Asbestos Corp. Thetford mine(s), Thetford Mines, Quebec

Asbestos Corporation Limited worked mines at Thetford Mines, Quebec, which the sources call "its Thetford Mine" or "its Thetford plant" without naming a pit.^3,4 In March 1956 Asbestos, the industry's trade journal, reported that Asbestos Corp., Bell Asbestos and Johnson Asbestos Co. had "joined in a $5,000,000 project to relocate some 100 dwellings and business establishments, a church, utilities and railroad lines in order to make possible complete exploitation of deposits lying beneath the town."⁵ In April 1964 the trade journal printed a joint statement by A. L. Penhale and A. S. Johnson saying that "serious operational restrictions caused by the location of the mines which conduct operations in the same orebodies would have resulted in substantially reduced production."⁶

The U.S. Bureau of Mines' Minerals Yearbook, drawing on Industrial Minerals of London, follows the company in its last years in these sources: for 1983 it reported that inventory shortfalls "caused by the closing were to be made up by increased production from its Thetford Mine," and for 1984 that "a merger of their two operating mines in the Eastern Townships was under study."^3,4 The yearbook says the company "temporarily suspended operations at its Thetford plant effective December 1, 1984, because of a high inventory, 40,000 tons, caused by poor sales in 1984 and because of predicted weak markets."⁴ For 1985 it reported that the company had "suspended operations indefinitely at the Thetford Mines' Quebec plant."¹

The same 1985 report tells of a plan among four producers, Asbestos Corporation Limited, Bell Asbestos Mines Ltd., Campbell Resources Inc. and Lac d'Amiante du Quebec: "all four companies operated mines in the Thetford area of Quebec," the yearbook says, and they "signed a memorandum of intent to form a partnership."¹ Under it, the yearbook said, "three mines and two of five processing mills owned by the four companies will be closed," and "approximately 725 of the 2,225 employees will be dismissed," figures that cover all four companies and do not say which mines.¹ The yearbook for 1986 reports that three of them, Asbestos Corporation Limited, Bell Asbestos Mines Ltd. and Lac d'Amiante du Quebec, "formed a partnership, effective July 1, 1986."²

The documents report this mine producing asbestos fiber 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.

1956

• Description: “joined in a $5,000,000 project to relocate some 100 dwellings ... to make possible complete exploitation of deposits lying beneath the town” (Asbestos Corp.), p. 6⁵

1964

• Description: “Serious operational restrictions caused by the location of the mines which conduct operations in the same orebodies would have resulted in substantially reduced production” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), said by A. L. Penhale and A. S. Johnson (joint statement), as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 9⁶

1983

• Output: “Inventory shortfalls caused by the closing were to be made up by increased production from its Thetford Mine” (Asbestos Corp.), as reported by Industrial Minerals (London), p. 5³

1984

• Description: “A merger of their two operating mines in the Eastern Townships was under study” (Asbestos Corp. Ltd.), as reported by Industrial Minerals (London), p. 6⁴
• Idle: “temporarily suspended operations at its Thetford plant effective December 1, 1984” (Asbestos Corp. Ltd.), as reported by Industrial Minerals (London), p. 6⁴

1985

• Workforce: “Approximately 725 of the 2,225 employees will be dismissed”, as reported by Industrial Minerals (London), p. 6¹
• Closed: “three mines and two of five processing mills owned by the four companies will be closed”, as reported by Industrial Minerals (London), p. 6¹
• Worked: “All four companies operated mines in the Thetford area of Quebec [Asbestos Corp. Ltd.]” (Asbestos Corp. Ltd.), as reported by Industrial Minerals (London), p. 6¹
• Ownership: “signed a memorandum of intent to form a partnership [Asbestos Corp. Ltd.]” (Asbestos Corp. Ltd.), as reported by Industrial Minerals (London), p. 6¹
• Idle: “suspended operations indefinitely at the Thetford Mines' Quebec plant” (Asbestos Corp.), as reported by Industrial Minerals (London), p. 6¹

1986

• Ownership: “formed a partnership, effective July 1, 1986 [Asbestos Corp. Ltd.]” (Asbestos Corp. Ltd.), p. 6²

Other names

Documents call this mine “Thetford Mine”, “Thetford plant”, “Thetford Mines' Quebec plant”, “two operating mines in the Eastern Townships”.

See also

• Thetford Mines in the Lexicon
• Asbestos Corp. Ltd.: the company's history, documents, people, products and plants
• All asbestos mines

References

1. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1985 (January 1, 1986), p. 6.
2. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1986 (January 1, 1987), p. 6.
3. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1983 (January 1, 1984), p. 5.
4. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1984 (January 1, 1985), p. 6.
5. Asbestos Magazine, 1956, March 1956 (March 1, 1956), p. 6.
6. Asbestos Magazine, 1964, April 1964 (April 1, 1964), p. 9.