Hedman Mines property, east of Matheson, near Lake Albititi, Ontario

Hedman Mines worked a chrysotile open-pit mine in Warden and Munro Townships, east of Matheson in northern Ontario, with its mill near Matheson.^3,6,7 The U.S. Bureau of Mines' Minerals Yearbook for 1961, drawing on the Northern Miner, reported that "construction of a 40-ton-per-day pilot mill began" while "exploration and stripping of overburden continued," and that the main zone "reportedly contained more than 8 million tons of ore," all "group 5 and shorter grades."² The yearbook for 1962 estimated open-pit reserves "to a depth of 300 feet" at "8.5 million tons."³

In 1963 the company was still running the pilot plant at Matheson "to produce test shipments of its asbestos fiber for use in experimental work by potential consumers," the yearbook for 1963 said.⁴ Asbestos, the industry's trade journal, citing The Northern Miner, reported that Hedman "produced over 3,055,000 pounds of asbestos during 1964," a recovery of "1,200 pounds of asbestos per ton treated."⁵ In 1966 the journal said the pilot plant's products had gone into "the newsprint industry, asbestos-asphalt paving, plastics, building products, brakes, etc."¹

The production plant's planned size changed over time: "100 tons per day" in the yearbook for 1963, "120 tons of Group 7 (short) asbestos fibres per day" in Asbestos in 1966, and "an ore-crushing capacity of 600 tons per day and an initial fiberizing capacity of 300 tons per day" in the yearbook for 1968.^1,4,8,9 The yearbook for 1968 said "stripping operations begun in 1967 have exposed enough ore in the initial pit to last 4 years."⁸ In 1969 the journal reported a new processing plant "to be phased into operation as markets develop," as the pilot plant was phased out.¹⁰

In 1975 Asbestos described Hedman as owned by Gulf + Western Industries, operating "a small mine and mill at Matheson" producing "about 7,000 short tons" a year of Grade 7.¹¹ In 1976 the journal said the mine handled "about 112 tons of Chrysotile ore per day," hauled "25 miles by truck to the mill," for "a predominantly non-fibrous, industrial, serpentine filler."¹² It reported shipments of "16,009 tons of Hedman cationic fiber" for the year ended July 31, 1976, and "some 10,000 to 15,000 tons" a year in 1978.^7,13

The documents report this mine producing asbestos fiber for sale.¹³

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.

1961

• Reserves: “The main zone reportedly contained more than 8 million tons of ore” (Hedman Mines), as reported by Northern Miner (Toronto), p. 9²
• Exploration: “exploration and stripping of overburden continued” (Hedman Mines), as reported by Northern Miner (Toronto), p. 9²
• Mill: “Construction of a 40-ton-per-day pilot mill began” (Hedman Mines), as reported by Northern Miner (Toronto), p. 9²

1962

• Mill: “Recoveries from bulk tests in the pilot plant ... averaged about $25.50 per ton in value” (Hedman Mines Ltd.), p. 9³
• Reserves: “Reserves available through open-pit mining to a depth of 300 feet were estimated at 8.5 million tons” (Hedman Mines Ltd.), p. 9³
• Mill: “Design of a large mill was nearly completed” (Hedman Mines Ltd.), p. 9³

1963

• Mill: “The initial stage of the plant is designed for a product capacity of 100 tons per day” (Hedman Mines Ltd.), as reported by Northern Miner (Toronto), p. 7⁴
• Mill: “continued to operate its pilot plant at Matheson” (Hedman Mines Ltd.), as reported by Northern Miner (Toronto), p. 7⁴
• Mill: “A production-scale plant has been designed and a plant site has been acquired adjacent to Matheson” (Hedman Mines Ltd.), as reported by Northern Miner (Toronto), p. 7⁴

