100 Years of Mining
REMEMBERING THE PAST, EMBRACING THE FUTURE
Though North Bay does not host active mines, the city has long been a global leader in mining supply, services, and technology.
In honour of the City of North Bay’s 100th anniversary, the Northern Gateway Branch of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum is celebrating 100 years of mining in North Bay.
North Bay Services team Montreal Metro 1949
Boart Longyear is the world’s leading supplier of diamond core drilling equipment and contract drilling services.
Longyear Limited opened Canadian headquarters in 1928 in Haileybury before moving to North Bay in 1930 where operations continue to this day.
Courtesy of Boart Longyear
Main street from above 1947, Canadian Longyear Limited Plant
Courtesy of Boart Longyear
North Bay plant personnel in 1940 included Ken Forsyth, Joe Burne, Harry Brown, Stan Chandler, Harold Alcorn, Harry Preston, Mort McKenna, Ernie Boyer, Walter Hunt, and Cy Steele
Courtesy of Boart Longyear
Did You Know…
North Bay employs over 2000 people in the mining services and supply sector, and 70% of these companies export services and products around the globe.
There was a mine established on Newman Island, of the Manitou Islands on Lake Nipissing. The vertical shaft was 135m deep with a large headframe which collapsed in 2005. The deposits were never brought into production.
The Montreal Smelting and Reduction Refinery at Trout Mills refined ore from the Cobalt mines from 1907 to 1909.
Simplistic Model of Miners Operating Jackleg Drills
These drills are still used today for drilling smaller diameter holes and installing ground support or explosives for blasting.
Shaft-Mucking Buckets
The buckets on display are variations of traditional shaft-mucking buckets. They feature a rigid lifting bar (bail) for hoisting the bucket to the surface. This style of bucket is most commonly seen in Europe.
The Hard Rock Miner’s Handbook
Originally published in 2000 by McIntosh Engineering (acquired by Stantec in 2008) Vergne’s Hardrock Miner’s Handbook is currently available in its fifth edition free of charge on Stantec’s website, and has been distributed to over 113 countries worldwide.
“John (Jack) de la Vergne’s Hard Rock Miner’s Handbook is a work of the heart. Jack—whose 40+ year career spanned engineering, construction, and operation of mining projects worldwide—conceived of and wrote the first edition of the Handbook, published in June 2000, to assist miners and engineers in the difficult world of hard rock mining. It was his gift to an industry that provided him with employment, challenges, and fascination. The Handbook is a not-for-profit publication intended to help the mining companies we serve, as well as the mining community at large—students, teachers, consultants, contractors, manufacturers, salespeople, media representatives, financial institutions, mining associations, and government officials. Although it emphasizes metal mining, much of the information is also valuable to our friends mining soft and other notso-soft industrial mineral and energy resources.”
— Scott McIntosh, 2014
Courtesy of Stantec
Push Down Blasting Machines
The Dupont explosives plant was built in 1955–57 and employed over 300 people. The explosives produced supplied the mines throughout the region and eastern Canada, and North Bay was a transportation “hub” with three railroads and the intersection of two major highways.
The Redpath Group—Cactus and Cryderman “Shaft Muckers”
Redpath is a multinational mining contractor proudly headquartered in North Bay. We have been present in the community for over 55 years. One of our key service areas is shaft sinking—the process of excavating a vertical or near-vertical shaft from the surface downward, where there is no initial access to the bottom. The “shaft muckers” on display are used in shaft sinking to move broken rock into buckets that will be hoisted to the surface.
Remember When…
“The present-day Cementation was founded in North Bay in 1998. I would like to say this was due to an indepth analysis of the market but the reality is that we are located in North Bay because I was living there at the time. The company grew rapidly in the early years. One reason was our partnership and eventual acquisition of Aurora Quarrying in 2002 which doubled our volume and extended our geographical presence from coast to coast.
“With offices in North Bay, Sudbury and Aurora and lots of work in Sudbury, and we had some decisions to make on where to make our headquarters. I spoke to the business development groups in each community and by and large the North Bay business development group (Rick Evans, Erin Richmond and team) were the most accommodating. That wasn’t the only reason Cementation was based in North Bay but the welcome and encouragement we got from the city, and the support ever since, has been greatly appreciated.”
Roy Slack
Professional engineer responsible for founding cementation’s operations in North America as the company’s president