The “open pit” method of mining was selected
as the best approach. The pit began in 1953 as a
combination side-hill and mountain-top excavation.
Over the years it has been progressively deepened to
its present stage of development. Current
production requirements call for mining some
1,300,000 tons of ore annually to produce more than
100, (000 tons of asbestos fibre. To accommodate the

“phase mining plan” some 6,000,000 cubic yards of
waste rock are removed each year.

The Mine operates on a twenty-four hour per
day basis, seven days a week. It is accessible from
the townsite by a 9.6 km road which climbs up the
western slope of McDame mountain through a series
of seven switchbacks to the lower bench of the pit.

The Tramline is 4,700 metres long from the
loading station at the mine to the unloading station
at the mill. And is capable of delivering 300 tons of
ore per hour. It loads and unloads automatically and
has 142 buckets, each of which is capable of
handling two tons.

While resisting the gravity pull of some 140
tons of ore dropping 650 metres in five kilometres,
the tramline’s two induction motors exert a braking
influence and, in the process, regenerate some 400
kilowatts of electrical power.

The Milling Process is based on the fact that
asbestos fibre “fluffs up” as it is repeatedly crushed
and screened and becomes lighter in weight than the
Serpentine rock from which it was separated. As it
passes from one horizontally gy rating screen to the
next,the fluffed up fibre tends to“float”on the surface
of the crushed rock. When separated rock and fibre
reach the end of the screens the rock falls away by
gravity for further crushing, while the fibre is

vacuumed off. The fibre is then carried by air ducts
to cyclone collectors, and from there to a series of
gyrating screens where it is cleaned. After cleaning,
the fibre is separated into different fibre lengths and
transported to storage bins where it is collected by
grade and made ready for bagging.

The bags are automatically filled with 45.5 kg
of compressed fibre and transported by conveyor to
a machine where the bags are sealed. Finally they
are stacked on pallets in lots of twenty and
automatically strapped and shrink-wrapped for
shipment by truck and barge to Vancouver. From
there Cassiar asbestos is shipped to the mar kets of
the world.

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