Asbestos Mineral Museum


Useful Information

Location: Asbestos, 20 km northeast of Richmond.
Open: 24-JUN to 25-AUG Wd-Sun 11-17.
[2007]
Fee: Adults CAD 4, Children (13-17) CAD 2, Children (0-12) free.
[2007]
Classification: asbestos mine in ultrabasic, serpenitized rocks
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension: L=2,000 m, VR=350 m, Ar=6 km².
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography: M. Amabili, A. Miglioli, F. Spertini (2004): Recent discoveries at the Jeffrey Mine, Asbestos, Québec, The Mineralogical Record. 35: 123-135.
J.D. Grice, R. Williams (1979): Famous mineral localities: The Jeffrey Mine, Asbestos, Québec, Mineralogical Record, 10(2), pp:69-80. F. Spertini (2001): La mine Jeffrey, Asbestos, Québec, Canada, Le Règne Minéral(37),pp:10-34.
Address: Asbestos Mineral Museum, 341, Boul. St-Luc, Asbestos, QC, J1T 2W4, Tel: +1-819-879-6444.
John Millen, president, Tel: +1-819-879-5308. E-mail: contact
F. Spertini, Tel: +1-819-879-7547.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1881 Welsh miner Evan Williams visiting his parents first identifies the asbestos.
1881 gentleman-farmer W. H. Jeffrey starts a mine and pays the land owner Webb a royalty.
1895 annual mining rate reaches 2300 tons.
2002 mine closed due to a fall in asbestos prices.

Geology

Asbestos is a mineral with exceptional properties.

Jeffrey Mine is very rich in minerals. 57 different minerals are known from this locations, and it is the type locale for two, Jeffreyite and Spertiniite.

Description

The Jeffrey Mine at Asbestos is named after W. H. Jeffrey who was the first to open a mine here. He mined asbestos, which gave the mining community its name. The mine was very successful, and mining grew slowly but continually. This changed in the 1980s when the dangers of asbestos became known. The fine dust it produces causes lung cancer and silicosis. Those health risks resulted in a ban of asbestos for building purposes and thus an enormous reduction in demand. Many asbestos mines in the world were closed.

The Jeffrey Mine is an open cast mine, but if the mining continues it will most likely be underground mining. The mine was started in a primitive way: asbestos was blasted and dug out manually with chisels. The first derrick used to hoist the rock was powered by a single horse. The mine changed hands several times and experienced serious economic downturns. But it grew continually and today it has two kilometers in diametre, 350 meters in depth, and six square kilometers in total area. The continuous growth influenced the town Asbestos, which exists only for the mine. The expanding mine needed the territory of the village and so the village was demolished several times over the years and rebuilt a little further.

The Asbestos Mineral Museum is located in the town of Asbestos. It exhibits the rocks and minerals found in the mine, documents about the mining tradition and the history of the Jeffrey Mine. An exhibition explains asbestos-based industrial and commercial products. There are instruments used in field surveys and in the detection of asbestos deposits.

At the corner of St-Luc Boulevard and Panneton Street is a lookout site, which allows a fine few acoss the huge open cast. This site is the property of Mine Jeffrey Inc.

A mineral site in St-Barnaby sector, which is owned by JM Asbestos, allows the collection of various local minerals. Field trips to this site and a 200-ton dump truck are organized by the museum.