- AAAD0967
- File
- 1898
Part of Bureau of Mines, Mineral Survey and Mineralogical Branch photographs
10 results directly related Exclude narrower terms
Part of Bureau of Mines, Mineral Survey and Mineralogical Branch photographs
Part of Bureau of Mines, Mineral Survey and Mineralogical Branch photographs
The item is a b&w photograph of the Bluebell mine at Riondel.
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.
Part of Cominco Ltd. fonds
The series consists of four distinct parts.
The first part is records of the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Limited, dating from 1884 to 1967. Textual records (in boxes 1 to 12) include but are not limited to correspondence, journals, ledgers, indentures, lab reports, records on union-management relations, wage scale information, account books, and general business records. Eleven scrapbooks are contained in boxes 13 to 23; these include newspaper clippings, ca. 1909-1967, and include two on the Doukhobors.
The second part of the series (boxes 24 and 25) consists of correspondence and other business records of Samuel Stewart Fowler, a key figure in the mining industry in the Kootenays in the early 20th century, and at the Bluebell mine in particular, where he worked before it became the property of the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company. The records date from 1908-1941 and consist of Fowler's correspondence, inward and outward, with various firms and individuals. Precise reasons for these records forming part of the Cominco fonds are not known. It is conjecture that the records were inherited by the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Ltd. when they acquired the Bluebell mine property.
The third part of the series (boxes 26 - 27), consists of 20 cm of records of the West Kootenay Power and Light Company Ltd., dating from 1906-1947. The records consist of miscellaneous correspondence and business records, and includes papers of predecessor and subsidiary companies, including the Rossland Power and Light Company, the East Kootenay Power Company, and South Kootenay Power Company. These records include correspondence with the company from A.D. Fredericks of Waneta, B.C., who regularly reported on the river, climatic conditions, the water level of local creeks and rivers, and general social conditions in the Waneta area.
The fourth part of the series (boxes 28 - 29) consists of 20 cm of correspondence and other records of the Canadian North-eastern Railway Company, including some records created under the company’s original name, the Portland Canal Short Line Railway Company. The records consist of correspondence, and some legal agreements and survey plans, arranged chronologically from 1909 to 1930.
Part of Cominco Ltd. fonds
The series consists of photographs which document Cominco’s industrial activities in British Columbia, across Canada, and internationally. It also documents the social and cultural life of the communities where the company was active, and the staff who worked for the company.
Predominant subjects of the records include the following: industrial operations and town scenes at locations including Trail, Kimberley, Riondel (Bluebell mine), Yellowknife (Con mine), Pinchi Lake, Salmo (HB mine), New Brunswick (Wedge mine), and Saskatchewan (Box mine); early exploration in the north; research and development on products; fertilizer, ammonia and potash production; personnel, particularly senior staff and directors, with biographies; company housing; U.S. and overseas industrial operations; hydro-electric power production and plants; Project 9 (Heavy Water or No. 9 Project or P-9 Project). As this list is not exhaustive, the file list should be consulted for details on subject matter of the records.
The approximate date range of the photographs is 1900 to 1980. However, few records exist prior to the 1920s; and, with a few exceptions, those that pre-date the 1920s are inferior copies of photographic prints.
The series consists primarily of black and white prints but also includes negatives, transparencies, (black and white and colour), and a small number of glass lantern slides. The series also consists of a small amount of textual material, including correspondence, press releases, descriptive information on index cards, and biographical writing on senior staff, company directors and other personnel records.
Many of the photographs were used by Cominco’s public relations and advertising staff. The company produced a periodical which had numerous name changes, including “Cominco Magazine” and “the Orbit.” The photographs were used in the production of the magazine, and for press releases, newsletters, and information booklets and brochures about Cominco.
Most of the records appear to have been maintained by Cominco in a photo library and they are marked with the creator’s classification codes and numbers. For the most part the meanings of these codes are uncertain; meanings can sometimes be inferred. Sometimes meanings are made explicit; for example, “MMP” for Miscellaneous Mines and Projects.
CPR S.S. Nasookin approaching dock at Riondel.
Part of Imbert Orchard fonds
RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-09-10 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. David Sutcliffe discusses the Kootenay Lake steamers including the "Nasookin" and the "Kootenay". He describes the competition between the two companies; shipping horses on the "Nasookin"; Kootenay Landing; the tug boats; passenger service; mail delivery; freight; the "Kokanee" running aground near Riondel; social life and customs: the chivaree; the maiden voyage of the "Nasookin"; ;a boat called the "International"; the Bluebell Mine in 1910; problems with a new pump system; the shafts; use of candles and lime dust. TRACK 2: Mr. Sutcliffe continues by describing the Pilot Bay, Smelter and Galena Bay. Then he returns to discussing steamers such as the "International" and the "Alberta". He came to Riondel to work on a fruit farm in 1910. He describes the mine mill; Pilot Bay; independent miners; the beginnings of Riondel; the name 'Bluebell' was given by David Douglas in 1834; early history of the Bluebell Mine to 1905; Riondel in 1910; an anecdote about Ainsworth BC; working conditions; the Kirby Mine; more anecdotes; more about Riondel; nationalities of the miners; and more about the Kirby Mine.
Kootenay west : Trail, Nelson, Kootenay Lake, Creston
Part of Imbert Orchard fonds
The sub-series consists of oral history interviews recorded in the Kootenay Lake region and mainly dealing with the history of that region from the 1830s to the 1960s, as well as the history of some communities in the Arrow Lakes and East Kootenay regions.
Part of Film and Photographic Branch travel industry and tourism photographs