Pine Point Mine
Encyclopedia
The Pine Point Mine is located west of Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories
and east of Hay River, Northwest Territories
, on the south shore of Great Slave Lake
, Northwest Territories
. Pine Point was a Mississippi Valley type
deposit. It produced lead
and zinc
ore
s from 1964 to 1988. The town of Pine Point
was built by the mining company, and when the mine closed the town was demolished and abandoned.
The mine was first discovered in the late 19th Century by fur traders at Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories
after hearing rumours of lead ores from the natives. A minor staking rush occurred to the location in 1898 when Klondike
prospectors heard rumours of silver
. There was no silver to be found here, and although the lead was very rich it was not feasible to mine the isolated deposit without good transportation to the south.
First major work was done in 1928-1930 when several short shafts or glory holes were sunk and a churn drill
was brought to the area to drill into the rich ores. The Great Depression
halted work. Geological investigation by Cominco after World War II
led to new theories on how the lead and zinc deposits were hosted. By 1955 several thousand tons of ore were outlined in an extensive exploration program along a 20 kilometer belt. A railway (Great Slave Railway, now known as part of the Mackenzie Northern Railway
) was started from Grimshaw, Alberta
, north to connect to the future mine in 1962. The railway was completed in 1964, and official production commenced in 1965. Cominco built its own town site which became known as Pine Point
. It became a territorial settlement with private businesses, and boasted a population of 1,200 at its peak. When the mine closed in 1988, the single-industry town was forced to close.
The mine produced and shipped 10,785,000 tons of lead and zinc concentrate
s/high-grade ores after mining and milling 69,416,000 tons of ore material. Contained metal was approximately 2 million tons of lead and 7 million tons of zinc.
Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories
Fort Resolution is a "settlement corporation" in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada...
and east of Hay River, Northwest Territories
Hay River, Northwest Territories
Hay River , known as "the Hub of the North," is a town in the Northwest Territories, Canada, located on the south shore of Great Slave Lake, at the mouth of the Hay River. The town is separated into two sections, a new town and an old town with the Hay River Airport between them...
, on the south shore of Great Slave Lake
Great Slave Lake
Great Slave Lake is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada , the deepest lake in North America at , and the ninth-largest lake in the world. It is long and wide. It covers an area of in the southern part of the territory. Its given volume ranges from to and up to ...
, Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
. Pine Point was a Mississippi Valley type
Carbonate hosted lead zinc ore deposits
Carbonate-hosted lead-zinc ore deposits are important and highly valuable concentrations of lead and zinc sulfide ores hosted within carbonate formations and which share a common genetic origin....
deposit. It produced lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
and zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
s from 1964 to 1988. The town of Pine Point
Pine Point, Northwest Territories
Pine Point was the townsite built at the Pine Point Mine in the Northwest Territories, Canada, which was an open-pit lead and zinc mine.The first buildings were erected in 1952 during the original exploration and development campaign, and even before that a number of log cabins had been built in...
was built by the mining company, and when the mine closed the town was demolished and abandoned.
The mine was first discovered in the late 19th Century by fur traders at Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories
Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories
Fort Resolution is a "settlement corporation" in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada...
after hearing rumours of lead ores from the natives. A minor staking rush occurred to the location in 1898 when Klondike
Klondike, Yukon
The Klondike is a region of the Yukon in northwest Canada, east of the Alaska border. It lies around the Klondike River, a small river that enters the Yukon from the east at Dawson....
prospectors heard rumours of silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
. There was no silver to be found here, and although the lead was very rich it was not feasible to mine the isolated deposit without good transportation to the south.
First major work was done in 1928-1930 when several short shafts or glory holes were sunk and a churn drill
Churn drill
The churn drill is a large drilling machine that bores large diameter holes in the ground. In mining, they were used to drill into the soft carbonate rocks of lead and zinc hosted regions to extract bulk samples of the ore...
was brought to the area to drill into the rich ores. The Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
halted work. Geological investigation by Cominco after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
led to new theories on how the lead and zinc deposits were hosted. By 1955 several thousand tons of ore were outlined in an extensive exploration program along a 20 kilometer belt. A railway (Great Slave Railway, now known as part of the Mackenzie Northern Railway
Mackenzie Northern Railway
The Mackenzie Northern Railway was a Canadian railway operating in Alberta and the Northwest Territories. It is the northernmost trackage of the contiguous North American railway network.-History:...
) was started from Grimshaw, Alberta
Grimshaw, Alberta
Grimshaw is a town in northern Alberta located west of the Town of Peace River at the junction of Highway 35, Highway 2, and bypass Highway 2A, and the Mackenzie Northern Railway...
, north to connect to the future mine in 1962. The railway was completed in 1964, and official production commenced in 1965. Cominco built its own town site which became known as Pine Point
Pine Point, Northwest Territories
Pine Point was the townsite built at the Pine Point Mine in the Northwest Territories, Canada, which was an open-pit lead and zinc mine.The first buildings were erected in 1952 during the original exploration and development campaign, and even before that a number of log cabins had been built in...
. It became a territorial settlement with private businesses, and boasted a population of 1,200 at its peak. When the mine closed in 1988, the single-industry town was forced to close.
The mine produced and shipped 10,785,000 tons of lead and zinc concentrate
Concentrate
A concentrate is a form of substance which has had the majority of its base component removed. Typically this will be the removal of water from a solution or suspension such as the removal of water from fruit juice...
s/high-grade ores after mining and milling 69,416,000 tons of ore material. Contained metal was approximately 2 million tons of lead and 7 million tons of zinc.
External links
- http://www.nfb.ca/pinepoint/ A web documentary about the town of Pine Point was produced in 2011 by the National Film Board of Canada and The Goggles http://www.thegoggles.org
- 1926 Ted Nagle and the Pine Point Discovery NWT Historical Timeline, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre
- Former residents of Pine Point have built a website to house photos of the town http://pinepointrevisited.homestead.com/
- Tamerlane Ventures has purchased the former Pine Point property and adjacent land and seeks to develop a new mine at the property. http://www.tamerlaneventures.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53&Itemid=65