Mining in Manitoba
Other Mining Areas
Other Industrial Minerals
Cement
Most of the limestone used for portland cement production comes from quarries near Steep Rock, 240 km northwest of Winnipeg. The limestone, with 95-99% usable calcium carbonate, has been quarried there since 1913 from the devonian Elm Point Formation. Clay for the cement is quarried from the fine clays of glacial Lake Aggassiz. Silica sand comes from a quarry at Beausejour and gypsum from Harcus, on the west side of Lake Manitoba.
Inland Cement also has a limestone quarry near Mafeking, south of The Pas. This operation began in 1956. The crushed limestone is shipped to Regina, Saskatchewan by rail.
Lime
Lime is produced by Steel Brothers (Canada) Ltd. at Fulkner, in the Interlake region, from its rotary kiln plant that opened in 1976. Both hi-calcium and hi-magnesia lime for the construction industry, steel processing, the pulp and paper industry and for municipal water softeners is produced. Limestone is also quarried for crushed stone, poultry feed, and mineral filters.
Clay
Red River Brick and Tile Limited operates a brick plant at Lockport, using Cretaceous and Jurassic deposits from its Ste. Rose du Lac quarry, which opened in 1979. The final product is a high quality brick that is primarily used as decorative facing for buildings.
The benonite clay produced by Pembina Mountain Clays Inc. in the Miami-Morden area of southern Manitoba since 1940, is the only calcium-base non-swelling bentonite in Canada. The clay is used in its natural state for binder in stock feeds, foundry sand, pesticide carrier, animal fur cleaners, and kitty litter.
Gypsum
Gypsum, which is used mainly for gyp-rock wallboard, plaster of Paris, and as a cement additive, has been quarried since 1978 from the Amaranth Evaporite Formation at Harcus, 18 km north of Amaranth. The old Amaranth underground mine operated in the same area from 1932 to 1963.
At Gypsumville, near Lake St. Martin, mining of the gypsum ridges began in 1901. Domtar Construction Materials Ltd. operated a quarry there from 1953 to 1984.
Dimension Stone
One type of dimension stone presently being quarried in southern Manitoba is the famous Tyndall stone. Gillis Quarries Ltd. incorported in 1925, extracts slabs that are cut and finished at its Garson plant. The interior of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa, Legislative Buildings in Winnipeg and Regina, the Lake Louise Chalet, Royal York Hotel in Toronto and Eaton's in Toronto and Montreal are all examples of the beauty and function of Maniotba's Tyndall stone.
Peat Moss
Until 1983 the only major producer was Fisons Western Corp. that operates east of Winnipeg from 4 bogs: Evergreen, North Julius and Moss Spur in the Julius area, and the Elma bog farther south. Harvesting began in 1939 and the company now has 2 processing plants, at Elma and Moss Spur. In the spring of 1983 a new operator, Premier WEst Peat Moss Ltd. started production from the Giroux bog, 50 km souheast of Winnipeg. Manitoba peat is good quality sphanum moss, used primarily for horticultural purposes.