Buchans, Newfoundland and Labrador
Encyclopedia
Buchans is a Canadian
town located in the central part of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador
. It is situated on the northwest shore of Red Indian Lake
on the Buchans River.
The town is located within the statistical unit of Census Division No. 6
, approximately 72 kilometres southwest of the Trans-Canada Highway
at the terminus of Route 370. According to Statistics Canada
, it had a population of 761 in 2006, with 418 private dwellings.
Its current mayor is Derm Corbett.
.
Matty Mitchell, a prospector of Mi'kmaq-Montagnais ancestry employed by AND is credited with the original discovery of zinc-lead-copper ore on the banks of the Buchans River. Most accounts state that he made his discovery early in the summer of 1905. Unfortunately, no milling process at the time could adequately separate the complex mixture of copper, lead and zinc sulphides. AND co did try to mine this site seasonally from 1906 until 1911.
In 1916, the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) learned of the Buchans River ore deposit and obtained samples for metallurgical testing. It wasn't until 1925 that a suitable method for separating the various metals in Buchans ore was finally perfected by ASARCO.
Asarco leased the mining rights to the Buchans River Mine; In return, the AND Company would receive 50 per cent of the profits from the mine's development. In the spring of 1926, Asarco began prospecting for additional orebodies on the lease land, led by Asarco engineer J.Ward Williams and Swedish Geophysicist Hans Lundberg. This prospecting led to the discoveries that would ensure a long and prosperous mining operation at Buchans and the construction of a permanent company town.
Buchans Mines
Old Buchans
The original Buchans discovery made by Matty Mitchell was not enough to sustain the mining operation for 57 years. In fact, "Old Buchans" as that mine was called, only produced a small percentage of the ore at Buchans - 217,135 tons. It was mined from 1943 to 1956 [Asarco accessed this orebody not through the original 1906-1911 shaft but connected to the mine primarily via 1 level in Oriental] and again in 1977 and 1978 [1977-78 - open pit/surface]. Besides Old Buchans, four major mines operated at different times between 1927 and 1984 - Lucky Strike Mine, Oriental, Rothermere, and MacLeans.
Lucky Strike
Lucky Strike orebody, named because it was discovered after a chance change of plans in exploration, was discovered on July 14, 1926. This mine, with its iconic 100 ft headframe overlooking the town; would produce ore from 1928 to 1958 and again from 1972 to 1979. In that time, 6,253,660 tons of ore were produced at Lucky Strike. As with all underground mines at Buchans, its nowmal underground "levels" were approximately 200 ft apart from one another and included elaborate workings for an office, explosives magazine, lunch room, and other functional areas. Lucky strike mine shaft extends 714 ft underground.
Oriental
Oriental orebody, named due to its location east of Buchans River, was discovered on August 7, 1926. It would go on to produce ore as an underground mine from 1935 to 1969 and again briefly from surface/pit sources from 1980 to 1981 and from 1983 to 1984. 3,372,224 Tons of ore were produced over the life of Oriental mine.
Rothermere
Rothermere was discovered near the end of 1947. It was named after Lord Rothermere, whose family founded the AND company. The Rothermere mine shaft was 2,505 feet deep. The mine operated from 1950 to 1978. It produced a total of 3,508,226 tons of ore.
MacLean's
The deepest orebody mined at Buchans was MacLeans. It was named after Dr. Hugh J. MacLean, Asarco's chief geologist in Buchans from 1941 until his tragic death in a bush plane crash at South Pond in 1951. MacLeans was discovered in 1950. MacLeans mine shaft was completed at a depth of 3,526 feet below surface [though the mine is actually deeper than this due to the mining of MacLean's extension in 1983 and 1984 through a "winze" (diagonal decline) tunnel leading to "21 level."] The mine produced ore from 1959 to 1981 and from 1983 to 1984. MacLeans produced a total of 3,514,989 tons of ore.
Between 1927 and 1984, the years of Asarco mining at Buchans, a total of twenty-three men lost their lives in accidents. The majority of these deaths occurred in the earlier years of the operation.
at Millertown Junction .
In the fall of 1927, the Buchans Railway connected the town to the outside world. This railway joined the Milltertown Railway at Four Mile Siding, which would become the community of Buchans Junction. All concentrate was shipped by train to the port of Botwood until the railway closed in 1977. A road to Buchans would be completed in 1956. In the final years of the Asarco operation (1977–1984), Buchans concentrate was trucked to Botwood. From the port of Botwood the ore would be sent to smelters all over the world.
hey
After the Buchans highway was opened in 1956, several families who wished to own their own houses independent of the company-administered town settled on the banks of the Buchans River at the point where the highway crossed it, in a settlement known as "Pigeon Inlet." This settlement was named after the fictional community of "Pigeon Inlet" created by Newfoundland writer Ted Russell.
