Burchell Lake, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Burchell Lake is a ghost town
in the Canadian
province of Ontario
, located at the southern end of Highway 802
in the Thunder Bay District
.
A copper
mining town which was active from 1959 to 1967, the town had approximately 400 residents at its peak. The Burchell Lake area had seen mineral exploration as early as 1902, but active development of mining operations in the area was not economically feasible until the completion of Highway 11
through the region in 1954. After a mine shaft and mill complex was built, the Coldstream Copper Mines company began building a townsite for its workers in 1959.
However, the price of copper had fallen sufficiently by 1967 that the mine was no longer profitable, and the site was shut down in 1967. In less than ten years of operations, workers at Burchell Lake had mined an estimated 102 million pounds of ore.
Burchell Lake remains one of Ontario's best-preserved ghost towns, with many of its buildings still standing at the townsite as of early 2008. A 40-year community reunion was held in nearby Shebandowan
in 2007.
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
in the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
province of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, located at the southern end of Highway 802
Highway 802 (Ontario)
Tertiary Highway 802, commonly referred to as Highway 802, is a provincially maintained access road in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Thunder Bay District.- Route description :...
in the Thunder Bay District
Thunder Bay District, Ontario
Thunder Bay District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. The district seat is Thunder Bay....
.
A copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
mining town which was active from 1959 to 1967, the town had approximately 400 residents at its peak. The Burchell Lake area had seen mineral exploration as early as 1902, but active development of mining operations in the area was not economically feasible until the completion of Highway 11
Highway 11 (Ontario)
King's Highway 11 is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. At , it is the second longest highway in the province after Highway 17. Highway 11 begins at Highway 400 in Barrie, and arches through northern Ontario, around Lake Superior, to the Ontario–Minnesota border...
through the region in 1954. After a mine shaft and mill complex was built, the Coldstream Copper Mines company began building a townsite for its workers in 1959.
However, the price of copper had fallen sufficiently by 1967 that the mine was no longer profitable, and the site was shut down in 1967. In less than ten years of operations, workers at Burchell Lake had mined an estimated 102 million pounds of ore.
Burchell Lake remains one of Ontario's best-preserved ghost towns, with many of its buildings still standing at the townsite as of early 2008. A 40-year community reunion was held in nearby Shebandowan
Shebandowan, Ontario
Shebandowan is an unincorporated community in the Canadian province of Ontario, located on Highway 11 in the Thunder Bay District.The community is administered by a local services board, and is counted as part of Thunder Bay, Unorganized in Canadian census data....
in 2007.