Heath Steele Mines, situated northwest of

Newcastle, New Brunswick Newcastle is an urban neighbourhood in the city of Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada. Prior to municipal amalgamation in 1995, it was an incorporated town and the shire town of Northumberland County. Situated on the north bank of the Miramichi R ...

, Canada, at the headwaters of the Tomogonops and Little Rivers, was a large and productive copper, lead, and zinc mine which operated from 1956 to 1999. The mine was an economic cornerstone of

Miramichi The name "Miramichi" was first applied to a region in the northeast of New Brunswick, Canada, and has since been applied to other places in Canada and the United States. Although other interpretations have been suggested, it is believed that "Mirami ...

communities throughout this period. The mine was initially developed as a collaboration between the American Metal Company (later Amax) and Inco (International Nickel Company) and consequently was also known as the Little River Joint Venture. The mine was named after Mr. Heath Steele, the Vice-President of Exploration of the American Metal Company. It seems that Mr. Steele had little directly to do with the mine, but the parent company probably bestowed the name as an honour on his retirement from the company. No

smelter Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including Silver mining#Ore processing, silver, iron-making, iron, copper extracti ...

was included in the facility. The ore concentrates were instead hauled by rail to various

operations (for example at

Belledune Belledune (2011 population: 1,548) is a Canadian village that straddles both Restigouche County and Gloucester County, New Brunswick. The community of Belledune was created through the amalgamation of Jacquet River, Armstrong Brook, and Bell ...

) for further processing, or to the ports at Newcastle and Dalhousie, New Brunswick where the concentrates could be shipped to customers overseas (e.g., Spain, Finland).

History

The first orebody at the Heath Steele site, Heath Steele A Zone, was discovered in 1953 by prospectors working for

Matthew James Boylen Matthew James Boylen (August 10, 1907 – July 7, 1970) was a Canadian businessman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner. Jim Boylen was born in Weston, Ontario and raised in Alberta. In his early teens he left home and returned to Northern Ontario ...

. Mr. Boylen brought more mines into production than anyone else in

Canadian history The history of Canada covers the period from the arrival of the Paleo-Indians to North America thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands encompassing present-day Canada were inhabited for millennia by ...

and was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame. This was the first discovery in Canada of an ore body by means of an airborne electromagnetic survey (AEM). American Metals had financed Mr. Boylen's exploration, and as a result of a 1953 agreement with Inco, acquired a 75% ownership of the new mine. Initial exploratory drilling estimated the reserves as including (2.9% Lead, 7.1% Zinc, 1.1% Copper, 3.20 ounces/ton Silver, and 0.02 ounces/ton Gold) and (1.2% Lead, 3.5% Zinc, 1.3% Copper, 1.90 ounces/ton Silver, and 0.02 ounces/ton Gold). By 1957, a mine and milling operation was established to extract copper, lead, and zinc from the ore; it was served by a railway line from the

CN Rail The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

main line at Bartibog Station. Due to low metal prices and metallurgical issues, the mining operation was suspended in April 1958. Mining resumed in June 1962. In 1969 the mine started an ambitious expansion, and by 1979 was producing over of mineral concentrates per year. As the ore body was gradually depleted operations were increasingly dependent on strong metal prices. In 1979,

Noranda Noranda may refer to: *Noranda (mining company) * Noranda Caldera, an Archean caldera in Canada *Noranda, Western Australia Noranda is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located in the City of Bayswater. The suburb was named in 1977 after N ...

purchased American Metals 75% share in the operation. Metal prices declined, forcing the mine to suspend operations in April 1983. In 1986, Noranda purchased all of the remaining interest in the mine. The mine reopened in 1989, closed in 1991, and re-opened in 1992. Mining was again suspended in July 1993, resuming in November 1994. As of 1994, reserves stood at (7.1% zinc, 2.0% lead, 0.9% copper, and 73 g/t silver). The underground mine was finally closed and allowed to flood in 1999. Over the years, concerns were often vented concerning the potential environmental impact of this mining operation, and more specifically heavy metal pollution and acid mine drainage, on the Tomogonops and Miramichi River systems. Fish kills in these rivers were occasionally (e.g., 1960 and 1991) attributed to the company.Mining Production Declines http://www.gnb.ca/0160/budget/buddoc2001/e2001e12.htm

Geology

The Heath Steele deposits are volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposits rich in copper, lead, and zinc.

References

{{Authority control Mines in New Brunswick Copper mines in Canada Lead mines in Canada Zinc mines in Canada Buildings and structures in Northumberland County, New Brunswick Underground mines in Canada Surface mines in Canada Volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposits