Mining in Manitoba
Thompson Mining Area
History of the Thompson Area
In 1946, International Nickel Company Ltd. began a 10-year geophysical and geological exploration program in the Thompson area. The program, which included 725 km. of core drilling, culminated in the Feb. 1956 discovery of the large Thompson Ni-Cu deposit. At least 6 other deposits were located by the mid-1950's.
The official opening of the Thompson Mine took place on March 25, 1961. The Soab North and Soab South Mines to the southwest, connected to Thompson by a 77 km railway operated from 1969 to 1971. The Pipe No. 1 Mine, 32 km southwest of Thompson, operated during 1971 and the Birchtree Mine near Thompson from 1969 to 1977. From 1961 to 1971 Inco spent $270 million on expansion, to mine and process the ore from these new mines. The Pipe No.2 open pit mine produced 6000 tonnes of ore per day from 1971 to 1984, and shipments from the stockpile were made in 1985.
The Thompson orebody is mined from 2 shafts, T-1 and T-3, about 3.2 km apart. In May 1983, Inco announced its decision to proceed with a 122 m deep, open-pit mine, located between Thompson shafts T-1 and T-3, to recover the top or "crown pillar" of the Thompson ore body. Production from this open pit began at a rate of 726 tonnes per day in Nov. 1985, rising to 2721 tonnes per day in 1986.