There were four official strikes in the history of Buchans mining operation. The first was in 1941 and lasted 15 days. The second, involving just miners, happened in 1955 and lasted 36 days. The third strike lasted from June 12 to November 12, 1971. The fourth, final and longest strike lasted from March 15 to October 2, 1973.
In 1963 these houses were re-located to a subdivision on the southeast corner of town. The subdivision, which became known as "Townsite" became the Local Improvement District of Buchans. Residents of "Townsite" owned their own homes and managed municipal affairs independently of Asarco. On October 1, 1978, the company town became a separate local improvement district. The two municipal governments merged to form the first democratically elected municipal government for the entire town on June 18, 1979.
In 1980/1981, Asarco also mined a 2,000+ ton bulk sample by way of an adit developed at the Tulks Hill Lead-Zinc orebody near the southwestern corner of Red Indian Lake. (This prospect, with at least 600,000 tons of recoverable ore, as of 2010, had not yet been mined).
In 1977 Asarco began to divest itself of company owned houses and community infrastructure. Asarco shut all mining operations at its Buchans Unit in 1982 with only 12 workers remaining on the property, down from 550 in 1978. Mining resumed briefly in 1983 and 1984 at the MacLean extension and at Oriental Mine where some ore was mined from two pits near Oriental Mine Shaft. This Mining ceased in September 1984. 17.5 million tons were mined and processed over the 55 year history of mining at Buchans. ASARCO also closed its remaining barite operation (which had operated seasonally since 1981) in 1984.
Considerable environmental remediation work and study continued after Asarco's initial work on tailings revegetation in the mid 1970s. This work was also complimented with a multitide of studies, water & soil monitoring activities, and mine site decommissioning/demolition projects throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Few of the mine site(s)' structures remain. Most of those that do remain are now used by other enterprises in the area. While Asarco maintained a consultancy presence until the early 2000s, most of the responsibility for ongoing remediation and monitoring was Abitibi-Price's (now Abitibi Bowater). Companies including but not limited to Amec and Boojum have studied the area and aided in the remediation efforts.
In recent months and years, in light of the financial difficulties of involved companies and some community interest, the provincial government has taken a renewed interest in one of the remaining stages of Buchans mine remediation - an older "tailings spill" area located to the southwest of the Town. Testing of one of the samples from this tailings area re-confirmed the (expected) presence of lead, one of the metals mined at Buchans. As a precautionary step, in 2009, provincial officials asked residents to be tested for lead levels in their blood. This testing yeilded no results warranting further medical attention. The 2010 Newfoundland and Labrador budget included $4 million to aid in the final cleanup and remediation of this site. This work was completed in 2010.
There was also renewed interest in 2008-2011 in the recyling of mine tailings to remove Barite for use in engineering services related to offshore drilling. A reorganized version of the Barite recycling operation first attempted by Asarco in the early 1980s and operated in 2009. The tailings ponds near the Lucky Strike mine site contain millions of tons of material that is 30% barite.
In the years since the Asarco mine closure, many businesses continue to survive and flourish in the town of Buchans. It remains a popular tourist destination - especially for people interested in fishing, hunting, hiking, other outdoor activities or learning about the town's rich mining heritage.
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...
town located in the central part of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
. It is situated on the northwest shore of Red Indian Lake
Red Indian Lake
Red Indian Lake is located in the western interior of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The downstream end of the lake drains into the Exploits River. This winds through the interior of the island and eventually exits into the Atlantic Ocean through...
on the Buchans River.
The town is located within the statistical unit of Census Division No. 6
Division No. 6, Newfoundland and Labrador
Division No. 6 is a census division in the central part of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is divided into 16 parts; 12 towns and four unorganized subdivisions....
, approximately 72 kilometres southwest of the Trans-Canada Highway
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway is a federal-provincial highway system that joins the ten provinces of Canada. It is, along with the Trans-Siberian Highway and Australia's Highway 1, one of the world's longest national highways, with the main route spanning 8,030 km...
at the terminus of Route 370. According to Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada is the Canadian federal government agency commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. Its headquarters is in Ottawa....
, it had a population of 761 in 2006, with 418 private dwellings.
Its current mayor is Derm Corbett.
Discovery and mining history
In 1905 the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company (AND) was granted mineral rights to 2320 sq mi (6,008.8 km²) of central Newfoundland for 99 years; any commercial mining would result in payment of a 5% royalty to the Dominion of NewfoundlandDominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
.
