History of Canada's Uranium Industry
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6-Orono Weekly Times, Wednesday, August 24, 1983 to increase • "efficiency, pro cesses were unproved and the New Recreation Building for senior citizens ’ plant was enlarged from a random collection of buildings to a sophisticated complex. In 1954 the refinery Orono was overhauled and a new , system installed which enabl ed the company to obtain a Building purified metal product. Four -, years later its uranium metal Contractor plant began production of a ; fuel to be used in research Brick - Block - Concrete | reactors, such as those at Stone Work Chalk River, and in,reactors which created electrical Carpentry - Cabinet energy. Previously this fuel Work had had to be imported front the United States. Floors - Tile Eldorado also continued to play a dominant regulating Phbne 983-5444 ORONO role in the industry. Passage of the Atomic Energy Con trol Act in 1946 evidenced the Canadian government ’s in : ' terest in supervising the development, application and Clarke Public The new recreation Lodge in Orono now pro area in the basement for shuf pleted at a cost of $100,000 use of atomic energy. For building officially opened' on vides facilities of a banquet fle board, pool table, hand which money was supplied by . over a decade it used the firm LIBRARY and assembly hall, a kitchen, shuffle board and darts. the Durham County Senior as the producer-consumer in Monday night at the Durham Tuesday 1-8 p.m. a laundry and a recreational The new hall was com Citizen ’s Lodge. termediary in the marketing County Senior Citizen ’s Wednesday 1-5p.m. of all uranium produced in Thursday 10-8 p.m. Canada. Throughout the Friday 1-5 p.m. Crown Corporation through industry. It supplied uranium 1960’s and ’70’s to the pre Saturday 10-1 p.m. oxide to both the United sent Eldorado Resources History of Canada’s which the mining, refining Closed Mondays States and Britain for use in Limited has remained the and marketing of uranium 983-5507 could be controlled. the development of thermo government ’s agent of con Newcastle Public After the war the Eldorado nuclear weapons and* ex trol over the uranium in Library Board Uranium Industryrefinery continued to play an plored peace-time applica dustry. • important role in the nuclear tions for1 its product. In order Canada ’s uranium industry 13 tons of concentrates and had its embryonic beginnings various chemicals in a ratio in the mid-nineteenth century of 7 tons of chemicals to 10 with the discovery of ore on tons of concentrates being re the eastern shore of Lake quired to produce a “pinch Superior. Decades later, in of potent white powder”. In 1930, veteran prospector deed, it took three years of Gilbert LaBine found co-ordinated effort among deposits of pitchblende, silver miners, mill staff and and cobalt at Great Bear transportation and refining Lake in the Northwest Ter personnel to produce ritories. Pitchblende, a Eldorado’s first ounce of radium-bearing ore, had been radium. In addition, com discovered in various parts of petition for markets - radium the world, but not often in was used in cancer treatment commercial quantities and and in glazes for pottery - was scarcely ever in so rich a find. fierce. A price war between LaBine immediately staked a the company in Colorado and claim at Port Radium, as the the Belgium Muniere Cor site became known, and by poration had ultimately forc 1933 he and his brother ed the American refinery out Charles had brought a mine of business. Canadian pro into production to recover duction was initially ignored radium and silver. Thq by the European giant, but as LaBines also decided to Eldorado radium began to in establish their own refinery. varie the world markets a Two locations - Port 1 lope V, price war ensued which and Hamilton - were con threatened the firm’s" ex sidered, but the former was i istence. To prevent bankrupt chosen because a site with a cy Eldorado joined the Euro building was available and pean cartel in 1938. the town council offered their The outbreak of war in . An expression of opinion poll firm,«Eldorado Gold Mines Europe a year later had far- " will be held on September 14,15 and 16, 1983 on whether the Ontario Limited, a bonus in the form reaching effects on Eldorado. Cattlemen ’s Association check-off* should be made non-refundable. of tax concessions. With the development of Before the plant could go. nuclear Weapons uranium ox into production a refining" ide, considered a waste'in the The question will be process had to be developed. refining of radium and The field was highly specializ discarded, became a product “Are you in favor of making licence fees (check-off) under the E(,eef Cattle ed; the first refining of of strategic importance. As Marketing Act non-refundable?” radium had been accomplish the' only firm operatifig in ’ ed in Czechoslovakia and on North America, Eldorado ly two other enterprises, supplied all of the uranium You are eligible to vote if operations in Colorado and oxide used in American you owned cattle between June 15,1981 and June 15,1983. Before receiving Belgium, had subsequently nuclear experiments in a ballot, voters will be required to complete a Certificate of Qualification ' been established. The cluding the Manhattan Pro (available at polling stations) attesting to eligibility. LaBines received research ad ject. Between 1942 and 1944 vice from the Bureau of the firm was under contract Mines and they were for with the United States Polling stations will be located tunate in engaging Ivjarcei government, refining ore Pochon, a graduate of the from both the Belgian Congo at all OMAF Cpunty and District Agricultural Representative offices** School of Industrial Physics and Port Radium and under and Chemistry, Paris, as tjieir ‘ taking intensive explorations plant manager. Through ex for additional uranium Polling hours will be perimentation and building deposits. The oxide produced ' Wednesday, September 14, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. upon his experience, Pochoo was enriched in the U.S. and Thursday, September 15, 9 a.m. -9 p.m. • '< made numerous im was ultimately used in the Friday, September 16, 9 a.m. -4 p.m. , provements to the technique atomic bombs dropped on of extracting radium from Japan in 1945. Eldorado’s in Ministry @f Agriculture ore, and by 1937 he had volvement in this project led * one-fifth of ohe per cent of the value o.f. cattle sold to a ' and Food • perfected a process which was many to view the develop slaughtering plant or sold for brief production purposes at,, utilized at Eldorado until ment of nuclear energy as an an established public auction sale * '* , » Dennis Timbrell, Minister 953. * issue of .national security. " And also in the following communities; , William Davis, Premier The refinery did not im The Canadian government Bruce Station (Algoma),'Cochrane (Cochrane), , ’ mediately prosper. Produit- consequently purchased con Ontario Eganville (Renfrew), Englehaft (Tirriiskaming), Tara (Bruce) ion was complex and expen trolling interest in the firm in Check your focal OMAF office for details. sive, 50 tons of ore being re 1942 and two years later na quired to produce one ton of tionalized Eldorado Gold concentrates, and from 6 fo Mines Limited, creating a t.