Showing 53 results

Archival description
Cominco Ltd. fonds
Print preview View:

Cominco Ltd. fonds

  • PR-1419
  • Fonds
  • [ca. 1884-1985]

The fonds consists of the records of Cominco Ltd., including those created under its previous name, the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Limited. Most of the records were selected by Cominco from its offices in Vancouver and Trail, B.C.

The fonds includes textual records, approximately 8700 photographs, maps, films and sound recordings which include oral histories with former employees. The records document the industrial activities, personnel, and the social history of the communities where the company was active.

Documentary forms include but are not limited to: correspondence; photographs; annual reports; news clippings and scrapbooks; lab reports; payroll records; journals, ledgers, cash books and other financial records; sound recordings of interviews, oral histories and radio broadcasts; transcripts connected with the Cominco oral history project; films (including those of mining operations); maps; informational publications, pamphlets and brochures about the company; engineering and geological reports; subdivision plans and city plans; property/lot plans; and the president's files.

Subject matter includes topics such as mineral exploration, mining, smelting, fertilizer production, research and development, legal matters, finance, personnel and labour relations, public relations and advertising, company history and environmental pollution.

Topics and locations reflected in the records include but are not limited to: Trail area operations at Warfield and Tadanac; the Sullivan mine at Kimberley; the Bluebell mine and concentrator at Riondel, B.C.; the Con mine in Yellowknife, N.W.T.; the H.B. mine and concentrator at Salmo, B.C.; Calgary facilities for production of ammonia, ammonium nitrate and urea; Benson Lake (Vancouver Island) mine and concentrator; the mercury mine at Pinchi Lake, B.C.; the Box mine at Goldfields (Athabaska Lake) Saskatchewan; Wedge copper mine at Newcastle, New Brunswick; Pacific Coast Terminals Limited operations in warehousing, docking, loading and shipping at New Westminster and Port Moody, B.C.

The records document Cominco’s operations in fields such as zinc die casting through the purchase of National Hardware Specialties Limited and its plant in Dresden, Ontario. The records reflect the continuing research and development carried out at Trail, and, after the mid-1960s, at the new research centre built at Sheridan Park, Ontario.

Records of subsidiaries and affiliates include those of operations in the United States and overseas. These include but are not limited to: Cominco Products, Inc. a wholly-owned subsidiary created to carry out fertilizer warehousing, liquid fertilizer conversion and product marketing at Spokane, Washington; the development of phosphate rock mining interests in Montana; the Magmont lead mine and concentrator at Bixby, Missouri; Rubiales mine, Lugo Province, Spain; the Black Angel mine and concentrator, Marmorilik Fjord, Greenland; and Cominco Binani Zinc Limited (CBZL) in India.

Photographs and textual records document the important role played by Cominco, beginning in the 1920s, in exploring the northern regions of the four western provinces and the Northwest Territories. The company pioneered aircraft prospecting which led to the discovery of gold, uranium, oil and copper. Exploration by Cominco influenced settlement patterns and laid the foundation for the creation of an aviation service in northern Canada.

The fonds also consists of records of Cominco’s participation in the Manhattan Project's heavy water production program during World War II. Textual records are contained in series MS-2500. Photographs are contained in series MS-3176, consisting of images which include: primary plant and secondary cell plant, (including construction of, starting in November 1942); the oxygen stripper tower, booster room, cooling tower, boiler plant, and evaporator building. See the files referring to Project 9, Heavy Water, No. 9 Project, or P-9 Project.

Other notable records include those concerning the international dispute between Canada and the United States over pollution from the Trail smelter and its effects on the agricultural lands in the U.S. Cominco was involved in an international tribunal in 1932 (Trail smelter dispute) as a consequence of sulphur-bearing smoke damage to crops. See file of negative filmstrips titled Smoke Control – Mathews films Tribunal Case 1932 [photographs]. Among other topics the photographs appear to include images of areas in Idaho and Washington State. They are possibly connected with MS-2500, box 457, file 1, “Survey of agricultural conditions (Mathews) - appendix D8”, dated 1935.

The fonds also consists of records of subsidiaries, affiliates, and predecessor companies, including the West Kootenay Power and Light Company Ltd. and the Canadian North-eastern Railway Company (previously Portland Canal Short Line Railway).

