Heath Steele Mines
Ore processing facility at Heath Steele Mines (BR Walker 1993)
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| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Northumberland County |
| Province | New Brunswick |
| Country | Canada |
| Coordinates | 47°17′00″N 66°04′00″W / 47.283333°N 66.066667°WCoordinates: 47°17′00″N 66°04′00″W / 47.283333°N 66.066667°W |
| Production | |
| Products | Copper, Lead, Zinc |
| History | |
| Opened | 1957 |
| Closed | 1999 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Noranda |
| Year of acquisition | 1979 |
Heath Steele Mines, situated 60 km northwest of Newcastle, New Brunswick, 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 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. Heathcliff 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 was included in the facility. The ore concentrates were instead hauled by rail to various smelter operations (for example at Belledune) 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).
The first orebody at the Heath Steele site, Heath Steele A Zone, was discovered in 1953 by prospectors working for Matthew James Boylen. Mr. Boylen brought more mines into production than anyone else in Canadian history, 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 4,200,000 tons (2.9% Lead, 7.1% Zinc, 1.1% Copper, 3.20 ounces/ton Silver, and 0.02 ounces/ton Gold) and 3,000,000 tons (1.2% Lead, 3.5% Zinc, 1.3% Copper, 1.90 ounces/ton Silver, and 0.02 ounces/ton Gold).
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