Matty Mitchell, a prospector of Mi'kmaq-Montagnais ancestry employed by AND is credited with the original discovery of zinc-lead-copper ore on the banks of the Buchans River. Most accounts state that he made his discovery early in the summer of 1905. Unfortunately, no milling process at the time could adequately separate the complex mixture of copper, lead and zinc sulphides. AND co did try to mine this site seasonally from 1906 until 1911.
In 1916, the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) learned of the Buchans River ore deposit and obtained samples for metallurgical testing. It wasn't until 1925 that a suitable method for separating the various metals in Buchans ore was finally perfected by ASARCO.
Asarco leased the mining rights to the Buchans River Mine; In return, the AND Company would receive 50 per cent of the profits from the mine's development. In the spring of 1926, Asarco began prospecting for additional orebodies on the lease land, led by Asarco engineer J.Ward Williams and Swedish Geophysicist Hans Lundberg. This prospecting led to the discoveries that would ensure a long and prosperous mining operation at Buchans and the construction of a permanent company town.
Buchans Mines
Old Buchans
The original Buchans discovery made by Matty Mitchell was not enough to sustain the mining operation for 57 years. In fact, "Old Buchans" as that mine was called, only produced a small percentage of the ore at Buchans - 217,135 tons. It was mined from 1943 to 1956 [Asarco accessed this orebody not through the original 1906-1911 shaft but connected to the mine primarily via 1 level in Oriental] and again in 1977 and 1978 [1977-78 - open pit/surface]. Besides Old Buchans, four major mines operated at different times between 1927 and 1984 - Lucky Strike Mine, Oriental, Rothermere, and MacLeans.
Lucky Strike
Lucky Strike orebody, named because it was discovered after a chance change of plans in exploration, was discovered on July 14, 1926. This mine, with its iconic 100 ft headframe overlooking the town; would produce ore from 1928 to 1958 and again from 1972 to 1979. In that time, 6,253,660 tons of ore were produced at Lucky Strike. As with all underground mines at Buchans, its nowmal underground "levels" were approximately 200 ft apart from one another and included elaborate workings for an office, explosives magazine, lunch room, and other functional areas. Lucky strike mine shaft extends 714 ft underground.
Oriental
Oriental orebody, named due to its location east of Buchans River, was discovered on August 7, 1926. It would go on to produce ore as an underground mine from 1935 to 1969 and again briefly from surface/pit sources from 1980 to 1981 and from 1983 to 1984. 3,372,224 Tons of ore were produced over the life of Oriental mine.
Rothermere
Rothermere was discovered near the end of 1947. It was named after Lord Rothermere, whose family founded the AND company. The Rothermere mine shaft was 2,505 feet deep. The mine operated from 1950 to 1978. It produced a total of 3,508,226 tons of ore.
MacLean's
The deepest orebody mined at Buchans was MacLeans. It was named after Dr. Hugh J. MacLean, Asarco's chief geologist in Buchans from 1941 until his tragic death in a bush plane crash at South Pond in 1951. MacLeans was discovered in 1950. MacLeans mine shaft was completed at a depth of 3,526 feet below surface [though the mine is actually deeper than this due to the mining of MacLean's extension in 1983 and 1984 through a "winze" (diagonal decline) tunnel leading to "21 level."] The mine produced ore from 1959 to 1981 and from 1983 to 1984. MacLeans produced a total of 3,514,989 tons of ore.
Between 1927 and 1984, the years of Asarco mining at Buchans, a total of twenty-three men lost their lives in accidents. The majority of these deaths occurred in the earlier years of the operation.
Transportation links
AND co purchased the Millertown Railway in 1910, which had been constructed in 1900 and linked to the Newfoundland RailwayNewfoundland Railway
The Newfoundland Railway was a railway which operated on the island of Newfoundland from 1898 to 1988. With a total track length of , it was the longest narrow gauge railway system in North America.-Early construction:...
at Millertown Junction .
In the fall of 1927, the Buchans Railway connected the town to the outside world. This railway joined the Milltertown Railway at Four Mile Siding, which would become the community of Buchans Junction. All concentrate was shipped by train to the port of Botwood until the railway closed in 1977. A road to Buchans would be completed in 1956. In the final years of the Asarco operation (1977–1984), Buchans concentrate was trucked to Botwood. From the port of Botwood the ore would be sent to smelters all over the world.
