Eastern Asbestos Co. deposit, Portland West Township, about 24 miles north of Buckingham, Quebec

The Eastern Asbestos Co. deposit lay in Portland West Township, Quebec, "about 24 miles north of Buckingham," in the words of the U.S. Bureau of Mines' Minerals Yearbook.⁴ The yearbook for 1954 reported that Eastern Asbestos Co., Ltd., of Montreal "began an extensive drilling and drifting exploratory program" there, and that "asbestos veins over a wide area and to a depth of at least 200 feet are reported."⁵ For 1955, drawing on the Canadian Mining Journal, the yearbook said the company explored the deposit "by drifting and core sampling," and that the asbestos "occurs in crossfiber veins in dolomite and is similar in origin and character to the Arizona fiber."⁴

In March 1956 Asbestos, the industry's trade journal, passed on a report from company officials that a new cross-cut had "intersected both the No. 1 ore-zone to the west of the No. 2 drift and the No. 3 zone to the east," and that "the new zone, 3-A, is 7 ft. wide and the first 3 ft. consist of massive high-grade ore"; the item does not name the property's location.² The yearbook for 1956 likewise reported "a new fiber zone in the north crosscut."³

The sources describe the mill only as a plan, and they give different sizes: Asbestos reported in March 1956 that "immediate construction of a 200-ton mill" had been "recently announced by directors," while the yearbook said that "plans were made early in 1956 to construct a mill having a capacity of about 300 tons of rock per day on the property."^2,3 In October 1958 the journal listed Eastern Asbestos Co. Ltd., at "Notre Dame de la Salette, Papeneau City," among five "potential mines."⁶

In December 1975 Asbestos wrote that "it is believed that in 1972 control of Eastern was acquired by Kingsgate Holdings Ltd.," and that the company, "at last reports, had held a 900-acre asbestos prospect at Portland West Township, Papineau County," which was "said to contain 1.5-million tons of iron-free asbestos ore."¹

The documents describe this as a deposit or prospect: they report exploration or describe the deposit, not mining for sale.⁴

Year by year

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

1954

• Exploration: “Eastern Asbestos Co., Ltd., of Montreal began an extensive drilling and drifting exploratory program” (Eastern Asbestos Co., Ltd.), p. 10⁵
• Reserves: “Asbestos veins over a wide area and to a depth of at least 200 feet are reported” (Eastern Asbestos Co., Ltd.), p. 10⁵

1955

• Exploration: “explored by drifting and core sampling an asbestos deposit in Portland West Township” (Eastern Asbestos Co.), as reported by Canadian Mining Journal, p. 11⁴
• Description: “crossfiber veins in dolomite ... similar in origin and character to the Arizona fiber” (Eastern Asbestos Co.), as reported by Canadian Mining Journal, p. 11⁴

1956

• Reserves: “The new zone, 3-A, is 7 ft. wide and the first 3 ft. consist of massive high-grade ore” (Eastern Asbestos Co. Ltd.), said by Eastern Asbestos Co. Ltd., as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 6²
• Mill: “Immediate construction of a 200-ton mill by Eastern Asbestos Company has been recently announced” (Eastern Asbestos Company), p. 6²
• Exploration: “the new cross-cut at property has intersected both the No. 1 ore-zone to the west of the No. 2 drift and the No. 3 zone to the east” (Eastern Asbestos Co. Ltd.), said by Eastern Asbestos Co. Ltd., as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 6²
• Exploration: “continued exploratory work ... and found a new fiber zone in the north crosscut” (Eastern Asbestos Co.), p. 11³
• Mill: “Plans were made early in 1956 to construct a mill having a capacity of about 300 tons of rock per day” (Eastern Asbestos Co.), p. 11³

1958

• Exploration: “Eastern Asbestos Co. Ltd., Notre Dame de la Salette, Papeneau City” (Eastern Asbestos Co. Ltd.), p. 8⁶

1972

• Ownership: “It is believed that in 1972 control of Eastern was acquired by Kingsgate Holdings Ltd.” (Kingsgate Holdings Ltd.), p. 32¹

1975

• Reserves: “a 900-acre asbestos prospect ... said to contain 1.5-million tons of iron-free asbestos ore” (Eastern Asbestos Co. Ltd.), p. 32¹

Other names

Documents call this mine “Eastern Asbestos Co. deposit”, “Eastern Asbestos Co. Ltd., Notre Dame de la Salette”, “deposit about 24 miles from Buckingham”.

References

1. Asbestos Magazine, 1975, December 1975 (December 1, 1975), p. 32.
2. Asbestos Magazine, 1956, March 1956 (March 1, 1956), p. 6.
3. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1956 (January 1, 1957), p. 11.
4. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1955 (January 1, 1956), p. 11.
5. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1954 (January 1, 1955), p. 10.
6. Asbestos Magazine, 1958, October 1958 (October 1, 1958), p. 8.