Operations of The Asbestos Corporation

Year Published: 1941

Description: Operations of “The Asbestos Corporation;” Thetford Mines is a silent, 1941 tour of Quebec’s major asbestos mine. It covers portions under control of the Asbestos Corporation; a Canadian company and major player in chrysotile asbestos mining at Thetford. Much of Thetford’s land and mines became part of Asbestos Corporation’s assets as the industry reorganized in 1926. ACL was founded in 1925 by John Leboutillier. ACL still operates as a subsidiary of Mazarin Inc. but no longer participates in asbestos mining. (The company is still facing litigation regarding their former operations.) Use of asbestos started in the stone age and large scale mining began in the 19th century. Manufacturers used asbestos for it’s flame retardant properties making it good for thermal and electrical insulation. It was incorporated it into building materials including roofing, siding, flooring, insulation and as adhesive for tiles until the 1970’s when health hazards became widely recognized. Asbestos is a group of naturally occurring toxic carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals composed of crystal fibers released through abrasion. Inhalation leads to dangerous conditions including mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer. The film shows the glory days of asbestos’s mining prior to common knowledge of it’s dangerous health risks. The film follows miners down into the pits, as they detonate charges, operate steam shovels to load Dodge and Mack trucks.The film traces the process for open pit mining and block caving. It explores the grounds opened in 1876 including Bell Mine, Bell Mine Shaft No. 1 and Black Lake. Later sections tour Thetford talc and asbestos mining area. Thetford is the asbestos capital of Canada. Operations at the mine ceased in 1997, and the mine was shut down in 2012. Film opens with the title screen (:16) and a processing plant on slopped terrain with excavated rock piles in the foreground (:25). Black Lake Mine in Saint-Joesph-de-Coleraine (:29) and it’s mill (:30). Piles of tailings intersected by conveyor belts. A processing facility sits below (:36). A section explores block pit and open pit mining (:40). Open pit mining removes ore from open-surface pits in the ground in a process calling for crushing, fiberizing, screening, aspirating and grading. Bloc caving calls for blasting. It’s an underground mining technique requiring undermining sections of the rock allowing it to collapse upon itself. Steam shovels remove overlaying material (1:17). Miners use hand shovels (1:24) and jackhammers (1:42). The blast man throws a hand signal (1:57) prior to setting off primary blasts (2:00). Miners on the ground with hand shovels work near Dodge Hauling Trucks (3:45). Mack trucks (3:58) drive off. Shots of blasting and removal of surface materials (5:04). Carts of ore drive into a tunnel (5:18) and pass Bell Mine (5:28); one of the largest and longest running mines in the area. Bell Mine No. 1 shaft (5:37). Carts move into processing facilities (5:43). Miners drop into the pits in hard hats, work boots, overalls, and protective jackets (6:18). Officials survey miners operating steam shovels (6:07). Miners take reprieve with lunch boxes on a low wooden stoop smiling for the camera man (7:24). Well dressed officials pass (7:50). Miners resurface (7:56). Bell Mine’s processing plant and conveyor belt system (8:54). Miners cross ridges above large pilings of tailings (8:57). Anchor chains pass over chunks of material (942). Footage highlights the scale of the operation (10:01). Workers take a wide stance over the jackhammer (10:04). Carts move off for processing (12:02). Carts exit Bell’s facilities (13:26). The block caving method (13:32) begins at Bell Mine Shaft No. 1 (13:38). Workers filter into the cage for the 500 foot level (13:48). Following them within the elevator going down (14:01) and jack hammering underground (14:53). Materials sifted (15:01-1520) and bagged up (16:05) for rail transport (16:09).

Online Copy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D9B6RNAkwc

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