Reeves Township deposit, Reeves Township, 40 miles southwest of Timmins, Ontario

The Reeves mine was Johns-Manville's asbestos property in Reeves Township, Ontario, acquired in 1953, and the sources place it at different distances from Timmins: "about 35 miles southwest" in Asbestos, the industry's trade journal, in 1954, "40 miles southwest" in the U.S. Bureau of Mines' Minerals Yearbook for 1963, and "43 miles southwest" in the trade journal in 1966.^2,3,4

Purchase and development

In July 1953 Asbestos printed the company's announcement of the "purchase of a newly discovered asbestos ore deposit in Northern Ontario," in Reeves Township "in the same general area as Johns-Manville's Munro mine and mill, near Matheson."¹ The company said that "no plans have been made to establish production facilities on the new property," since "there is ample asbestos production capacity in Canada and in other area of the free world."¹ The yearbook for 1963, citing the Canadian Mining Journal, reported that Canadian Johns-Manville "announced plans to develop" the deposit, that "a development shaft is planned to open two underground levels to provide bulk samples for pilot plant processing," and that the deposit was expected "to supplement the output of Munro mine."⁴ Johns-Manville's annual report for 1965, as Asbestos quoted it, said field work and physical testing on the property "has been completed."⁷

The plan of 1966 and the mine

In June 1966 the trade journal reported that Johns-Manville "will develop a 5,000-acre property in Reeves Township" as a mining and milling operation, "with fiber production scheduled to start in 1968," and that its engineering plans called "for open pit mining with an adjacent milling operation to separate fibers from the ore."³ The company's president, C. B. Burnett, said that "initial fiber production will approximate 25,000 tons a year," and the journal wrote that in 1968 "the mine payroll will rise to a total of approximately 150 workers."³ These were plans; the yearbook for 1969, citing the London Mining Journal, reported that the company "increased output at its Reeves mine in Ontario."⁵

Closing

Asbestos reported in December 1975 that "on April 30, 1975, C.J-M permanently closed its asbestos mine at Reeves Township."⁶ It wrote that "it appears the company was unable to meet new clean air requirements of the Natural Resources Ministry," which lowered the acceptable fiber count "from 5 to 2 asbestos fibers per cubic centimeter of air"; the company maintained that the requirement was "technically impossible" to meet, while the Ministry said the standard "cannot be modified, even temporarily."⁶

The documents report this mine producing asbestos fiber for sale.⁵

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.

1953

• Ownership: “Purchase of a newly discovered asbestos ore deposit in Northern Ontario ... The property is in Reeves Township” (Johns-Manville Corporation), said by Johns-Manville Corporation, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 54¹
• Idle: “No plans have been made to establish production facilities on the new property” (Johns-Manville Corporation), said by Johns-Manville Corporation, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 54¹
• Ownership: “In 1953 the Company acquired an additional asbestos ore deposit in Reeves Township, about 35 miles southwest of Timmins” (Canadian Johns-Manville Company, Limited), p. 12²
• Ownership: “was acquired by J-M in 1953” (Johns-Manville), p. 10³

1963

• Ownership: “The deposit was acquired by the company several years ago” (Canadian Johns-Manville Co., Ltd.), as reported by Canadian Mining Journal, p. 7⁴
• Exploration: “announced plans to develop an asbestos deposit in Reeves Township” (Canadian Johns-Manville Co., Ltd.), as reported by Canadian Mining Journal, p. 7⁴
• Exploration: “A development shaft is planned to open two underground levels to provide bulk samples for pilot plant processing” (Canadian Johns-Manville Co., Ltd.), as reported by Canadian Mining Journal, p. 7⁴

1964

• Exploration: “development and evalution was in progress by Canadian Johns-Manville on its Reeves Township property” (Canadian Johns-Manville), as reported by Mining Engineering, p. 6⁸

1965

• Exploration: “Field work and physical testing on the Reeves Township property ... has been completed” (Canadian Johns-Manville Company Limited), said by Johns-Manville Corporation, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 17⁷

1966

• Description: “engineering plans call for open pit mining with an adjacent milling operation” (Johns-Manville Corporation), p. 10³

1968

• Output: “initial fiber production will approximate 25,000 tons a year” (Johns-Manville Corporation), said by Johns-Manville Corporation, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 10³
• Workforce: “In 1968, the mine payroll will rise to a total of approximately 150 workers” (Johns-Manville Corporation), p. 10³
• Opened: “will develop a 5,000-acre property in Reeves Township ... with fiber production scheduled to start in 1968” (Johns-Manville Corporation), p. 10³

1969

• Output: “increased output at its Reeves mine in Ontario” (Canadian Johns-Manville Co. Ltd.), as reported by Mining Journal (London), p. 8⁵

1975

• Dust and health: “unable to meet new clean air requirements ... which lowered acceptable fiber-count standards from 5 to 2 asbestos fibers per cubic centimeter of air” (Canadian Johns-Manville Co. Ltd.), p. 31⁶
• Closed: “On April 30, 1975, C.J-M permanently closed its asbestos mine at Reeves Township, near Timmins, Ontario” (Canadian Johns-Manville Co. Ltd.), p. 31⁶

Other names

Documents call this mine “asbestos deposit in Reeves Township”, “Reeves Township property”, “Reeves mine”, “Reeves Mine”.

See also

• Canadian Johns-Manville Co., Ltd.: the company's documents, people, products and plants
• All asbestos mines

References

1. Asbestos Magazine, 1953, July 1953 (July 1, 1953), p. 54.
2. Asbestos Magazine, 1954, April 1954 (April 1, 1954), p. 12.
3. Asbestos Magazine, 1966, June 1966 (June 1, 1966), p. 10.
4. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1963 (January 1, 1964), p. 7.
5. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1969 (January 1, 1970), p. 8.
6. Asbestos Magazine, 1975, December 1975 (December 1, 1975), p. 31.
7. Asbestos Magazine, 1966, April 1966 (April 1, 1966), p. 17.
8. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1964 (January 1, 1965), p. 6.