1964

• Mill: “1,200 pounds of asbestos per ton treated at the company's pilot plant at Matheson” (Hedman Mines), as reported by The Northern Miner, p. 21⁵
• Output: “produced over 3,055,000 pounds of asbestos during 1964” (Hedman Mines), as reported by The Northern Miner, p. 21⁵
• Worked: “Hedman has been operating a pilot plant at Matheson for the past two years” (Hedman Mines Limited), p. 18¹

1966

• Mill: “a plant capable of turning out 120 tons of Group 7 (short) asbestos fibres per day will require expenditures of about $1,000,000” (Hedman Mines Limited), p. 18¹
• Mill: “is constructing a production scale plant to produce Group 7 asbestos fiber from its Warden Township property” (Hedman Mines), p. 6⁶

1968

• Mill: “The new plant will have an initial fiberizing capacity of 300 tons daily” (Hedman Mines Limited), p. 12⁹
• Mill: “ore-crushing capacity of 600 tons per day and an initial fiberizing capacity of 300 tons per day” (Hedman Mines Ltd.), as reported by Mining Journal (London), p. 9⁸
• Mill: “continued construction on its new mill near Matheson, Ontario” (Hedman Mines Ltd.), as reported by Mining Journal (London), p. 9⁸
• Exploration: “Stripping operations begun in 1967 have exposed enough ore in the initial pit to last 4 years” (Hedman Mines Ltd.), as reported by Mining Journal (London), p. 9⁸
• Output: “pilot plant tests in which fiber output was up to 500 tons per month” (Hedman Mines Ltd.), as reported by Mining Journal (London), p. 9⁸

1969

• Mill: “announced it was constructing a new asbestos fiber processing plant at Matheson” (Hedman Mines Limited), p. 24¹⁰

1975

• Output: “operates a small mine and mill at Matheson, Ontario. Annual production of QAMA Grade 7 is about 7,000 short tons” (Hedman Mines Ltd.), p. 32¹¹
• Output: “Shipments of 16,009 tons of Hedman cationic fiber were reported for the year ended July 31, 1976” (Hedman Mines Ltd.), p. 30¹³

1976

• Output: “handles about 112 tons of Chrysotile ore per day at its open-pit mine; approximately 7000 short tons per year of a predominantly non-fibrous, industrial, serpentine filler” (Hedman Mines Ltd.), p. 34¹²
• Reserves: “proven ore reserves to 300 feet vertical total 10.3-million tons, sufficient to yield over 5-million tons of fiber” (Hedman Mines Ltd.), p. 30¹³

1978

• Output: “Some 10,000 to 15,000 tons of cationic fiber are shipped annually” (Hedman Mines Ltd.), p. 36⁷

Other names

Documents call this mine “Hedman Mines asbestos property”, “Hedman Mines Ltd. property in Warden and Munro Townships”, “pilot plant at Matheson”, “Hedman Mines Ltd.”, “Warden Township property”.

See also

• Hedman Mines: the company's history, documents, people, products and plants
• All asbestos mines

References

1. Asbestos Magazine, 1966, January 1966 (January 1, 1966), p. 18.
2. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1961 (January 1, 1962), p. 9.
3. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1962 (January 1, 1963), p. 9.
4. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1963 (January 1, 1964), p. 7.
5. Asbestos Magazine, 1965, July 1965 (July 1, 1965), p. 21.
6. Asbestos Magazine, 1966, December 1966 (December 1, 1966), p. 6.
7. Asbestos Magazine, 1978, December 1978 (December 1, 1978), p. 36.
8. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1968 (January 1, 1969), p. 9.
9. Asbestos Magazine, 1968, December 1968 (December 1, 1968), p. 12.
10. Asbestos Magazine, 1969, December 1969 (December 1, 1969), p. 24.
11. Asbestos Magazine, 1975, December 1975 (December 1, 1975), p. 32.
12. Asbestos Magazine, 1976, December 1976 (December 1, 1976), p. 34.
13. Asbestos Magazine, 1977, December 1977 (December 1, 1977), p. 30.