Normandie mine, Quebec

The Normandie mine was an open-pit asbestos mine of Asbestos Corporation Limited in the Thetford district of Quebec, beside the company's Vimy Ridge mine.^5,10,12 The sources place it in different ways: Asbestos, the industry's trade journal, put it in 1955 "near the Company's Vimy Ridge Mine in the Township of Ireland, near Coleraine, Quebec," and in 1956 wrote of "Asbestos Corporation, at Black Lake," opening a new mill at its Normandie mine; a 1967 abstract in the same journal says it "is situated about ten miles south of Thetford."^10,12,13 The earliest row is the company's 1951 statement, as the trade journal reported it, of a program of "developing a new ore body adjacent to the Vimy Ridge mine," which "will take several years and a good many millions of dollars."¹⁴

Building the mine

Asbestos Corporation reported that in 1952 "preparatory work to bring the Normandie Mine into production was initiated," with "pre-production stripping at the Normandie Mine which totalled 779,120 cu. yds."¹⁵ In May 1953 the trade journal wrote that "ore reserves on this property are estimated at 19,750,000 tons," that "a big 5,000 ton daily capacity mill is being built to process them," and that the cost of bringing the mine into production "was estimated originally at $8 millions, with another $1,750,000 needed to prepare for underground mining (it will be an open-pit operation for the first seven or eight years)."⁵ The U.S. Bureau of Mines' Minerals Yearbook followed the mill: "under construction in 1952," with "a capacity of 5,000 tons of rock a day"; "well-advanced" in 1953 and "expected to be in operation late in 1954"; and "nearly completed by the end of the year" in 1954.^4,6,9

The company's report for 1953 said "production will commence in the latter part of 1954."⁸ For 1954 the yearbook reported that "a large area of the Normandie deposit had been stripped, and open-cut mining had begun on two benches," and the company said that "5,311,350 cubic yards, equivalent to about 8,000,000 tons, of earth and barren rock has so far been removed from the mine, practically all within a two-year period."^9,16

Production begins

In April 1955 the trade journal described "the new Normandie Mine of Asbestos Corporation Limited which is now in production," the result of "some 2½ years work and approximately 16 million dollars," with a "daily mill capacity" of "5,000 tons of rock" and "anticipated maximum output of finished product" of "approximately 300 tons per day."¹⁰ The company's annual report gave a slower start: "the 'run-in' stage was commenced in the spring but full-scale operations were not achieved until the autumn."¹³ In March 1956 the trade journal reported that the company "has just opened a new mill at its Normandie mine, which processes more than 5,000 tons of rock a day," and "increases the company's production by 20 per cent."¹³

Working years

The company's annual reports said the Normandie mine was "operated at or near capacity throughout the whole of the year" in 1956 and "operated at full capacity through the year" in 1959, and that in 1960 "more ore was handled and more fibre produced than in any other year."^1,2,17 A 1958 survey in the trade journal listed it as "Normandie Mine (Vimy Ridge)" with a "5,000 ton mill."¹⁸ A 1960 article on milling noted that at Normandie, "instead of the use of hammer mills," the mill used "a battery of six Aerofall mills" for tertiary reduction.¹⁹ For 1962 the Minerals Yearbook reported that "more than 1 million tons of overlying waste was stripped from the ore body," and that "a pilot plant for producing finely ground asbestos filler was installed at the mine."²⁰ The 1967 abstract, drawn from an article in The Canadian Mining and Metallurgical Bulletin, says that "all mining is carried out in an open pit," and in 1969 the trade journal described "a series of unique ramp-sinking cuts" blasted by the open-pit engineers.^12,21 In 1975 the trade journal wrote that the company "operates the King-Beaver, British-Canadian and Normandie Mines in the Eastern Townships of Quebec."³

