key Project Highlights

Zone F

Filter Sand Placement

Zone T

Transition Gravel Placement

Two-Stage

Hauling & Stockpiling

Compaction

Vibratory Rolling

Zone S

Slope Removal & Repairs