Flintkote Mines Ltd., a few miles north of Thetford Mines, Quebec

In March 1945 Asbestos, the industry's trade journal, printed the Flintkote Company's report that "a mining property in Canada near Thetford Mines" had been acquired by a newly organized subsidiary, Flintkote Mines Ltd., and that "construction is underway on mining and milling facilities."¹ The U.S. Bureau of Mines' Minerals Yearbook for 1945 placed the property "a few miles north of Thetford Mines"; its yearbook for 1946 put the new mine and mill "4 miles northeast of the city of Thetford Mines" and said they "went into production in June 1946."^2,7 In April 1946 the company had said it "anticipates" the facilities "will soon be operating."⁵ Its employees were among those of four companies that, according to Asbestos, "went on strike on February 14th" 1949.¹⁰

The pit and the mill

The yearbooks named Flintkote Mines, Ltd. among Quebec's operating and producing companies in 1951, 1952 and 1953.^3,4,9 A 1951 table from the U.S. government's Mineral Trade Notes, reprinted in Asbestos, gave the mill a daily rock tonnage of 1,200.⁸ In August 1955 the journal said the company "currently operates in an open pit mine" and "will spend in excess of $3 million to expand the capacity of the firm's asbestos mill ... by approximately one half," and to mine reserves "recently proved to be available through deep pit operations."¹¹ In March 1956 it reported that Flintkote "is extending its mines and adding new production facilities."¹² The journal listed a "2,000 ton mill" in 1958, and reported that the company "treated 2,000 tons of ore per day in its Thetford Mines plant, an average of 200 tons below the 1957 daily production rate"; in 1960 it gave Bell and Flintkote a mill capacity of 2,000.^13,14,15 In July 1961 Asbestos said that "by next spring" a smaller skip system "will be in operation at the Flintkote open pit," and the yearbook for 1961 reported that "a smaller skipway was installed" there.^16,17

The closing

In December 1972 Asbestos reported that Flintkote Mines Ltd., a subsidiary of The Flintkote Company, "closed its asbestos mine at Thetford Mines, Quebec, as of December 31, 1971," and that "the fully-integrated mine and mill had been in operation since 1946."⁶ The yearbook for 1974, in a table drawn from an Environmental Protection Agency economic analysis, still listed Flintkote Mines, Ltd., Quebec, as a fiber source of The Flintkote Co., with a fiber-producing capacity of 33,000 short tons per year.¹⁸

The documents report this mine producing asbestos fiber for sale.⁷

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.

1945

• Ownership: “A mining property in Canada near Thetford Mines, has also been acquired by ... Flintkote Mines Ltd.” (Flintkote Mines Ltd.), said by The Flintkote Company, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 32¹
• Mill: “Construction is underway on mining and milling facilities” (Flintkote Mines Ltd.), said by The Flintkote Company, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 32¹
• Ownership: “This firm has purchased an asbestos property a few miles north of Thetford Mines” (Flintkote Mines, Ltd.), p. 8²

1946

• Mill: “mining and milling facilities on its asbestos property at Thetford Mines ... will soon be operating” (The Flintkote Company, Inc.), said by The Flintkote Company, Inc., as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 45⁵
• Opened: “The fully-integrated mine and mill had been in operation since 1946” (Flintkote Mines Ltd.), p. 22⁶
• Opened: “The new mine and mill of Flintkote Mines, Ltd., ... went into production in June 1946” (Flintkote Mines, Ltd.), p. 8⁷

1949

• Idle: “the employees of all four companies went on strike on February 14th” (Flintkote Mines Limited), p. 42¹⁰

1951

• Mill: “Flintkote Mines 1,200 [daily rock tonnage]” (Flintkote Mines), as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 50⁸
• Worked: “Flintkote Mines, Ltd. (operating in the Quebec area)” (Flintkote Mines, Ltd.), p. 7³

