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CONSOLIDATED MINING and SMELTING COMPANY of CANADA LTD. (Cominco) 1938-1977 N-1980-002 Finding Aid NWT Archives Government of Th

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CONSOLIDATED MINING and SMELTING COMPANY of CANADA LTD. (Cominco) 1938-1977 N-1980-002 Finding Aid NWT Archives Government of Th CONSOLIDATED MINING AND SMELTING COMPANY OF CANADA LTD. (Cominco) 1938-1977 N-1980-002 Finding Aid NWT Archives Government of the Northwest Territories Yellowknife, N.W.T. November 2007 NWT Archives N-1980-002 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................................................. 2 AGENCY HISTORY............................................................................................................................................................ 3 SCOPE AND CONTENT..................................................................................................................................................... 4 SERIES DESCRIPTIONS.................................................................................................................................................... 5 FILE LIST ............................................................................................................................................................................. 8 Administrative Series (1948-1977) .................................................................................................................8 Personnel Records (1938-1974) ......................................................................................................................8 Legal Records (1937-1952).............................................................................................................................9 Financial Records and Development Proposals (1940-1977)..........................................................................9 Pine Point Records (1950-1966) ...................................................................................................................10 Office of the Mine Superintendent (1945-1970) ...........................................................................................10 Office of the Mine Engineer (1939-1953).....................................................................................................11 Office of the Geologist (1961-1976) .............................................................................................................11 Office of the Assay Laboratory (1937-1970) ................................................................................................11 Mill Operations - Daily Log Books (1943-1974)..........................................................................................11 A.J. Richardson - Personal Records (1969-1973) .........................................................................................12 Health and Safety Records (1947-1977) .......................................................................................................12 Con Athletic Association (1949-1960)..........................................................................................................13 Underground Operations (1952-1977) ..........................................................................................................13 Box Mine Maps and Plans (1938-1942)........................................................................................................13 PHOTOGRAPH LIST ........................................................................................................................................................ 14 PHOTOGRAPH INDEX .................................................................................................................................................... 17 Geographic Index ..........................................................................................................................................17 Subject Index.................................................................................................................................................17 NW T Archives N-1980-002 INTRODUCTION Accession N-1980-002 forms the majority of the extent of the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Ltd. (Cominco) fonds at the NWT Archives and consists of material relating to the company’s operations at Con Mine, Yellowknife; Pine Point, Northwest Territories; and Box Mine, Goldfields, Saskatchewan, dating between 1937 to 1977. Other accessions within the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Ltd. (Cominco) fonds include: textual records (N-1979-016, N-1979-539, N-1986-005, N-1987-021, N-1992-030). Outside of this fonds the NWT Archives has dozens of accessions with material relating to Cominco and the Con Mine, and researchers are advised to consult Archives staff for their research needs. Other institutions in Yellowknife have records relating to Con Mine and Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Ltd. (Cominco). Researchers are advised to contact the NWT Geoscience Office (NTGO) and the NWT Mining Heritage Society for more information. Northwest Territories Archives staff have worked on this accession at varying times since acquiring it in 1980. Janet Pennington arranged the material and prepared the initial version of this finding aid in 1990 with assistance on the maps and plans from Carol Ellis, a geologist with Indian and Northern Affairs. In 2007 it was determined that the maps and plans series required additional appraisal. Scott Cairns, a former geologist at Con Mine and current manager at the NWT Geoscience Office offered valued insight into Con Mine procedures and his staff provided information and access to the archival holdings at the NTGO warehouse. Ryan Silke provided historical information as well as access to the NWT Mining Heritage Society’s Con Mine holdings. The result of the appraisal led to the transfer of the map series to the NTGO. This finding aid was updated in 2007 with updated agency history information, and more precise holdings descriptions. Extent: 4.72 metres text + 70 black and white photo prints Restrictions: none Published references: Cominco, Pine Point Operations. “Pine Point.” Pamphlet. [198-] GLR Resources Inc. “Feasibility study underway for 49,000 ounce per year gold producer.” GLR Resources Inc February 24, 2005. Accessed July 26, 2007. <http://www.glrresources.com/documents/glrfeb2005.pdf> Government of the Northwest Territories. “History of Exploration and Development.” Government of the NWT, Industry, Tourism and Investment, Minerals, Oil and Gas Division. Accessed July 26, 2007. <http://www.iti.gov.nt.ca/mog/minerals/mins_history.htm> Hannigan, Peter K. “Metallogeny of the Pine Point Mississippi Valley-Type Zinc-Lead District, Southern Northwest Territories, Canada.” Consolidation and Synthesis of Mineral Deposits Knowledge, Natural Resources Canada, Earth Sciences Sector. June 7, 2006. Accessed August 2, 2007. <http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/mindep/metallogeny/mvt/pine/index_e.php> Miramar Mining Corporation. “About the Con Mine.” Miramar Con Mine Ltd. Accessed July 31, 2007 <http://www.conmine.ca/s/About.asp> Miramar Mining Corporation. “Annual Information Form “AIF” for the year ended December 31, 2002.” Miramar Mining Corporation. May 30, 2003. Accessed July 31, 2007. <http://www.miramarmining.com/i/pdf/AIF2003.pdf > NWT Mining Heritage Society. Con Mine: a pictorial history. [Yellowknife]: n.p., 2007. 2 NW T Archives N-1980-002 AGENCY HISTORY Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Ltd. (C.M.S.) was formed in 1906 as a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Rail with head operations in Trail, British Columbia. Its aggressive northern exploration in the 1920s and 1930s led to stakes claimed in 1927/28 on the lead and zinc deposits on the south shore of Great Slave Lake, which would later become Pine Point Mine, silver deposits at Great Bear Lake in the 1930s, and Con Mine, which was the first gold mine to go into production in the NWT in 1938. C.M.S. also developed other mines in the Northwest Territories including Thompson-Lundmark, Ruth, Ptarmigan, and Polaris. C.M.S. mines had a significant impact on the economic and social history of the Northwest Territories, particularly in the cases of Con Mine and Pine Point. Con Mine C.M.S. sent several prospecting parties headed by Ted Nagle into the Yellowknife area in 1928/29, but their searches did not reveal anything significant. During a staking rush in 1935, Bill Jewitt sent a small group of men led by Mike Finland into the Kam Lake area of Yellowknife where they filed ‘CON’ claims in September and October. In 1937 C.M.S. bought an interest in Tom Payne’s adjacent properties, which developed into the Rycon Mine company. The construction of the Con-Rycon mines began on July 13, 1937 under the lead of Bob Armstrong. Production began in the spring of 1938 with the first gold brick poured on September 5, 1938. The Bluefish Hydro plant on Prosperous Lake was built in 1940 to support the energy needs of the mine, and also made Yellowknife the first electrified NWT community. Production at Con Mine ceased between 1943 and 1945 due to WWII although maintenance and development work continued under the direction of geologist Dr. Neil Campbell. The Campbell Shear Zone was named in honour of his hypothesis of a major ore body 2000 feet below the surface of the mine. Its existence was confirmed in 1946, with full production starting in 1963 and continuing until the closure of the mine. In 1953 C.M.S. bought the Negus Mine and found new reserves there. In 1966 C.M.S. changed its name to Cominco. The Robertson shaft – at 250 feet the tallest building in the NWT – was completed in 1977 and eventually reached a depth of 6250
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