Pyke asbestos find, New Zealand

The Pyke asbestos find lay by the Pyke River in the Red Hills area of New Zealand.¹ The U.S. Bureau of Mines' Minerals Yearbook for 1973 reported that Kennecott Copper and Lime and Marble had chosen Cassiar Asbestos "as a partner to explore and, if warranted, develop the Pyke asbestos find," and that "exploration and bulk sampling were underway."² Asbestos, the industry's trade journal, said the work "began in February 1973," and in 1975 that the property was "not sufficiently attractive" for Cassiar to exercise its option.^1,3 In 1977 Kennecott reported "four core drill holes totaling 2037 feet" and "significant intercepts of Quebec Standard Groups 3 and 4 Chrysotile fiber."⁴

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

Year by year

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

1973

• Exploration: “Exploration and bulk sampling were underway” (Cassiar Asbestos Corp., Ltd.), p. 8²
• Exploration: “selected ... as a partner to explore and, if warranted, develop the Pyke asbestos find” (Cassiar Asbestos Corp., Ltd.), p. 8²
• Exploration: “Cassiar Asbestos has undertaken a program which will include trenching, diamond drilling and driving an adit; The program began in February 1973” (Cassiar Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), p. 14³

1975

• Exploration: “the property is not sufficiently attractive to warrant the major expenditures that would be required for Cassiar to exercise its option” (Cassiar Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), p. 45¹

1977

• Exploration: “four core drill holes totaling 2037 feet were completed during the 1976-77 summer field season. Significant intercepts of Quebec Standard Groups 3 and 4 Chrysotile fiber were recorded” (Lime and Marble Ltd.; Kennecott Copper Corporation), said by Kennecott Copper Corporation, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 42⁴

See also

• Cassiar Asbestos Corp., Ltd.: the company's documents, people, products and plants
• All asbestos mines

References

1. Asbestos Magazine, 1975, December 1975 (December 1, 1975), p. 45.
2. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1973 (January 1, 1974), p. 8.
3. Asbestos Magazine, 1973, April 1973 (April 1, 1973), p. 14.
4. Asbestos Magazine, 1977, December 1977 (December 1, 1977), p. 42.