Dominion Asbestos Co., near St. Adrien, about 15 miles from Asbestos, Quebec

The Dominion Asbestos property lay near Saint Adrien, in Ham Township, Quebec: the U.S. Bureau of Mines' Minerals Yearbook for 1952 put it "about 15 miles from Asbestos," while a 1959 article in Asbestos, the industry's trade journal, put the same ground "12 miles from Asbestos, Quebec."^3,4 In May 1953 the journal reported that Dominion Asbestos Mines had begun work early in 1952 "on a 2,200-ton daily capacity mill to bring the company's property" at Saint Adrien "into production," a mill it said was expected to be running before the end of that year and to "cost about $1,500,000."⁵ The yearbook said the mill, "with a capacity of 2,200 tons of rock a day, was nearing completion at the end of 1952."⁴

The mill ran only briefly: the yearbook names Dominion Asbestos Co. among the companies that produced asbestos in Quebec in 1953, and says its mill "made experimental runs during 1953 but suspended operation late in the year for financial readjustment."¹ Looking back in 1959, the trade journal described "a 2,500-ton mill that operated for several months in 1953."³ According to the yearbook, the National Gypsum Co. "financed the operation for a time under option but according to press reports has not exercised its option to purchase the property."¹ For 1956, drawing on the Northern Miner, it reported that "the holdings of Dominion Asbestos Mines in Ham Township, Quebec, were surrendered to National Gypsum Co. which held a mortgage against the assets."²

Later work on the ground

In April 1959 Asbestos wrote that the "A" group, Atomic Mining Corporation's principal property of 600 acres at Saint Adrien de Ham, "was at one time owned by Dominion Asbestos Mines."³ It reported that during the past year Atomic had "opened up a new cut," that "some of the fibre recovered was milled and sold in Europe," and that a test run on 773 tons recovered 78,300 lbs of fibre, "indicating a total recovery of 5.1% asbestos."³ The same article described diamond drilling and an adit with samples averaging "4.62% asbestos," and quoted the mining engineer H. J. Bergmann as saying that "9,000,000 tons grading 5.1% asbestos have been outlined by diamond drilling to a depth of 300 ft."³ In December 1970 the journal reported that Wolfe Asbestos and Magnesium Mine Ltd. was "milling tailings which contain a good percentage of Group 7 fiber at its small asbestos mill, located on the former Dominion Asbestos Mine property."⁶

The documents report small or short-lived production of asbestos fiber for sale.³

Location

Output the documents report

Figures as printed, in the units each document uses (short tons before about 1990, metric tons after, in most U.S. chapters). Some are a year's output, some a daily rate or a capacity, some a company's total rather than this mine's alone; the statement for that year below says which.

Year by year

Every statement about this mine in the documents, in each document's own words, by the year it is about.

1952

• Description: “The property is near St. Adrien about 15 miles from Asbestos, Quebec” (Dominion Asbestos Co.), p. 9⁴
• Mill: “The new mill of Dominion Asbestos Co., with a capacity of 2,200 tons of rock a day, was nearing completion” (Dominion Asbestos Co.), p. 9⁴
• Mill: “began work early in 1952, on a 2,200-ton daily capacity mill to bring the company's property at St. Adrien, Quebec, into production” (Dominion Asbestos Mines), p. 12⁵

1953

• Ownership: “The National Gypsum Co. financed the operation for a time under option but ... has not exercised its option to purchase the property” (National Gypsum Co.), p. 10¹
• Idle: “suspended operation late in the year for financial readjustment” (Dominion Asbestos Co.), p. 10¹
• Mill: “The Dominion Asbestos Co. mill at St. Adrian made experimental runs during 1953” (Dominion Asbestos Co.), p. 10¹
• Worked: “Dominion Asbestos Co.” (Dominion Asbestos Co.), p. 9¹
• Mill: “The "A" group was at one time owned by Dominion Asbestos Mines which constructed a 2,500-ton mill that operated for several months in 1953” (Dominion Asbestos Mines), p. 60³

1956

• Ownership: “were surrendered to National Gypsum Co. which held a mortgage against the assets” (National Gypsum Co.), as reported by Northern Miner, p. 10²

1958

• Output: “During the past year, Atomic has opened up a new cut ... A test run on 773 tons recovered 78,300 lbs. of fibre” (Atomic Mining Corporation), p. 60³
• Buyers: “Some of the fibre recovered was milled and sold in Europe” (Atomic Mining Corporation), p. 60³

1959

• Ownership: “The company's principal property, known as the "A" group, consists of 600 acres located at St. Adrien de Ham, 12 miles from Asbestos, Quebec” (Atomic Mining Corporation), p. 60³
• Reserves: “9,000,000 tons grading 5.1% asbestos have been outlined by diamond drilling to a depth of 300 ft.” (Atomic Mining Corporation), said by H. J. Bergmann, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 60³
• Exploration: “Over 6,000 ft. of diamond drilling ... An adit was driven for 1,300 ft. ... A drift was driven along the zone for some 300 ft. The average from these samples was 4.62% asbestos” (Atomic Mining Corporation), p. 60³

1970

• Mill: “is milling tailings ... at its small asbestos mill, located on the former Dominion Asbestos Mine property at St. Adrien de Ham” (Wolfe Asbestos and Magnesium Mine Ltd.), p. 20⁶

Other names

Documents call this mine “Dominion Asbestos Co.”, “former Dominion Asbestos Mine property at St. Adrien de Ham”, “holdings of Dominion Asbestos Mines”.

See also

• National Gypsum Co.: the company's history, documents, people, products and plants
• All asbestos mines

References

1. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1953 (January 1, 1954), pp. 9–10.
2. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1956 (January 1, 1957), p. 10.
3. Asbestos Magazine, 1959, April 1959 (April 1, 1959), p. 60.
4. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1952 (January 1, 1953), p. 9.
5. Asbestos Magazine, 1953, May 1953 (May 1, 1953), p. 12.
6. Asbestos Magazine, 1970, December 1970 (December 1, 1970), p. 20.