The fonds consists of the following six series: MS-2500 Cominco selected records; MS-3176 Cominco photographs; AAAA1498 Cominco films; AAAA1499 Cominco sound recordings; MS-0888 Summary of the history of Cominco; MS-0015 Cominco papers.

Cominco Ltd.

Outside safety awards

Series consists of awards received between 1955 and 1968 for operations at the Bluebell Mine for workplace safety.

Cominco sound recordings

The series consists of taped interviews and radio broadcasts, all relating to Cominco. The original recordings include audio cassettes, 3", 5", 7" and 10" reels and 8 track tapes.

T3135 to T3147 consists of thirteen oral history interviews with retired Cominco employees, recorded by students employed under the Young Canada Works Program in the summer of 1977.

Items T4217:1-2 consist of the proceedings of the annual general meetings for Cominco, 1978 and 1980.

T4245 consist of oral history history interviews, recorded from [197-] to 1982. Archives staff transcribed many of the interviews or kept content notes. Three of the interviews consist of notes or memoirs only, no taped recording. If a transcript of an oral history interview exists, it is noted in the file list. Documentation files containing notes on interviews are also indicated on the file list.

T4350 consists of oral history interviews with retired Cominco employees (1-42), recorded between 1977 and 1981, mainly by Dr. Joanne Pepper. It also contains recordings (43-88) of radio broadcasts and audio tracks for slide presentations, social events and pension rallies, all recorded between the 1950s and 1983. No transcripts exist for these recordings however some content notes exist in the accession file.

Cominco selected records

MS-2500 is an extensive collection of records selected by Cominco, from its offices in Vancouver, Trail, and elsewhere, for transfer to the Provincial Archives. The records include: annual reports, early correspondence, financial and legal records, research and development department records, records of metallurgical, smoke, chemical and fertilizer operations, diverse records of Cominco's various mines, subsidiaries, and affiliates, smoke control records, public relations department records, histories of Cominco, and personnel records.

The legal department series of documents are organized according to the Cominco assigned identifying number, the first two digits of which group the document by subject. For example, numbers beginning with .02 and .03 refer to legal documents re Rossland.

The public relations and advertising series of records were removed from their original filing sequences by Cominco staff for transfer to the Provincial Archives. In that process, evidence of their original order was lost and the series have been reconstructed by Archives’ staff on the basis of physical similarity. In cases where there was no evidence that files have previously existed as a series a note "put into series by Public Archives of British Columbia" has been put beside the series description. The public relations and advertising series contain files relating to the production and management of press releases, brochures on various Cominco operations, employee newsletters, information brochures for employees, shareholder information, some training manuals, files on donations made by Cominco to various community and recreational groups, and information prepared for submission to various regulatory and legislative bodies.

The history files series contains original records selected by Cominco officials because they were thought to be of historical interest. Records include: published and unpublished articles; notes on reference questions answered by the Cominco Library; correspondence, research notes, and draft manuscripts connected with the preparation of company histories; and notes, correspondence, lists of people interviewed, and transcripts connected with Cominco oral history project.

The old Rossland employment history cards series includes the following data on the cards: record card number, name, occupation, age, marital status, height, dependents, weight, nationality, birth, citizenship, last employer, length of employment, date leaving, signature, dates of employment, day rate and bonus earnings, clock number, department, division, classification of work, and reason for quitting, transferring or being laid off. Based on a sampling of recorded occupations, the cards appear to cover employment in the Trail operations as well as at the Rossland mines; specific place of employment is not stated on the cards.

In the insurance history cards in alphabetical order series, each individual represented in the file is documented by two cards. Card 1 contains the following information: name, man number, record of share certificates received, and occupation/job. Card 2 contains: date of birth, gender, marital status, nationality, date entering service, clock numbers, date of severance, reason, beneficiaries, certificate no. plan "A" group assurance c/w dates, certificate no. plan "B" group assurance c/w amount and monthly premiums, payroll deduction authorization c/w signature in full, man number and name.

