McIntyre Mines

The McIntyre mine is an abandoned underground gold mine in Schumacher, Ontario, Canada, which has earned a place in Canadian mining history as one of the nation's most important mines. Its iconic headframe, located near downtown Timmins, has come to represent the entire Porcupine Gold Rush. The McIntyre also yielded a considerable amount of copper over its life.

There has been an extensive degree of rehabilitation and exploration work performed in and around the old McIntyre Mine property in recent years, and the Porcupine Joint Venture has yet to decide whether or not to continue spending hundreds of millions of dollars on mining out the property or continuing with a closure plan(2007).

Sandy McIntyre (1869-1943) had immigrated to Canada from Scotland around the turn of the century. He had changed his name from Alexander Oliphant and in 1906 became a prospector, exploring Northern Ontario.

McIntyre Porcupine was formed in 1911, adding land staked by Sandy McIntyre to nearby ground obtained by J. P. Bickell. Although the initial assays were lean, Bickell kept the company afloat through tough times. Later, as grades improved, he obtained additional ground. In 1919, Bickell left the investment business to become president and then chairman of McIntyre-Porcupine Mines.

McIntyre sold his interest for $65,325, of which $60,000 was never collected. He did receive a pension for the use of his name however. Ownership by Charles Flynn, A. Freeman and then J.P. Bickell. McIntyre Mine was incorporated in 1912. By 1924, the mine included 626 acres, including the former Jupiter and Pearl Lake mines, besides the Plenaurum and Platt Veteran properties.

The McIntyre (Number 11) headframe was completed in 1927. The six-compartment shaft excavation underneath it was 4,250 feet (1,300 m) deep and 160,000 tons of rock, as well as 40,000 tons of water, were removed in the process. The project used 240,000 pounds of powder to blast the rock and 2,256,000 feet (688,000 m) of Douglas fir to timber the shaft.

In its early days the McIntyre mine was a nightmare of problems. It was remarked "it is doubtful if any major mining corporation anywhere was ever established on a shakier foundation." Mine manager Dick Ennis told how he ran to the bank with hot bullion bars to cover a payroll and how he disappeared underground to hide from creditors.

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