The Young-Davidson mine is a gold mine near

Matachewan Matachewan is a township in Timiskaming, Northeastern Ontario, Canada, located at the end of Ontario Highway 66 along the Montreal River. The name is derived from the Cree word for "meeting of the currents". The town's main economy is based o ...

, Ontario in the Kirkland Lake area. It is one of the largest underground gold mines in Canada. It exists in close proximity to the

Matachewan Consolidated mine The Matachewan Consolidated mine is a former gold mine near Matachewan, Ontario, Canada, in the Kirkland Lake area. The site is adjacent to the Young-Davidson mine and was owned by Matachewan Consolidated Mine Ltd. Location and description The ...

and is owned by

Alamos Gold Alamos Gold ("Alamos") is a Canadian multinational gold producer, headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Alamos operates three mines across North America, and has six further projects in development. Alamos Gold is engaged in the mining and extract ...

Location and description

The site of the mine borders the Matachewan Consolidated mine on the west. It is located near the settlements of

Dubreuilville Dubreuilville is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the Algoma District. Established as a company town in 1961 by the Dubreuil Brothers lumber company, Dubreuilville was incorporated as a municipality in 1977. The town i ...

, three kilometres west of

, sixty kilometres west of Kirkland Lake, Ontario, and approximately 100 kilometres southeast of

Timmins Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 (2021). The city's economy is based on natural resource ext ...

. The mine is within the district of Timiskaping.H. L. Lovell,
Geology of the Matachewan Area District of Timisaking
', Ontario Department of Mines, 1967 The mine is one of the largest underground gold mines in Canada.

History and ownership

Gold prospecting started near Matachewan since silver was discovered near Elk Lake in 1906. Jake Davidson found gold in Davidson Creek in 1916 in what would later become the Young-Davidson mine. In 1917, trenches and shallow cuts were created in the surface rock where more gold was discovered. Soon afterwards, Sam Otisse discovered gold while prospecting claims on land what later came under the ownership of Matachewan Consolidated Mine Ltd. In 1920, the Davidson Gold Mining Company Limited managed the site and employed 55 men. The purchase of several adjoining properties in 1920 increase the site to 600 acres. The mine was primarily explored by Porcupine Goldfields Development and Finance Company and managed by N. J. Evered. Nothing significant occurred at the mines from 1924 until January 1934 when the price of gold started to rise. In 1934, Hollinger Consolidated Gold Mines Ltd, after sampling the Young-Davidson site, built an ore processing mill; it started processing ore on September 8 and was able to process 500 tons per day.

Weldy Young Weldon "Weldy" Champness Young (October 4, 1871 – October 27, 1944) was a Canadian businessman and athlete. Young was an ice hockey player for the Ottawa Hockey Club, playing in its founding years in the 1880s and in the 1890s. Young later beca ...

was a part owner of the mine until his death in 1944. Along with the neighbouring Matchewan Consolidated Mines a total of 956,117 ounces of gold and 165,598 ounces of silver was produced between 1934 and 1957 - worth $34,688,256 at the time. The mine closed in 1957. Vancouver based company Northgate Minerals bough the Young-Davidson in 2005, and mining was restarted on September 10, 2010 In 2011,

AuRico Gold AuRico Gold was an intermediate gold mining and exploration company that, until August 2011, operated only in Mexico. It reached intermediate gold producer status in August 2011 when Northgate Minerals agreed to be taken over for C$1.46 billion. Ga ...

bought Northgate and therefore the mine. AuRico Gold merged with Alamos Gold in 2015. In 2021, the mine produced 140,900 ounces of gold, generating $53.1 million of revenue for its owners. A contracted worker fell four metres at the mine on January 27, 2021, resulting in Cementation Canada receiving a fine of $110,000. Mine worker Shane Allison (52) was struck by a vehicle and killed on November 29, 2022 Alamos Gold were issued with one requirement and three orders by the

Ontario Ministry of Labour The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development is responsible for labour issues in the Canadian province of Ontario. The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and its agencies are responsible for ...

after the fatality. Miners are not unionised.

References

External links

Young-Davidson Mine
Almos Gold Inc. {{coord, 47.948, -80.685, type:landmark_region:CA-ON_dim:3000, display=title Gold mines in Ontario Underground mines in Canada Gold mining in Canada History of gold mining 1916 establishments in Ontario

Location and description

History and ownership

See also

References

External links