Ore reserves

The company and the yearbook gave the mine's ore reserves year by year, and the figures rise and fall.^20,22,23 The yearbook gave "Normandie, 20.3" million tons at the end of 1962.²⁰ The company gave "14,175,000 tons" for 1965 and "11,550,000" at the end of 1967.^22,24 For 1968 the yearbook, from the company's annual report, gave "11,622" thousand short tons; for 1969 both the yearbook and the company gave "9,906" thousand tons.^25,26,27 The company reported that "additions were made to ore reserves at the Normandie Mine" in 1970, and gave "32.6 million tons at Normandie" for 1972 and "36-million tons at Normandie" for 1975.^23,28,29

The closing

In December 1976 the trade journal reported that, "due to depleted resources," the company "will discontinue mining operations at the Normandie Mine in September 1977," with "a processing plant" to remain "to handle raw material from the King-Beaver Mine."¹¹ The company's report for 1976 said that "open pit ore at the Normandie Mine will be exhausted during 1977," while listing "29.3-million at Normandie" among its proven reserves.³⁰ The sources differ on the month of the closing: the Minerals Yearbook for 1977 says the company "closed its Normandie mine in September, reserves were depleted."³¹ The company's report for 1977 says that "after 24 years of operation, the Normandie open pit reached the end of its useful life and was closed in November," and the trade journal wrote in 1978 that "ore reserves at the Normandie Mine were exhausted in November 1977."^7,32 In December 1977 the trade journal had already called its reserves "now exhausted."³³

The company's reports went on listing reserves at the mine after the closing: "31,638,000 tons at the Normandie Mine" at year-end 1977, and "31.6-million tons" a year later.^7,34 The trade journal reported in 1978 that "the mill continues to process ore from the King-Beaver open pit," and in 1979 described "the Normandie mill which has the capacity to mill in excess of 8000 tons of rock per day."^32,35 The Minerals Yearbook for 1978 and 1979 says the company was "still making plans for the Penhale property underground below the closed Normandie property."³⁶

The documents report this mine producing asbestos fiber for sale.¹⁷

Location

Year by year

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

1951

• Exploration: “The company's program calls for capital expenditures in developing a new ore body adjacent to the Vimy Ridge mine” (Asbestos Corporation, Ltd.), said by Asbestos Corporation, Ltd., as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 46¹⁴

1952

• Mill: “A new mill, the Normandie, of the Asbestos Corp., Ltd., with a capacity of 5,000 tons of rock a day was under construction” (Asbestos Corp., Ltd.), p. 9⁴
• Exploration: “preparatory work to bring the Normandie Mine into production was initiated” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), said by Asbestos Corporation Limited, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 48¹⁵
• Description: “pre-production stripping at the Normandie Mine which totalled 779,120 cu. yds.” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), said by Asbestos Corporation Limited, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 48¹⁵

1953

• Mill: “a big 5,000 ton daily capacity mill is being built” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), p. 6⁵
• Description: “it will be an open-pit operation for the first seven or eight years” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), p. 6⁵
• Reserves: “ore reserves on this property are estimated at 19,750,000 tons” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), p. 6⁵
• Mill: “Construction of the new Normandie mill of Asbestos Corp., Ltd., was well-advanced” (Asbestos Corp., Ltd.), p. 9⁶
• Opened: “After 24 years of operation, the Normandie open pit ... was closed in November” (Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), said by Asbestos Corporation Ltd., as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 34⁷

1954

• Opened: “production will commence in the latter part of 1954” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), said by Asbestos Corporation Limited, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 48⁸
• Opened: “A large area of the Normandie deposit had been stripped, and open-cut mining had begun on two benches” (Asbestos Corp., Ltd.), p. 10⁹
• Mill: “the new Normandie mill of the Asbestos Corp., Ltd., was nearly completed by the end of the year” (Asbestos Corp., Ltd.), p. 10⁹
• Description: “5,311,350 cubic yards, equivalent to about 8,000,000 tons, of earth and barren rock has so far been removed” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), said by Asbestos Corporation Limited, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 44¹⁶

