The Fission Mine, previously known as the Richardson Deposit, is a
fluoride
Fluoride (). According to this source, is a possible pronunciation in British English. is an inorganic, monatomic anion of fluorine, with the chemical formula (also written ), whose salts are typically white or colorless. Fluoride salts typ ...
and
uranium
Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
deposit in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, near
Wilberforce, Ontario, Canada.
Location and geology
The mine is located two kilometres east of
Wilberforce on lot four, concession 21 of Cardiff Township.
The underground minerals are within
pegmatite
A pegmatite is an igneous rock showing a very coarse texture, with large interlocking crystals usually greater in size than and sometimes greater than . Most pegmatites are composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica, having a similar silicic com ...
rock.
[Hugh S. Spence and R.K. Carnochan]
''The Wilberforce Radium Occurrence''
, 1929, Mines Branch
History
Uranium was first discovered at the location in 1922, by prospector W. M. Richardson.
His find was first called "the Richardson deposit" and later "the Fission property"
In 1929, the mine was owned by Toronto company The Ontario Radium Corporation.
The same year, Ontario Mine's Branch geologists Hugh S. Spence and R. K. Carnochan reported the several hundred pounds of radioactive materials found exceeded all known quantities of uranium in Canada and all ore bodies that they were aware of anywhere in the world.
Combined with being close to the surface, and easier to mine due to being held in softer ore, the mine was assessed as being commercially viable and able to produce 1 gram of radium, worth $70,000 at the time.
In 1929, the global cumulative supply of radium to date was 300 grammes, growing at 50 grammes per year.
Between 1929 and 1931,
unsuccessful
[S.L. Masson and J.B. Gordon]
''Radioactive Mineral Deposits of the Pembroke-Renfrew Area''
, 1981, Ontario Geological Survey Mineral
Deposits Circular 23 attempts were made to extract
radon
Radon is a chemical element with the symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colourless, odourless, tasteless noble gas. It occurs naturally in minute quantities as an intermediate step in the normal radioactive decay chains through ...
from the uranium ore
via a tunnel driven into a hill.
More radioactive materials were discovered in the mine around 1935,
and again during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
,
with owners Fission Mines Limited offered 200,000 shares at $1.00 each to fund further development of the property in 1949.
''Offer of Common Capital Shares''
, Fission Mines Limited, 9 March 1049 The exploration turned out to be not economically viable.
See also
* Uranium mining in the Bancroft area
Uranium mining around Bancroft, Ontario, was conducted at four sites, beginning in the early 1950s and concluding by 1982. Bancroft was one of two major uranium-producing areas in Ontario, and one of seven in Canada, all located along the edge ...
* List of uranium projects
Uranium production is carried out in about 13 countries around the world, in 2017 producing a cumulative total of 59,462 tonnes of uranium (tU). The international producers were Kazakhstan (39%), Canada (22%), Australia (10%), Namibia (7.1%), Nig ...
References
{{reflist
Uranium mines in Ontario
Underground mines in Canada
History of Haliburton County
Former mines in Ontario