The general payroll index 1898-1915, found in the IRD (industrial relations division) pay office records, Trail, records series, contains the following information: record of shifts worked, earnings per month, workplace, name, date of birth, nationality, married or single, pay period, clock no., balance, and pick-up balance. In 1916, a new format was introduced along with the existing format and additional information was captured, including: name, department, earning by month and shift, and total bi-monthly. In 1922, the format was changed to a bi-monthly debit-credit sheet with name, date of birth, nationality, marital status, period, ledger page reference, doctor, credit, balance and pick-up balance. In 1927 a “bonus” element was added. In 1932, there was another change in format and the following information was captured: clock no. name, workplace and/or job title, month, man number, month and hours worked, gross, tax, total, and bonus share.

The textual records include annual reports, correspondence, financial and legal records, research and development department records, records of metallurgical, smoke, chemical and fertilizer operations, smoke control records, public relations department records, histories of Cominco, and labour relations and personnel records.

Cominco films

The series consists of films (original footage, printing elements and composite prints) which document Cominco operations in British Columbia and other Canadian provinces and territories from approximately the 1920s to the 1970s. Topics include: Cominco power plants, including the Waneta plant; mining and metallurgical operations; sulphuric acid plants; the Kootenay Lake power transmission cable; construction footage at Fording Coal Limited; and Trail diamond jubilee footage. One film, "Challenge in the Rock," presents an overview of the mining industry in British Columbia and the Yukon; another, “The March of Power," documents some of Morrison Knudsen's construction activities in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

Historic Summary of Cominco

The series consists of one 20-page document, entitled “Historic Summary of Cominco,” which presents a chronological timeline of the history of the company from 1890 to 1974. Dated 21 May 1975, it appears under Cominco letterhead, and with the added information “Supervisor, Information research, Cominco.”

Cominco power plants

The item is a short sequence that appears to be part of an industrial film about Cominco dams and power plants on the Kootenay River. Shows power plants at Lower Bonnington Falls, Upper Bonnington Falls, and South Slocan. This section of film was removed from a reel containing loose sections of film with sequences on different Cominco subjects.

The march of power

The item is an industrial film which depicts Morrison-Knudsen's construction activities in the Pacific Northwestern USA.

The mining and metallurgical operations of the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. of Canada, Ltd.

The item is an industrial film print made ca. 1977 from footage originally shot between 1934 and 1936. The compilation shows the company's mining, smelting and related operations in southeastern British Columbia including: the Sullivan Mine and concentrator at Kimberley; a power plant on the Kootenay River; the Trail smelter; and the fertilizer plant at Warfield.

Blaylock films

The item is a reel of film footage consisting of ten short reels of varying length assembled onto one roll. It mainly depicts subjects related to Consolidated Mining staff and operations across Canada. Notes (from original film boxes): 1. Sulphur experiment. 2. Quebec 1933 or 1934. 3. Montreal and Quebec, [19]34 -- "only fair". 4. Flin Flon 1934. 5. Edmonton to Fort Rae by plane -- [19]35 or 36. 6. Trip to Great Bear and back, 1935 or 1936. 7. Vancouver and Big Missouri, 1937. (black & white) 8. Kimberley football and Montgomery's and Lindsay's, 1934. 9. Chemists in Trail; Trail picnic 1937. 10. Ed Montgomery, P. Wetmore in N.S. [Nova Scotia?] -- Bingay's house in Vanc[ouver] -- Tadanac Hall, also Sir Colin Fraser.

Challenge in the rock

The item is a print of an industrial film by Lew Parry. It contains an overview of the mining industry of British Columbia and the Yukon. Sequences include: prospecting; claim staking; the use of helicopters; core sampling; construction of mine access roads; planning the mining of an ore body; lead-zinc mining operations in the Sullivan Mine; processing of ore by crushers, ball mills and flotation cells; residential scenes in mining towns (Fraser Lake, Pine Point, Ashcroft); Cominco smelter at Trail; contribution to steel industry (pig iron and coke); training of mining technicians at BCIT; role of the BC & Yukon Chamber of Mines, including its Prospectors' Mining School; Vancouver and Port Moody dockside scenes showing concentrates, coal and ingots being loaded.

Fording Valley

The item is a reel of spliced footage showing various aspects of construction and mining activity in the Fording Valley.

Trail diamond jubilee footage

The item is a reel of amateur film. It contains foughly edited sequence of events celebrating Trail's 75th Anniversary shot mostly out of focus.

Fishing and golf

The item is a reel of unedited film containing footage of sports fishing and golfing scenes.

Results 1 to 30 of 53