1955

• Description: “located near the Company's Vimy Ridge Mine in the Township of Ireland, near Coleraine, Quebec” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), p. 18¹⁰
• Opened: “The new Normandie Mine of Asbestos Corporation Limited which is now in production” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), p. 18¹⁰
• Mill: “The daily mill capacity is 5,000 tons of rock and the anticipated maximum output ... approximately 300 tons per day” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), p. 18¹⁰
• Opened: “the "run-in" stage was commenced in the spring but full-scale operations were not achieved until the autumn” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), said by Asbestos Corporation Limited, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 48¹³

1956

• Mill: “has just opened a new mill at its Normandie mine, which processes more than 5,000 tons of rock a day” (Asbestos Corporation), p. 4¹³
• Worked: “operated at or near capacity throughout the whole of the year” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), said by Asbestos Corporation Limited, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 34¹

1958

• Mill: “Normandie Mine (Vimy Ridge) 5,000 ton mill” (Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), p. 8¹⁸

1959

• Worked: “The Normandie Mine operated at full capacity through the year” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), said by Asbestos Corporation Limited, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 54²

1960

• Mill: “(Normandie), instead of the use of hammer mills ... for tertiary reduction, a battery of six Aerofall mills are utilized”, p. 12¹⁹
• Output: “At the Normandie Mine, more ore was handled and more fibre produced than in any other year” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), said by Asbestos Corporation Limited, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 62¹⁷

1962

• Exploration: “More than 1 million tons of overlying waste was stripped from the ore body at the Normandie mine” (Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), p. 7²⁰
• Mill: “A pilot plant for producing finely ground asbestos filler was installed at the mine” (Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), p. 7²⁰
• Reserves: “Normandie, 20.3” (Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), p. 7²⁰

1965

• Reserves: “Normandie—14,175,000 tons” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), said by Asbestos Corporation Limited, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 24²⁴

1966

• Description: “Normandie mine is situated about ten miles south of Thetford and all mining is carried out in an open pit” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), as reported by Mining Magazine; The Canadian Mining and Metallurgical Bulletin, p. 13¹²

1967

• Reserves: “Normandie Mine—11,550,000” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), said by Asbestos Corporation Limited, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 22²²

1968

• Reserves: “Normandie mine | 11,622 (thousand short tons)” (The Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), as reported by Asbestos Corporation Ltd. Annual Report, p. 9²⁵
• Description: “a series of unique ramp-sinking cuts which were blasted successfully this past year” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), p. 14²¹

1969

• Reserves: “Normandie Mine | 9,906 (thousand short tons)” (Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), as reported by Asbestos Corporation Ltd. Annual Report, p. 8²⁶
• Reserves: “Normandie Mine, 9,906,000” (Asbestos Corporation Limited), said by Asbestos Corporation Limited, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 42²⁷

1970

• Reserves: “Additions were made to ore reserves at the Normandie Mine and other properties in 1970” (Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), said by Asbestos Corporation Ltd., as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 48²⁸

1972

• Reserves: “32.6 million tons at Normandie” (Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), said by Asbestos Corporation Ltd., as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 34²⁹

1975

• Worked: “operates the King-Beaver, British-Canadian and Normandie Mines” (Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), p. 30³
• Reserves: “36-million tons at Normandie” (Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), said by Asbestos Corporation Ltd., as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 36²³

1976

• Reserves: “Open pit ore at the Normandie Mine will be exhausted during 1977; 29.3-million at Normandie” (Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), said by Asbestos Corporation Ltd., as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 40³⁰

1977

• Reserves: “the Normandie Mine, whose ore reserves are now exhausted” (Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), p. 27³³
• Closed: “Due to depleted resources, Corporation announced it will discontinue mining operations at the Normandie Mine in September 1977” (Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), p. 30¹¹
• Closed: “Asbestos Corp. Ltd. closed its Normandie mine in September, reserves were depleted” (Asbestos Corp. Ltd.), p. 9³¹
• Closed: “After 24 years of operation, the Normandie open pit reached the end of its useful life and was closed in November” (Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), said by Asbestos Corporation Ltd., as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 34⁷
• Closed: “Ore reserves at the Normandie Mine were exhausted in November 1977. However, the mill continues to process ore from the King-Beaver open pit” (Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), p. 30³²
• Reserves: “31,638,000 tons at the Normandie Mine” (Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), said by Asbestos Corporation Ltd., as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 34⁷