1952

• Worked: “Flintkote Mines, Ltd.” (Flintkote Mines, Ltd.), p. 9⁴

1953

• Worked: “Flintkote Mines, Ltd.” (Flintkote Mines, Ltd.), p. 9⁹

1955

• Description: “currently operates in an open pit mine” (Flintkote Mines Limited), p. 54¹¹
• Mill: “will spend in excess of $3 million to expand the capacity of the firm's asbestos mill at Thetford Mines, Que., by approximately one half” (Flintkote Mines Limited), p. 54¹¹
• Reserves: “additional asbestos ore reserves recently proved to be available through deep pit operations” (Flintkote Mines Limited), p. 54¹¹

1956

• Mill: “Flintkote Co. at Thetford Mines, is extending its mines and adding new production facilities” (Flintkote Co.), p. 6¹²

1958

• Mill: “Flintkote Mines Ltd., Thetford Mines, Megantic County, 2,000 ton mill” (Flintkote Mines Ltd.), p. 8¹³
• Output: “treated 2,000 tons of ore per day in its Thetford Mines plant, an average of 200 tons below the 1957 daily production rate” (Flintkote Mines Limited), p. 22¹⁴

1960

• Mill: “The mill capacity ranges from 2,000 (Bell and Flintkote)”, p. 10¹⁵

1961

• Description: “A smaller skipway was installed at the Flintkote Mines, Ltd., pit near Thetford mines” (Flintkote Mines, Ltd.), p. 8¹⁷

1962

• Description: “By next spring, a similar but smaller system will be in operation at the Flintkote open pit in Thetford Mines” (Flintkote), p. 14¹⁶

1971

• Closed: “closed its asbestos mine at Thetford Mines, Quebec, as of December 31, 1971” (Flintkote Mines Ltd.; The Flintkote Company, Inc.), p. 22⁶

1974

• Ownership: “The Flintkote Co | Flintkote Mines, Ltd., Quebec | 33,000” (Flintkote Mines, Ltd., Quebec), as reported by Economic Analysis of Proposed Effluent Guidelines, The Asbestos Products Manufacturing Industry, EPA-230/1-73-001, p. 8¹⁸
• Output: “Fiber-producing capacity 33,000 (short tons per year)” (Flintkote Mines, Ltd., Quebec), as reported by Economic Analysis of Proposed Effluent Guidelines, The Asbestos Products Manufacturing Industry, EPA-230/1-73-001, p. 8¹⁸

Other names

Documents call this mine “asbestos property a few miles north of Thetford Mines”, “Flintkote Mines, Ltd., pit”, “Flintkote Mines, Ltd.”, “Flintkote Mines Ltd.”.

See also

• Flintkote Mines, Ltd.: the company's documents, people, products and plants
• The Flintkote Co: the company's history, documents, people, products and plants
• All asbestos mines

References

1. Asbestos Magazine, 1945, March 1945 (March 1, 1945), p. 32.
2. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1945 (January 1, 1946), p. 8.
3. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1951 (January 1, 1952), p. 7.
4. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1952 (January 1, 1953), p. 9.
5. Asbestos Magazine, 1946, April 1946 (April 1, 1946), p. 45.
6. Asbestos Magazine, 1972, December 1972 (December 1, 1972), p. 22.
7. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1946 (January 1, 1947), p. 8.
8. Asbestos Magazine, 1951, April 1951 (April 1, 1951), p. 50.
9. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1953 (January 1, 1954), p. 9.
10. Asbestos Magazine, 1949, March 1949 (March 1, 1949), p. 42.
11. Asbestos Magazine, 1955, August 1955 (August 1, 1955), p. 54.
12. Asbestos Magazine, 1956, March 1956 (March 1, 1956), p. 6.
13. Asbestos Magazine, 1958, October 1958 (October 1, 1958), p. 8.
14. Asbestos Magazine, 1959, July 1959 (July 1, 1959), p. 22.
15. Asbestos Magazine, 1960, March 1960 (March 1, 1960), p. 10.
16. Asbestos Magazine, 1961, July 1961 (July 1, 1961), p. 14.
17. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1961 (January 1, 1962), p. 8.
18. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1974 (January 1, 1975), p. 8.