McKenzie Bay discovery, McKenzie Bay, Roy Township, Quebec

The McKenzie Bay property, in Roy Township near Chibougamau, Quebec, was an asbestos prospect that the sources describe only as being explored.^2,3 Asbestos, the industry's trade journal, reported in December 1976 that Campbell Chibougamau Mines Ltd. held "96 claims at McKenzie Bay, Roy Township, near Chibougamau, Quebec, known as the Q project," that McAdam Mining Corporation Ltd. could "earn a 50% interest in the project," and that "the initial exploration hole put down by McAdam encountered a wide section of asbestos mineralization."² A year later the trade journal wrote that the two companies were "jointly exploring a 96-claim, asbestos-bearing property held by Campbell," and that "a 10,000-foot drilling program was planned in 1977"; the U.S. Bureau of Mines' Minerals Yearbook for 1977 listed the joint exploration "on its discovery at McKenzie Bay" among properties "undergoing exploration or awaiting development or financing decisions."^4,5 In December 1978 the trade journal reported that "in 1978 McAdam sold half its interest in the properties to the Quebec Department of Natural Resources," and that by May 4, 1978, "5,000 feet of additional drilling had been done," with "visual estimates" disclosing "wide sections over several hundred feet containing significant amounts of asbestos, largely of the cross-fiber Chrysotile variety."¹ In December 1979 the trade journal reported that McAdam "has dropped its option on this 'Q' project," its directors having concluded that "the two years of completed work on the project did not confirm the possibility of an asbestos deposit of sufficient size and grade to warrant open pit mining."³

The documents describe this as a deposit or prospect: they report exploration or describe the deposit, not mining for sale.³

Location

Year by year

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

1976

• Exploration: “holder of 96 claims at McKenzie Bay, Roy Township ... known as the Q project; McAdam can earn a 50% interest; The initial exploration hole ... encountered a wide section of asbestos mineralization” (Campbell Chibougamau Mines Ltd.; McAdam Mining Corporation Ltd.), p. 31²

1977

• Exploration: “jointly exploring a 96-claim, asbestos-bearing property held by Campbell; a 10,000-foot drilling program was planned in 1977” (McAdam Mining Corporation Ltd.; Campbell Chibougamau Mines Ltd.), p. 30⁴
• Exploration: “a joint exploration with Campbell Chibougamau Mines Ltd. on its discovery at McKenzie Bay, Roy Township, Quebec” (Campbell Chibougamau Mines Ltd.; McAdam Mining Corp. Ltd.), p. 9⁵

1978

• Ownership: “In 1978 McAdam sold half its interest in the properties to the Quebec Department of Natural Resources” (Quebec Department of Natural Resources), p. 38¹
• Exploration: “5,000 feet of additional drilling; visual estimates disclose wide sections over several hundred feet containing significant amounts of asbestos” (McAdam Mining Corporation Ltd.; Campbell Chibougamau Mines Ltd.), p. 38¹

1979

• Exploration: “McAdam advised it has dropped its option on this "Q" project with Campbell Chibougamau Mines Ltd.” (McAdam Mining Corporation Ltd.), p. 34³

References

1. Asbestos Magazine, 1978, December 1978 (December 1, 1978), p. 38.
2. Asbestos Magazine, 1976, December 1976 (December 1, 1976), p. 31.
3. Asbestos Magazine, 1979, December 1979 (December 1, 1979), p. 34.
4. Asbestos Magazine, 1977, December 1977 (December 1, 1977), p. 30.
5. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1977 (January 1, 1978), p. 9.