1978

• Closed: “the closed Normandie property” (Asbestos Corp.), p. 11³⁶
• Reserves: “31.6-million tons are at the Normandie Mine” (Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), said by Asbestos Corporation Ltd., as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 46³⁴

1979

• Mill: “the Normandie mill which has the capacity to mill in excess of 8000 tons of rock per day” (Asbestos Corporation Ltd.), p. 28³⁵

Other names

Documents call this mine “Normandie”, “Normandie deposit”, “Normandie mine”, “Normandie Mine”, “Normandie property”, “Normadie Mine”.

See also

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

References

1. Asbestos Magazine, 1957, April 1957 (April 1, 1957), p. 34.
2. Asbestos Magazine, 1960, May 1960 (May 1, 1960), p. 54.
3. Asbestos Magazine, 1975, December 1975 (December 1, 1975), p. 30.
4. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1952 (January 1, 1953), p. 9.
5. Asbestos Magazine, 1953, May 1953 (May 1, 1953), p. 6.
6. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1953 (January 1, 1954), p. 9.
7. Asbestos Magazine, 1978, May 1978 (May 1, 1978), p. 34.
8. Asbestos Magazine, 1954, March 1954 (March 1, 1954), p. 48.
9. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1954 (January 1, 1955), p. 10.
10. Asbestos Magazine, 1955, April 1955 (April 1, 1955), p. 18.
11. Asbestos Magazine, 1976, December 1976 (December 1, 1976), p. 30.
12. Asbestos Magazine, 1967, February 1967 (February 1, 1967), p. 13.
13. Asbestos Magazine, 1956, March 1956 (March 1, 1956), pp. 4, 48.
14. Asbestos Magazine, 1951, June 1951 (June 1, 1951), p. 46.
15. Asbestos Magazine, 1953, March 1953 (March 1, 1953), p. 48.
16. Asbestos Magazine, 1955, March 1955 (March 1, 1955), p. 44.
17. Asbestos Magazine, 1961, April 1961 (April 1, 1961), p. 62.
18. Asbestos Magazine, 1958, October 1958 (October 1, 1958), p. 8.
19. Asbestos Magazine, 1960, March 1960 (March 1, 1960), p. 12.
20. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1962 (January 1, 1963), p. 7.
21. Asbestos Magazine, 1969, May 1969 (May 1, 1969), p. 14.
22. Asbestos Magazine, 1968, May 1968 (May 1, 1968), p. 22.
23. Asbestos Magazine, 1976, May 1976 (May 1, 1976), p. 36.
24. Asbestos Magazine, 1966, May 1966 (May 1, 1966), p. 24.
25. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1968 (January 1, 1969), p. 9.
26. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1969 (January 1, 1970), p. 8.
27. Asbestos Magazine, 1970, July 1970 (July 1, 1970), p. 42.
28. Asbestos Magazine, 1971, August 1971 (August 1, 1971), p. 48.
29. Asbestos Magazine, 1973, May 1973 (May 1, 1973), p. 34.
30. Asbestos Magazine, 1977, May 1977 (May 1, 1977), p. 40.
31. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1977 (January 1, 1978), p. 9.
32. Asbestos Magazine, 1978, December 1978 (December 1, 1978), p. 30.
33. Asbestos Magazine, 1977, December 1977 (December 1, 1977), p. 27.
34. Asbestos Magazine, 1979, June 1979 (June 1, 1979), p. 46.
35. Asbestos Magazine, 1979, December 1979 (December 1, 1979), p. 28.
36. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1978–79 (January 1, 1980), p. 11.