Madawaska Mine
Madawaska Mine (previously known as Faraday Mine) is a decommissioned underground uranium mine in Faraday, near the town of Bancroft, Ontario, which produced 9 million pounds (4,082 tonnes) of U3O8 concentrate, at an average ore grade of 0.1074%, during its two periods of production.[1][2]
![]() Madawaska Mine in 1962 | |
Location | |
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![]() ![]() Madawaska Mine Location near Bancroft, Ontario ![]() ![]() Madawaska Mine Madawaska Mine (Southern Ontario) ![]() ![]() Madawaska Mine Madawaska Mine (Ontario) | |
Location | Faraday, Ontario |
Province | Ontario |
Country | Canada |
Coordinates | 45°01′21.5″N 77°55′15.2″W |
Production | |
Products | Uranium oxide |
Production | 9,000,000 lbs (4,082 tonnes) |
History | |
Opened | 1954 |
Active | 1954-1964; 1975-1982 |
Closed | 1982 |
Owner | |
Company | EWL Management Limited |
Website | http://www.madawaskamine.com/ |
Madawaska Mine produced uranium for the longest period out of the four nearby mines (the three others being Bicroft Mine, Greyhawk Mine, and Dyno Mine).[3]
Aside from uranium, the mine is also a renowned source of calcite crystals, ilmenite crystals, kainosite-(Y), Molybdenite, and uranophane crystals.[4]
Discovery of uranium (1922 to 1954)

Uranium was first discovered in the area of Cardiff in 1922 by W. M. Richardson. Between 1953 and 1956, one hundred area prospects were opened, including one by Bancroft prospector Arthur H. Shore, whose discovery of uranium was first confirmed in 1949. He purchased the land on 22 June 1949 and founded Faraday Uranium Mines Limited. Mr. Shore sold control of the company to Augustus Exploration Limited, who started full development of the site in 1952.[3]
Mining operations as Faraday Mine (1954 to 1964)

Mining operations occurred from 1954 to 1964 by Faraday Uranium Mines Limited with the mine being known as the Faraday Mine.[5]
In January 1956, a contract was agreed with Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited to buy the uranium, triggering an economic boom in the area, with houses for company executives being built at nearby Bow Lake and 40 houses for workers being built on the company's land in Bancroft.[3]
On 4 April 1957, the first ore reached the concentrator and on 14 April the first uranium precipitate was produced. Production was initially 1,000 tons per day, later increasing to 1,600 tons per day.[3]
The workers unionized in 1957, forming Local 1006 Bancroft Mine and Mill Worker's Union.[3]

The decline of global demand for uranium shut the mine down in 1964 destroying the local economy. By that time 5.8 million pounds of uranium oxide had been produced. Local Catholic priest Rev. Henry Maloney, the brother of former Ontario Ombudsman Arthur Maloney, led the community to demand support from the Government of Ontario and Government of Canada to extend the contracts buying uranium. Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, relying on an old agreement with the United Kingdom to buy uranium from Canada, was able to prolong the life of the mine by eighteen months, giving the community enough time to plan for the closure.[3] At this time, the mine was 51% owned by Federal Resource Corporation of Salt Lake City and 49% owned by Consolidated Canadian Faraday Limited, who spent $2 million from 1966 to 1975 on site maintenance and exploration.[3]
Mining operations as Madawaska Mine (1975 to 1982)
After $7 million was invested to rehabilitate the mine,[3] a loan from the Canadian Bank of Commerce[6] it reopened as the Madawaska Mine on 10 September 1976.[6] 70 people attending the opening, The Northern Miner journal noted that no government representatives attended the opening while also commenting on increasing taxes and government regulation of the uranium industry.[6]
The shaft into the uranium-bearing pegmatite reached a depth of 473 metres (1,552 ft).[7] During this period, the mine was producing 1,500 ton of ore per day.[3]
Ownership was 51% by US-based Federal Resources Corporation and 49% Consolidated Canadian Faraday Limited.[6]
W. Clarke. Campbell was the president of Consolidated Canadian Faraday Limited in 1976[6] and 1980.[8]
In 1979 shareholders earned $0.67 per share (totaling $2,379.00), in 1980 they earned $0.58 per share (totaling $2,087,000).[8]
The mine was managed by Del Wilson, the same man who opened the mine in 1954 and closed it in 1964.[6] There were 240 staff in at the time of opening in 1976, 75% of whom had worked at the mine in phase 1.[6] In 1976 management had plans to employ 60 more staff in 1977, bringing the payroll up to $5 million per year.[6]
The uranium was sold to Agip who were an Italian government agency responsible for buying uranium[6] until 1982,[7] when Agip cancelled the contract.[9]
4,000,000 tonnes of waste remain on site.[10]
Global economics
In 1976, at the time of the reopening, the global demand for uranium was increasing at 18% to 22% per annum.[6] The cost of nuclear power was therefore 25% of the cost of power generation by fossil fuel.[6]
Decommissioning and rehabilitation (1982 to present)