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Company Town History
By 1929 there were more than 60 housing units, an apartment house, a staff house, hospital, a town hall, and several bunkhouses in the town. Several businesses including a retail store, a laundromat and a barber shop had also been established. Both the company and the Roman Catholic Church opened schools in the town. In 1929, the company constructed tennis courts, a ski run, an athletic field, and, in winter months, converted one of its concentrate sheds into a skating rink. Buchans had running water, sewage, electricity, and other services in place by 1928. The town would grow in size and prosper throughout the next few decades.After the Buchans highway was opened in 1956, several families who wished to own their own houses independent of the company-administered town settled on the banks of the Buchans River at the point where the highway crossed it, in a settlement known as "Pigeon Inlet." This settlement was named after the fictional community of "Pigeon Inlet" created by Newfoundland writer Ted Russell.
There were four official strikes in the history of Buchans mining operation. The first was in 1941 and lasted 15 days. The second, involving just miners, happened in 1955 and lasted 36 days. The third strike lasted from June 12 to November 12, 1971. The fourth, final and longest strike lasted from March 15 to October 2, 1973.
In 1963 these houses were re-located to a subdivision on the southeast corner of town. The subdivision, which became known as "Townsite" became the Local Improvement District of Buchans. Residents of "Townsite" owned their own homes and managed municipal affairs independently of Asarco. On October 1, 1978, the company town became a separate local improvement district. The two municipal governments merged to form the first democratically elected municipal government for the entire town on June 18, 1979.
Final Years of Asarco Operation
On 17 March 1976 Asarco Incorporated, Buchans Unit and Price (Nfld.) Pulp and Paper Limited (Incorporated in 1962 replacing AND co - would later become Abitibi-Price then Abitibi-Bowater) signed a new contract whereby Price repossessed its original mineral exploration rights over the entire 1905 A.N.D. Co. concession area except for the mine site. The two companies agreed to continue sharing the profits from the existing mines and from any future mines developed on deposits discovered by ASARCO prior to March 1976.In 1980/1981, Asarco also mined a 2,000+ ton bulk sample by way of an adit developed at the Tulks Hill Lead-Zinc orebody near the southwestern corner of Red Indian Lake. (This prospect, with at least 600,000 tons of recoverable ore, as of 2010, had not yet been mined).
In 1977 Asarco began to divest itself of company owned houses and community infrastructure. Asarco shut all mining operations at its Buchans Unit in 1982 with only 12 workers remaining on the property, down from 550 in 1978. Mining resumed briefly in 1983 and 1984 at the MacLean extension and at Oriental Mine where some ore was mined from two pits near Oriental Mine Shaft. This Mining ceased in September 1984. 17.5 million tons were mined and processed over the 55 year history of mining at Buchans. ASARCO also closed its remaining barite operation (which had operated seasonally since 1981) in 1984.
Buchans Since 1984
In the years since the closure of the Asarco operation, the population of the town, which had fluctuated but remained between 2,500 and 3,000 throughout the most prosperous years of the mine, began to drop in the late 1970s as ore reserves dwindled, production declined and layoffs occurred. By 1985, the population had decreased to 1,500. The 2006 Canadian Census reported the population of Buchans to be 761.Considerable environmental remediation work and study continued after Asarco's initial work on tailings revegetation in the mid 1970s. This work was also complimented with a multitide of studies, water & soil monitoring activities, and mine site decommissioning/demolition projects throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Few of the mine site(s)' structures remain. Most of those that do remain are now used by other enterprises in the area. While Asarco maintained a consultancy presence until the early 2000s, most of the responsibility for ongoing remediation and monitoring was Abitibi-Price's (now Abitibi Bowater). Companies including but not limited to Amec and Boojum have studied the area and aided in the remediation efforts.
In recent months and years, in light of the financial difficulties of involved companies and some community interest, the provincial government has taken a renewed interest in one of the remaining stages of Buchans mine remediation - an older "tailings spill" area located to the southwest of the Town. Testing of one of the samples from this tailings area re-confirmed the (expected) presence of lead, one of the metals mined at Buchans. As a precautionary step, in 2009, provincial officials asked residents to be tested for lead levels in their blood. This testing yeilded no results warranting further medical attention. The 2010 Newfoundland and Labrador budget included $4 million to aid in the final cleanup and remediation of this site. This work was completed in 2010.
There was also renewed interest in 2008-2011 in the recyling of mine tailings to remove Barite for use in engineering services related to offshore drilling. A reorganized version of the Barite recycling operation first attempted by Asarco in the early 1980s and operated in 2009. The tailings ponds near the Lucky Strike mine site contain millions of tons of material that is 30% barite.
In the years since the Asarco mine closure, many businesses continue to survive and flourish in the town of Buchans. It remains a popular tourist destination - especially for people interested in fishing, hunting, hiking, other outdoor activities or learning about the town's rich mining heritage.