McAdam Mining Corp. ore body, Roberge Lake, northeast of Chibougamau, Quebec

The McAdam Mining Corp. explored a chrysotile ore body at Roberge Lake, near Chibougamau, according to the U.S. Bureau of Mines' Minerals Yearbook and Asbestos, the industry's trade journal.^1,2,3 The yearbook for 1961, drawing on the Northern Miner, placed Roberge Lake "northeast of Chibougamau, northwestern Ontario," and said exploration there "outlined an ore body 1,000 feet long, 600 feet wide, and 450 feet deep, averaging 8.4 percent asbestos," while "magnetic anomalies found in earlier work were investigated."² The yearbook for 1962 placed it in "northwestern Quebec," where the company "drilled a 500-foot hole to explore a magnetic anomaly northeast of the main asbestos zone"; a magnetometer survey indicated "a third zone," and the main zone "was reported to contain 15 million tons of ore averaging about $5 per ton in fiber value."⁴ For 1964 the yearbook reported that the company "completed a 3-year drilling program on its Roberge Lake property in McCorkill Township," and that "40 million tons of chrysotile asbestos ore that can be mined at a profit was found."¹ In December 1966 Asbestos reported that McAdam Mining "has sampled and tested asbestos from its property near Roberge Lake" and "expects to erect a pilot treatment plant."³

The documents describe this as a deposit or prospect: they report exploration or describe the deposit, not mining for sale.¹

Location

Year by year

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

1961

• Exploration: “Magnetic anomalies found in earlier work were investigated” (McAdam Mining Corp.), as reported by Northern Miner (Toronto), p. 9²
• Reserves: “outlined an ore body 1,000 feet long, 600 feet wide, and 450 feet deep, averaging 8.4 percent asbestos” (McAdam Mining Corp.), as reported by Northern Miner (Toronto), p. 9²

1962

• Exploration: “drilled a 500-foot hole to explore a magnetic anomaly northeast of the main asbestos zone” (McAdam Mining Corp.), p. 9⁴
• Reserves: “The main zone was reported to contain 15 million tons of ore averaging about $5 per ton in fiber value” (McAdam Mining Corp.), p. 9⁴
• Exploration: “A third zone was indicated by a magnetometer survey” (McAdam Mining Corp.), p. 9⁴

1964

• Fiber: “chrysotile asbestos ore” (McAdam Mining Corp.), p. 6¹
• Exploration: “completed a 3-year drilling program on its Roberge Lake property in McCorkill Township” (McAdam Mining Corp.), as reported by Northern Miner (Toronto), p. 6¹
• Reserves: “40 million tons of chrysotile asbestos ore that can be mined at a profit” (McAdam Mining Corp.), as reported by Northern Miner (Toronto), p. 6¹

1966

• Exploration: “has sampled and tested asbestos from its property near Roberge Lake ... and expects to erect a pilot treatment plant” (McAdam Mining), p. 6³

Other names

Documents call this mine “McAdam Mining Corp. ore body at Roberge Lake”, “Roberge Lake property in McCorkill Township”, “property near Roberge Lake”.

References

1. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1964 (January 1, 1965), p. 6.
2. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1961 (January 1, 1962), p. 9.
3. Asbestos Magazine, 1966, December 1966 (December 1, 1966), p. 6.
4. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1962 (January 1, 1963), p. 9.