After the closure, the tailing site attracted mineral collectors, especially to an annual "gemboree" in which tourists travelled to Bancroft in search of gems and minerals.[3]
After the dissolution of owners Madawaska Mines Limited in 2005, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission revoked the operating license for the mine in 2011.[11] Ownership shifted to Conwest Explorations Limited, later to Alberta Energy Corporation[1] which then became EnCana, which in 2020 became Ovintiv, who placed their ownership under subsidiary company[12] EWL Management Limited.[13][14]
Since inspections found improper surface protection of tailing in 2015, the mine has been undergoing rehabilitation by EWL, who contracted Golder Associates as the main contractor.[15][16][13]
In 2019, water quality monitoring requested by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission found radioactive and hazardous contamination in two of several water samples in the nearby Bentley Lake.[17] Subsequent inspections in 2020 from nearby locations reported no contamination.[15]
Accidents
- On 10th April 1959, 21-year-old miner George Edwin Heinze was killed when a 10-ton rock fell on him at the 600 foot level.[18]
See also
References
- Proulx, Michèle (1997). The Uranium Mining Industry of the Bancroft Area, an Environmental History and Heritage Assessment (PDF). Peterborough, Ontario: Trent University. p. 50. ISBN 0-612-21696-9. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- "Madawaska Mine (Faraday Mine), Faraday Township, Hastings County, Ontario, Canada". www.mindat.org. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
- Reynolds, Nila (1979). Bancroft. A Bonanza of Memories. The Centennial Committee. p. 192.
- McDougall, Raymond (2019-09-03). "Mineral Highlights from the Bancroft Area, Ontario, Canada". Rocks & Minerals. 94 (5): 408–419. doi:10.1080/00357529.2019.1619134. ISSN 0035-7529.
- "Mindat.org". www.mindat.org. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
- Erdelyi, Joe (16 September 1976). "Madawaska begins second life". The Northern Miner. 62, Number 27: 1, 2, 16.
- http://www.mindat.org/loc.php?loc=542&ob=4 data from Geological Survey of Canada Miscellaneous Report 39 -- mindat.org
- "Consolidated Canadian Faraday Limited 1980 Annual Report" (PDF). McGill University.
- "Mineral Deposit Inventory Record MDI31F04SW00037: Faraday, Madawaska". www.geologyontario.mndm.gov.on.ca. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
- "Canadian National Report for the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management" (PDF). Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission: 49. October 2017.
- "Record of Proceedings" (PDF). Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "12-Month Lobbying Summary - Ovintiv Canada ULC / Brendan McCracken, President & CEO". lobbycanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - Safety Commission, Canadian Nuclear (2020-09-21). "Independent Environmental Monitoring Program: Dyno, Bicroft, and Madawaska Mines". nuclearsafety.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
- "Radon in the home is major health risk". Haliburton Echo. 2022-03-04. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
- Davis, Greg (29 September 2020). "3 decommissioned uranium mines near Bancroft, Ont. deemed protected, no health impacts: study". Global News. Vancouver, British Columbia. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- "Sampling near old mine sites finds 'no expected health impacts'". Haliburton Echo. 2020-10-06. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
- "Independent Environmental Monitoring Program: Dyno, Bicroft, and Madawaska Mines". Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- 10-Ton Rock Kills Uranium Miner, 21, Barrie Examiner, April 11 1959.